Kitchen use in mother in law suite.

[Paul119]

I’d like some opinions on an ongoing problem with the kitchen in my mother in law suite. The problem is only sometimes and I’ve tried leaving nice notes and even have rules against cooking strong smelling foods since it not only impacts me (shared hvac system) but also lingers for the next guests even after extensive cleaning and running an ozone machine. I’ve even upgraded the ventilation system but few that cook the smelliest foods use it. Are there other hosts that have these issues and what have you done to combat it?  I’m seriously thinking of removing the entire range from my listing and only allowing the use of the microwave, toaster, coffeemaker and kettle.  The other option I could do is cut the power to the range and only allow use after confirming with people what is allowed and not allowed to be cooked and the proper use of the vents and opening windows during cooking. It seems with more people staying for longer periods during COVID that this has become a larger issue. It’s definitely one of those “that fish smells so good to you but not to me” type of things. Replace fish with garlic, curry, deep fried chicken etc.  Can anyone relate to this or has anyone changed their setup with negative or positive results?  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

[Anonymous]

@Paul119  What a cool and unique listing you have! It looks like your guests are really impressed with the funky vintage furnishings, and you've made a great selling point out of offering the chance to cook on Samantha's stove from "Bewitched." Without use of the range, you'd still have a nice listing, but the home would lose a big chunk of its appeal and value. And looking ahead to what the coming months of the Corona crisis will bring, cooking facilities are going to be pretty important to travelers as there's a high probability that your local restaurants will be forced to close. 

If you were an in-home host, there would be a stronger case for discussing the do's and don'ts of cooking. But since your listing is an Entire Home, it feels like a bit of an overreach to try and micromanage your guests' meal plans. That would be like telling a couple what kind of sex they can and can't have in the bed. Imagine how you'd feel if you booked a hotel room and the front desk said "if you're gonna do it in the butt, open the windows."

You can try setting a House Rule about ventilation, but realistically you're not in any position to enforce it in real time. So if the home needs a lot of airing-out time to expel cooking odor, I'd recommend adjusting the Preparation Time setting in your calendar and leaving the place vacant for an extra day or two between bookings. 

[Paul119]

Thanks @Anonymous for your thoughtful response and complements. Although it is a whole space listing, mother in law unit, the ventilation system is connected so what the guest cooks is what I smell in the main house. The reality is that over the past 5 plus years it hasn’t been as much of a problem it’s just fresh in my mind since my current guest set off the smoke alarms and has filled my house with the smell of curry. I guess it’s only 5 more days until they leave. 

[Sarah977]

There's a few things you can try that absorb odors- some small bowls of baking soda or vinegar set around absorb odors. While there's nothing wrong with letting guests know that you and the rental share an air system, so that strong cooking odors fill your place as well as theirs, I agree with Andrew that it's not a great idea to try to dictate to guests what they can and can't cook. And what smells objectionable or too strong to one person doesn't smell that way to another. I love the smell of curry, but I detest the smells of vinegar and lavender- things that smell good to most people.

Don't discount the value of humor when trying to get some "please don't " across to guests. They might be a lot more willing to not cook fish if when explaining the way the air travels into your living space, you said "So the thing is, that it's a bit hard to handle if I'm making and eating my spaghetti and pesto dinner but my whole house smells like fish, haha. Any food you dislike the smell of? If so, I'll make sure not to cook it while you're here". (if you can smell their cooking, they can probably smell yours)

@Paul119