Lack of common items supplied in a rental?

[Basha0]

A good friend of mine originally from Tuscany Italy, now a restaurant owner in US, took his girlfriend back to Italy and rented through Airbnb. He said he had to pay extra for bedding! What?! Is this common?  Plus no toilet paper?! This doesn’t make sense.

Can someone enlighten me?

[Robin4]

@Basha0 

Airbnb's desire to try and control every aspect of the host/guest transaction rather than just concentrate on the booking side of it is causing a lot of these problems Basha.

 Airbnb lists the supply of bed linens as a hosting 'essential' but they then go on to state....."You can decide whether you want to make each guest bed or leave the bed linen neatly piled. We encourage hosts to communicate with their guests during the booking process to get their preference". What guest walks into a hotel room to be confronted by a pile of neatly folded bed linen?

It's up to the host to define what they offer, it's their property, not Airbnb's. That's got nothing to do with Airbnb but, they put their tuppence worth in and it muddies the waters. STR is not like a hotel there is not a defined standard. What we offer is individual, it is all different. Obviously some hosts are going to say 'ok there is no compulsion for me to provide a made bed so I will charge that as an extra'!

I know that's drawing a long bow but as you state Basha, this is happening, and you can see how.

Airbnb are trying to straitjacket us into preconceived hosting boxes, telling guests they have the power to require of their hosts......

"Guest search results worldwide show that the top 10 amenities guests want right now are:

1. A pool
2. Wi-Fi
3. A kitchen
4. Free parking
5. A jacuzzi
6. A washer or dryer
7. Air conditioning or heating
8. Self check-in
9. Laptop-friendly workspace
10. Pets allowed"

Guest are become more picky, expecting and demanding  because Airbnb are telling them to review/rate hosts on what they wanted.........not what was offered and what they actually got. Airbnb need to stay out of this, all it's doing is building up a lot of false expectations. Let the host and guest ascertain what the hosting package contains.

To be blunt, Airbnb are actually sabotaging their business!

So Basha, you don't assume what might be offered any more, you have to ask!

Cheers.........Rob

[Gillian166]

@Robin4  lol, what a funny list. 

We offer access to a washer/dryer and less than 1% request to use it.  I can't think of any guests who want all that, and then I thought........

This sounds like Chesky's personal wishlist!

[Robin4]

@Gillian166 

I have never had a guest mention that they would prefer to stay in a listing that had 4 of those wish list items, they are grateful for the ones that are included, and you are right, 1% actually use the supplied washing machine, another 1% would use our barbecue and less than 5% use the DVD with its disk library.

Gillian, it is simply Airbnb meddling in what we do.

I am still in amazement that the 18 hole golf course through a gate in the back fence was not included in that amenities list!

Cheers........Rob

[Gillian166]

"laptop friendly"
the clue is in the name!  the laptop was designed to be portable and used anywhere......
and yet why do I get the feeling Chesky means a beautiful quiet space with an oversized expensive custom built desk with a giant window overlooking a national park, with a large lake and perhaps a glacier in the distance.... 

why didn't "king size bed" or even just "bath" make the list, or most importantly, coffee machine.  

As usual I find myself never fitting in with the mainstream, that's not my top 10 list. 

[Basha0]

@Robin4   I provide 6 out of the 10 items guests like. Oh well!

[Robin4]

@Basha0 

Well what that means Basha......... just like me you are a fail on 4!

Cheers........Rob

[Fred13]

@Basha0We really improve our place every year, even though usually booked one year ahead, just wired that way I guess. I don't get the mere basic spartan trip.

[Huma0]

@Fred13 

Some guests are looking for the cheapest place because they are travelling on a really tight budget. So, if they can save money by not having any frills and spills, they might be okay with that, as long as it's reflected in the price.

On a recent thread here, a guest said that he didn't care if the place was cleaned during his stay as he fully expected that in a shared space, no one would clean up after themselves and he would just end up cleaning up after others anyway. He seemed resigned to that. What he did want though was hot water and WiFi.

There are a lot of different types of customers using Airbnb, ranging from the truly budget types to those expecting 6* luxury.

[Fred13]

I can appreciate that, and it reminds me of my college days, but one thing I do know, my listing doesn't try to accommodate everyone at large, especially ones that have to travel on a nickel. Gob bless them, but they are best suited to stay somewhere else.

[Huma0]

@Fred13 

Well, exactly. I doubt the real budget types would be booking your private island anyway! However, the OP said that she tries to keep her place affordable by not supplying extras, so her market is different to yours, or even to mine, which is affordable by London standards, but still not 'basic'. There are plenty of more basic accommodations near me that guests can choose instead if their priority is keeping costs down. 

[Fred13]

Yep.

[Fred13]

@Robin4Same here 6/10 (failed in #1 and #5-#7). I am now feeling that my place is a bit 'dumpy'.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Fred13 Are you sure you offer number 8? I would be concerned if you did!

[Fred13]

You are right,  5/10 it is. Now I really feel like a total loser, talking about 'Mr. Average'.

[John5097]

@Basha0 

Some beach houses don't supply sheets. They also get marked down from the occasional guest who didn't catch it in the listing description. A few times guest have asked if I supply sheets just wanting to make sure and I reassure them that the listing is very accurate and feel free to read it over again and ask if they have any more questions. Maybe my guest are a little more self sufficiant but they like to supply all their own food and such, and have even complained if any food is left in the fridge. If a host doesn't supply the essentials such as sheets, towels, toilet paper, napkins etc they should inform guest in personal message or expect to get marked down. (I supply laundry-dishwasher detergent, TP, trash bags, etc which guest seem to appreciate) For food things its guest responsibility to check the listing description, photos and amenities list. I actually had a very odd 4 star for accuracy because there was a picture of a Brita water pitcher in the fridge that I removed about 2 years ago, but same guest was elated with everything and really appreciated the parking pass I provided as a free bonus, so but maybe Airbnb review process really trolls for anything and guest may feel pressured to mention at least something very minor.  However if host does't supply common essentials they can expect lower ratings in reviews.