Management of longer term bookings

[Jo1037]

Hi, I have a 2 week booking, do guests expect me to wash and change their own bedding/towels etc or should I be offering to do that? I had assumed that a longer booking would be on a short term let basis not a hotel basis.

Thanks

J

[Tara0]

Hi @Jo1037 I'm in Oxford, UK, and quite often have longer bookings, ranging from 2 weeks to 3 months.

I offer mid-stay cleaning/linen changes at cost. Never had anyone quibble about it. The guests pay the cleaner direct. 

If it's a high season 2 week booking paying top whack, I might include/offer an extra set of bedlinen at no extra charge.

But I never provide mid-stay cleaning for free.

I provide tons of fresh towels regardless.

In your case, with a 2 week booking, I've never had a guest expect a change of bedlinen for a 2 week stay. 

[Elisa]

Hi @Tara0 😊,

Thank you for sharing your approach here!

Offering mid-stay cleaning for free is great.

Do you have someone helping with this, or do you handle it yourself?

[Elisa]

Hi @Jo1037 😊, 

Thank you for asking this question here.

Is this your first long booking like this one?

I’m glad our host Tara shared such helpful advice with you. Do you already have an idea on what to do?

I’m also tagging other hosts to see what they might suggest: @Oksana127, @Marie8425, @Graham490 and @Casa-De-La-Tierra0.

Thank you in advance, everyone!

[Marie8425]

@Jo1037 

If longer stays are your normal market then having a plan in place is necessary.  This sounds like you have infrequently.  When I am dealing with something infrequent sometimes a plus is to ask what would you like?   Based on what the Guest asks for, I figure out how to meet and if there would be an expense to me what I am willing to eat what I am not and present to Guest for agreement.  Not often and builds a good review because Guest is happy

[Elisa]

Hi @Marie8425 😊, 

It’s so nice to read your post here, thank you for sharing!

What’s your approach with long stays when it comes to changing bedding and towels?

[Marie8425]

@Elisa I usually do contract employees, so with me a couple of months.

I try and balance middle ground privacy and you are in my shared home.

I do not personally enter a room and change linens.  I usually have 1 professional per room who works at a job site all day and they don't cause damages and everyone wants a space they feel private. Unless an issue we don't access bedrooms.

Because such long term guests are advised free laundry machines and soap, manage yourself.

Ido subtle monitoring, because not everyone washes their sheets weekly.

I wait 10 days, give a little consideration someone just busy or tired.

If no washing by day 10.  I just send a nice note.

I will trade you give me bed linen and I will give you fresh.

Some trade, some do laundry.

If they trade they handle removal and new install.

[Elisa]

Hi @Marie8425 😊, 

Thank you for letting me know!

This is such a great approach, have you always followed these steps?

I like how discreet you are. 😍

[Marie8425]

@Elisa 

Actually some learning haha.  We had one longer guy in Hawaii and my husband and I laugh.  He used to leave his bedroom door open and empty I asked but during the week he slept on ne side of the bed and his empty pizza boxes on the other side.  Haha sometimes better to not know. lol

I have been renting rooms a long time.  It isn't that people are dirty.  The bed doesn't look dirty in a week but it requires cleaning,  The other part is a priority to me but in the Guest's weekly schedule how does an hour of laundry fit in?  Some of my guys because specialty employees brought in work 6 days a week usually a 10 hour day,  Sheets are not their highest priority, that is why trade offered.

[Elisa]

Hi @Marie8425 😊, 

Thank you for letting me know!

What a funny story, I’m glad it helped you figure out how to handle this in the future.

[Karol525]

I have a washer & dryer in the cabin and i leave a few pods each guest.  its more of a cabin then a hotel. So the answer would be no for my circumstance

[Elisa]

Hi @Karol525 😊, 

Thank you for your comment here!

That’s fantastic. 😍

So your guests can change their sheets and towels anytime they want?

How many pods do you usually leave for a 7-day stay?

[Karol525]

@Elisa 5 or 6 if they need more theres a walmart up the road

[Elisa]

Hi @Karol525 😊, 

Thank you for letting me know!

I'm curious, what can your guests do at Walmart?

[Casa-De-La-Tierra0 · Accepted solution]

@Jo1037 We offer our guests extra cleanings at a discounted cleaning rate, but require a cleaning every 10 days or 2 weeks. We decided this because our place gets so dirty when guests stay for longer than a week (depending on the guest count and cleanliness of the guest, but there’s no way to know how clean they will be in advance). If guests have access to a washer & dryer, then they can take care of themselves in terms of refreshing their towels and linens, but if they ask for a cleaning, you can definitely provide that. It’s up to you if you want to charge for it. We do, and haven’t had any guest issues with that. 

For much longer stays, you know your house better than anyone and will need to determine how often you’d like it to be cleaned. Based on how often you want it cleaned, you might either require the guest to pay for every cleaning, or if it feels like it might be too much for the guest (or you don’t want to cause a deal breaker), you might split the cost of the cleanings. 

At the end of the day, you want to have a balanced and fair approach. You want to take care of your hard earned space, while still being inviting and flexible. 

Lastly, whatever you decide, make sure you spell it out in your listing so there aren’t any surprises for you and your guests.