Problem with careless guest

Victoria1595
Level 2
Valbonne, France

Problem with careless guest

I have a guest staying with us for 3 weeks. I noticed he was new to Airbnb and I accepted against my better judgment since my Husband said he would be at home most of the week. 
I was reassured by the fact that he was very polite when messaging. 

However, it’s been a week and although he is very polite, cleanliness is a huge issue! Bathroom soaking wet, toilets not flushed, and the kitchen. He has burned food in the oven and in a pan. He left to go out after cooking without cleaning anything and the whole house smelled of frying oil. 
I have had another long stay where the guest decided to do extreme home cooking twice a day and to avoid this I had asked my husband ti specify that the kitchen was to be used for “light” cooking. He didn’t do it, thinking that it wouldn’t be a problem. 
I sent the guest a message but also talked to him and asked him to please clean up after himself and also please be more respectful with the material and make less noise during the evening as he stays up till 3 am. 
He said he would be more careful. 

However, the cooking is the same. The kitchen is dirty, I have to keep cleaning up after him and I will certainly have to get the furniture professionally cleaned to take out the smell. 

Would you have any suggestions as to how to word my booking for the use of the Kitchen so that this doesn’t happen again. Like I said most guests clean up after themselves but when it does happen it’s so upsetting. 
Also, can I request a cleaning fee afterwards? Or can I add on cleaning fees for certain long stay bookings ? 

3 Replies 3

@Victoria1595   When it comes to cooking, the words you choose for your listing aren't going to have the slightest bit of influence on guests' actual behaviors. No two people have the same concept of what constitutes "light" kitchen use, and most people are creatures of habit when it comes to what they prefer to eat and how they prepare meals. They don't necessarily realize that when they're glancing at your House Rules. Most efforts to micro-manage these things will have limited success at best, and at worst come off as passive-aggressive and unwelcoming.

 

The more practical option would be to simply remove kitchen access from your listed amenities. It doesn't appear to be a major selling feature for your listing - many of your reviews mention that the guests enjoyed the terrace and the complimentary breakfast, but none of them single out the kitchen as a favorite feature. If you struck it from your offering altogether, I doubt it would impact your target bookings. (Though guests would certainly appreciate a mini-fridge to chill their wine for the terrace and perhaps hold their own snacks)

 

Setting a lower maximum length of stay would also reduce the demand for a kitchen in general. Your location offers plenty of access to dining options, so there's no reason you need to target self-caterers. For homestay hosts, the ideal maximum length of stay should be the longest you're comfortable living with someone whose habits upset you. Obviously, for you that's less than 3 weeks.

 

As for the Cleaning Fee, you can only build that into what guests pay when they book - not after the fact. Sure, you can ask them for more money at the end of the stay with the Resolutions tool, but Airbnb is not going to force them to pay it when they decline. All you'll get for your troubles is a negative rating - which would be an extinction-level event for your listing, considering it only has 48 ratings and the average needs a bit of a boost.

Lenore22
Level 10
California, United States

Great advice from @Anonymous 

 

Remove access to kitchen, just offer fridge space, if you prefer.

 

You could include a weekly cleaning fee moving forward for washing linens, etc, but realize that some people think a cleaning fee means you'll be cleaning up after them.

 

Good luck!

John2406
Level 10
Swansea, United Kingdom

A couple of questions. One is who is the Host of your property, and is your husband the Co-host, whilst the other is why don't you follow your own better judgement?!

 

Neither of the above are judgemental, but if you felt as you did from the outset, maybe you should have gone with your own feelings - and no-one else's beliefs (my wife - who never was a Co-Host - often had her own feelings about Guests, but thankfully I didn't listen to her!)

 

Having said all that, @Anonymous 's comments' were "spot-on" regarding what to do re the kitchen, and your wording of same!