Separate guests in separate rooms - how do I keep the place clean?

[Yas6]

Hello fellow hosts. I've been on airbnb for several years but never knew this forum existed. Cool to be here!

The place I rent is in a very touristy area in France, so a lot of short stays. When my Mom lived in the same apartment with the guests, it was easier for her to keep an eye on things in regards to cleanliness (we do all this together). But right now the situation is a bit different and I'm wondering: how to solve the situation where one of the guests doesn't keep the shared spaces clean enough for the other one, and this results in a bad review about the place?

In the past, a cleaning lady checked up on things regularly, but the review situation remained the same - probably because it got messy every time someone cooked/showered/etc, and it's impossible be there on 24/7 cleaning duty. Especially considering the guests only pay the 25 euros cleaning fee for the check in.

I understand the guests' situation as well - it's not that people are super messy, but I'm thinking an average everyday life level of neat is not the same as airbnb hosting level of neat. Asking the guests during their stay about this is something I've considered, but even if they say "yes, it's messy here" - I still don't see how to resolve the problem reasonably. Approaching the "messy" guest about this will probably result in a bad review anyway.

What are my options here? I'm hoping there's some way to solve this that I just haven't thought about.

[Anonymous]

@Yas6   Renting two separate units short-term inside a shared home without a host onsite is not an arrangement I can recommend. Cleaning is one issue, but what about the guests' safety? How do you navigate a situation where, say, a single female guest is harassed or assaulted by an aggressive male guest? Or where one guest claims that her property has been stolen by the other? Or where any other kind of conflict emerges between them with nobody on hand to mediate?

Shared homes without hosts on site tend to be the most poorly rated and reviewed listings on Airbnb, and when you read the reviews of these you always see many guests saying they felt unsafe. And that's before you even factor in the pandemic situation. 

If you're not able to be onsite as a full-time host like your Mom, one alternative you might consider is making one of the rooms available to short-term guests while renting the other to a trusted, fully-vetted long-term resident for below-market rent, in exchange for them committing to co-hosting duties such as cleaning and check-ins. This way, you always know what quality of care and cleanliness your Airbnb guest is experiencing while also offering an affordable housing solution to someone you know who needs it (and of course, we all have someone in our lives who does...)

[Sarah977]

@Yas6 Alternatively,  I'm wondering why you are renting 2 bedrooms out separately if you or your mom aren't living there? Why not rent the whole apartment  as a 2 bedroom to one set of guests?

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977 that is what I was going to say. At least if its a 2BD the guests traveling together are known to one another (one hopes....) That cuts down on the safety issue.

[Yas6]

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