Some helpful feedback please from you fellow hosts.

[Alexandra199]

Hello fellow hosts

I would really appreciate some constructive feedback please. I have self catering cottages in The Cotswold in the UK. I have guests who stay and have the whole place to themselves. Since Covid the cleaning regimes have become much more tricky and it takes longer to clean a whole house after guests have checked out. As a general rule I get nice reviews.

Today I had a brief review of my cottage, followed by a 4 star overall, and a 2 star for communication (never had 2 for anything before ). The explanation for this low star rating was provide by the guest, who was aggrieved by the pre-check out email I  send to all guests the night before they are due to leave, the email is as follows:

Hello, you are due to check out tomorrow morning and I hope you have had a fabulous time and take home some wonderful memories of your stay. Check out is at 10am. Please read and follow the instructions on the wall of the kitchen, prior to leaving.

Please consider running the dishwasher this evening, to give yourself time to put away the clean crockery you could then quickly hand wash any breakfast crockery in the morning.

Please make sure to take all your belongings with you.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Alex

The instructions on the wall of the kitchen basically ask guest to put their rubbish out in the relevant bins, wipe down the kitchen worktops and leave a message in my guest book (nothing too exceptional).

This particular guest felt that reading the email on the Saturday night asking her to load the dishwasher and hand wash plates put a downer on her day.... so 2 stars for communication

I'm pretty cross about this and I've never had any other complaints but I wondered if you lot thought I was being unreasonable. The reason for this request is some guests leave the dishwasher going and then check out. The cycle can sometimes take up to 3.5 hours to complete and my cleaners have other properties to do so don't always have time to empty it and put away all the crockery once it has eventually finished.

Your thoughts please guys? (Please bear in mind I am already pretty upset about this review so be kind)🙄

Alex 

xx

[Ann783]

You requests sound pretty reasonable. I also ask guests not to leave dirty dishes and to place trash in bin outside. I communicate this in the house instructions I send them and again the night before ... so no one can claim they were "surprised." 

[Alexandra199]

Yes, that is a big issue. The notice is on the wall, it clearly says Check out information yet guests dont read it! That is exactly why I send the email above.

[Karla533]

Writing from the USA here -- I'm sorry you were left with a bad taste in your mouth from this guest. Remember that a few bad reviews here and there really won't affect a thing, at least not in my market.

There are certainly cultural differences. I would however  find the kitchen note plus the text message through AirBnB to be a bit (too) much. If it were me, I would just supply a detailed kitchen note, a communication method that is less intrusive, and skip the text message entirely.

We stayed at an AirBnB in Costa Rica in January. Everything was great until the night before we were due to leave. That night the host informed me by message that she would be stopping by to "say good-bye" at 8 AM the next morning, on the way back from dropping her kids off at school.

I actually interpreted this as she wanted to check out the property while we were still there, in case she wanted to demand payment for damage before we left the country.

I was also upset because I wanted to spend my last few hours walking alone on the beach, not talking with her. So I spent about 30 minutes crafting the nicest, most gracious, leave-me-the-hell-alone message ever written. She understood, did not visit at 8 AM, I walked on the beach, and we both left kissy face reviews.

I understand you're trying to run an efficient business and you're definitely an expert and a wonderful host. But our guests are guests first and foremost and some of them do need their headspace.

No one likes to be reminded of chores when they're trying to relax and savor their last few hours in a place.

My two cents :))

[Alexandra199]

Thank you, I appreciate your kindly worded response. I'm going to give that some thought x

[Mark116]

@Karla533  I  have to disagree.  If you don't remind guests about what to do for checking out, including check-out time, they will 'forget'.  Some still 'forget' even with a reminder.  I would feel I wasn't doing my job as a host in setting expectations if I didn't send a check-out message.

[Karla533]

Thanks Mark for sharing your point of view, I hadn't looked at it this way. This makes me more understanding toward hosts who send check-out messages.

There's a TikTok video circulating where a guest is reading the check-out instructions from an AirBnB  host out loud. It appears to be real, not a joke or set up.

The instructions go on and on. Among other things, they tell the guest where to find the clean sheets to change the bed, and include a photo of how the decorative pillows are to be arranged on the changed bed.

The other thing we observed on our recent trip is that all 3 hosts expected us to tip (gratuity) their housekeeper. They all provided a cup with a sign on it for this purpose. We dutifully added money.

I have no plans to ever ask guests for housekeeper money. But I'm wondering if this is also common?

[Sarah977]

@Karla533  Asking guests to tip the housekeeper is really tacky, IMO. The host should be paying the cleaner a living wage. 

I also disagree- there is nothing wrong with a reminder to guests re a few check-out chores.

Of course a lengthy list of check out instructions, like you saw on the TikTok video, is over the top. Expecting guests to clean up their own personal messes, i.e. wash their dishes and take out the garbage is reasonable- dirty dishes and garbage can attract rodents and cockroaches and smell the place up. And not all places do same day turnovers- the cleaner may not be scheduled to come right away after check-out.

But I don't understand hosts who expect guests to strip the beds, start a load of laundry, remake beds with clean linens, sweep and wash floors, etc. One might reasonably expect relatives or friends to do those things, but not paying guests.

I would also be tiffed at a host saying they are coming over at 8am on check out day or any day. I don't get up that early, and certainly not on vacation. I can understand a quick walk-through, that wouldn't offend me, but at a reasonable time, like 15 min. before check-out.

@Alexandra199  Your few check-out instructions seem quite normal and reasonable. A guest who is offended by you sending a brief reminder about something it would take them all of 5 minutes to do is the unreasonable one.

[Alexandra199]

Thank you for your input. I am increasingly thinking what I do is not unreasonable.x

[Paul1255]

@Alexandra199  If you’re check out expectations were unreasonable you would have more than 1 guest take exception to them 🙂 

[Neeraj20]

@Mark116 in India no one even care what the checkout time is. They are like oh we are just leaving in 30 minutes and when you go back after 30 minutes they say give me 10. And then they leave bad reviews just because we asked them twice to checkout. What should I do? Keep the other guests waiting? I try so hard to be polite to ask them to please checkout please so other guest don't get upset but at times it feel too much really to be this polite every time to every one. 

[Colleen253]

@Neeraj20 You can try communicating to guests, in advance of checkout “Please note, checkout is ‘x’ time. The cleaners will arrive promptly and enter the unit to begin their work immediately.”

Another tactic you can try is moving your check out time back an hour. 

[Mark116]

@Neeraj20  I always mention the cleaning/cleaner schedule, as if the timing is out of my control and guests should expect the cleaners to arrive right after check-out.  I find this usually works, but not always.  I also send a goodbye message the night before where I mention the check out time.  You could try this, if  you don't already do it.  

[Helen744]

Helen @744 I hear ya buddy. Everyone is different . Good luck. A sense of humor can go a long way. Check out times rile me up .   I have had one or two who really I felt would never leave and when I had extended their stay by two hours I finally lost it and told them my cleaners have had to reschedule. I am the cleaner. I took checkout time which was liberal at 11 back to ten. Believe you me people know the checkout time. Even people who seem not to have read any other rule know the checkout time . In your case I would write it on the kitchen wall.or just inside the door .or take it back an hour and then only give them that extra time grudgingly all the best H.

[Colleen253]

@Alexandra199 You're a very experienced host with a stellar track record. There will always be 'that' guest, but remember it's just one among hundreds. If you were getting this kind of feedback from half of your guest population, it might warrant more consideration, right? This one just sticks out because it's unjustified, unexpected, and it stings. This guest sounds like one who just doesn't get the difference between a hotel and an Airbnb. No change in procedure is required. Carry on 🙂