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

[Linda108]

It appears to me that this one guest has messed with a system that works for you by objecting to your reminder message.  If this is a one off response then do nothing different.  If there are other guests that provide that feedback, look at tweaking your system.  I think an easy fix is to adjust the timing of the house cleaner to later in the day.  If you are booking back to back, you might not be able to do that. Still running a tight schedule requires everything to sync which is not always possible.

[Alexandra199]

Hi Linda, thanks. Yes that would be a fix but it's just not possible. I have a slot in the ealry morning because my cleaner has other properties and childcare issues later in the day. Yes i am often having quick changeovers with guests leaving and arriving the same day so its tight! This is also the reason i ask for 10am check out which i know is a bit early but i used to do 11am and they left at 11.30, at least with 10am they are definitely gone by 11.

[Sulani0]

I'm sorry you feel upset by this.  Although good communication is vital, the email on top of the note might be too much for some guests.  I believe it's a cultural issue more than them having an unwillingness to comply.

I've found that writing it into the house manual - and having both a digital copy on Airbnb AND a printed copy in the listing, solves this issue.

Good luck!

[Alexandra199]

Hi Sulani, Tthank you for your comments. I dont put check out info in the house manual, i try to keep that all to pre and during stay info. I'll consider this but i dont have a printed copy in my cottages after Covid as it is something that is then handled by multiple guests and not sanitisable.

[Michael5689]

@Sulani0 I generally agree.  We have the check-in and check-out instructions tacked to a wall next to the garage and in the kitchen in a free standing holder both placed in a protective plastic holders.  I'm honestly surprised they have never disappeared.

I would generally also agree that the tone is a bit off-putting especially happening the night before check-out.  I try to not email check-out instructions until 8 AM on check-out day (11 AM check-out) as I also don't want to wake up guests too early.

I can see @Alexandra199's practical concern though as she has a 10 AM check-out so it's a tough situation.  At some point after enough successful business, the easiest solution may just be a new dishwasher that has a faster cycle time or a shift in cleaning schedules.  I can see how a shift in cleaning schedules may limit revenue of same-day check-in.

Maybe trying a very prominently displayed check-out list inside a protective holder with the dishwasher being the first item and a gentler before check-out night email might be effective.  I do share the perspective of another poster, if this is really just a <5% occurrence then it might not be worth the change in mode of operation or the worry for you.  I still get guests that leave a glowing review, 5's on all individual items and a 4-star overall on the house (huh?!).  No matter how much you try to manage things, you are always going to have outliers that you can't spend too much time stressing yourself out over.

One of my pain points used to be guests reliably taking our trash out on trash day down a long driveway.  The somewhat costly solution that I think has paid for itself now by eliminating extra trips to the dump was to buy newer trash cans on wheels.  It wasn't cheap at the time as we have 5 trash cans (10 person house), but it saved me a lot worry about guests not wanting to drag the trash cans out and coordinating extra trash runs with the cleaning crew.

[Alexandra199]

Thank you Michael, well explained and i agree with many of the points you raise. A re worded email is on its way but your are right, its one review and one person who has taken issue.... i need to get this into perspective. I do take guest feedback seriously though 

[Colleen253]

@Sulani0 @Alexandra199 My easy to find checkout list is 4 items long, 2 of which require 0 effort. I mean, ridiculously easy:

check you have all your sh1t

put the towels in the laundry tub

leave the beds untouched

don't start the dishwasher

Now, my guests are generally all lovely, but how many times do you think I arrive to find the list has been ignored? It's ok, I forgive them for that, but it's enough of an aggravation for me that I've considered reminding them of the list before checkout.

@Alexandra199 Again, I think this is an isolated thing, and not something you need to adjust going forward. jmo.

[Helen744]

Helen @744  If they do not start the dishwasher then you must often end up with dirty dishes left ? H.

[Colleen253]

@Helen744 I do ask them to load it, but not start the cycle.

[Helen744]

Helen @744 Two things . Obviously communication which should simply mean were you available to communicate and did you communicate not if the guest liked the communication . So the 2 is wrong on a lot of levels . I never ask my guests to clean up but they always do Always. sometimes i have to re organize all the rubbish bins but the rubbish touch wood is always put out . the dishwasher is often left running by guests which I prefer to the alternative for sure but... I had guests of a certain ethnicity and I requested that they put the roadside bins out for collection on the collection day as I always do if rubbish pick up comes around . It is only their rubbish after all . this caused such an upset as their standing in society is offended by being asked to do this type of labor. Something every Ozzie kid does Live and learn and maybe have the kitchen signs but not the text about cleaning. H

[Alexandra199]

Helen, i think the thing that really annoys me about this guest is that I was especially wonderful with my communication to her. I made a note to help her with parking her extra car on the night of arrival and I was concerned the heating was playing up so i text her to check she was warm enough....2 stars. Annoying!

I dont so my own cleaning as i have three properties. I have cleaners who come at a set time so im afraid a more flexible check out and relaxed expectations just wont work for me.

[Richard531]

@Alexandra199  First, I admire your success at holding the line as a 4.98+ host across multiple listings.  That is not easy.  Bravo!

Next, I want to understand the whole “Since Covid the cleaning regimes have become much more tricky” discussion.  How so?  Perhaps you are going a little over the top and you close the listing for a day between guests, or doing 4 hours of air scrubbing, or overcleaning surfaces that are already clean, etc.?  If so, your choice of cleaning regime shouldn't spill over into increased expectations from guests.  Every day that passes, the word "Covid" is going to be less and less an excuse for, well, anything. . . 

So with that in mind, I think you can only ask 2 things of a guest:

• Some sort of trash tie off/removal
• Load and run the dishwasher as they depart 

I will say that the way you framed the far-reaching request is gracious and kind!  However, that doesn’t change the fact that if I were a dude bringing a gal to your adorable cottage for a romantic date, I’d be a little miffed if I were loading/running the dishes at night, unloading the dishwasher in the morning, and then hand washing more dishes as I walk out the door. 

Again, most of all, mad applause to your hard work!  And even more so that you care enough to hold the line on that sort of thing by coming on a message board for advice! 

[Alexandra199]

Hi Richard

Thanks for your kindly worded message. I appreciate you noticing I keep a high rating. I am surprised about your comments about the cleaning regime being harder since Covid, here are some of the extra things that we do now that we didn't do before on every clean:

Strip all beds of bedding (as usual) but also all the mattress and pillow protectors between every guest

Physically sanitise all touch points including light switches, door handles etc

Clean down all kitchen cupboards with sanitiser (whether they are dirty or not)

Remove all foodstuffs from the house including jars of coffee/tea

Remove rubbish and sanitise bins

I'm afraid I would be concerned about a host whose cleaning regime hadn't changed since before Covid. I don't think the pandemic is over so I will be continuing to protect my guests and staff.

I really only ask people to clean and put away the dishes they use, I don't think this is unreasonable. I just tried to help guests plan for this by suggesting they use the dishwasher the night before, this particular guest took offence!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Alexandra199 

Good for you! Thanks for enumerating your checklist. As I just mentioned to @Richard531 - I've not changed my cleaning standards at all, since I have always done that, and consider it standard and appropriate. If it is not Covid, it is colds, flu, the last guests' personal germs, or something else. I expect no less from my hosts. It is our job to keep guests safe and make them feel safe. 

As far as what they are expected to do when checking out - I prefer they do nothing. I want to inspect towels and bedding, sort trash;  re-wash and polish dishes, by hand. Most of my guests are not dishwasher users, and I do not expect or prefer that my guests do anything more than rinse dishes, and put trash in receptacles. Every location has different sorting requirements for trash, compostables, and recycling. In our state, food waste must be in a special container for compost. imho none of this is the guest responsibility and why should I do it over? 

[Colleen253]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 “Every location has different sorting requirements for trash, compostables, and recycling. In our state, food waste must be in a special container for compost. imho none of this is the guest responsibility”

We have specific guidelines that we have to adhere to when it comes to waste. So we must ask guests to put trash, recyclables and compost in their respective labeled bins. I don’t think it is asking too much. There are just some things that are part and parcel of booking an Airbnb. I make it very, very clear and very easy for them. Most people get it wrong though, and we have to sort it out. Sorting people’s garbage is a health hazard. It’s an ongoing source of frustration for me.