The straw that broke the camel's back

[Huma0]

So, this is a really small, trivial thing, but it drove me absolutely CRAZY today. I have a guest who has terrible communication (doesn't respond to ANY messages, ignored all check in instructions, refuses to listen to any logic about basic stuff) and keeps breaking numerous house rules, albeit the minor ones. She does some really weird, completely nonsensical stuff. She has the attention span of a gnat. Bare in mind, I host long term guests, so when things are not going swimmingly, it can build up to a load of frustration... So, yes, I am kind of just venting.

I am middle aged and so, in recent years, my eyesight has started to falter. Due to this, I bought a magnifying mirror. This suddenly disappeared. I am not talking about a small handheld mirror, but quite a substantial thing. A large, table top mirror that has a specific place. Today was my brother's 50th birthday party, yet I was unable to put on make up etc. because my mirror was gone. Just gone. 

Okay, seriously annoying (why do guests take other people's things without asking?) but not the worst thing in the world. Maybe I am feeling so irritated about this because it is about the 20th annoying thing this guest has done. She doesn't seem to see the need to close the fridge door, so my very expensive fridge had a a breakdown. She said my washing machine made her clothes stink, but turns out she washed her clothes and left them in a heap in her room rather than hanging them up. and on and on...Deep breath....

So, yeah, all small things. But how many small things before the camel's back breaks?

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

Oh lord. Yes, this is the kind of guest I want to avoid. If they can't understand the basics at the beginning, likely there are going to be all sorts of misunderstandings down the line.

I only once had guests who misconstrued things to mean that I would be making them meals and, actually, there was no misunderstanding as I very clearly reiterated to them before they came that the reason no meals were listing as included is because none are included! Still, they were very disappointed that I was not cooking for them every day and the rest of the stay was a disaster.

[Mita127]

Omg I don't know how anyone would have the patience to deal with this. Good call on passing on this guest. There are times when you simply can't put a money value on your sanity haha! 

[Marie7196]

Sorry this happened to you and I can relate because I also do a long-term stay and my recent guest stole from me, broke stuff and trashed my house. Like you, she left my fridge door open for 24 hours and I got home with a rotten food worth of one month groceries.  I installed an alarm in the fridge for future guests. Pardon if I'm venting too.

I hope you are okay and got your magnifying mirror back.

[Huma0]

@Marie7196 

Please tell me about your alarm for the fridge. I have never heard about such a thing, but perhaps it will solve the problem of guests leaving the door open.

Maybe not though. I can imagine this type of guest just ignoring the alarm and walking away...

[Gillian166]

@Huma0  doesn't your fridge beep if the door is left open? it has some annoying beeps for about 5mins and then will do a long continuous beep.

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

I suppose the one upshot of the Summer Release is that I don't get so many stupid enquiries, I guess because I hardly get any enquiries at all anymore...

I've had so many like this but I don't have screenshots to post as, when it gets to a certain level of stupidity, I now just block that guest.

I do recall a few months ago the guy who IBed one of my rooms without telling me anything about himself, let alone answering my pre-booking questions or Easter egg question. I went back with my questions, but he just wouldn't answer anything. Plus his reviews were clearly for someone else (turns out for his mum - he'd somehow taken over her profile). He wasn't shifty though, just stupid.

He kept asking me to accept his request, and I kept explaining it was not a request and that he had already booked. He could not understand, nor accept it, but refused to cancel. In the end, I had to get Airbnb involved and they cancelled his booking penalty free. 

Then he responded that he wanted to book again and pretty much begged me, promising that he would answer my questions, but not having the wits to actually just answer them! 

I blocked him, naturally. 

[Debra300]

@Huma0,

My inquirer was a local, and I usually extend them a bit more patience since many have limited experience with booking places, because they don't travel (nor read or listen well).  However, the thing that made this inquirer a no-go was their comment about catering breakfast and lunch.  Not only was it a figment of their imagination, it was also an indication that they planned to stay in their suite all day to make sure they didn't miss those meals.  We offer discounted rates to locals, but sometimes it can be at our expense, because a fair amount of them will remain inside for the majority of their stay and run the AC the entire time.

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

No, let's not do anything to encourage people to never leave the listing! 

The catering thing is really very odd, unless you are in a location where this is the norm. Some listings offer breakfast, but even that is rare in London, but I should think any other meals would be extremely rare. People do get funny ideas into their heads. 

[Ted307]

@Huma0 

I would be on the far side of middle age, and I am not more patient as I have gotten older. We have had a few guests who did not respect our rules. One tried to sneak in a dog without paying a fee, which was only $25.00. Billed him in the resolution center, and when he didn't pay, ABNB backed us and we got paid.

Another was a couple, again with a dog, violated the rules of not leaving the dog alone. Dog barf on the blanket that goes on the bed! UGH! I messaged her, and asked what could be on the blanket, so I could wash it appropriately. She said "Might be" dog barf. They went to a wedding and came back late, could have been human, too! Luckily, they also left their keys and need us to send them, so she sent us $80 for our troubles and left us a very good review. We replaced the $20 blanket and mailed the keys next day mail and were still ahead money wise. Aggravation level was at the maximum! If all of our guests were like that, we would not do this, the money just does not make up for the hassle. Luckily, the good, nice guests outweigh the problem ones. I think that is probably your position, too.

[Huma0]

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@Ted307 wrote:

If all of our guests were like that, we would not do this, the money just does not make up for the hassle. Luckily, the good, nice guests outweigh the problem ones. I think that is probably your position, too.

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Absolutely. While small damages are not uncommon, it's not frequent enough to make me chuck in the towel. There is the occasional guest who keeps breaking small things because they are just a bit heavy handed (literally), but breakages have reduced a lot for me with hosting long term guests. 

I know that @Anonymous will argue that long term guests cause more wear and tear, but my experience has been that it's the opposite, because, if you think of how many short term guests you would have in the same time period, there is way more potential for damages with the latter because the less familiar someone is with a space and the things in it, the more likely they are to break them. A guest staying for, let's say, two months, might break one or two small things. They might break nothing. I can however, guarantee you two months' worth of back to back two or three night stays will result in more breakages. Even if only one in five break something, that's around five damages in the same time period.

Plus, it becomes even more difficult to prove who did it when you have a lot of different guests coming and going.

[Ted307]

@Huma0 

We are not so busy. Your place could be a zoo if you had 3 guests at once who only stayed a day or two each! I think our sweet spot is having a guest stay for about a week. Longer, and they stay inside alot more, cooking more, using wifi and watching TV. That is more wear and tear than the weekenders we usually have. After a week, they have seen small town Prescott!

I would be very tempted to put a small frig in each guest room to protect such a very nice one of mine!

We have had guests who adjusted the thermostat to a colder setting, which froze food we put in there between guests. We were lucky that we found out before the next check in! Now, I check the setting every time I clean between guests.

I learn a lot here from other hosts, and I am glad to have found this place. It is good to have some one to listen and respond, even from across oceans and time zones! We all have the same troubles here!

[Huma0]

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@Ted307 wrote:

@Huma0 

Your place could be a zoo if you had 3 guests at once who only stayed a day or two each!

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It was a zoo! That is one of the main reasons I switched to long term stays. Before the pandemic, my rooms were always fully booked, I had two jobs and travelled constantly, so it just wasn't sustainable to keep doing short stays. Also, foolishly, I never blocked out a day either side for turnovers and, back then, was doing all the cleaning and laundry and everything myself. Imagine when you have three sets of guests (it could be up to six guests at a time, not three, as I often hosted couples/pairs) checking in and out on the same day! It happened a few times and I actually don't know now how I managed. It doesn't help that I'm a very thorough cleaner, but rather slow.

I think week long stays are a sweet spot. I think that is something I would be willing to do instead if I was retired and not travelling maybe or renting less rooms. I think that it's true that long term guests can stay inside more and cook more, but you would be surprised at the number of guests that do not cook much or at all. None of my current guests are cooking and neither were the previous ones. I don't think anyone apart from me has used the stove or the oven in weeks and weeks.

The reason I do not have fridges in the bedrooms is because I do not want guests to eat in there. In fact, it's against my house rules to store food or eat in the bedrooms. I have nice furnishings, such as silk upholstery, and had too many food related stains etc. Plus, they can get very unhygienic about it. I'm sure I have posted some of those horror stories on other threads.

I am sorry your guests fiddle with the fridge controls. That would really annoy me. Leaving the fridge door open is a common one for me, so it's something I always mention in my house tour. Most guests will stop doing it after a couple of reminders, but some just don't seem to get it. I could put a sign on the fridge, but I hate the idea of having signs stuck up everywhere and, anyway, I think people become oblivious to something once it becomes familiar. 

I too learn so much here from other hosts. I am not sure I would still be hosting if it wasn't for the advice I've received here on the CC (as well as the opportunity to vent from time to time - this discussion, for example, has calmed me down a lot). I'm a bit too addicted though!

[Ted307]

@Huma0 

I am constantly amazed that guests book our place with a nice large private kitchen and do not cook!

Eating in the bedroom is just nasty. Keeping your food safe from other renters does not require it to be eaten in the bedroom when there is a nice table in the kitchen. Maybe, a cup of coffee, which is still a big problem for nice silk upholstery! (Almost as addicted to coffee as to driving). Here, the constant battle is against the bugs attracted by left out food, where ever it may be. You have not seen anything like Arizona's ants!

You always have to pick your battles -- Frig? Silk? Last Straw?

[Huma0]

@Ted307 

I do have some guests who cook a lot. Some of those make a good effort to clean up after themselves, others don't. Some guests say they are going to be cooking (it's something I always ask during the check in tour so I don't waste their time showing them stuff they don't need), but you know, intentions don't always turn into reality. I think some like the idea of cooking in my big, well equipped kitchen, but they are not actually that into cooking. Others have no intention to cook at all. It varies so much.

As for coffee. I too am addicted. Although I never actually drink it in my own bedroom (just not my habit), I do let guests have drinks and also dry snacks in their rooms, and just ask them to use the coasters. Spills are rare, but they do happen. I wish they would just tell me when they spill tea or coffee on the rug so that I can deal with it immediately, but they don't...

However, I think you would be surprised how many people do eat, and store food waste and dirty dishes, in the bedroom. Before I 'banned' this, it was really rather common and sometimes extreme. It still does happen from time to time, but as it's now against my house rules, it's unusual and they will get dinged for it in the ratings if they break that rule. 

[Ted307]

@Huma0 

Our guests eat on the couch in front of the TV, from the amount of food debris in the couch cushions!

No TV in the bedroom. In there they have to either use their phone or a computer to get their screen time in! They prefer the large TV with Satellite service, it seems to me.

Also, in the bunkhouse, they would have to fix their food in the kitchen, and then go outside to get to the bedroom. Those few extra steps seem to change how people use our Bunkhouse!

Even though I provide nice fluffy robes, they get dressed for the day and then go to the kitchen & living room for coffee and breakfast. We can see them walk from one area to the other, always dressed.

I got the robes because one of our first guests went from the bedroom to the living room wrapped in a blanket! No one else has ever done that, since we raised our rates from $79 to ~$95! 😉