Why do guests rearrange furniture?

[Laura2592]

This one really stumps me.

We have had a few guests who have done some redecorating of our space....moved furniture,  rearranged lamps and put them in different rooms,  taken down curtains or paintings, etc. I just do not understand this.   Its never the same thing so its not a hint that we need more light in a spot or the sofa is poorly situated for the TV.

Its just as though some people need to put their "stamp" on even the most temporary residence. Ultimately I wouldn't care if they put things back. I love to decorate but can honestly say I've never done this at an Airbnb or hotel. 

Anyone have insight into this behavior? Its just got me curious!

[Sarah977]

My private guest room has a built-in counter/desk and the only other furniture is a chair, the bed and the nightstand. One bedside lamp, all the other lights are wall scones. There is literally nowhere to move anything that would be a better or workable arrangement than what already is, so it just doesn't happen. There is only one small picture on the wall, of a banana leaf, and one in the bathroom, a stylized frog one of my daughters painted in junior high, which I don't think have been offensive or ugly to anyone and I don't do decorative knicknacks. 

@Ute42 How many guests' skeletons are locked in that cupboard, anyway?

@Heidi588 It sounds completely reasonable to me for a long-term guest to rearrange things so it works for them, and stash away things they don't like looking at and pointless dust collectors. What's hard to understand, unless a guest does it for a specific purpose like Andrew making more surface space to play board games, is why guests would bother to rearrange all the furniture for a couple of nights' stay. 

[Heidi588]

@Sarah977 , compulsion? Inappropriate boundaries? Raised in a barn? I also wouldn't do it if I were staying with the host, not without asking first. 

[Sarah977]

@Heidi588  Other parents were always telling me how lucky I was to have a daughter like my middle one, because apparently every time she went to play at a friend's house, she would totally tidy up and reorganize her friends' messy bedrooms. Meantime, her own bedroom was ankle deep in clothes, rotting banana peels and apple cores, books, and other assorted stuff.

When I asked her why this was, she right away said, "Oh, well when I clean and reorganize my friends' rooms, I get to pretend for awhile that it's my room and all their stuff is my stuff. It's like I get to lead all these different lives".

She's one of the most empathetic people I've ever met, so much so that it's sometimes a detriment to her own well-being. I guess she can just so easily identify with being someone other than herself, that the reorganizing other kids' rooms thing would be a part of that.

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 My daughter found a sandwich (or what used to be a sandwich) and a giant lock of hair she cut several years prior to donate in her room once. Not sure what she was looking for that made her dig that deep. She has never had any interest in cleaning anyone’s room and eventually was lucky enough to find a fiancé who cleans. She is pretty empathetic though. Not sure how it’s related in her case though 

[Michelle1648]

Ha ha yes, I had a major one recently and i was not happy.  Thank goodness my spouse was with me otherwise it would have had to stay as it took two people to put things back.   These guys literally took the dining room into the living room, like the 8 foot table, and the 8X10 rug it sat on and all six chairs.  I think they wanted to eat with an ocean view.   Some people are just entitled. 

[Inna22]

I move furniture sometimes also. Last time I did it was because there was not a single ledge, shelf or cabinet to put anything in the bathroom. Sink had no rim and toilet had a narrow top. It was 4 of us trying to fit our toiletries somewhere other than floor. I put one of the night stands into the bathroom. When I moved it, I found dust bunnies size of my kids heads. @Anonymous to answer your question, it depends where I find the dirt. If it is Airbnb and it is dust bunnies in hard to reach places, I will make a decision based on overall experience. If it is a hotel, I will ask to me moved, have it recleaned or some other accommodation. In that particular case it was a lost cause. There were so many things wrong with that place, there was no point in saying anything. 

[Huma0]

I'll be honest. I don't like it. I really don't like it and that's why I have it in my house rules. "Do not rearrange the furniture." I'm not talking about putting a pot or pan in the wrong cupboard. I'm talking about furniture.

The main reason is that this is when damage happens. I have put an enormous amount of time, effort and money into decorating my house and my furniture is not IKEA identikit but mostly vintage stuff I've collected as well as some new pieces. None of it is 'disposable'. Some people might say I'm a fool to have that stuff like that in an Airbnb, but it is also my home and the décor is the main reason people book. If people want to stay in a space with beautiful things, they need to respect those things.

But even if you don't have stuff like mine, walls can still get damaged when people move furniture around. Guests think they are being careful, but do stuff like drag furniture rather than lift it and that includes dragging it along the walls, scuffing them in the process.

I understand if a guest wants to move a lamp because its position is not ideal for them. I only host long-term guests these days and I understand if they want to put away stuff that they perceive as 'clutter'. It would be nice though if they could at least attempt to put it back rather than leaving that extra work for me. 

However, guests who totally rearrange the space, moving furniture, taking down pictures etc. are, in my opinion, really crossing boundaries. They have forgotten that they are a guest in someone else's home, not renting their 'own' home. I would never dream of rearranging anyone else's place, no matter how tempting it was. If something was really inconveniently placed, I would ask first if it was okay to move it, but sometimes people move things for no logical reason. I can only think that these people either have some kind of compulsive disorder or they are control freaks.

As for guests 'fixing' things. Sure, if they ask me first, I would probably appreciate it, but if they simply go ahead and do this without permission, I would find that very odd indeed. 

I really think that if people want this level of 'control' over the property and it's contents, regardless of if they are staying long-term, they should not be booking an Airbnb but find themselves a normal rental. Even in those (in the UK at least), you can't just redecorate without permission, but moving the furniture or making small repairs would probably be okay.

[Anna9170]

@Huma0   I understand you perfectly well, when people see in the photo that this is a specific house like yours, and they like it (if they book it), then of course we should ask about some fundamental changes. If the space does not fit their ideology - why rent such a house?
@Inna22  And I agree with another position, that sometimes it is so inconvenient, when hosts think only about the appearance, and do not think about the functional part, that some guests want to improve their stay here a little.

[Huma0]

@Anna9170 

I agree. Style should not come at the cost of functionality. I try to furnish my rooms in a way that is practical as well as beautiful, e.g. plenty of storage space, a desk and at least one chair in every bedroom, bedside tables and lamps, mirrors for dressing/doing hair and make up, enough space in between everything to move easily around.

Then there are the 'special' touches, that some people appreciate and others don't, e.g. a few magazine's in the guest's language, leaflets with transport and tourist info, maps etc. stored in letter racks, some decorative items. I totally understand if my long-term guests don't always find these things useful and would rather stash them away in the cupboards. I understand if they don't want decorative cushions on the bed (but please don't just chuck them on the floor) or if they don't use the water carafe and glasses and put them in the kitchen.

What I don't understand is when guests staying two days take down a large, heavy and fragile antique mirror and prop it against hand-painted wardrobes and move a hand carved bespoke walnut side table and the chairs to set up a 'dining area' in the bedroom, when my rules specify that they should not eat in the bedrooms in the first place and then don't even attempt to put anything back. That's just rude.

[Yiwei3]

I had a guest move a bed from the second bedroom to another bedroom and didn't move anything back.   She also never cleaned during her month long stay... 

[Dan471]

HELP ME!! A guest left two days ago. During her stay I know she changed the room layout. She moved the brand-new sofa into a different position in the room (she pointed it towards the TV. ) 

The following guest mentioned to me that the sofa leg was wobbling and then when he sat on the sofa it broke off underneath him. He thought: “ It looked like had been broken previously and pushed together”.

 As neither admit to breaking the leg of the sofa I can’t raise a problem with either one.
The sofa was only put in two days before the first guest stayed, so has only had these two guests use it.

A photograph from during the first stay shows it in a new position. It was back in its original place when she left and she left the place in really lovely order everything very looked after . The cleaning happened and the sofa will have been moved slightly to mop but no one will have sat on it until the next guest. He notes it is wobbling and then sits on it how does one notice a back leg wobble on a sofa but you have not sat in ?!

I NEED HELP: what am I supposed to do? I’ve already contacted Airbnb but no one is getting back to me.

Meanwhile I am running out of time to notify them if it is the first guest and the second guest is in a property with no working sofa and I can’t raise it in the resolution centre as I don’t know who I am supposed to be asking to charge!!!

PLEASE ANY SUGGESTIONS ?

[Lorina14]

@Dan471 ,

I would recommend you file a claim with pictures before and after stating that the guest moved the brand new sofa and was asked not to and now the leg is damaged.

Message the first guest and state that Airbnb will be reaching out to you about a claim for a broken sofa leg that was found after she left. You can choose to pay or decline the charge. If you decline, Airbnb aircover should then kick in and cover the damage. This is standard procedure and I wanted to give you a heads up. Thank you! Something like that. This way the guest will not get upset, they can decline and the review period already passed. Airbnb will require receipts for repair or replacement of items so keep everything. I have not personally filed a claim, we have had minor sheet damage, or a bed plank was broken but we just repaired it and feel it’s the cost of doing business.

Airbnb may or may not cover expenses but this is how I’ve heard other hosts deal with similar situations.

[Laura2082]

I have a guest right now doing the same thing. They even ordered light bulbs on

Amazon had them delivered to my house and changed those out too. They also pulled an outdoor table into the space without getting my permission, and I told them promptly to put it back outside.

The worst thing was they picked up a table that a neighbor was giving away for free curbside and I guess they didn't want it so they dumped it onto the property adjacent to mine - which is owned by the water management of my county - so I had to confront them about it and ask them to make sure it's gone by next day. Seriously INSANE!

[Leslie810]

I just had someone do this. It's really annoying because in addition to all the regular cleaning, everything needs to be moved back into place. If they want to do this, they should take a photo and put it all back before checking out.

[Lorina14]

@Laura2592,

I would state in your house rules that furniture should not be moved. Or if furniture is moved, it should be replaced exactly where it was and the host should also be notified if it was moved (so you could check furniture for potential damage). 

I’ve known people who moved furniture and repositioned it after back to the original place. If the host explicitly states not to move it then the said guest broke the house rules and you should be able to decline guest for future stays.