Do you tell messy guests to clean up after themselves?

[Jo133]

I think its fair to tell them rather than just leave a low rating. It says in my house rules to clean up after oneself and to leave the flat as found. Most people are tidy but occasionally you get a really messy one. Would you tell them? I think they should be given the change to improve as they may not have been brought up to pick up after themselves but its an akward conversation to have. What do you do?

Jonna

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

@Jo133 Definitely tell them!  This is where you really find out if you have the chops to be a host.  Just be honest and kind.  "Hey, I noticed you left some dishes in the sink, could you please make sure to put those in the dishwasher going forward?"  Something like that.

[Emma94]

@Jo133 or you could be sarcastic and ask them 'Have we seen your mother around lately? I think she was going to be here to clean up after you. Could you call and ask her when is she coming to do that?'

[Jo133]

I just feel this is rude as some might not understand Air BnB. They might be expecting more of a hotel stay....

[Carie1]

It is rude if you berate them for not knowing. It is polite if you inform them without judgment and give them a chance to learn.

[Sara455]

Here is the thing, if it is a shared space, the kitchen should be left as it was found so that other guests may enjoy preparing a meal....   same thing for shared bath.

[Carie1]

One of my pet peeves is left-over food. If it has been opened, I don't want it. And if it hasn't been opened and isn't a bottle of beer, I probably still don't want it. I find that having to sort through others' food and toss it makes me very grumpy.

People seem to appreciate having that and a few other things clarified in writing, alongside the wifi code and  the other details they commonly want to know. 

On the flip side, I used to list "don't worry about stripping the sheets" but some people seem to want to. So now I write "if you have time, it would be nice if you stripped the sheets and put them in the laundry hamper." I figure--if this makes them happy, who am I to get in their way?

[Kajsa2]

Being Swedish it doesn't come natural for me to be direct in the beginning, but what I do is to discretly show them by moving their things to an unused area of kitchen and covering up any smelly food in fridge with plastic wrap and leaving the plastic wrap out visible on kitchen counter etc. Most guests pick up on these hints and improve. If needed I will be more direct but in a kind way. One thing that has been difficult for my foreign guests is our habit to sort trash for recycling, so now I have a sign in kitchen explaining how and where and also if you find difficult, just leave on kitchen counter and I will sort for you.