Issues with cleaning

[Luciano29]

I have been with Airbnb for over a year now. Most of my experiences have been positive, but I have had numerous issues with guests complaining about cleanliness. I am practically OCD when it comes to being clean, but it seems that no matter how clean my house is, I have a guest complain that it just isn't clean enough. I rent out my entire house, so cleaning is it three or four sometimes five hour ordeal.

I have been deemed by guests complaining that there was dust under their bed. Another guest said that there was a sticky spot on the floor in the kitchen, another guest complained because she found dust on one of my plants. I get so frustrated because it seems like guests are purposely looking for something not absolutely flawlessly clean. Granted, I still have a four and three-quarter star rating, but it is getting to the point that hosting people is becoming such a drag because of all the pettiness.

If someone looks for something, they will find it. I wish guests would enjoy my hospitality and all the extras I give them, instead of purposely looking for problems that don't really exist. How do you handle these kinds of guests?

[Robert78]

I feel you! I have several large properties, and in the beginning I got marked down for cleanliness. You know what I did? I removed stuff! Less stuff to clean, less stuff that gets damaged, less stuff for guests to complain about, right? And houseplants? Forget it! Go minimalist 😉

[Barbara45]

Maybe you should make a cleaning check list? I rent out a room and guests have access to my entire apartment ( minus my bedroom) I always get 5 stars on cleanliness because I m very detail oriented and always do a check when my cleaning lady has cleaned

[Mary90]

Apologize.

When a guest finds a problem, I always begin by apologizing. This always helps calm the situation. Also, I have my phone number on the welcome list I have on each door, with an invitaion to call me if there is any problem.

I also have a cleaning checklist.

Peace,
Mary

[Laura2592]

@Mary90 I have to respectfully disagree.

If you apologize to a guest who is just looking for a discount or refund, you are giving into the idea that they are right and you did something wrong. Instead thanking them for the feedback and moving on is the best way to handle it. 

Of course if you missed something big on a clean or the guest has a legit complaint, apologize. 

[Laura-and-Shannon0]

My husband and I are new to Airbnb and we are currently on our 8th guest stay. We pride ourself on the clean house & do a walkthrough the morning of the guests arriving. One thing  I always do is pull back the shower curtain to check for any small fly or insect that may have landed in the bottom of the bathtub. Everything was fine yesterday morning though I didn’t inspect the tub drain close enough. After the guests checked in she immediately sent me a picture of the bathtub drain that had a small dead gnat and a tiny hair that I didn’t even see in the drain. She wanted me to be aware of this and that she cleaned it up. I immediately contacted her, let her know that we do a final inspection the morning of our guests arrival & I apologized. I then let her know that I contacted our cleaning team to address the small hair. Our guests are staying one week, we have had only 5 star reviews and I’m afraid of the rating we will get. My question to all of you, did I handle this correctly? I haven’t heard anything else from her so I’m praying everything else is ok.

[Laura2592]

@Laura-and-Shannon0  put something in your listing that guests may encounter insects seasonally in your space. Many will make claims if they see a dead bug and this is a surefire way for ABB to take your money. You can guard against it by stating it in your listing info. 

Insects are part of nature. We are on a rural partially wooded lot and people do leave the door open too long sometimes. They are attracted to light. Guests unloading on a summer evening will surely have a visitor if they aren't careful. Has nothing whatsoever to do with how clean the place is. 

[Laura2592]

@Luciano29  you have such a great listing! I do notice that you have a lot of decorative items, fun and tasteful though they are. We also stay in our cottage regularly and I had to cut way back on some of the "dust collectors" after cleaning feedback. Our property is over 170 years old, though its been fully updated. Some of the rustic features read as "not sterile" by a certain type of guest, no matter how clean they truly are. I find removing a lot of wall and surface art helps to give the impression of cleanliness more readily.

Other things we check behind the cleaners on:

- under beds

-baseboards

-windowsills and wells

-behind the washing machine/dryer as far as we can reach

-ceiling fans

-top of the fridge

-under all furniture (spiders love to make webs if we leave it more than a few days.)

- light fixtures-- they also attract cobwebs

We actually spend time going behind a cleaning crew. If you are doing this all yourself I really suggest making a checklist and walking away/coming back to see the space with a fresh set of eyes. 

As far as guest complaints, I just say "Oh thank you so much for that feedback! We do our best to make every stay as comfortable as possible and I appreciate you caring enough to give us info that will help us improve." Sometimes I really take what the guest says onboard. Sometimes I just consider the source if they seem very nitpicky. That's all you can do.