Airbnb superhost

Recently I had one group new to Airbnb recently who was under the impression someone would come and clean everyday. I said I can arrange midstay cleans if you want it but it's not a usual offer and if you still want it I can happily arrange it for her at a cost of $70 per clean. I do have all the cleaning equipment you need in the apartment. She didn't need the mid stay cleans .

She took it well... and gave me great review and a really lovely letter too.
All good!

 

so if the guests are staying 2+ days you are expected to go to the property to just change the towels?

is there any other requirements i didn't see this on airbnb anywhere

 

@Scott No Mates made that up... there's definitely no requirement for anything like that. I have extra towels in the wardrobe if they happen to require extras but I don't want to encourage excessive usage. Also there is the washing machine for their use.

 

@Elives - I don't run an airbnb however in some of the places that I stay at (serviced apartment style) service is provided at an extra charge to the user ie, the price is competitive to get heads on beds, then the extras hit If the user requests them.

@Gockie is spot on with an alternative solution.

 

Just went to clean after my first airbnb hosts (5 guests) first thing i noticed was all the windows were open so i was sus on them smoking inside..

::rubbish was every where dirty dishes half loaded dishwasher but all were dirty. 2 frying pans etc all benches were dirty they changed my tv to some different langue and it took me 15 minutes to figure out how to change back lol.

::got there 1:15pm left at 4:15pm 3 hours to clean a 3 bed house 1bath vacuum mop change 2x queen beds 1x double. take all rubbish out.

::cigarette butts in sink / outside on ground (it said no smoking aloud in my rules)

::they had bag of ice in fridge which meant there was water everywhere when i opened door.

i still gotta wash 3 sets of sheets and 5 towels hang out and fold ready for next clean. all of this for $145 doesn't seem worth it. i'm hoping this isn't normal of guests / a regular thing.

also they stole a towel.. did have 6.

Question is being a airbnb beginner, what should i do? if i give them a bad review they will just deny and give me a bad review?

the guest was a say 23-30 yr old male but! he had 3 good reviews so i thought he'd be ok / decent. does airbnb show the bad reviews for guests?

literally just got home from cleaning so if my post comes of cruel or unfair please keep this in mind i'm exhausted haha.

Cheers, Elives

 

Honest opinion... I think they really took advantage of you as a new host.
Give them a honest review... the can't see the review from you until they complete theirs. Btw it is possible the guest has stayed in other Airbnb's and hosts hadn't left a review. But reviews generally won't get removed.

* Ask them about the towel. If they took it, charge them for it. Though it's possible it's elsewhere in the house. Note: 6 Towels in total definitely won't cut it. Towels can also get stained etc. Provide face washers. You also should have at least 3 sets of sheets and quilt covers etc for each bed.

* Do you have house rules for keeping the kitchen clean? If not.... you can charge them for the extra cleanup required. Charge them also for the melted ice in the fridge... Maybe they were actually trying to make your life hard on purpose?

* I write that guests need to empty the bins before leaving.

* If the place smells of smoking, I'd charge them for the smell. It's really not acceptable for people to smoke indoors. You have proof of smoking on the premises with the butts anyway. If its against your rules, you can send them a request for money through Airbnb - if you have pics of the butts and dirty kitchen take photos as proof for your claim.

* Cleaning - you can probably do it faster in the future when you have more experience, otherwise look on Airtasker for a cleaner. There's always people keen to do that sort of work. Note, for my 1br apartment i'd usually clean it in 60 minutes to 90 minutes.

Can I ask... was this booking just for a 1 night stay? Cause I think 1 night stay bookings are much more hassle than they are worth. Also I think some areas will attract worse guests. And groups of friends travelling (up to maybe age 30-35) are likely to cause more problems than a family group.

If it is a booking for a group of friends, and the main person doesn't have a lot of reviews, I'd screen them a bit more, find out why they are travelling. Tell them that they must agree to your house rules otherwise you'll charge them.

 

i cleaned the entire house and couldn't see the towel anywhere, If i send them a message asking them about the towel / extra cleaning costs

1. wouldn't this risk getting a bad review?

2. how do i charge for extra cleaning / smoke smell? i didn't take photos of the ciggie but but this was only photo i took.



they also broke my broom as you can see.

and how much $ would you normally look to claim?

Cheers, Elives

 

i did 1 night stay as it was my first booking and was trying to get reviews.

 

aahh

now just received this message some one wants to rent for 50 days! it's like the jackpot but there photo doesn't show them in it. what is the best way to screen them? or am i overreacting?

 

Could be good but as a host i'd like to know, do they have any reviews and what do past hosts say?
Why are they wanting to rent?
Where do they come from?

 

ok so ask politely about the towel and broom, politely ask them to pay cleaning fee $30? towel n broom $60? total 90.

if they don't respond / deny then make claim direct to airbnb?




I've asked the guest the questions you've mentioned. i could not see any reviews.

see how he only has 3 verifications, is there a minimum verifications (with out reviews) that you would consider the guest to be risky?

Thanks, Elives

 

You can’t charge much for wiping up some water spilled from ice inthe fridge, maybe a couple of dollars? The usual mopping the floor should have taken care of it.
Marg

 

I don't think i had a house rule for that guest to clean up so i will leave out the general mess. also for the cost $60 i think towel would be like $14 and broom idk $14? but then the cost of me having to go to the shops to buy these which is where i came to $60. i don't really know whats a fair price etc just the actual price it costs or your time to go buy it and come back.
i'm 50/50 on just wearing this one. but it does annoy me.. i'm unsure how much to ask for. i went there tonight to put towels back in place and there was a smell of smoke in the house which annoyed me. below is the message via airbnb i was going to send the guest. i'm not sure how to make it sound more polite about them treating my space poorly. is saying i need professional cleaners to much? just annoys me so much that they were smoking inside my house.

Hi xxxx,

It appears you or one of your guests have stolen a towel, broken my broom, left a bag of ice in the fridge which melted and there was water everywhere and there were cigarettes butts in the kitchen sink and the house now smells of smoke i will need to get professional cleaners in now. I made it very clear on house rules that you were not aloud to smoke on the property.

Cheers, xxxxx

Cheers, Elives

 

You must stick to facts.

Instead of accusing theft, simply say one towel is missing.

Don’t threaten to get in professional cleaners unless you actually intend to, and can furnish a receipt if challenged.

You cannot charge the guest more than you paid for the replacement item. You may be (rightly) asked for receipts. $60 for a towel and a broom is excessive.

You can only charge fees outlined in the listing. Unless you mentioned a fee for professional cleaning if smoke smells detected, you can’t charge it. If you didn’t list a cleaning fee, you can’t charge for cleaning as a reasonable guest would figure it was included in the overnight cost. You can’t just make up charges as you go along. Make sure your listing is crystal clear regarding added costs.

Remember that future guests will read ALL feedback, including that given by you.
Marg

 

yea in that case i will just wear the cost of this guest and learn from it thanks for your opinion. you make good points.

 

For me... i'd say something but in a friendly manner. Maybe you can find something on the internet to say it in a good manner. I suppose it's easier with guests who stay longer than just 1 night as I'd normally checkin with a guest on the second day so there is usually already a good relationship with the guest in place.
Btw. Spell aloud "allowed".

Be less direct...
Hi x, Hope you are well and thankyou for staying at my place. I just have some feedback, when I went in to clean I noticed I originally had 6 towels but when I went to clean I only found 5. Do you know what happened to the 6th one?

Etc.

Write all this in private messages - give the guest the chance to fix everything up/give their side of the story before writing it on a public review.

Also... you need to expect you'll have to take towels out of service quite commonly, that's why I'd start with a large quantity (like 20). Losing 1 or 2 now and then shouldn't be a concern and cause you to need to go to the shops to replace them immediately. It happens. Ditto things like brooms. You probably have a spare at home?

 

re: Stealing. You'll find people accidently take stuff.

For example, hairdryers, some people will assume the hairdryer belonged to their wife so they pack it in their luggage.

No biggie... just ask and you'll find it was an honest mistake. Then I'd charge for the cost of replacement plus maybe $5 to get the new one.
People also accidently take umbrellas with them. I write that off.
I had one set of guests who accidently took my Opal cards. So I wrote them a message and it was an honest mistake. They posted them back. No worries

I write off broken glassware. Accidents happen. I appreciate it if the guest tells me though.

Luckily it seems that I don't tend to get any shockingly bad guests. Maybe because it's a simple and small apartment max 4 guests, there's less chance of problems than what a large house would get.
And... hate to say this but I think guests staying in properties costing less than others in the area will tend to be less respectful of the owners property.
Just the way it is....

 

We have done short term rentals for years but through an agent , and in cases like yours you take out an extra fee for smoking (if you can prove it) and also take a fee out for the extra cleaning, rubbish removal and cleaning dishes.
The problem with guests smoking in non-smoking apartments/houses is that it causes you problems with the next lot of guests.
Especially if they are non-smoking and demand a refund or give you a bad review for misleading details.
I thought the whole great idea with airbnb was it was review based, and that works both ways, to weed out bad properties and bad guests.
Otherwise your bad guests just move on to the next place and repeat .
They may even think after a few times that it is acceptable.
With low cost items you just wear it, but it should be built into the cost.
I have given up how many times we have replaced wine glasses,crockery and pots and pans .
Many of these items can be bought quite cheaply in bulk packs, if a pan get slightly burned or damaged, just replace it no questions asked.
For linen and towels, these can also be picked up quite cheaply during the sales(esp boxing day sales).

One night bookings are a complete waste of your time for apartments and houses.
They work well if you have in-house cleaners, like hotels,motels and serviced apartments.