Airbnb host check out demands - AIBU to ignore

Let us know what kind of review the host leaves for you! If any.

I'm so done with Airbnb, half the time it's more expensive than a hotel, which would be fine if it was hotel standard, or an amazing property. But half the time it's some generic house with polycotton sheets cleaned to an amateur standard on arrival so I'll only use it if there is no possible other option.

I just did a quick search for the place that I live, it's a small town of pretty much no interest to tourists but there are a long list of airbnb with nothing under £100 a night, plus various service or cleaning fees taking them to upwards of 150 per night for nothing special. In contrast there are 3 hotels between £40 and £120 per night, and there is hardly anywhere available to rent to live around here. Fair enough if you are renting out part of the place you live, but holiday lets are a scourge on lots of communities, so Airbnb owners moaning about the cost of running their Airbnb... no one is forcing you. Sell it so someone can live there.

Also, do people seriously strip or make beds in hotels? Why?? It's like people stacking plates in restaurants, you're probably ruining their system.

of course you shouldn’t have to strip the beds etc if you are paying a cleaning fee! Madness. I think as a pp said, some women just are in the habit of not making themselves look bad with an unclean house.

I know in France they ask you to strip the beds even on Airbnb on top of the cleaning fee, but at least they make it clear.

And to be clear all my reviews for my airbnb guesting are excellent!

I don't want to see the mattress with all the potential stains - we do check it a bit for bed bugs but that's only along the edge of the mattress.

I would say about 20% of the time people stripped beds, if that. I was working in a nice house in a coastal area of Wales.

I think the fact that most of these responses say 'stripping the bed is normal' says more about the etiquette of MUMSnetters, than it does about what is actually standard.

I think most foreign customers don't do this.

I used to manage an airbnb and clean it. Some people stripped the bed - great! some people left them as they were - absolutely fine, i didn't expect them to.

Some people left rubbish everywhere and dirty dishes and an absolute mess - not cool.

I think it's pretty bad customer service for your host to actually request that of you. They have to spend hours cleaning the place properly anyway- stripping beds and taking the bins out only takes minutes, it seems a pretty stupid thing to do to ask you to do it. It's not very 'good hosting'.

If you've paid a cleaning fee and it wasn't in a pre-agreement and you don't want to, then don't.

Beds and bins + leave property as you left it is normal in self-catering accommodation. Wipe down kitchen sides, bath and sink etc. That is not "cleaning" the property and takes no time at all. Get a hotel if you don't want to do this.

Puzzledandpissedoff I really wouldn’t expect the mattress protectors to be changed everytime anywhere unless they thought they were about to appear on Four in a Bed.

I've never stripped a bed in an AirBnB. I've always paid (far too much) for cleaning though.

ime (sister cleans holiday lets) you don't strip the protectors off

Bleeuurrgghhh!!! - though it explains some of the stinky stains found when I used to rent holiday properties, where I wondered just how long it was since they were changed

This "6 hours neede to turn the place around" is widely touted, and for those doing it properly is no doubt justified, but it's hardly needed for those who clean to a very basic domestic standard and sometimes not even that

Still, it's 6 hours less wear and tear on the place I suppose ...

I would suspect all individual hosts leave their homes immaculate. Especially as they normally live next door. Not always brand new, but clean. And do bathroom bins. I really don't mind doing them as it's part of my job. I just wish I had more travellers in!

Same. Amazed at all the people saying that stripping bedding is a standard request! I stay at multiple AirBnB and other self catering places per year and am never asked to do this.

Apart from wheeling the bins down the lane- how far is that?
the end of a driveway for collection seems reasonable - beyond that, less so.

How is it rubbish? There are plenty of lazy hosts who don't use outside cleaners. Not all change the bedding between guests. Especially after short stays This is absolutely gross!

I wouldn’t even consider not emptying the bins before I left. I only strip the beds when asked but make it obvious which beds have been used.
Used towels in the bath or shower floor

I agree. As an owner...with only one property can do that for myself. At least when they leave, with all that for me in the bins I don't need to get a plumber in!

I would leave a one star review tbh. You should’ve just booked a b and b.

Seems more like air pu&fo - pay us and...

Maybe they could rename it AirBnC. Instead of the breakfast you get to clean. AirBnB has always failed on half the task of being a B&B.

That’s standard to have to do at the end.

lack of heating is bad, though tricky to deal with if you’re leaving

@Longma no, ime (sister cleans holiday lets) you don't strip the protectors off.

Re bins, people are gross and leave all sorts of disgusting things in bins and just laying around. Unwrapped used sanitary pads snd tampons, contact lenses glued to the bedside table. Dirty nappies.

I think it depends on how much you've spent and where it is. I have a little Airbnb and it's so quiet at the minute. I've never controlled the heating or turned it off, guests will only mark you down. Also, I hate people stripping the beds. It's normally when they've got something hide. Never go to an Airbnb with a professional host. I live down the road so I do my own deds, bins etc but the increase in utilities really stings. I would, at the mo earn more money renting out full term. Just give them 3 stars. An owner would get that for not having enough Olive oil. I'm not really surprised about the heating at this time of year but certainly dragging the the bins out and doing the beds isn't really on...they possibly don't earn enough money to pay someone to do that. Sorry you had a bad time. P.s when you look at what they charge per night, it probably has a 20% booking rate. Like everyone else.

I do now most of the time, unless the people we are travelling with insist on otherwise. Hence having used Air BnB twice - both times with friends which they booked. I cannot be doing with the list of jobs to do, the increasingly early check out times and the extortionate fees if you do request a later checkout than 10am.

We used to use holiday/cottage lets many years back when dd was small, in the uk and abroad. Never had to strip beds back then where we stayed, and we never paid an extra cleaning fee - it was, I assume, just part of the total rental cost.

I always wonder too if you're supposed to remove mattress and pillow,protectors in these rentals.
If not, I wonder how many guests between each wash.

I wash the mattress and pillow protectors from our spare room between any guests, I'm suspecting this isn't the case in many holiday lets.

It takes just as much energy to remake the beds as it does strip them. If you are going to be all ‘I’ve paid enough’ about it. Just get out the bed and leave it.

I disagree.
Throwing the duvet back over the bed is a two second job.
Taking the duvet and 2-4 pillow cases, and removing the bottom sheet takes longer. Make not be a really long job but it's definitely much quicker to just throw the duvet back into place.