To think you shouldn't have to spring clean a holiday cottage?

[Takemetomiami]

Staying in a cottage booked through one of the large companies. I use a lot of air bnb and it's standard to leave the place as you found it which I always do.

In a holiday place booked through a company I clean the sink/loo, rinse bath, make sure fridge and bins emptied, wipe down kitchen surfaces. I assume they have professional cleaners coming in who will do a thorough job.

This morning got email from the holiday company with a long list of jobs including stripping beds, mopping through, cleaning shower, basically "leave it spotless". Is that now expected?

@birdglasspen

I have always stripped beds, hoovered through (as with dog), made sure dishes were done and put away, emptied bins, I'd wipe anything dirty in bathroom but not a proper clean. I run a let now and I am asking guests to leave windows and internal doors open, empty bins, strip beds/towels into machine washable bags, clear kitchen of their own food, dishes, I don't mind a load left in dishwasher (cleaned!), this is to reduce our risk of Covid, I don't think it's too much too ask, it's what I've done in the past anyway, some people leave places in a disgusting state. Yes, your on holiday but cleaners are people too and shouldn't be left with a ridiculous amount of your crap to wade through!

It's too much to ask of people on holiday. How do I even know where the cleaning stuff is, whether there is everything I need. I can't remember being shown the hoover... I do the dishes, put rubbish in the bin and that's it. That's leaving the place clean and tidy. (Obviously don't leave any of my stuff around either).

I don't get this, all the people talking about put the bins out. I can only put bins out on bin day, any other time and you get fined.

Holiday homes in our area have a private rubbish collection service that will collect on change over day.

The guests have to leave by 10am and aren’t allowed in till 5pm. We might have four or five houses to do in that time.

"Stripping beds is normal ime. "

Is it? I've never been asked to do it.
Last Air Bnb our beds hadn't been made. We were two people booking a place with two double rooms.Host said she didn't know whether we would need both beds or only one. I just assumed that if I booked a place with two rooms, we could use both rooms.
I don't see why I have to do the host's job of stripping the bed when they don't even make the beds!

I think stripping the beds and washing up is more than reasonable.

If the owner hasn’t taken a deposit, I would say just leave it tidy,strip the beds and empty the bins.

Sorry that was to @Theimpossiblegirl, I thought I’d hit reply.

I wouldn't be able to do all of that, I'm disabled! Not by 10am, anyway

@Sparklingbrook

Exactly. And you'd need sponge and spray. Are they available or do you have to take them with you?

Everywhere I have stayed has had a full compliment of cleaning equipment for use during the stay. You might need to use the sponge and spray at any point not just on leaving.

Ok, well at my last Air Bnb, I wasn't shown a cleaning cupboard or anything. There must have been things for doing dishes in the sink.

10 am is normal leave time unless you negotiate. 4 pm entry is standard too. 5 pm is late.

Do people not clean anything whilst they are staying somewhere? I can’t imagine that.

What would you have done if you had a messy spillage or needed to quickly clean something during your stay @Gwenhwyfar? Seems strange they didn’t supply anything in the way of cleaning stuff as they would want people to clean spills etc. Never used Air BnB though.

@PresentingPercy

Do people not clean anything whilst they are staying somewhere? I can’t imagine that.

Me neither. During the stay I might clean a bathroom sink if it’s a bit toothpasty say and wipe down the kitchen work surfaces after breakfast etc

@PresentingPercy

Do people not clean anything whilst they are staying somewhere? I can’t imagine that.

I’ve never cleaned a hotel room in my life. Don’t leave it like a sh**hole obv but why would I clean?! I go away so I DON’T have to clean.

I’d wash up and strip the beds in a house let yes. Anything else ! Absolutely not!!

I haven’t stayed anywhere since Covid, but our last stay at a European Center Parcs was enlightening (Holland).

We had largely packed the car and were doing the last tidying round, washing coffee cups, DH hoovering the detritus from the journeys back and forth to load the car. Beds were all stripped.

40 minutes before the scheduled exit time the cleaner asked if we minded her coming in, we said we weren’t ready. She asked if we were finished anywhere, so she could start, so we said the bedrooms were ready and so was main bathroom, but please leave us the separate loo. She was overjoyed, most of our fellow holiday makers had not even started packing their cars. We were out before the set time and had made a friend.

I wouldn’t not clean anything for a week in my own house, a holiday let is no different IMO. Clean and tidy as you go doesn’t take long.

@Landofthefree

This is exactly why I only ever stay in hotels!

You don't have to do this in Haven caravans and believe me, some of them are absolutely stunning! Much nicer than being stuck in one room every night!

@Sparklingbrook

I wouldn’t not clean anything for a week in my own house, a holiday let is no different IMO. Clean and tidy as you go doesn’t take long.

Well, I would so why would a holiday let be different for me? I hoover once every 3 or 4 weeks and my place looks fine.

@Gwenhwyfar I hoover once every 3 or 4 weeks and my place looks fine.

I guarantee it doesn't. Do you not even wipe down your skirting boards once a week?

I Hoover twice a day. The most it's ever left for is 2 days if I'm not well. What about crumbs in the kitchen? Dust?!?!?

PresentingPercy

10 am is normal leave time unless you negotiate. 4 pm entry is standard too. 5 pm is late

5pm is pretty standard at the moment, it gives the cleaners a bit of extra time to anti bac everything as well.

Hoovering every 3-4 weeks? Not a chance that would work for me . I just like to keep things clean and tidy wherever I am and I don’t think that’s unusual TBH.

We’ve had the ‘how often do you shower?’ thread this week, also ‘how often do you wash your bed linen?’ . Is it time for ‘how often do you vaccum?’

"Do you not even wipe down your skirting boards once a week?"

Skirting boards once a week? Are you serious?
Did you mean kitchen worktops?
The skirting boards get duster with a feather duster about once a month.
If there are crumbs within the hoovering time I'll use a floor brush/Siwffer or dustpan and brush, but I'd have to know where they are, which I wasn't shown the last few times I stayed in an Air Bnb.

Twice a day is a bit mad isn't it? There was a thread recently with people saying they hoovered every day, but it was mainly about pets.

I vacuum every day and do skirting boards weekly. I do accept that people have different standards though.

@Sparklingbrook

I vacuum every day and do skirting boards weekly. I do accept that people have different standards though.

Well, I'm single so I obviously don't make as much of a mess as a whole family, though the difference between twice a day and once every 3 weeks is more than that. As for dust, that's not cleaning up after yourself is it? And dust continues to accumulate when you're not even there so I wouldn't feel responsible for dust that accumulates in a 5 day stay in an AirBnB.