To think that “because of covid” is now taking the piss?

[Ndujauser]

24 hours before we are leaving for a stay in a holiday cottage, and this message has just popped up - “ because of the current situation with covid we are no longer providing bedding. Please bring your own pillows, duvets, linen and towels”.
This feels like a massive cop out now, and I’m really hacked off at having to sort it out at the last minute. I get that there are still plenty of covid cases around, but surely we’re done with this kind of measure?

It's one think to have to take towels.

Bed linen and bedding is a step too far for me, and I wouldn't book without those.

I think the failure to mention it at time of booking is simply appalling.

And I would mention it in a review. Not to be nasty, but because I wouldn't anyone else having a eleventh hour nasty surprise

That's a huge change at no notice, I'd be really hacked off. Hopefully it's just an old message, but if I was expected to bring own duvet, pillows and sheets I'd expect the price to reflect that. I'd also choose to stay somewhere else.

The one I find hugely annoying is the dentist. They have all these huge pre forms to give you a QR code to get in. Except they haven't used or requested the QR code for almost 3 years, so it's totally pointless.

Is it too late to get somewhere else to stay? I'd say it was a significant change to terms and conditions.

I'd be really cross about this.

They're utterly shit, aren't they?

That’s completely unacceptable. What if you were coming from somewhere else, by public transport or your beds at home aren’t the same size.

If they’re going to do this to be cheap, and that’s exactly what it’s about because it had fuck all to do with covid, they need to be upfront and the time of booking. I’d complain to air bnb and would leave them a terrible review. If I could cancel and book somewhere else I’d also strongly consider doing that.

Is it maybe an old alert that shouldn't be functioning anymore? I can't imagine any business referring to Covid as 'the current situation', that would be daft.

I'd contact them assuming it's a mistake and go from there.

Good plan.

Email them and ask them to provide bedding. This sounds like their automatic check in message that they probably wrote a couple of years ago and haven't updated. You're quite right in saying it's taking the piss and if the listing states bedding included they should not be doing this. Please also report to airbnb for a false listing description.

Good point actually. Say to them this sounds like a mistake, can you confirm.

That’s ridiculous to drop that in you 24hrs before arrival, I know many holiday cottage owners use lots of different platforms and sometimes the offering varies, ie cheaper rate is just cottage, no linen, towels, tea/coffee etc. check the original listing when you booked, where these items listed? The owners or their agent should provide them.

Yeah fuck that, it's a shit excuse. Even during COVID they have ways of washing linen. Part of the fun in going away is not having to do your own bedding/washing !!! And what if u weren't taking a car? Ridiculous

I stay in air bnbs regularly and I've not come across this at all. I would message and check as I can imagine it's an outdated message.

Ridiculous! We stayed in a self catering house recently and each bedroom had a big bag for life stuffed in the corner with a memo asking us to strip the beds and put the sheets etc in the bag “because of covid”……WTAF?!? Incidentally we stayed in the same house the year before when covid restrictions were only just being lifted and we didn’t have to do that then!

I have messaged, saying I assume it’s an old instruction. Let’s see what happens.

This is why I hate Airbnb, hosts these days are absolutely bonkers with their requests. Expectations to scrub the place down top to bottom even though you’ve paid a cleaning fee, lists of household chores, bringing your own bedding… I don’t know why people still put up with it since the prices are the same or sometimes higher than nice hotels or professionally managed self-catering places.

Only because there’s nobody wanting to work in hospitality and they’re all short staffed 🤷‍♀️

The short notice is ridiculous and it would also really annoy me.

As a side note we often have a family member stay with us to cat sit and they use our bed (clean sheets obviously) but with our duvet and pillows. This would make that difficult and would have put me off booking.

"I haven't any bedding to bring with me..."
Beds are a different size,
parents are housesitting,
travelling long distance no room in car,
public transport,
Flying.
(Don't want to bring home air bnb bed bugs)

They are limiting their customer base severely.

Have you checked the reviews, OP? This can't be a new thing and someone else would surely have complained. Imagine if you were flying in from somewhere. You wouldn't want to be packing all bedding as well as towels. Crazy!

So annoying! Last thing I want to do on holiday is make up/strip down beds. I would be asking for a discount.

I hate it when businesses are still using Covid as an excuse not to offer something they offered pre Covid.

It seems so cynical to still be holding onto that as an excuse to cut their costs.

Oh and one of the reasons we would never book somewhere you had to bring own duvets etc. is because by the time we have ourselves, our bags and the huge dog in the car, we literally would have no room. I brought them all once as it was Summer 2020 and they said no bedding provided and it was a huge squeeze with a massive Volvo at the time.

This. We booked a cabin in the UK and we'll be taking public transportation. And some are flying to UK for this holiday. So last minute shopping for bedding would be fun and even nicer to carry it around 🙄

Even if it was in the listing, I would expect it to be very prominently highlughted, not just buried as a footnote. Something like bedding is a very basic expectation as far as most people would be concerned.