AirBnB Guest terminal illness

[Zazz101]

Hi, I am looking for suggestions. I rent out my house on airBnB and I have just found out that my next guest has a terminal illness.

They have organised a family get together. I would love to do something to make this an extra special time for them all. I know I could just knock money off the house, but they are wanting to make memories, and I would like to do something to ensure it’s a lovely holiday for them.

My only contact is the person that is ill, so I cannot ask them for any ideas.

so please, if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

And she can post all this on Instagram for the reviews and future bookings! Nothing like using a terminally ill person for the views!

It's possible that the person making the booking had a few emails with the OP disclosing the information. It's not unusual.

What I find unusual is the way the OP, who runs a business, is getting so involved. Having the place spotless, a few flowers and an email saying "please let me know if you need anything" is more than enough.

These guests are not having a holiday and she is running a business.

What a load of ole rubbish.
People like you only do it for the glory.
Actually when I went away for Xmas after my dad passed, I would have been livid at someone thinking they could impose their own selfish notions on me and my grief.
It's not classy. It's crass. Very.
You want to actual do something kind for someone in that situation?
Leave them the fuck alone and keep your do gooding to yourself.
But then you couldn't post about it on the Internet could you. And sure what's the point of that.

In what world is one person's terminal illness another person's parade?

Her parade.
Jesus christ. Someone is dying.
Breathtaking.

@Precipice

obnoxiously inescapable

no one's forcing you to live in the U.K. (or wherever that celebrates Christmas) if you don't respect the traditional festivities of where you live, move, or just accept them. Don't be rude about them

@Zazz101

she's told you about her situation (poor woman 🥲) so I think that gives you the opportunity to ask if they celebrate Christmas & if there's anything you can do that would make it special for her.

offering to cook dinner is a lovely thing to do, provided you're a better cook than me.😂

chocolates/hamper/etc. always a lovely treat!

This is a lovely idea. I once stayed in an airbnb at Christmas with DD and the fact they'd put up a little Christmas tree and fairy lights made such a difference to us. They'd even put little chocolate decorations on the tree which my DD was soooo excited about.

Were you with somone under going palliative care? Or grieving?
Cos that makes all the difference.

We have been away at airb&b houses twice in the last 5 months for this exact reason - to spend time together as a family (none of our houses can accommodate everyone now we have young families), but we didn't say why afaik

The first house left a small hamper which was lovely

For me what would have been most helpful would have been:

A (small, doesn't need to be extensive) list of the local shops and any points of interest, what would be really useful would be a rough idea of how far away they were and how accessible the POI are in terms of hills/how much walking is involved

Extra firewood if you have a log burner and/or firepit, neither place really provided enough to enjoy the fire for more than one night without us going out to get more

Scrap any rules around putting the heating up, and leave clear instructions as to where the thermostat is

A slightly later checkout time, the terminally ill person in our family really really struggles with early rises now and having to clean and get out by 10am was quite stressful

If a later checkout time isn't possible then a relaxation in how much cleaning is expected, obviously not to the point of leaving rubbish anywhere but not having to strip beds etc

We would have hated having someone come in to cook a meal, but a voucher for a local takeaway/just eat would have been absolutely amazing

Don't know if this has been suggested but people do scam about terminal illness to elicit sympathy, money etc.

Another argument for providing the same good service you would provide for all bookings.

@Zazz101 you sound kind and considerate.
If its not been mentioned, extra blankets , hot water bottles might be an idea.
My friend has terminal cancer and is finding she's very chilly.
I'd like to meet more people like you. 🌺

Some of these ideas are nuts and if I was in the guests' position I would find them very intrusive. Cheap Xmas decorations would ruin the experience for me, for starters.

A Christmas wreath on the door would be nice. Fresh seasonal flowers in the house.

A small hamper with nuts, olives, decent biscuits, and maybe a bottle of wine would be lovely. And tea & coffee but I assume you provide those already?

Anything more than that is OTT and is more for the host's benefit than the guests'.

I agree with the PP who suggests later checkout time and relaxing cleaning rules. I'd expect useful local info to be provided anyway.

You've brought a tear to my eye Op - thank you for being so considerate. Hope your guests have a special time together.

A Christmas tree and a few decorations, lights to give it a cosy feel.

A hamper.

This is all you need to do. The family want time to spend together to create their own memories so let them do it the way they want to. They don't need a photo booth, disposable camera or you cooking them a meal. Just give them privacy but be there at the end of the phone if they need to contact you during the stay.

Op you have a caring nature - is there anyone struggling in your family or local area you could cook a meal for? Something you could do for someone that nobody else knows about?

I think you have good intentions but leave them to it.

Leaving a small hamper and small tree or wreath to make it feel a bit Christmassy is more than enough

The best Christmas decs you can manage, flowers and maybe luxurious bathroom lotions and potions. I dont like airbnb hosts being present or evident so they might not either.

I would give them a good discount. Say it is a Christmas thing rather than because the person is ill. I would be most happy with that if I were them.

A hamper, including some non-edibles (some nice bubble bath, maybe a lavender pillow mist - things like that) would be lovely, as would the place being beautifully decorated for christmas. There could be a reason for not doing any of these, e.g. they don't celebrate christmas, their appetite may be low, the smell of toiletries may make them feel queasy, but you're never going to know everything about their situation unless you ask them specifically (and obviously you're not going to do that), and I think the gesture would be taken in the right way irrespective of these.

It's an anonymous forum.

Don't offer to cook a meal for them, it's a lovely thought but you need to have a food hygiene certificate to do that. As they are paying for accommodation anything 'free' is counted as a paid for service, even if its a one off. That is also why you shouldn't provide alcohol without a licence. THese laws are there to protect us and enable us to show due diligence if anything goes wrong. If someone got food poisoning a food hygiene certificate protects you.

I think some lovely tasteful decorations, fresh flowers, a box of chocolates and maybe a cake/ crisps/fruit bowl would be enough. Its human nature to want to 'do' something and so kind of you but the best thing you can give them is privacy. And a late checkout!

Yes, a late check out is a very good idea. Also, if you have any cleaning requirements beyond the basic, you could maybe waiver them this time.

What would you normally do at Christmas for guests? Do the same. If you wouldn’t normally dress it for Christmas then don’t. Don’t do a special hamper if you are not planning on doing it next Christmas too etc.

making sure it’s warm with everything working is the bare minimum I would expect as a guest anyway.

i think it’s lovely that you are thinking of it but stay out of it and just give them the usual experience (which u am sure you would strike to be excellent) that all of your guests have.

A hamper( no alcohol) and flowers sounds perfect.

Our son (26) although well atm has a terminal illness, he would not like any fuss as such but that’s just him.

Some nice biscuits/cake/chocolates would be a nice touch and not too over the top.

We took both boys and partners away at the beginning of the year for some family time and the hosts popped some beers and wine in the fridge for us which we really enjoyed.