Airbnb host check out demands - AIBU to ignore

[Senseonhorizons]

Been staying in Airbnb for last 3 nights, out of many, many we have stayed in this is our worst experience. There are lots of positives about the place, however it is f'ing freezing. Non functional heating on one floor so bedrooms were 12 degrees and we were all so cold in the night and now are ill, may or may not be connected.

I did contact host re heating on arrival and was given a load of instructions that don't work.

I have now received list of tasks to do on check out, none mentioned in property listing. They include stripping off beds and taking all sheets and towels downstairs, emptying bins in kitchen and bathrooms and taking to bins half way down the lane.

I feel like f'off do it yourself. We paid enough for the place. I know people did it in covid with sheets etc, but there is absolutely no reason to now

AIBU to ignore their demands?

RTT

I thought everyone stripped the beds anyway. I even do it in hotels.

Well, I've no idea what the arrangement was – maybe she took a longer lunch than usual, maybe she had someone else coming to work with her. The place was certainly squeaky-clean when we arrived.
It's hardly the point anyway; my point was that a window that seems to be a bit long/end a bit late might do so for a good reason.

It’s not a hotel, it’s self catering…clue is in the name …so DIY of course you should strip the beds, empty the rubbish and leave the place how you found it. If you don’t want to be bothered book a hotel next time and pay 5 x the price!

The funny part is the hotels are NOT 5x airbnb anymore...

@judgementfail out of interest, do you provide the "breakfast" part of the AirBnB?

And do you have any ides why do most (IME) not provide it?

Thanks

Air bnbs can be more expensive than hotels. Hotels usually offer lots of deals below their normal room rate.
I agree people should not leave rubbish all round the place. But it is a business, you have to treat it emotionally like that, not like your own home.
I do not care what rules airbnbs have about cleaning or using the house as long as they are in the listings.

And floor crumbs and dust is the cleaning part of air bnbs. We pay a cleaning fee for that.

Regarding mattress protectors, I can see the case for changing them fairly often and based on what condition they are in when properties are vacated. But at home, if you even bother with them, they surely only need changing about 4 times a year unless we are talking about small kids

Appreciate I’ve come late to this but the heating situation, and their response to it, was unacceptable and I would give them hell over that. Hope the weather will warm up? Cheeky effers.

But I would be an absolute angel over the other stuff so as to give your complaint more weight. With your 3 star review it sounds like you’ve got the right idea.

To pps, 12 degrees at night might be ok if it’s warmer during the day, but if the weather isn’t great and the heating isn’t working, you end up cold all the time you’re in the property. I don’t think that temperature is acceptable and warrants a complaint.

Totally. You said it 4 days before I did 🤦‍♀️

I've been an Airbnb [super]host for 10 years. I don't ask guests to do anything other than ensure windows and doors are locked when they check-out. That's it.

I wouldn't ask or want them to strip the bed; occasionally a guest does it unasked, and it makes it much harder for my cleaning lady to check the linen for stains (which has to be done and will mean the sheets have to be soaked in Vanish before washing).

I don't care if they don't do the washing up. Mostly, if they do it by hand, it's not to a standard required for the incoming booking, so gets done again anyway.

I deal with the rubbish, too. If they're staying for a longer period like a month, there are bins in the garden for decanting the kitchen bins. And my cleaner takes care of the outdoor bin emptying in a longer stay as I give guests a free mid-stay clean and linen change.

I'm an Airbnb host - please please do not strip the beds. We need to check the linen for stains before washing, and it's much harder to do this if the linen is piled on the floor.

I'm really happy if the guest just leaves it tidy with no actual damage.

I'm an Airbnb host of 10 years experience.

I assure you guest reviews for hosts/listing are genuine.

The reviews which hosts leave for guests are, however, questionable. We're pretty much obliged to say nice stuff even about shitty guests.

I strip the beds even when not asked, to make sure they change them. I hope others strip the beds before me too. Taking rubbish out is standard even in caravan holidays. Only place I've ever left rubbish in bins is hotels.

I always do this in any case

@Onthehuntstill & @Whatafliberty I'm an Airbnb host and it's really not helpful to strip the beds.

I have been doing self catering for 15 yrs and it’s so easy to check the linen when guests have stripped it. I always thank guests for leaving the place tidy and making our job just a little bit easier!

What do you do to check? I'm guessing you'd have to spread it out over the bed - just like if the bed wasn't stripped.

And stripping a bed is literally less than a minute's work. Why would you make guests who are paying good money do the cleaner's 1 minute job? It's insane.

And look at all the comments on here from people saying they resent being asked to do it.

It’s not hassle. Just message them

I do strip my bed when I go away, however I don’t consider this normal behaviour!…. I don’t know anyone else who strips a bed and tidied up before leaving a hotel type break,
I’ve always wondered if me stripping the bed is inconvenient because they must have to go through the pile of dirty sheets to check I haven’t stolen a pillow case if bath mat etc….
I would 100% report the lack of heating and customer service to both him and to the company you booked through.
I would also include in a review that ‘it’s a shame we had no heating as this ruined an otherwise lovely break”
I also don’t think it’s unreasonable not to strip beds etc, if it wasn’t something in their T&C’s which was set out prior to your booking/stay then he shouldn’t be requesting it!

Just thought I'd share a picture of the fridge as it was left the other day by some guests.

It had to be stripped out and completely bleached, including that water collecting tray underneath as that was also full of bloody water.

That was of course on top of the regular cleaning and the hour it took to sort out the bins as food waste had been put in with the recycling and the waste contractors won't accept unsorted waste in Wales now.

Sometimes we need every second of the changeover window.

Luckily most of our guests are lovely but some seem to really enjoy making work for my cleaners. If you think you are getting back at the owners you really aren't. It's the cleaners who have to deal with it. I pay well above minimum wage and employ my own staff but many owners use agency cleaners who pay NMW.

They can f**k off, but may be said a little nicer. The lack of heating is a separate issue that you deserve compensation for, but to ask you to do their donkey work when a) you’ve probably already paid a cleaning/service charge and b) they’ve left you cold is bloody rude.

EVERY Air BnB I’ve stayed in charged me a cleaning fee, so I’m not doing part of their cleaning for them! Beds that have been slept in have the duvet turned over so they know those need changing. Used towels get put in the bath. If there’s a washing machine and detergent provided I’ll start a towel wash for them and leave a note.

I leave all crockery washed and put away, and worktops clean. If the kids have made a mess I’ll hoover/sweep. I rinse out the bath and ensure the kids haven’t left wee on the bog seat. I don’t do this because I think it’s expected, it’s just good manners. But I don’t empty bins unless I’ve filled it to capacity and I’ve never stripped a bed. Also never lost a deposit.

That said, if it’s one of those Air BnBs where the host leaves a little welcome basket of goodies, I’ll drop the host a message to ask what we can do. We stayed in a caravan in Weymouth for a week and the host had been in touch to ask how old the kids were etc. The caravan was lovely anyway, but the host had made the kids’ beds up with Minecraft and Unicorn bedding, provided games and toys. Outside there was chairs, table and parasol, a BBQ with charcoal, a sand pit and toys on the decking, even a pushchair for my toddler. She’d left milk, juice, bacon and eggs in fridge for us, as well as a full fruit bowl, bread, a cake, biscuits and stuff for hot drinks. There was shampoo, shower gel and everything you could need in the bathrooms. She’d gone absolutely above and beyond for us so I’d have happily emptied bins, stripped beds, polished the inside and outside of the windows if she’d asked, which she didn’t. I could’ve gone shopping to buy everything that was provided which would only have saved the host money on shopping for the next guest, so I sent her a bouquet of flowers to say thank you.

Also, hotels 5 x price of Air BnB? You’re not really meant to compare The Savoy to the humble Air BnB 🤣

Have read all the OPs messages.

I have not stayed in THAT many AirBnBs but in my experience the requests like the bins and the sheets are in some sort of instruction book which is left in the property and visible when you arrive.

I agree there is something galling about having complained and gotten nowhere and now a list of 'to-do's' is coming your way even thought they are things that are not too onerous.

We actually have a cottage and would not ask people to strip beds/deal with the towels ourselves.