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?

I thought Airbnb places had such hefty cleaning fees as it was a way to get money that doesnt have a chunk sliced off it by Airbnb in the way that the actual rental prices do. It’s a way to dodge airbnb fees I think

I’d never stay ANYWHERE and not strip the beds before I leave, I’m genuinely baffled people don’t do this.

I'm genuinely baffled that you don't understand that when someone has paid £200+ for a room for the night, that price includes paying for a cleaner. Why would they do it themselves?

I've stayed in loads of B&Bs, Guesthouses, AirBnBs, hotels over the years and have never stripped a bed. I'm pretty sure, having watched too much 4 in a Bed, that most places wouldn't want you to get too close a look at the mattress or the bare duvet!

I've always emptied bins.Kitchen bathroom etc
I always make sure all surfaces have had a wipe down
Anything we've moved..like bed cushions etc ( 🤢) I put back
Towels I've folded and placed neatly in the bath or shower
Always do last bit of washing up and drying and put away
Not stripped beds though

These threads are always filled with people who claim stripping beds in a holiday home/Airbnb is standard and people who claim they’ve never stripped a bed in their life and what the hell are you talking about? I’ve found a mix of both and just do what is requested in the welcome pack or whatever.

It doesn’t sound like OP is being asked to move the main bins anywhere as PP suggested, she’s just being asked to empty the bin in the property and take it outside the the main bin which is apparently half way up a lane. I mean, I’m guessing it’s not THAT far away but who knows?

Definitely complain about the heating not working though.

I've never been asked to strip beds or empty bins, I don't go on holiday to do housework. As it wasn't mentioned before booking, YANBU to ignore it. If

Is stripping a bed doing housework though? It takes about a minute (and that’s only the pillowcases that slow things down).

I mean, obviously the same argument applies to a cleaner doing it, so I can see why people are a bit surprised at being asked to do it. However the downside of having to do it is so minimal it really is a non-issue.

Also, if you’re in an Air b and B you do have to do a bit of housework unless you think it’s OK to leave dirty dishes out on the worktops?

travel every week for work have stayed in guests houses b+b hotels and air b and b - nearly 20 years now. never ever once stripped the bed. it's made up in morning don't leave a mess. it's not normal

It's the balance of not wanting to argue too much about the heating, because you don't want the stress of it to spoil your holiday.
As for changing beds. We stay in self-catering cottages, which are £2000 a week when we go during peak season. We always clean and tidy as we go as we want it nice for us whilst we are staying, but don't do anything other than a basic tidy when we leave. I don't mind doing bedding if asked, and will hoover if we take a dog. Out of the huge prices they charge for holiday cottages, I would expect them to be able to afford to pay a cleaner from the 10 - 3 changeover time.

Stripping the bed is housework imo and not something I'm about to start doing on holiday, especially in an Air B&B where I'm already paying a cleaning fee.

I never make dishes in an Air B&B if there's no dishwasher, so no, I don't do dishes either.

Personally I find loading a dishwasher harder and more time-consuming than removing a sheet from a bed.

Making up a new bed is definitely housework. In some European Center Parcs you have to. We paid extra in ours to have the beds made up when we arrived.

Well I didn't do any of requested tasks but left the place clean and tidy as always would do. I'm just glad to be back home

No, you’ve been brought up to think it’s ok to behave like this. Every single friend/relative/business partner/colleague I’ve ever travelled with or stayed with has always stripped beds they’ve slept in so it’s normal for me, it’s just not normal for you.

I can fully understand not stripping the bed, but surely making the bed is making the cleaner’s life harder?

no-one I travel with or work with do it. I see the prices they are charging its not cheap. they can afford to pay for cleaning. most of the time you are a leaving at the crack of dawn to get a plane etc don't have time to strip the bed. bed is made some time not perfect however has been a few occasions rare times that have left it unmade.

dunno it's probably habit I have to make the bed.

It's normal for most when in hotels, guest houses, B&B etc.
It is different to staying in someone's actual home and depended on relationship. I don't want my guests to strip beds, I will do it. Mum still strips it as do I in hers.
But bed linen is for me simply part of paid service. That includes putting it on and stripping it. Unless it's some super budget self catering where it's clear it's budget because you should do these things. Tbf I can't comment on my friends because I don't check their rooms before leaving and never thought to discuss bedding on holidays bar "nice sheets, aren't they!".

Quite frankly, if people don't want to do, or pay to have done (that what cleaning fees and bumps in prices are for) basics of that hospitality business, maybe they shouldn't be in it.

Please make the request. At the very least the slumlord deserves to have the hassle.

It's been pretty chilly in some parts of the UK in the last couple of weeks.

Did you know the heating was off before you left? How did you know to bring hot water bottles? Also, why make and fold a bed nicely? No one surely would be using those sheets so pointless making the bed?

Its the principle of the thing, I can't imagine letting something like this go

I simply don't believe that. If I was staying with friends I'd ask them if they wanted me to strip the beds (and I remake the bed for my mum as she finds it a chore) but I don't believe for a minute that 100% of your friends, colleagues, relatives and acquaintances strip beds everywhere you go. It is not remotely normal to do so in a hotel or B&B. It has only become normal in AirBnBs because some owners are massively cheeky and think they should command high rents while they do very little at all.

I leave hotel rooms tidy for the cleaner, but I don't strip the beds when I leave.

I have a little lodge I let out and about 1 in 30 people strips the bed. It annoys me as we have under blankets and protectors and they ALWAYS mash everything up and make it harder, no easier!

I think it's a bloody cheek to charge a cleaning fee and then require guests to strip beds and empty bins.

Why would you fold dirty towels and place them neatly in the bath or shower? 😆

Never been asked to strip beds, but the one place we stay annually (about 20 of us), you empty the bins and take your recycling with you, always a lot of bottles. It’s on the edge of a tiny village, so we have to take it to the nearest bigger village.