Air B n B guests no longer need to clean up after themselves

[lonelylou09]

Wondering what everyone's thoughts are on the upcoming changes to Air BnB bookings where owners will no longer be able to ask guests to strip beds, remove rubbish or even wash up after themselves.
I'm a cleaner and I'm worried this will mean I can no longer do changeovers properly.
I currently do a 5 bed 3 bathroom that sleeps 10 and it takes me the whole check out time (5 hours) to turn the property over. That's with guests having to strip beds, remove rubbish to correct outside bins and at the very least load up the dishwasher and put it on.
If I have to add this on to It could easily add on an hour which means check out or in times would have to be adjusted and people already moan or turn up 2 or 3 hours early or leave an hour late.
So I'm guessing I'm asking what peoples thoughts are if you use air B and b. Do you do these things if asked and would continue too if you can't be asked to? Or do you think this isn't your place to do it? Does it make a difference if there is a cleaning fee charged separately?
My view is it's not a hotel ..its self catering and you should leave it as you found it. I always put a lot of effort into trying to ensure when the guests arrive it feels like no one was there before then and it's theirs for the week.
If I stay anywhere...even a hotel I'll strip the bed and set the bins ready to make it easier for the cleaner.
But although most guests are great you do get some that you just wonder what Thier own home is like.

Absolutely. But if I was tricked into booking it, there is no way I'd actually wash any SBs while I am there and I'd cover myself in the way I stated.

But you are paid to do that, guests aren’t! I’m stripping my bed when staying at a friend’s place though, but not if I’m paying for a hotel or airbnb.

You have to understand that this whole problem has been created because basically, people who can't afford to run a hospitality business now have an opportunity to run one... badly.

Agree.
And I would add to this, people who are too emotionally attached to the property to see it through a commercial lens are entering into a commercial arrangement.

Yes I check through the cupboards and reorganize them to make sure everything is where it's meant to as well as stocking up on general kitchen supplies. So I do handle or look at most items in the kitchen quickly and will rewash the odd glass or plate if not clean

I'm saying in general it would take each person a minute or two to do thier own bed compared to me spending 15 minutes doing 8 beds

that's your literal job though, not the guest's

It really annoys me that I pay a lot for cleaning and then have to do it myself as well. We don’t trash the place but I think it takes the Mickey to expect us to strip beds and empty bins.

I am so glad this change has been brought in . Hosts were getting more and more entitled in their expectations. I had actually switched back to hotels for that reason (I am disabled. I use a cleaner at home too. )

I have a physical disability. I can't easily strip beds so have a cleaner/housekeeper at home and need the same on holiday. I would love to be able to strip a bed without even noticing I was doing it

It was never ok to charge a cleaning fee then expect guests to do the housekeeping

I think this type of thing was originally for people who live in sort of rural areas in large homes. It was meant to be more like you come and stay in my little town or village, I show you around a bit, we maybe have meals together and you write or paint or whatever. Extra money, yes. But also a form of adults having companionship/making new friends.

The whole point of this thread is up until now this hasn't been my job neither has the washing up. These changes will potentially add on more cleaning time needed which in then takes longer and costs more...this then affecting the guests also..in my case ..I may have to say to the owner she may have to do a later check in on some occasions but that won't be know until I get in after check out. In which case some people may already be on their way.
As someone else said I understand guests not wanting to clean or strip beds and pay cleaning fee.
A fairer option would have been giving guests an option to strip beds and do their own washing up and not pay the fee or leave it however they want and pay.

That sounds rather more civilised than the reality!

It's hotels all the way for me now! If we do rent a holiday villa, we go through an agency as it tends to be better moderated.

I get that but if it's sanitary products or dirty stinky nappies left in bins then I don't want to deal with that. We've also had someone leave a whole piss in the bedroom bin which I had to deal with. That would normally come under a biohazard clean.

That’s the owners fault though for making guests strip beds and do a proportion of the cleaning. It should be part of your job to strip beds. If it can’t be done in the time then the owner needs to add a day in between bookings.

The problem was always the additional cleaning fee.

If I book a hotel or a caravan from a big named site untill Covid I wasn’t expected to strip a bed let alone anything else (even though I did) and the cleaning is built into the costs.

If I’m paying a premium price and then a cleaning fee on top clearly named a cleaning fee and then given a list on how I should leave the place basically let ready that’s a piss take.

Your problem isn’t with Airbnb or the guests. It’s the owner who doesn’t want gaps in their bookings and wants to charge the earth and then some and that’s why it changed because people were pissed with the sheer audacity.

Have you never had any terrible guests who have left the place in a state? Surely not every single guest has complied and stripped the beds? What do you do in those circumstances?

This is between you and your employer. It is a business not a social visit, so talking about fair expectations is misplaced.

yes, owners should be providing proper turnaround services, and this will impact profit and prices. Owners are running a business, they don’t have to use the air bnb platform if they want to provide lower standard cleaning.

The owner really needs two
of you or to add a day between bookings for such a large property. I don’t know why you are making it your problem or saying guests need to strip beds. The owner needs to sort it.

@Noscrubss I completely agree if you can't then you shouldn't. But for such a large house it's generally multi generation family stays and we do have a double downstairs bedroom and some disability aids if we have an older or disabled guest and these can be requested..same as asking for the cot bed to be made up and highchair for babies. This should absolutely be accommodated if needed and I would have no problem with that. But that shouldn't excuse everyone else. I would certainly object also to paying a few and then having to clean but even if your not paying a separate fee the cost is built in so you're still paying.

Stripping a hotel bed is a weird thing to do

I'm not saying they need to do it..I took it over as I clean the owners house and she had many issues with getting anyone else..either solo or with agencies.
That's just how it was when I started doing it. I do others occasionally that don't require this but they are much smaller properties with the same changeover time allowed so there is wiggle room if guests leave extra work

Well no. The owner will have to either

• pay for two cleaners on a turnaround day ; or
• have days gap between turnarounds.

This all sounds like a hugely amateur arrangement

You keep doubling down on guests stripping beds. They don’t have to anymore and they don’t want to.

These changes will potentially add on more cleaning time needed which in then takes longer and costs more

that should be the owner's problem, not yours, or the guests. If one cleaner is not enough for the property, they need to find more. What if other businesses started doing the same? 'Oh it's too much of a hassle for us in the restaurant to wash the dishes, can you please come with your own plate? Maybe pop in the kitchen and peel your potatoes, it only takes a minute..you didn't know we had all those rules when you made the reservation? well tough'

Oh I am quite happy to pay the cost.
I just wouldn't be happy to pay the cost of cleaning and then being asked to do the housework myself as some owner didn't understand how to run a fair business and refused to hire two cleaners to turnaround a large house quickly

I think what a lot of people are missing is that for the cleaner in this situation, they are the front of house person. They are the ones there when a guest arrives early or even on time, but the place isn't finished.

Additionally, unless you have the work to literally say fuck you and walk out when your employer takes the piss, there is a power imbalance. So the owner can make the cleaner feel like they are responsible if the place isn't ready for the next guest, even though they have no power over bookings.

This is why you then get cleaners who misplace their blame where they can. They start to have unreasonable expectations of guests.