When you enter your property after a guest has left, unnecessary mess or disarray can be really frustrating. So how messy is too messy when renting?
I’ll admit, when you first start hosting it can be a bit of a shock to the system. As you get through more bookings, some minor things just aren’t worth stressing over. If you allow yourself to berate every single bad thing a guest does, you’ll end up not wanting to rent at all.
But taking everything into consideration how messy is too messy? When should we as hosts make a point of commenting on poor guest etiquette?
I would be mortified if I left a property the way some of my guests have left my flat. That goes whether I was paying to stay there or not. Despite Airbnb’s reminder of guest expectations, some guests do treat the platform like a hotel.
It’s important that we all remember, Airbnb and Vrbo aren’t like paying for a hotel. Not only should guests keep this in mind when renting to make sure they treat the space with respect, but hosts should also remember this when leaving reviews.
And even having said that, most people wouldn’t treat a hotel room in a poor way – myself included.
Airbnb’s Expectations
Airbnb has a set of guidelines for guests which are expectations of their behaviour when renting through the platform. These are very simple rules and to be honest are essentially just basic manners and common polite decency.
I would recommend using these as a guideline to base your review from. Expect this level of behaviour from each guest and rate using the star rating accordingly.
You are staying in someone else’s home. You would be expected to behave and respect the space as you would in a friend or family’s home. I do often wonder if these guests would leave a relative’s home in complete disarray if they were staying with them. Airbnb host’s home should be treated no differently and with the same level of respect.
Sloppy guests
Based on the above and just as an example, guest etiquette would be guests expected to:
- I.e mop up any food spills they make, but not clean the whole kitchen.
- I.e Clean up toothpaste in the sink, not clean the whole bathroom.
- I.e Fold up any towels they’ve used, but not launder them.
- Wash up any cutlery and crockery used.
- Put any rubbish in the bin, but not take the bins out (unless you need them to.)
- Leave the property as they found it. I,e straighten up the place, tuck chairs back in, put cushions back on sofa, but not clean.
Therefore, wet towels all over the floor and not neatly hung up, litter not put in the bin or messy spills left everywhere and not mopped up, can be considered disrespectful behaviour or poor guest etiquette.
It’s all well and good teaching other people how to behave but some people are lazy. Some are completely oblivious to the way they are. I’m far from perfect, but I do wonder how these people live in their own homes and how messy they must be. If a guest has no shame and doesn’t care how others view their behaviour, no amount of behavioural expectations will make a difference. That’s just people.
Lazy behaviour
I understand that most of my guests are staying at my place for leisure bookings.
But leisure trips are no excuse for laziness. A guest leaving a clump of hair from a hairbrush on a side table instead of putting it in the bin or leaving bottles and cans on the side are both examples of improper guest etiquette.
If a guest does one or two small lazy things that I notice while cleaning, I’d be likely to overlook it. As explained above, some things aren’t worth stressing over. It can be petty to berate small things publicly – life’s too short!
As a further example, not clearing the breakfast/dinner table of finished plates of food, not putting takeaway containers in the bin before leaving or leaving a weeks’ worth of washing up is poor behaviour. I’d for sure want to comment on this when it came to reviewing as this isn’t appropriate guests’ behaviour.
Cleaning fee
There seems to an unwritten belief that because there is a cleaning fee, this means guests can leave the property in a mess. Or that they can not take responsibility of their cleanliness or personal housekeeping. This isn’t correct and some guests misinterpret what this fee actually is and what it covers.
I’ve also found that the higher the cleaning fee, the more likely guests are to slack when it comes to keeping on top of things during their stay.
This could be because a heftier fee may seem unreasonable to a guest who will expect their fee to cover more. This is why it’s important to price your cleaning fee accurately and truthfully.
The cleaning fee is there to essentially cover the basics for that guests stay only. For example, the bath/shower cubicle and toilet would need cleaning between guests for sanitary reasons. The same goes for bed linens and any item which would need sanitising to be clean for guest use such as the kitchen. Vacuuming to pick up any bits from the floor would also be expected.
General areas of cleanliness such as washing floors and dusting etc should be done regularly anyway. As such, they should not need to be included in the clean up as they shouldn’t accumulate within one short stay.
You may find that your cleaning fee is overkill for some guests who keep the place immaculately clean. Whereas for others, it won’t be priced high enough who require a little extra work.
Ultimately a cleaner is not a maid. A maid is a housekeeper whose responsibilities would be the maintaining a property during a booking to keep it in order and tidy. A cleaner on the other hand is there just to clean. Guests leaving a clean-up that also requires tidying is poor guest etiquette.
Leaving an appropriate review
When it comes to leaving your review, if you find one or two things that you can let slide, that’s one thing. But if you’re finding yourself sighing every time you enter another room, you need to mention the issues in your feedback.
In summary
Whenever I stay somewhere whether that be at a friends, with family, in a hotel or an Airbnb, I am always sure to be the guest I would want to have. I make sure everything is switched off and put back as I found it. I make sure that the kitchen is wiped and presentable and that all rubbish is disposed off. Sometimes in an Airbnb, I’ll even strip the bed and fold up the duvet. Just to make it ready for the cleaner to save them a job.
With every will in the world, not all guests follow suit or attempt to be a polite and respectable guest.