Service of Home or Hotel for Vacation
September 26th, 2022
Categories: Hotels, Housework, Renter, Renting, Travel
Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay
Long before Airbnb existed my dream was to rent a Paris apartment for a few days so I could play house, buy amazing breakfast and lunch goodies at the local grocery store, say “bonjour Madame” to the concierge and pretend I lived there.
An acquaintance rents one of her homes in season and charges for maid service which worked perfectly for years until this particular guest visited. The tenant’s family trashed the house which resulted in additional hours for the cleanup crew to restore it for next guests. They also ruined a carpet. You wonder how some people live. The tenants will not see a penny of their deposit nor this house again
Which brings me to Preetika Rana’s Wall Street Journal article, “Welcome to Your Airbnb, the Cleaning Fees Are $143 and You’ll Still Have to Wash the Linens–Growing to-do lists despite soaring charges stress travelers; ‘This kind of changes the whole vibe’”
The reporter wrote about one frequent participant who became anxious about the list of “to do’s” she faced on the last day. For starters they went from laundering sheets and vacuuming to washing the dishes. Her Airbnb “had an exhaustive list of cleaning requirements and she wasn’t going to let her guest rating dip over it……’You don’t want to wake up at 6 a.m. to do chores when you’re on vacation,'” said the guest. She found it all “stressful.”
As a result Rana reported, “Some are switching back to hotels to avoid the hassle and the clean-up fees that can be hundreds of dollars.” Because there was no trash pickup, one guest had to take hers with her when she left. I want to know: What would you do with the garbage if you’d flown to the destination and rented a car?
How does Airbnb suggest that hosts handle maintenance? “‘Would you like guests to load dirty dishes into the dishwasher or strip the bed linen before checkout? If so, consider charging a very minimal cleaning dishwasher fee—or no fee at all.’”
One Airbnb host, according to Rana, doesn’t approve of the lists of chores as he feels it pushes potential guests to hotels.
In addition to respecting the furniture and fixtures of a home or apartment you’re renting–which would be true of furniture and fixtures at any hotel as well–how much cleanup are you willing to do while on vacation?
Tags: Airbnb
Linda on Facebook: Removing garbage, especially in summer months, understandable even for those rentals that have a cleanup crew after each user. But more than that is asking too much. After all, that’s purpose of cleaning fee and cleanup crew!
Linda,
I agree re. garbage but the impression I got from the WSJ article was that the homeowner hadn’t left an outdoor garbage can for the renter to use because there was no garbage pickup. Where is someone with a rented car headed for the airport supposed to drop their garbage?
Absolutely none…beyond washing the dishes and stripping the bed.
ASK,
Cleaning crews usually do a good job while Ms. or Mr. X might be slapdash or skip the disinfectant.
Linda on Facebook: Agreed but there’s always a can nearby.
Linda,
People on the country road where our house used to be put out their large garbage pails weekly. Mostly you wouldn’t see a place to stash yours plus there might not be room in those cans. If someone is making money from renters, until they work out essentials like this they shouldn’t be in business any more than a freelance writer who needs to use a client’s computer to craft copy.
Debbie on Facebook: Stripping beds & piling towels for the cleaning team. No dishes in the sink.
Debbie,
Curious: Do you strip the sheets in a hotel?
My daughter has had fairly good luck with air B & B’s. She checks them out thoroughly online before making a commitment… I guess a reasonable amount of care would be the usual…
Hank,
Having met her I suspect your daughter would not agree to anything onerous that would cause her or her family stress. A mother in the article was such a nervous wreck she yelled at one of her kids because he’d used a glass after she’d cleaned up. Not a vacation atmosphere in my opinion
Linda on Facebook: I’ve only done AirB&B in cities where garbage receptacles are everywhere/more frequent. But you’re right in places where there’s just weekly pickup.
I prefer hotels. In defense of renters, they have every right to expect guests to clean up after themselves, and to charge should they leave traces of their visit. I’m a lousy housekeeper, but will be damned advertising myself as a slob to either hotel, B&B or friend’s home!
Lucrezia,
I haven’t made a price comparison of Airbnb and hotels in one neighborhood. If the rentals are drastically less, then it would be right that they’d expect some cleanup consideration by renters. But there should be limits. If renters are charged a cleaner fee, why should they be laundering sheets and towels for example?
Have had personal experiences with tenants for both long and short term rentals. Think it comes down to differences of what people consider clean or average wear and tear. Similar thoughts for what one’s willing to do “on vacation”.
Back in the day, I would stay in youth hostels when traveling. There were always chores as it was part of the stay requirements. This afforded me the ability to travel on a light budget.
Nowadays, I prefer to stay at fancy resort style hotels with amenities. I enjoy the hospitality and always leave a tip for housekeeping. Not stripping beds, no putting out trash and no sweeping floors because vacation starts when you get back home?!
Eileen,
Once I rented a friend’s cottage in the Hamptons for two weeks and kept it perfect for the reason Lucrezia mentioned: I wanted her to think well of me. I tend to keep my own home in OK shape as well.
In my 20s I stayed at a bed and breakfast in London and loved it. We were on the top floor of a walk up. Stayed at an amazing one in Bath a few years later.
Never did Airbnb.
Stayed at a dump on the left bank in Paris which my husband abhorred. But I was in Paris! As long as it’s clean I’ll be fine! Speaking of fine, I’m happy as 10 clans in a luxurious hotel as well.
I always leave something for cleaning staff even if not a top tier place.