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Post by purple on May 24, 2016 0:35:32 GMT
Hi all.
I'm new here and have a question.
We have been given a poor review for clutter inside the bathroom cabinet and inside some of the kitchen cupboards.
The bathroom cabinet has my dad's toiletries on one shelf and spare toilet roll etc on the other. There are 2 empty shelves in the bathroom for guests to use,one by the shower the other over the sink. Why would someone staying one night require the cabinet to be de cluttered?
The kitchen has cupboards containing dishes, pans etc empty cupboards for guests own items and other cupboards which contain dad's food, cleaning equipment etc. We don't understand what is expected. What is he meant to do with his belongings? What is it this guest was expecting?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
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Post by High Priestess on May 24, 2016 1:14:41 GMT
Hi purple
Is the space you rent an entire apartment, or a room in a house?
In the case of a room in a house, definitely you would not be expected to keep your own (or your Dads') storage areas neat -- guests shouldn't be going inside those anyway.
In the case of an entire home/entire apartment rental, expectations and offerings vary, and it's important to communicate in advance to the guest about what they can expect, in order to avoid running into problems with inappropriate expectations. Typically in an entire home/apartment which is the host's primary residence, they will be leaving their own belongings there but also creating room for the guest.
Did this guest know that this was your/your father's primary residence? Did you mention that your father's things would be there? I suggest clarifying this in your listing. Some hosts offer an entire apartment which is NOT their primary residence, in which case it doesn't have their things in it. Some guests would prefer to rent that type of unit. So as with so many things in hosting, clear communication is key to creating appropriate expectations.
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Post by purple on May 24, 2016 7:52:29 GMT
Thank you.
It's an apartment, my dad's home. I'm going to check the listing now!
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Post by helgaparis on May 25, 2016 21:35:16 GMT
Hi purple, your guest expected an empty apartment, like in an Aparthotel. They exist on airbnb too. Others are disappointed if they find only a sterile tourist rental. You prepared the place very generously: not everyone empties space in bathroom cabinets and I can't empty kitchen cabinets.
As Deborah said, make it clear it is a home, not a commercial rental.
Not necessarily by those words, you can also do it with perdonal descriptions like "the red chair is my favourite reading chair" "we installed the big window to see the glorious autumn sunsets from the dining table" or something in that sense. Describe a thing, make it interesting with a positive emotion and add your personal connexion or enjoyment. I did that with my favourite reading spot on the loft, and many guests told me that I was right, it's very nice reading or watching tv up there. They understood it is a home and they felt like getting personal recommendations.
I have clients who rent a palace with staff, quite the opposite from my place. Sometimes we exchanged stories. They had guests once that insisted on access to every cupboard. There were some "cupboard" doors in the library, which were no real cupboards but more of a wooddn facade in the same style as the doors, very high. Nothing in there, as far as anyone could remember and only a handspan deep. No key to be found. They rented a three story house with a 2 story second wing and rooms in other wings plus 2 story basements with service rooms, staff quarters and a huge pool under the garden. Space enough for four people? No. The owner had to organise a locksmith that could open the doors without damaging the antique wood and install a new lock, that went with the style of the room. As he always fretted when he had craftsmen in the house, this was a real torture: not to be there and watch them. He changed his contract then to include : the house contains locked cupboards (and rooms) and this space and the things in them are not included in the rent and not available to guests. I added a similar wording to my rental contracts and house rules for the full apartment rentals.
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