Why Airbnb Hosts Complain, Turnover Cleaning Tips

Why AirBnB Host Complain About Guests

Why Airbnb hosts complain about guests is not a mystery. Any traveler can be an Airbnb guest and stay at a short-term rental or #VRBO.

But let’s look at why AirBnB hosts complain about guests when they are quiet, and polite and leave the #AirBnB damage-free. They may not leave it clean.

There are host expectations that come with home sharing. Yes, they are in the hospitality industry, and many charge a cleaning fee for cleaning and standard amenities. But as a live-in host, you are staying in their home. Even a short stay can change their feedback or rating and review if you don’t leave it clean.

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Why Airbnb Hosts Complain About Guests

Why do AirBnB hosts complain that the guests left the place dirty, and yet they charge a cleaning fee? It’s a great question, and we’re going to talk about that today.

Hi, there. I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask A House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer.

All right, today’s question is from a guest who wants to know “Why do AirBnB hosts complain? They say that guests left the place dirty, and yet they’re collecting a cleaning fee. Why is that?”

Why Airbnb Hosts Complain About Guests Leaving a Mess

Airbnb Hosts Complain, Shocked Woman Looking at ComputerWell, that’s a fair question, and what it comes down to is this: it’s a new space.

And you’re like, “What? What is a new space?”

New space is this: whenever, as humans, we go into a new space, we’re taking in everything around us, and it’s kind of like sensory overload.

Do you remember when you started driving a car? You get in the car, and you’re scared a little bit, and you don’t know if you should push on the gas, or the brake, or when do you take your foot off the brake?

How is the engine engaging? Are you supposed to back up now? Do you look this way, or do you look that way?

Everything New Provides a New Perspective

Airbnb Hosts Complain, Teen Learning to DriveThere’s all this stuff to remember. “Oh, yeah, there’s nobody behind me, right?” Then you have to get ready to drive down the road. “Oh, yeah, the speed limits,” and how fast am I supposed to go? There’s just so much going on. When we come home from driving on the first experience, we have all these stories to tell about different signs. “…and we went from 35 to 45, and then it jumped back down to 35 just like that, with no warning!” Right? We talking about speed limits.

You have all these stories to tell. But after you’ve been driving for years, you get in the car and you arrive at your destination, and you’re like, “Whoa! I don’t even remember driving here.”

Experience Creates Comfort

Airbnb Hosts Complain, Angry WomanAnd yet you passed all the same signs. You backed up out of the drive the same way. You hit the road the same way. And you stopped at the same stop signs. You stopped at the same stop lights. You followed all the rules of the road, but it’s just second nature.

When you are in a new space, there’s all this sensory overload, and it happens a lot with AirBnB hosts who are hosting as new hosts.

They haven’t figured it all out yet, and they haven’t experienced it all yet.

A customer might leave some tomato juice from a tomato that they cut up on the cupboard. The host will come in and, “How dare they leave tomato juice on my cupboard!” 

Then, after they’ve been in business for a few years, they’ve experienced a few damages. They’ve had complaints of noise and the cops have been called, and there are all these other things going on. They walk in, and they pray that all they find is tomato juice on their cupboard.

Airbnb Hosts Complain About Guests Because It’s New

Airbnb Hosts Complain, Woman Putting Bottle in Recycle BinIt’s easy to complain about guests because you’re new. You’re in this new space. Yeah, they charge a cleaning fee, because they’ve got to turn around and hire a professional cleaner. But then, they’re hearing it back from the cleaner as well.

The cleaner is in a new space, and the cleaner has these stories to tell. And those stories and how to resolve the issues in them are new to the host.

Did you know that the cleaner’s responsibility is to do damage control, and to take pictures of before and after each guest?

The reason that’s important is that maybe they have to charge extra for cleaning. If the house cleaner has to charge the AirBnB host for extra cleaning, they’re going to pass that charge on to you.

Billing a Customer for Extra Charges is New to the Host

Airbnb Hosts Complain, Broken VaseIf you get hit up with an extra bill that says you have to pay extra money, they need to provide you proof. Documenting that proof to someone who has never done this can be a chore.

After cleaning up the mess, the housekeeper has to take new photos to show the repairs made before the next guest arrives.

They document the damage connected with the guest on the listing site if funds received in escrow need to be claimed.

The process of documenting damage and filing claims can also be a new occurrence to a host.

Everybody Has New Stories on Any New Job

Airbnb Hosts Complain, Family DinnerIf you got a new job today, and you showed up on the new job, when you come home tonight, you’re going to have all kinds of stories to tell.

“Oh, there’s this one woman, and you’re not going to believe how she dresses!” And you make judgments of crazy stuff you noticed.  And then after you’ve worked there for a while, you’re like, “Ah, that’s just Carrie. That’s just who she is.” We let it slide because it’s like driving the car. It’s second nature to us.

But right now, in the beginning, it’s not second nature, so everything is super important. Everything has another layer of meaning and newness.  That is the reason why people complain about the way that guests leave their homes.

Prevent AirBnB Hosts from Complaining About You

Airbnb Hosts Complain, Pretty KitchenWell, let me just make a suggestion to you. Don’t ever be the guest that they complain about. When you leave, make sure that you leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.

The reason for that is this if you enter a space and you leave it cleaner, you have blessed that space. It blessed you. You blessed the space, and now you’re gone. They only have positive things to say about you.

Did you know that, on the vacation rental platforms, the host can also rate the guests? When you leave, they can write a review and say, “Oh, my goodness. This person was spectacular. We really enjoyed having them.”

Your Reputation Follows You

Then, when you go to stay at the next Airbnb, that host can read your ratings and reviews.  And you want them to say; “Wow, this looks like a person that I would want to stay at our place.”

Airbnb Hosts Complain, Woman Holding Hands Up to ComputerBut did you know, I belong to a group with lots and lots of Airbnb hosts, and they sit there and they’re like, “Eh, we are not having that person come in. Uh-uh, I don’t think so.” And then they decline your offer.

The way you leave a place, and the way a host feels about you can determine your options of where you can stay next time.

If you’re a problem guest, some hosts will decline you even though you chose them.

So, do not be the guest that leaves the place messy. Tidy everything up when you’re done, and treat the AirBnB just like it was your own home. Treat it with respect, with care, with harmony, and as I say, leave it better than when you found it.

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Resources For Today

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Airbnb Super-Host: The Ultimate Guide to Hosting Success: Unlock Your Home’s Earning Potential The Right Way To Make More Money with Airbnb – https://amzn.to/2ruVn54

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