The Great Strip Tease: Airbnb & the Hot-Button Topic of Stripping the Beds
Airbnb announced today that their search algorithm will no longer “hide” cleaning fees, but instead clearly show them in the nightly price breakdown. I applaud this decision, especially because, as I've written before, hosts use the cleaning fee to make the nightly prices work with their lives.
But the second part of the announcement, that Airbnb is going to prevent hosts from asking for certain tasks prior to check-out, is troubling.
Today's news release says that tasks such as vacuuming, doing laundry, and stripping the beds are “unreasonable.” I've never asked a guest to vacuum or do the laundry (though I have asked them to start a load of towels), but stripping the beds is a task that I would encourage EVERY GUEST who stays at an Airbnb to do.
Why?
Personal Belongings.
Almost every time my guests haven't stripped their beds, they have left things in the bed. Nightgowns, underwear, phone chargers, toys, beloved stuffed animals. The bed is where the things are left. Personal things. Unmentionable things.
If you strip your bed, you might save yourself $25 or $100 in your left-behind stuff. Or more— You may spend far more on nightwear than the average human!
I didn't ask guests to strip the beds until Covid. That's when guidelines emerged recommending that hospitality workers shouldn’t strip the beds, but have guests do it, and then bundle their laundry. Following those guidelines, we waited 24-48 hours to clean it, giving germs time to die. When you pop those sheets off the bed, you are spraying skin cells and body moisture back into the air, and you're breathing it in. These guidelines from the CDC are eyeopening.
Now that I know about spray, I NEVER want to strip a stranger's bed again.
And when I do it, you know I am masked up.
Finally, as an Ambassador, I work with hosts all over the world who are setting up their own Airbnbs. Many of them are older, and they are doing the cleaning themselves. Frankly, to keep one's prices competitive, it’s a huge help to do one’s own cleaning. And some of my hosts NEED help from their guests in order to be able to host. Making a bed is a lot easier than stripping it. And so they ask their guests to do this task, which takes 1 to 3 minutes.
And that's their choice.
The elegant solution to this strip tease is simply for Airbnb to have space where hosts disclose what the guests need to do. If it seems onerous, don't book the place. No one is ever forced into booking an Airbnb. It's been basic practice for decades of home rental for folks to bring their own linen, or to strip the beds. This is truly not a big deal. I've been hosting for nearly 10 years and NO ONE HAS EVER COMPLAINED.
I only see these complaints as click-bait online. When my guests check in, they can see how much care we have put into the space to prepare it for them. The care they put into the space when they check out feels reciprocal and kind.
Stripping beds is a super-hot topic in the STR world. Miles of Reddit and FB discussions, videos galore. And plenty of hosts never ask guests to strip beds— but the reason is a little creepier than you’d think.
When you’re stripping a bed, you can more easily see “stains” and you can spot treat them, and you can photograph them and request a reimbursement from your guest through Airbnb’s AirCover Program.
That’s right. The non-sheet-strippers don’t have you strip because they are examining your leavings.
~ long pause ~ deep breath ~
We don't have any “requirements” upon check out, but we do have an ask. I ask my guests to please consolidate and bag their trash, to wash their dishes, return toys and games to where they found them, and to strip the bed and leave the sheets in the laundry room.
Maybe once a year, someone decides to ignore my asks. They are always from New York. (What gives, NYC?)
And those I choose not to host again. Hosting is great, but for my health, for my family's health, and for your precious panties, let’s strip!
And please, don't ask me to mail your panties home.
