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239. Not Leaving These 5 Tools for Your Airbnb Guests Could Cost You Big-Time · Thanks For Visiting

• 0:00
  Sarah: Hello, welcome back for another great week.
• 0:02
  My name is Sarah Karakaian.
• 0:03
  Annette: I am Annette Grant, and together we are--
• 0:05
  Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.
• 0:07
  Sarah: Kickoff this episode like we do every week, and that is sharing
• 0:09
  one of you, our amazing listeners or viewers who is using our hashtag
• 0:13
  on Instagram, #STRShareSunday.
• 0:17
  We'll share you here on the podcast, in our newsletter, on the YouTubes.
• 0:22
  Annette, who are we sharing this week?
• 0:24
  Annette: Today we are sharing @twobaystay, and that is the number two Bay Stay.
• 0:31
  And Kara, you're crushing it.
• 0:33
  And we were just at the same event.
• 0:35
  I don't know if we crossed paths, but please do yourself a favor, go
• 0:41
  check out all of Kara's property.
• 0:43
  So Kara is a property owner.
• 0:45
  She is a property manager, and she's a realtor.
• 0:48
  So I want you to not only go to her Instagram because there is some just
• 0:54
  amazing wallpaper in multiple places.
• 0:58
  I need to know about your plants, Kara.
• 0:59
  She has plants everywhere.
• 1:00
  I need to know if they're real or fake.
• 1:01
  They're gorgeous.
• 1:03
  And I just want you to take a look at how she's designed all of these homes.
• 1:08
  They're well designed, but they're not over designed.
• 1:13
  It just seems very curated.
• 1:16
  But again, there's not a lot of things, but you can tell that she's put so
• 1:20
  much time and effort in the design.
• 1:22
  I want to go stay at all of them.
• 1:23
  Sarah: She's got this coffee station in it.
• 1:25
  Have you seen this?
• 1:27
  Oh my gosh, it's so good.
• 1:29
  She's got her cups on the wall hanging from hooks and she's got-- and like
• 1:33
  you said, it's cute, it's simple.
• 1:36
  She's got a little bucket list on some writeable paper.
• 1:39
  It's just real cute.
• 1:40
  Annette: She has, I love this, a vinyl and cocktail corner.
• 1:43
  So she has vinyl records as art on the wall, on shelves, and then a little
• 1:48
  cocktail station, which is genius.
• 1:51
  And it looks like she's done a really nice job in a lot of the bedrooms, having some
• 1:56
  accent law to bring the space to life.
• 2:00
  Similarly to that vinyl wall, she has a wall of books that are so amazing.
• 2:05
  It's a kid-friendly book area.
• 2:08
  And last but not least, I just want to give her a shout out because when
• 2:12
  you go to her website, please check out her direct booking website.
• 2:16
  It's amazing.
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  But the thing that I really love is she has woven in that she is a realtor and
• 2:21
  she does specialize in short-term rentals.
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  And if you are a host out there looking for more things to do because
• 2:29
  you're already not busy enough, take a look at Kara and what she's doing.
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  Well done.
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  You are a shining example of an amazing host, co-host, and professional
• 2:40
  in the real estate world, Kara.
• 2:41
  So keep up the amazing work.
• 2:43
  Hopefully, we will head North and visit you someday soon.
• 2:48
  All right, Sarah, let's get on to the episode.
• 2:51
  Sarah: Today we're going to take it back a little bit, get very basic, but
• 2:56
  before you press that pause or stop button on this episode, hang with us
• 3:01
  because we just want to make sure that these five basic but essential cleaning
• 3:08
  tools are available to not your cleaning team, not only your cleaning team, if
• 3:13
  they're want to use it, but your guest.
• 3:15
  Annette: Yes.
• 3:16
  Most importantly, these are there for your guest.
• 3:19
  Nothing drives me crazier than when I am at a short-term rental and I want
• 3:25
  to do a little bit of cleaning and there's no supplies, or heaven forbid,
• 3:32
  you drop something, you spill something and you really need to help yourself.
• 3:36
  So let's get into it.
• 3:37
  Sarah: Did you experience something this past weekend where this-- you
• 3:40
  were inspired for this episode Annette.
• 3:42
  Did you go to reach for something to clean up and it wasn't there?
• 3:44
  Annette: Yes.
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  Multiple times.
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  There was a lot of us.
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  We were all staying there.
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  I wanted to clean up the kitchen.
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  I wanted to wipe down the bathroom.
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  I just wanted to tidy.
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  These are things that I do at my own home and I live alone.
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  And that's what's inspired this of like, I know that there are certain things I do
• 4:01
  on a daily basis with just one person that the compound effect is real when there's
• 4:07
  multiple people staying in the house.
• 4:08
  There's maybe multiple baths and showers and restroom breaks and food being cooked.
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  So let your guests help themselves and if the short-term rental is to mirror a home,
• 4:20
  most people do some cleanup when they're on their daily basis at their house.
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  So let's get into these things that-- one thing that we're excited about too
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  is these things are purchased once.
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  Most of them.
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  We are not going to ask you to go spend a ton of money.
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  These are investments in your property.
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  And again, your guest is going to be helping you keep your asset clean.
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  But these are things that you can buy once, and besides one
• 4:45
  of them, you should not have to repurchase for quite some time.
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  Sarah: Yes.
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  And we've got five here for you.
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  We're going to go in order.
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  And all of these items will be linked in our show notes, the ones that
• 4:55
  we use in case you're interested.
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  So first up is, drum roll, please, microfiber cloths.
• 5:04
  Why microfiber, Annette?
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  Your mom, you dubbed her microfiber queen.
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  Annette: They're great multipurpose cleaners.
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  Let's say you want to wipe down the television screen.
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  You want to wipe down your own computer screen.
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  You want to wipe down a surface that maybe you don't want to put some cleaner on.
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  They are the catch-all.
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  They can be used over and over again.
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  The guest can clean them.
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  Just a great catch-all, if you will, product that they could use
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  on multiple different surfaces.
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  And it's safe.
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  You know that if the guest is going to use it on any of your surfaces, it's safe.
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  It's not like maybe if you have porous sponges, something like that.
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  If a guest is going to help themselves, it's going to be
• 5:49
  safe on everything in your home.
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  Sarah: You can buy a pack of them.
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  You can wash them.
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  You should wash them between stays.
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  And when you do, there are some things you want to be careful of so that you
• 5:58
  don't have to keep buying these cloths.
• 6:00
  You can keep reusing them.
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  The most important thing is to make sure you wash them on their own
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  with other microfiber materials.
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  You want to make sure you're using a fragrance-free and
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  additive-free detergent.
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  And here's the kicker, you want to make sure that you do not use
• 6:18
  fabric softener in the dryer cycle.
• 6:20
  Annette: Yeah.
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  Because it makes the magic of the microfiber unmagical.
• 6:24
  Sarah: Unmagical.
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  And then I looked on Google and if they get full of odors over time, just a
• 6:29
  little splash of vinegar in that wash cycle will clear that right up for you.
• 6:33
  Annette: That's number one.
• 6:37
  Sarah: Okay.
• 6:38
  Number two seems obvious, but you'd be surprised because I ran
• 6:43
  into this issue a few years ago.
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  I had a wonderful short-term rental and I couldn't believe it.
• 6:47
  I went you go look for it and there was no multi-purpose cleaner anywhere.
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  And here's the cool thing.
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  Here's what we do.
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  We get a concentrate so that all you have to do is add water.
• 7:00
  And you can get a multipurpose cleaner that is safe, non-toxic.
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  It doesn't have to be anything terrible for your home.
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  The safer you get it, the more non-toxic you get it.
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  Your guest won't use it on a surface that's not meant for it.
• 7:14
  But like Annette said, people want to clean up after themselves.
• 7:17
  And having a multi-purpose cleanup that they can use throughout the home
• 7:20
  during their stay is really lovely.
• 7:21
  Annette: Yeah.
• 7:21
  They can use it in the kitchen, if they want to take it to
• 7:23
  maybe the bathroom sink.
• 7:25
  A lot of people are traveling, maybe they can use it in their
• 7:28
  car if they spilled something.
• 7:30
  Think of all the places.
• 7:31
  But that's something super simple and I know that's-- especially if
• 7:34
  they're using your kitchen a lot, it's nice to spray it on the countertops.
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  Sarah: Some tips.
• 7:38
  Use a spray bottle.
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  I'll try to link to the ones that we like to use, are by Zep.
• 7:42
  But you can reuse them over and over again.
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  Put a label on them.
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  Make sure guests know exactly what's in there.
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  And make sure you're not putting them where kids can get their hands on them.
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  So either behind locked doors or up high.
• 7:52
  Annette: Yeah.
• 7:53
  Sarah: All right.
• 7:53
  Here's number three, and this one took some convincing back in the day for one
• 7:58
  of my clients to allow me to have one of these in the home because she didn't
• 8:02
  want a guest to think about cleaning.
• 8:04
  That was her argument.
• 8:05
  I don't want my guest to think about cleaning when they're here.
• 8:06
  I'm like, well, unless you're providing daily cleaning service, the guest
• 8:10
  is going to want this in their home.
• 8:11
  Annette
• 8:12
  Annette: Ooh, broom and dust pan.
• 8:14
  Sarah: Yeah.
• 8:15
  Annette: And I do not cook and I do live alone.
• 8:18
  And I still, every day I am like, how are there things on my floor?
• 8:21
  And I sweep my own floor very, very often.
• 8:25
  And I just know if people are cooking in your home, also if a glass
• 8:29
  breaks, they need to sweep that up.
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  Or if there is a spill, it can be very clean in a closet on a hook.
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  It can be very tidy.
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  If they don't want to think about cleaning, they don't have to.
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  But if they need to or want to, it is there for them.
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  Super inexpensive.
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  Please, put this in your home for them.
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  Sarah: Bonus tip.
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  Have one for outside use as well for your guest.
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  Because sometimes guests, I've learned over the years, want to clear off
• 8:56
  the deck or the porch or the walkway.
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  You're going to have those guests who just enjoy doing that and they want
• 9:02
  to keep it tidy during their stay.
• 9:03
  Annette: Especially, I know homes, in the woods there's tons of
• 9:06
  stuff on the patios all the time.
• 9:08
  If you're on the beach, it definitely is something to leave for your
• 9:11
  guests and super inexpensive.
• 9:13
  Sarah: All right.
• 9:13
  Here is one that I've stood by since the beginning.
• 9:17
  Some of these I've learned over time to include.
• 9:20
  This one, a vacuum.
• 9:22
  And you need to have a vacuum in each of your properties and you need to forbid
• 9:26
  your cleaning team from bringing their own that they've used at other properties.
• 9:32
  They can bring with them bugs and-- mostly bugs.
• 9:38
  Annette: I live near multiple short-term rentals and the cleaning teams that
• 9:42
  clean them, I see them on every turnover day, grab the vacuum out of their car.
• 9:47
  I'm like, where has that vacuum been?
• 9:49
  Sarah: Yeah.
• 9:49
  Annette: Where has that vacuum been?
• 9:51
  Have your turnover team clean that.
• 9:54
  It needs to be cleaned out.
• 9:56
  It can't be full of all of the things that our vacuum cleans up.
• 9:59
  So that is something that they do just need to clean it out each time.
• 10:03
  But again, your guests will really appreciate that if, again, they just
• 10:07
  want to clean or if they have had some spill or they need to clean something up.
• 10:10
  So--
• 10:11
  Sarah: Yes, and we've got--
• 10:11
  Annette: Leave that in your property.
• 10:12
  Sarah: We've got something that we'll tag in our show notes.
• 10:14
  We've got two options.
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  One is a higher price option if you want to make an investment.
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  We also have another one that I've been using for the past several years, and
• 10:22
  they're pretty indestructible and they're not expensive, and they're good for pets.
• 10:26
  And they've got some decent attachments too, so we'll share those with you.
• 10:28
  And of course, if you've got a vacuum or any of these items that you love, let
• 10:33
  us know and we will share it with the masses too so everyone can learn from you.
• 10:38
  Annette: And last but not least.
• 10:41
  Sarah: Annette, can you share with everyone why this one's on our list?
• 10:44
  Annette: This one is on the list because I guest had to call me and
• 10:48
  alert me that there was not one in the home and they were leaving.
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  And so guess what, I'm the one that had to deal with it.
• 10:56
  So now these are everywhere.
• 10:59
  And you guys can guess, it was the plunger.
• 11:01
  It should be--
• 11:03
  Sarah: In the
• 11:03
  Annette: Yeah.
• 11:04
  In every bathroom too.
• 11:05
  I'm just putting myself in that guest's shoes.
• 11:09
  How embarrassing to have to call me.
• 11:10
  They didn't even have to call me and tell me, but they wanted to give me a
• 11:13
  heads up like, hey, if you're coming here to clean, help yourself out.
• 11:17
  But I feel terrible now that that was something that I forgot.
• 11:21
  But yeah, you don't want your guests having to call you.
• 11:24
  You don't want to put your guests in a interesting situation with fellow people
• 11:28
  that they might be vacationing with.
• 11:30
  Some of them they may know, may not know.
• 11:32
  That's why you do want to have multiple, because no one wants to have that.
• 11:36
  Sarah: Hey, can you pass me the plunger?
• 11:38
  You don't want to do that.
• 11:39
  Annette: But yeah, and again, let your guest help you because, Sarah,
• 11:43
  you have a plunging incident.
• 11:45
  Yeah.
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  And you supplied it.
• 11:47
  Sarah: I did.
• 11:48
  Annette: But maybe it wasn't as in eyesight and you had a little overflow--
• 11:53
  Sarah: Yes.
• 11:54
  Annette: Issue that ruined a lot of things.
• 11:56
  Sarah: It did.
• 11:57
  It ruined some rugs.
• 11:57
  You had to call in-- at that point you have to call in professionals
• 12:00
  to sanitize the apartment.
• 12:02
  So put it in sight, and here's how you can do it if you're saying, well, I don't
• 12:05
  want a guest to see a plunger next to my beautiful toilet, I like the ones where
• 12:10
  the plunger can sit inside of, they're usually white and you put them down, and
• 12:13
  the white encasement covers the plunger.
• 12:18
  And then you can wash the plunger outside with the spigot or
• 12:21
  whatever you want to keep it in good shape, but that way it stays.
• 12:25
  And then I also offer this bonus tip too.
• 12:27
  We like to offer toilet bowl cleaners as well, for the guests,
• 12:32
  especially if you offer longer stays.
• 12:35
  A guest might want to clean the toilet.
• 12:37
  Especially, like Annette said, that they're sharing it with other people,
• 12:40
  maybe acquaintances, friends, who knows.
• 12:42
  But give them that opportunity to do that so they can keep
• 12:44
  the toilet bowl clean as well.
• 12:47
  Annette: And obviously these five things, we're just going
• 12:50
  to go through them really quick.
• 12:50
  One more time.
• 12:51
  The microfiber towels, multipurpose spray, a broom and a dust
• 12:55
  pan, a vacuum, and a plunger.
• 12:57
  We understand there are many other things that we just assume
• 13:01
  you're leaving for your guests-- soaps, hand soaps, body soaps.
• 13:06
  Sarah: Future podcast episodes.
• 13:07
  Annette: Yeah.
• 13:07
  Your dishwashing pods have detergent if you have a washer and dryer.
• 13:12
  Those are things that we just made some assumptions about that we assume that
• 13:17
  you have those in your property, but these are five sneaky ones that, that
• 13:20
  we find a lot of aren't in properties and really will help your guest out.
• 13:24
  And these can be very organized, very neat.
• 13:27
  And again, they can be out of sight of the guest if they don't
• 13:30
  ever need to deal with them.
• 13:31
  And if you-- the plunger, if you want to put it wherever, just so it's there on the
• 13:35
  property so people can help themselves.
• 13:36
  But do these things today.
• 13:38
  It'll help that guest.
• 13:39
  And again, maybe someone hasn't mentioned this to you, but just because
• 13:43
  they haven't mentioned it doesn't mean that they didn't think about it
• 13:46
  or want or need it during their stay.
• 13:48
  Sarah: As always, learn from our mistakes.
• 13:50
  With that, my name is Sarah Karakaian.
• 13:52
  Annette: I'm Annette Grant, and together we are--
• 13:54
  Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.
• 13:55
  Sarah: We'll talk to you next time.