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Category: Guest Communication
By: Chris Nakamura
Reply by Megan O'Connor:
30% non-compliance is actually about average. Here's how I got mine down to about 10%: 1. **Simplify ruthlessly.** If your checkout list has more than 3 items, cut it down. Guests are on vacation — they don't want homework. My list: "Take out trash. Lock the door." That's IT. I used to ask them to start laundry, strip beds, run the dishwasher... compliance was terrible. 2. **Send instructions at the RIGHT time.** Night before checkout (around 8pm) AND morning of checkout (8am). Two touchpoints. Hospitable (https://hospitable.com) handles this automatically. 3. **Make it dead simple.** "Trash goes in the gray bin behind the kitchen door. Just pull it to the curb." Not "Sort recyclables into the blue bin and compost into the green..." — too complicated. 4. **Don't charge extra for it.** Your cleaning fee should assume the worst case. If guests do the bare minimum, great — your cleaner's job is easier. If they don't, your cleaner can still handle it within the budgeted time. 5. **Accept it.** Some guests will always be messy. Factor it into your cleaning fee and move on. Penalizing guests for not following checkout procedures leads to bad reviews.
Reply by Jessica Morales:
Controversial opinion: I stopped asking guests to do ANYTHING at checkout. My instructions are: "Leave the key on the counter and enjoy your trip home!" My cleaner handles everything — dishes, trash, laundry, all of it. I added $15 to my cleaning fee to cover the extra work. Result: zero checkout stress for guests, zero non-compliance issues, and my reviews improved because the checkout experience feels effortless. Sometimes the best checkout procedure is no checkout procedure.