Iâm sure there are many other members whoâve experienced this issue. Secondary residences can be either vacation/weekend getaway homes where the member actually resides there part-timeâŚorâŚit can be a property used as a rental such as an Airbnb. In the latter, the member doesnât use it as a residence, part-time or otherwise. In those cases, itâs all too common to experience a lack of common amenities found in âhomesâ. Empty refrigerators (ie; no condiments such as mustard, mayo, ketchup, etc), no salt/pepper/spices, no cooking oil, no cleaning supplies, no paper towels, no hand or dish soap, etc etc. In these situations, the guest is left to buy these things (ie; full bottles of mustard/mayo/oil/salt/pepper) then leave them all behind (slightly less than full) when they check out. Another exampleâŚthey say thereâs a washing machine but donât provide laundry soap (as if they donât want you to use it), so you have to buy a full bottle or tub of pods. This is unfair. Suggestion: If the Host indicates the property is a secondary restaurant, enable additional amenity checboxes to select (or yes/no) such as âCondiments/Spices/Cooking Oilâ, âCleaning Suppliesâ, 'Hand/Dish/Laundry Soap (if applicable).
Thank you for your thoughts on this. I feel like the listings are quite clear when it is a secondary home. You can even filter out secondary homes if you would prefer to exchange only with primary homes. I think perhaps one should assume that when exchanging with a secondary home that there is unlikely to be items such as condiments.
I have to disagree. Many secondary HOMES are just thatâŚanother place the host owns for a getawayâŚsuch as a beach house, cabin in the mountains, lake house, city apt but they live in the country, or vice versa. The problem is you canât tell unless the guest specifically asks the potential host in every case. It would better serve the members to have it pre-defined.
Youâre right to say that there are secondary residences, dedicated to renting, where the basics are missing. I would even add that, in these cases, the kitchenware is scarce and generally of very poor quality (scratched pans, tiny pots, very few utensils and plates, etc.). But spotting them isnât that difficult: the furniture you see in the photos is usually simple and very standard, and the decoration is impersonal or non-existent. Then itâs up to you to decide if itâs worth it anyway because itâs located in a place youâre really interested in (for example, coastal or ski apartments), or if you just donât contact them at all.
I understand your point of view, as itâs certainly not fair, and I also believe they should receive fewer GP. I also see it as complicated to make a list of all the details of a house. Personally, I suggested the idea that houses that systematically donât provide sheets and towels should receive fewer GP, but I was told that this would only encourage other families to stop offering them. Anyway, HE is a business and, like all businesses, it seeks profitability, so if they started cutting points for families with rental houses, their market would probably suffer.
I really do feel the HE platform needs to advertise if the home is listed as a rental/AirBnB etc as these usually have limited consumable supplies.
HE doesnât know that. Itâs up to each owner to do what he wants with his home.
AYE Caramba!! Iâm beginning to be more and more disappointed with the âqualityâ of Ambassador responses. What weâre saying is HE should consider incorporating elements that address this issue in the area where the owner defines their property (ie; oven, dishwasher, selective waste, etc) and/or the âResidence Typeâ (which really should be labeled âProperty typeâ because if itâs a rental, itâs not their residence). If you really read this string and thought about it, youâd know this is not about what an owner chooses to do with his property. Itâs about DISCLOSING what we, the potential guest, will get/not get to eliminate surprises (oh, I have to buy a full bottle of any/all condiments, cleaning supplies, paper towels, laundry detergent, dishwasher tabs, cooking oil, etc etc). Yes, we could ask the owner, but that means generating a stay request which is less preferable than knowing BEFOREHAND so we can choose whether we want to initiate a stay request or not.
Ok, well sorry if my answers donât please you, itâs just my opinion as a long time member, not the HE official word. Anyway thanks for the suggestion, for now no vote for it.
You have convinced me, I give you my vote for at least to be able to disclose rental properties from real second homes. This would be really easy to do.