Air BnBs

The technician’s error wasn’t the fault of the host, but the Wi-Fi definitely was, Splinter .

@Bombonera , to you think there’s a general diminished housekeeping standard, perhaps in hotels too? We have rarely had a house cleaner come in without leaving behind a long, dark hair or two on the white kitchen floor. It’s irritating, because if we can see it, why can’t they? And of course it makes you wonder what unsanitary shortcuts they might also be taking. (Best not to let your mind go there)

When I was in advertising, I spent a lot of time with hotel managers. One client of mine was a Marriott, whose manager said their housekeepers had 57 different points to check after cleaning a room (check for dust on picture frames and lamp shades, for instance). I often think of that when I stay in hotels, most recently, a Marriott with a bright green M&M candy on the carpet in the living room. (Did it resist the vacuum cleaner? Did they even vacuum? How long had it been since they HAD vacuumed?)

I have stayed several times at AirBnBs in France , Spain and the USA.

Virtually no problems at any of them and standard if cleanliness has been fine.

Well I've never had any problems when staying in any accomodations over the years. That includes B&B's, self catering cottages and all classes of hotels. Must admit I don't go looking for hairs or dust though.

Quote from Rice

because if we can see it, why can’t they?

Because you wear glasses, they don't.

I have the same issue when I go wax my legs. I always come back and find hair left (mine). The waxing lady has one job.... but still....

In San Isidro, I was once attended by a lady who was wearing glasses and then I understood why every client wanted to be waxed by her.

The general way to do things here seems to simply carry out a routine, and if it works, it works, if doesn't, it doesn't.

This is the case of waxing (they wax you twice in the same area, what gets off, gets off, the rest it stays), of cleaning (they will vacuum the floor, once it is vacuumed it is done and if the cleaning lady's hair fall on the floor, they fell on a clean floor)

Actually, I wear glasses only for reading; what is left behind by the cleaning lady is usually visible without glasses, from across the room! But I see your point, serafina : people working in lower-level jobs tend to be paid by the time they put into the job, rather than by the job done, and done right. When there’s little or no satisfaction in a job well done, why bother?

I suspect the last people to blame are the cleaners.

My sympathies are normally with the cleaners, but if they don’t get the place clean, who else is there to blame?

Quote from Bombonera

It makes me think a vacuum cleaner hasn’t been anywhere near the place because it would pick them up.

Vacuum cleaners and - in general - effective appliances are not popular here - you can ask Splinter about even finding a kettle that does what it is supposed to do can turn into a challenge.

Those who are renting a low budget place are looking to save on every cost item they can, so they will buy the cheapest appliances or no appliances at all, as most appliances are expensive even if they are crap.

Think about doing the laundry: I have identified several tiers of appliances, from cheapest to most expensive.

Tier 1 - Manual centrifuge (foot operated) - misleadingly called "secadora centrifuga" in Spanish

In Argentina I have seen for the first time a foot-operated "secadora centrifuga" (dryer). I believe this is just a centrifuge for laundry done old style, i.e. washing by hand in a washing basin. This is a cheap solution for those who cannot afford a laundry machine.

Now it seems they have been replaced by the automated ones (see Tier 2)

Tier 2 - Centrifuge (powered) - misleadingly called "secadora centrifuga" in Spanish

Same thing as above, but you don't have a pedal - it will rotate by itself. However, you still need to manually discharge the water that gets pulled out from the garments.

Tier 3 - Semi-automated washing machine - Lavarropas Semiautomático

It looks like the one above, but there is a discharge pipe. However, it has no discharge pump, so you have install it accordingly to provide height to discharge the water.

Tier 4 - Washing machine - Lavarropas

As we know them in Europe

Tier 5 - Washer-dryer machine - Lavasecarropas

A combined appliance that offers washing machine and dryer capabilities. I have this one, but they are extremely expensive and even the models imported are just 3-4. When I bought mine, which is a LG, the model available only had one washing+drying program, i.e. I cannot use it as a dryer alone

So, cleaning in Argentina is very cost-driven.

As for cleaning supplies/items, a vacuum cleaner is not a given. For me, personally, is non-negotiable, but my sister-in-law lived for a decade without it.

Here they use a brush even on carpets (yikes!). Maids use whatever is available at the apartment, as they don't bring their own cleaning supplies with them (they are riding several buses, it would be impossible to them). If the owner provided only a dustpan and a brush, that's all the maid is going to use. Also, the cheapest dustpan do not have a rubber rim and it is not very effective in picking up the dust, in my opinion.

We have a vacuum cleaner at our apartment, but I can see that for a budget STR it is just an unnecessary expenses in the eyes of the STR owner since they are not the ones doing the cleaning nor using the apartment.

Quote from Bombonera

If I was a host I couldn’t look a guest in the eye as I was checking them in knowing what they were in for.

I think some of them actually live like that and have no idea of guests expectations coming from a different country/culture/economy. Some are just cheapskates and are afraid that the vacuum cleaner may get stolen.

If the price of a vacuum cleaner in Argentina equals 10+ nights of profits for a budget accomodation, they probably think that it is not worth the risk. Personally, I have decided to buy stuff of good quality right from the beginning as you get to maximize the profit you can get from them immediately vs. waiting to see if the guests asks for it (which was my husband's approach). I didn't buy the same level of stuff I'd buy for myself for the iron or the vacuum cleaner, but close enough. For larger appliances, like A/C units, fridge, and TVs, our STR has better stuff than what we do have in our own home (as it was stuff we bought when we arrived 10 years ago with the idea to stay for max 2 years).

A curious item caught my eye on MercadoLibre while I was shopping for our STR last year. It is an over-the-counter dishwasher. I saw one from a premium brand (I think Bosch) at Rodo, and since I didn't know they existed, I looked for prices on ML.

Also, the one in Rodo was more expensive than a full-size dishwasher by the same brand, which is counterintuitive to me.

On ML, I found a cute one called "Bob" that comes in several color, and it has a vintage look. The cheapest color, grey, costs 1.300.000 pesos, which is over 1,000 USD.

The same item (not same brand) is sold on amazon Italy starting from 300 USD.

Consider that the rental return in Buenos Aires is half or 1/3rd than in Italy, you can see why it makes no sense to put one in a STR.

I think their arbitrary review system stinks.

Quote from Bombonera

Well, another interesting point about aircon units. I have generally faired well with them here. Though of course I’ve spent the winter here this time round. They seem to often feature as heaters too and with one exception they have been fine.

The aircon unit in this place is a Sanyo something or other and it works extremely well and is very quiet too.

Maybe hosts don’t scrimp too much with aircon units when guests aren’t going to put it in their bag as they leave. And on top an aircon unit is a fixed asset expense potentially adding to or deducting from the value of the apartment which of course a hoover does not.

This has proved to be a useful discussion.

That's another decision that an owner has to do. When we decided to invest in a STR, we first needed to assess what tier of the market we were aiming at. Location is the main criteria, building features is the second one, and furnishing and furniture is the last one (you can't change a location but you can change furnitures).

If someone has inherited an apartment, or didn't originally buy the apartment thinking to rent it short-term, perhaps they did things gradually without having a holistic view of their endeavour. Perhaps it is an apartment where they once lived, and they were fine as it was - whereas now they should consider that people coming from abroad have different expectations and standard of living.
In my decade in Argentina, I have visited relatives' apartments where I wouldn't even spend a night if they paid me. But I would have never guessed that they were living on such different standard, as meeting them outside their home they looked groomed and not much different than me.

That's a consideration that brings together personal choices, upbringing, economy, and business.

Most people here are monotributista and there is no business expense deduction. They pay a fixed monthly tax based on their income tier.

I believe most are simply squeezing out some money from a property while preserving their capital (which they put in real estate vs. cash in the bank with 0% gain), and not very interested in being in the hospitality business per se.

Given the price of real estate in Argentina, I don't see how someone would enter into a STR business for a budget STR given the meager return that they can get. So they do the bare minimum to keep it rented, but their focus is on property appreciation.

An excellent point, serafina . While people who have bought property primarily for its probable appreciation could be tempted to rent it out, sometimes they are better off leaving it empty, because the damage caused by careless tenants can certainly exceed the rental income.

I've been looking at hotel prices in Glasgow for our stay in May and was surprised to find how much costs have risen. Even basic hotels are charging no less than £100 a night usually more. Airbnb's aren't much better from what I've seen.

It’s crazy! What has caused the absurd increase in prices? Air BnB’s seem to think they’re the Ritz Carlton.