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[00:00:00] Sarah: Hello. My name is Sarah Karakaian.

[00:00:01] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–

[00:00:03] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.

[00:00:04] Sarah: And this is the–

[00:00:05] Both Annette & Sarah: Hosting Hotline.

[00:00:06] Sarah: If you’d like to get your hosting question answered on the Hosting Hotline here on the Thanks for Visiting podcast, all you have to do is go to hostinghotline.com, ask your question. You’ll help so many other hosts in the process. Plus, we love these episodes, so please keep the questions coming. Today we have a question from Melissa.

[00:00:23] Questions: Hey, ladies. So I am going to be a new host, and I have a question about bed frames and headboards. I have a couple of headboards that are upholstered. What are your thoughts about using those and cleaning those instead of buying new headboards that are wood or washable? Love to know because it could save me a lot of money if I can use the headboards that I have now. 

[00:00:48] Sarah: Melissa, we have you. Use your headboards.

[00:00:50] Annette: Yeah, save the money. If these are your headboards, you know where they were before, we say go for it. And just a little hot tip here. Sarah’s going to share a story about a fabric headboard, but her and I both have and love the Bissell green monster. All hosts, if you don’t have that, buy yourself one.

[00:01:12] Sarah: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Is it called a little green monster? Did you just make that up?

[00:01:17] Annette: Now I’m questioning myself.

[00:01:19] Sarah: Okay, continue sharing then. I’m going to look this up.

[00:01:21] Annette: Green monster. I didn’t think I might have made that up. Hey, I announced green–

[00:01:27] Sarah: It’s the green machine, everybody.

[00:01:29] Annette: The little green monster.

[00:01:31] Sarah: I don’t know why though that was funny.

[00:01:33] Annette: Because it’s a monster. But get yourself a little green monster.

[00:01:38] Sarah: Yeah.

[00:01:38] Annette: Because you can use it on your home, your short-term rentals. This is the gift that keeps on giving. Normally, you could find it around, we’ll put the link, but under 100 bucks. And this is something that your team is going to be so thankful for, and it freshens things up, and your headboard if you ever needed to. But I think fabric headboards are nice. If you already have these, absolutely use them.

[00:02:03] Sarah: I feel like I have to come clean because, to be fair to you, Melissa, I have probably said that I prefer non upholstered headboards. And that’s true. I do. Because if a guest decides to read their book and they’re like, head is leading up the headboard, greasy head can create a stain or make the turnover more difficult, especially if something does happen and you don’t have a lot of time.

[00:02:24] The little green machine is great because it is small, and so you can carry it around very easily. It’s great for spot treating, and it does it with hot water. There’s a little solution too, but it’s usually pretty safe on most fabrics. But I can tell you that I told this to one of my clients back in the day, and she had made for us a headboard cover.

[00:02:44] Annette: Custom, right?

[00:02:45] Sarah: Yeah. And she had an upholster person come over. It was not an expensive endeavor, but she was like, this way, if anything happens, we are ready to just slip it on top and be ready for the next guest without being– so we had a backup for our backup. So the backup being a little green machine, and the backup for our backup being this headboard cover.

[00:03:03] Now, Melissa, I’m not saying don’t open your doors until you have this ready, but I just wanted to share with you what a client and I had done in the past to like, as we were going through all the scenarios, what could go down and how we could solve it quickly. But don’t spend any extra money.

[00:03:17] And I’m sure these headboards are beautiful. And upholstered headboards, they feel luxurious, and they feel high end. And I don’t know if you can prepare them for heavier use, whether you scotch guard them or prepare them in some way so that you can make sure they stay clean.

[00:03:30] And then have them regularly cleaned. If you can get in some sort of upholstery cleaning schedule, maybe quarterly, depending on how often you’re accepting reservations and how many guests you plan on having, that’s a great way to keep them looking great.

[00:03:42] Annette: Obviously, there’s certain things we don’t want you secondhanding. But if these are yours and you can save some money, let’s go.

[00:03:49] Sarah: Yes, Melissa, congratulations. Also, Melissa, if you haven’t already and you need any help beginning of your hosting journey, we’re going to reach out to you because we have just launched a new product called The Hosting Handbook, and it’s specifically for brand new hosts. And we’d love to see if this could help you as you start accepting new reservations and you start your hosting adventure. So we’ll reach out to you too and give you–

[00:04:11] Annette: And anybody that’s listening, if you’re new, you definitely want The Hosting Handbook. It might be called a handbook, but it’s a video series.

[00:04:17] Sarah: Yeah. And they’re little bite-sized videos, and it’s very searchable. So you’re like, what does Sarah and Annette have to say about pets and pet fees? You can just type the word pet, and anything that’s pet relatable will pop up. Or if you want to know how we fold our towels, we’ve got a little tiny video just about folding towels, or how we make beds. So it’s all there for you in case you need–

[00:04:35] Annette: It’s a reference guide for a new host.

[00:04:37] Sarah: It is. Sometimes you just don’t make the decision anymore. How is someone else doing–

[00:04:41] Annette: Decision fatigue is real. So that’s also why using these headboards is helpful. You don’t have to make another decision.

[00:04:47] Sarah: Yes. And it’s green. You already have them. Why buy more? All right, Melissa. With that, I am Sarah Karakaian.

[00:04:52] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–

[00:04:53] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.

[00:04:55] Sarah: Talk to you next time.