Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common House Guest Room Policy: please share

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Aug 25, 2006, at 9:50 AM, Robert Heinich wrote:

> I would appreciate it if folks would share their Common House guest 
> policy.  Our Common House upstairs with guest rooms will be finished 
> soon and therefore we should have a policy in place.

The Guidelines from Takoma Village are inserted below. All of these 
guidelines arose out of conflicts of one kind or another. We functioned 
for a long time with no guidelines. We now use an online calendar 
program to make reservations and that has helped a lot. Handwriting on 
a paper calendar on a bulletin board caused lots of confusion. I 
deleted the contact names for privacy since I didn't ask if I could 
distribute their names to the world. I actually didn't ask if it was 
okay to share the guidelines but I'll take the chance. If you were a 
guest, you would see a copy of the guidelines so they aren't exactly 
secret.


Host Responsibilities for Their Guests

Hosts should either be present at TVC (for example, not out of town) or 
reachable by phone. Be sure to list a contact phone number on the sign 
out sheet for the key(s).

The host should be present for both the check-in and check-out of their 
guest. When this is not possible, the host should find another member 
to take responsibility and email the guest room manager with the name 
of the person who will be standing in.

The host who made the reservation is responsible for lost keys, missing 
sheets or towels, damage, or room not being vacated for the next guest.

Check-Out and Check-In

The default check-out time is 5:30 pm and 6:00 is the default check-in 
time for guests. If this isn’t convenient, hosts with back-to-back 
reservations are free to negotiate a different time.

There are two sets of sheets and towels for each guest room. This gives 
each host 24 hours to wash sheets and towels and return them to the 
room. (The linens are now kept in plastic bins in the TVC office. You 
no longer need the guest room key to return them!) Alternatively, hosts 
can use their own linen.

Cleaning

Allow an hour for cleaning and preparing the room, so that the next 
guest can move in promptly at 6:00.

Be sure to clean the bathroom, even if the other guest room (but not 
the bathroom!) is still occupied.

Suggested Donations

Suggested donation is $25 per night per room.

Guest Room Keys

Each host is responsible for the guest room key, for personally signing 
it out from the folder and returning it to the folder. Ten dollars will 
be charged for a lost guest room key -- i.e., not available in the 
guest room folder in time for the next guest.

Resolving Problems

Reservations: On the guest room calendar, please write in if the 
reservation has some flexibility, is tentative, or of low priority.  If 
you decide not to use the room, be sure to call the next person in the 
queue.

Contacts: When the guest room manager is not available, members of the 
guest room team also have backup keys to both guest rooms. If you can’t 
reach S__, contact A__ or S__.

Double Booking: In case of an accidental double booking, there is a 
roll-away bed in the hall in the guest room suite. The guest room 
manager also has a list of households that might house a guest at the 
last-minute.

Incurred Costs: If costs are incurred because a host failed to have the 
room vacant and ready, the first host may be asked to compensate for 
the cost. The guest room team can be asked to help with the 
negotiation.

Abusing Guest Room Guidelines: The Guest Room Pod made up of Community 
Team members will meet and work with hosts who repeatedly abuse guest 
room privileges.

Length of Stay:

A host may reserve the room for up to 10 days (or both rooms for 5 
days).

To request approval for a longer stay, the host should send an email to 
the TVC-Members list explaining the request and asking if there are any 
concerns or objections. Alternatively, as with the common house 
exception procedure, the host may ask the community team to post the 
request anonymously.

Once the request is posted to the community, members of the community 
have three days to object or raise concerns.

An objection or concern does not automatically override the request. To 
be given fair consideration, the objection or concern needs to be as 
thoughtfully explained as the original request. The objection or 
concern may not be frivolous, arbitrary, or vindictive.

If objections or concerns can not be resolved between the person making 
the request and the person(s) who object(s) or raise(s) concerns, the 
requester shall refer the objection or concern to the guest room point 
person or her designee.

The objection or concern and the host’s needs, shall be considered, 
balanced, and negotiated by the guest room point person or her 
designee. If necessary, or if not resolved within three days, the guest 
room point person or her designee shall refer the matter to the 
community team for resolution.

The community team shall have four days to approve or deny the request. 
If there is no response from the community team within four days from 
the day the objection is referred to the team, the request is presumed 
approved.

Once a request has been approved or denied, the grounds for the 
approval or denial will be made known to the community. Those grounds 
will then become a basis for approval or denial of subsequent similar 
requests for exceptions to the guidelines.