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> Yes, that's a French thing, always has been - sorry if that's the first time the author went to France and rented a private flat there ...

Not just in France, in Germany also not uncommon when renting a "Ferienwohnung". You usually also pay extra for cleaning if you stay for more than a few days. That's just how it works here, but of course it needs to be mentioned in the listing.

> Plus, why would you even need a drier mid-June in Florence (when the temperature hovers between 30C and 40C during day time...) - must be an American thing somehow.

That's indeed hilarious, but oh the horror of putting wet clothes on a drying rack. Driers are simply not that common over here. Electricity is expensive, it's not good for your clothes, plus driers are the number one electrical appliance for creating house fires, so no thank you.

I moved from South Africa to Ireland. I definitely miss hanging my clothes out in the summer for 20 minutes and getting bone dry clothes back.

Yes, that's a French thing, always has been - sorry if that's the first time the author went to France and rented a private flat there ..

This sounded wrong, so I asked my French expatriate friends and they're convinced you're smoking something strong. It's not normal to have to bring your own sheets and towels for a short-term stay in France, though it is normal for a longer-term stay.

no, it's not wrong. I went to this airbnb some months ago: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5656702 - it's written that linens aren't provided

I went another time to France some years ago and there wasn't anything either.

In both situations though, I asked the owner beforehand and made it clear that providing the linens was conditional for renting the apartment - it's not usual in France to provide linens, as weird as it seems.

But most hosts, especially the ones who care about reviews, will be accommodating.

Sure, you're a nomad, so you're used to how things work in other places, but a lot of people aren't, nor do know how to research local customs nor whom to ask before they arrive. I'm not a traveler, so if I suddenly did arrive in France, the whole bedding rental thing is a totally new concept that I'v never heard of before reading your comment. How would I even know to ask about that sort of thing, if my experience was entirely based on hotels, where that isn't a thing.

When you first started nomad-ding, how often did you get caught out by some custom you never heard of before?

By doing basic research on the entirely separate country and culture you're going to? Does everybody seriously just lack critical thinking and expect everyone else to pick up the slack now?

When I travel somewhere - especially somewhere I don't speak the language - I make sure I know things like basic customs, politeness, emergency numbers, unexpected laws, etc.

You are a guest in their home.

Yeah I wonder what would happen if you encountered something different from where you come from while traveling.

I bet somewhere in that Florence apartment was a drying rack. It worked fine for the Airbnb I had in room as well...

>Yes, that's a French thing, [...]

Is this a common occurrence in French hotels?

And are you supposed to carry your own sheets in the luggage?

Yes, that's a French thing.

Being French and having traveled in every corner of the country for ~30 years, never once have I heard of that, much less actually traveled with my own linen. Sounds like it's simply some thinly veiled extra charge for cleaning?

I'm French, I've been in hotels and AirBnBs all around the country and in many countries in Europe (Finland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and France obviously).

About your question, in French hotels: 100% no. Obviously NOT, you don't have to come to the hotel with your own bed linen and whatnot. Hotels in France work exactly like anywhere else in Europe: you book it, you check in, you use the room, you check out, "ciao | bye bye | merci bonne journée" :3

In French AirBnBs (or "home rentals"), and in AirBnBs in Europe: it's a whole different story and it's so completely random. Owners make up rules and regulations, costs and additional costs.

I'm not talking about local 'tourist tax', but literally in some AirBnBs, you see a note when you arrive there: "if you touch that pile of towels, we charge 20€.", "If you leave any dishes to wash we charge 50€", etc. It's crazy in many ways: those costs are NOT announced beforehand (or never accurately), and the rules are completely wacky.

This is what the article is partly about, it has become a cash grabbing, tasteless experience, where greedy people with side hustles are not only destroying local housing prices, but also destroying the actual "(Air)BnB experience".

The conclusion could be "let's all go back to hotels", but this would be massively simplistic :(