Self catering accomodation - cleaning.

Just back from a stay in a cottage in Cornwall. At £800 a week I still expect to leave it pretty much as spotless as I found it. The company had gone to great lengths with a covid policy. The cottage was bare of clutter and everything was clean. At the end of our stay we stripped the beds and bagged the linen, cleaned bathrooms and kitchen, mopped floors, emptied dishwasher and sprayed round with our dettol spray.
My pet hate in holiday cottages is splashes on the roof of the microwave.

I am not sure what your issue is, apart from the spray arm of the dishwasher.
I always clean before we leave a cottage, and would expect to do so now.

We usually camp, so I have only occasional experience of self-catering.
The first time we went, I was completely shocked at the amount of cleaning demanded of us before we left. I couldn't understand why we were paying a small fortune and expected, effectively to clean the house completely.
I expected to clean and pack away cutlery, crockery, kitchen equipment etc. I honestly did not expect to have to mop and clean down.
I realise now, that it is expected because a lot of self-catering accommodation is on a tight turn-around and the cleaners don't actually have time to clean, just to make the beds and do a basic check.
That first time, a number of our party had to leave the night before. We had to be up to leave at 5am, so we got up at 3.30am to clean everything down as instructed. I was honestly tempted to forgo the deposit!
Last time we went, we actually decided to go to a B&B to extend our holiday, so we could completely clean the holiday house and not rush!
I know that those of you who are used to this will think I am unreasonable!
We continue to camp mostly!

PS: Our folding camper is actually much more comfortable than the self-catering accommodation we have used as well!

That’s why, in normal circumstances, I prefer to go to a guest house/B&B.

In the current climate, would rather stay at home and clean my own house, not someone else’s.

Where we stay regularly (except this year!!) I always strip the bed and put bedding and towels in the wash before we leave. Sometimes friends or family stay with us for part of the time, so their bedding and towels are usually washed and dried as soon as they've gone.

I vacuum round before we go, clean the bathroom, and very often clean both the oven and the fridge - before we use them!

We are staying in a self catering cottage for 4 days this week, we are paying an extra £65 to cover cleaning and laundry. We will always leave as we find.

We stay in cottages regularly, and refuse point blank to deep clean the cottage when we leave. We very often have to do it when we arrive - a number of times we've found greasy dishes and dirty glasses, so have had to put the dishwasher on when we arrive, plus hoover, and in one instance clean the bath.

When we leave we hoover, strip the beds if asked (not everyone wants you to), make sure everything we have used is clean and put back where it belongs, clean down the work surfaces and sink and clean up any obvious mess in bathrooms and bedrooms. We clean up any spills when we make them, which may mean mopping the floor.

These cottages are not a cheap option anymore - the charges include cleaning costs, but I don't think the cleaners do more than the minimum in most places (pre-lock down though). We've never lost our deposit yet, and are always welcomed back to cottages we stay in fairly regularly.

My daughter runs a holiday let and you would not believe the horrendous mess she sometimes finds when guests have gone. Dishes unwashed, oven and grill filthy, bins overflowing. Fortunately it is rare. No wonder guests are asked to leave the place clean and tidy. Even if it appears clean, she still does a thorough clean herself, then sanitises. She usually puts all the crockery and cutlery through the dishwasher. She was awarded Excellent on a recent inspection and always gets top reviews.

I wouldn't expect to clean the self catering accommodation on leaving either. Obviously I would ensure all the basics were done ( daily ) bathroom, kitchen etc but as for more than that my payment should cover it.
If extra cleaning is required due to Covid then the arrival and departure times should be adjusted.

We had to vacate the property at 9 am and could not move in until 5 pm to give an extra two hours than usual.
I can see prices going up next year for extra cleaning costs.

We always leave a place clean and tidy, but that’s it. I don’t do a thorough clean as I would at home. That’s the job of the owner. People’s standards are different, so it would mean some people would get an immaculate place, and others a tip, but it would all have supposedly been ‘ cleaned’. The whole point of a holiday, is that you don’t do this sort of thing.

Not leaving dirty dishes, a dirty bathroom and stripping beds, leaving the linen with used towels, IMO constitutes leaving a property clean and tidy.

That's all that was required from those renting the property in Florida we used to own, with a request for one load of towels or bed linen to be put on to wash just before guests left.

Because of the pandemic, it's the owners responsibility to ensure the property has been cleaned to the standards required, regardless of how 'clean' it may look.

Well done to your D Cabbie for receiving an Excellent result; sounds like it was well deserved.

Goodness - I’d only clean before I left if it was a friend’s property she’d let me use for free or cheap. I make sure all rubbish bin are emptied, wipe down surfaces, hob etc and sinks and check loos, anything I moved put back in original place and all kitchen utensils, crockery etc back in place. Mopping floors? Not unless I’d spilt on them. The cleaner , whose job is to clean and who is paid to do it, must have to redo everything anyway to make sure it’s done properly. How would she know you hadn’t used the same cloth to wipe the toilet bowl and kitchen sink? I don’t pay what I do to mop floors , Hoover etc. I expect a place to be sparkling when I arrive and if I found anything dirty, greasy etc I’d be taking a photo and sending it straight away to the owner/agent.

Yes, I’d do exactly as suziewoozie does, and again like her, would expect a professional clean between my leaving and the next customer arriving. We’ve a cottage booked for the whole family next Easter (postponed from this year), and there’s a five hour gap between customers, presumably for this to happen. I certainly wouldn’t want the cleanliness and hygiene of the property to be dependent on the standards of the last people to stay there!

And the next people certainly wouldn’t want to be dependent on my standards, that’s for sure!

I agree with suziewoozie and others!

We always keep any self catering place really clean, but I object very much to cleaning it for the next people. So I don't clean it, but we do leave it in good condition ready for the cleaners.

Remind me never to stay in a self catering place! Hotels all the way for us and they're cheaper!

We have a dog and pay an extra £25 for cleaning. But we go over the top to make sure there is no trace of dog. That's why I mop floors.
If the cleaners have a checklist to follow, which is essential in covid times, then I'm sure they go over every inch again.
When we had a holiday home abroad we used to offer, (at an extra cost), a clean on the day before the guests left so they could just walk out on departure day. We were surprised how many people took this option.

I like hotels for 2-3 nights but that’s it. I like the space, flexibility, facilities of self catering. And atm I just could not stay in a hotel.

Me too suzie.

No, I wouldn't be keen on a hotel at the moment, but am okay with self catering. Having said that I know a lot of hotels are very Covid aware and take a lot of precautions to protect their guests. I'm thinking of taking my mother to a hotel for afternoon tea for her birthday, and the hotel I'm interested in has very good Covid precautions.

Phew ! After reading the first two posts I was beginning to feel like a proper slut! Thank goodness lots of other people are of the same mind as I am.If someone is being paid to come in and clean before the next clients what’s the point of it being done twice. I suppose that most of us do not realise that some people would leave a property in a disgusting state.