Holiday cottages for two people

You can draw up your own contract to what suits.
We ask for the name of the lead person so any problems can be taken up with one person. For the others we just ask whether they are adults or children.
We offered to pay taxes for our guests but our Maire refused saying it was more important to encourage guests to use the boulangerie, little shop, bar, butcher etc in the village.
Our rules around the property were minimal. I hate to see tickets on everything, but our A4 sheet on the pool had very clear guidelines. Insurance is an issue, yes Greeneyedgirl.

Ellianne, I only ever rent a whole property. It was OldHag who said no visitors.
I wanted to know if that was in the contract?

There are taxes to pay for overnight guests in Italy so you do need to give details.

When we book we always have to give names of anyone else who may come to stay even for a night. Not just visiting for an afternoon. I would imagine visitors who are not registered won’t be covered by insurance for example? Likewise use of the pool and insurance I would assume Ellianne.

Extra visitors are fine if you have sole use of the property and don't share facilities.
We had renters who wanted their friends to come over to use the pool, but as we had two other properties on site we said no. You have to consider the harmony of all the guests.

Just wondering if you put a no visitors directive in your rental agreement? I've never seen one.

Elsewhere in Italy we invited the "next door" neighbours one evening to share some wine and nibbles with us. It seemed totally appropriate. They had been so very helpful. The following year we popped in on them on our way south and kept on touch subsequently.

OldHag ''Oh, and finally, just because you've paid for the use of the property for the week/fortnight, your friends or relatives haven't, and inviting other people to visit you at the property can lead to damage,''

I find this quite incredible- we very often holiday with friends or with family, and book a villa/cottage to suit the numbers that will be visiting us. You can't expect someone to rent a 3 or 4 bed with 3 or 4 bathrooms, etc- and only have the two main rentors to stay there- and only use on bedroom/bathroom.

Really?

Last time we rented, my brother came for a few days, and then a couple of young friends with the two kids. We paid for a bed change and bathroom clean for the switch over.

Some years ago we rented a holiday cottage less than half an hour from friends also renting in rural Italy. We were there for just over three weeks in a beautiful spot, in a lovely villa. They were friends we hadn't seen for the best part of a year and it was totally coincidental. It was exciting to have them to our holiday home one day and to go to explore "their" area with them another.

I would have thought it rather mean to have not allowed us to meet up in our rentals OldHag.

Out of interest OldHag if you expect cleaning to be done, do you provide products and equipment? Or are the paying customers expected to buy them? We are regular renters of the same property and assume that the cleaners must either take their own stuff or that it is in one of the locked cupboards. For example no mop or cleaning fluid for the kitchen floor. (Broom to sweep it, which we do). Likewise no products or cloths for cleaning the bathroom (apart from a loo brush), no dusters etc.

Well said, OldHag. My daughter runs a holiday cottage and works very hard, setting herself incredibly high standards. She still does a welcome pack including home made cake!

Aepgirl

I have a similar issue but that is the price of having a single room in a hotel or b&b. It costs the hotel no more to have a sole holiday-maker than a couple. We only eat one meal, only sleep in one bed, only use one towel, so why are we made to feel a nuisance, and have to pay for this privilege?

I travel and always have this problem. Last time in Scotland I have booked my double room only to find that a couple were arriving the following day, so to save the trouble of making up the bed again, the owner decided to put me in a single room which had a very uncomfortable single bed. They thought a small bottle of wine was good compensation, i was not given the choice. I do believe they hadn’t changed it since their son was four, he was at university.

We stay in a one bedroom log cabin with outside hot tub. It will be our second time in July. The company is called Rural Roosts and it’s near Lincoln. We love the peace and quiet, king size bed and of course hot tub. Free fishing in lake. Dogs welcome too.

We own a holiday cottage with 2 bedrooms, but only accept 2 guests after a dreadful experience with a group of 4 young lads. Now, we tend to get couples, sisters, or friends, and it works really well. We NEVER assume that only one bedroom will be used, and know for a fact that a lot of our guests use both bedrooms because of snoring problems. We still do a 'Welcome Hamper' but include all wrapped goods in order to be 'Covid safe'. We made a considered decision not to remove all books, games, etc., and leave our guests to make their own decision as to whether they wish to use them, as guidance about these things has changed over time.

For those of you who don't believe that it's important to leave the cottage clean and tidy, the reason most owners request this, is because there is an incredible amount to be done, between departure and arrival, not just basic cleaning, but deep cleaning, often including dirty oven and hob, together with making up beds, checking all cutlery, pots, pans, china, glass, etc. Then there are sofa covers to be changed, cushion covers to be changed, windows to be cleaned, fires to be cleaned out, garden areas to be checked, including seating, outdoor tables, and umbrellas, then the BBQ has to be checked and cleaned, as all too often guests are keen to use the BBQ, but not so keen to spend their holiday cleaning it. The list is never ending, and it all has to be done in just a few hours. Then if something has been broken, it may mean a mad dash into town to try and find a suitable replacement. So please, next time you stay somewhere nice, please try and leave it as you find it, as otherwise the next guest to come in, may find that something hasn't been done because you couldn't be bothered to clean the oven when something boiled over and got burnt on, and we've simply run out of time.

Oh, and finally, just because you've paid for the use of the property for the week/fortnight, your friends or relatives haven't, and inviting other people to visit you at the property can lead to damage, for example spilt wine when 4 of you have a few too many , where 2 of you are less likely to do so. Your friends decide that they don't want to go outside for a cigarette, and you don't like to push the point, so we end up having to deal with a hole burned in the sofa. Or something goes missing, but it's not you who has taken it. I'm sure you get the picture. Plus, you will also find that many insurance companies will not cover damage if people other than those named on the booking form are present in the property. So again, please cut us some slack, we're not all in it to fleece you, we, like many other property owners, want our guests to have the best possible time, and go out of our way to try and ensure that, so it's not really fair to invite guests to someone else's property, without at least asking if it's OK first.

Sorry it's such a long one, but I just wanted to make sure that people realise just how much work we put into making your holiday property a lovely place to stay.

The examples I have given were some years ago and not related to the current situation with Covid. Of course I understand how difficult it must be for Owners right now and the challenges they face. Let's hope things get better soon.

ps @ Judy - we have often stayed in holiday cottages in the past and never come across that situaion - ridiculous. But prices have gone up - owners trying to compensate for the loss of income recently?

The only time we rented a holiday flat recently was when we returned from France and were homeless for a few months (long story).
No problem with access to rooms and the flat was ok but the CH boiler kept breaking down in the freezing Feb 2018. Luckily the landlord was decent, and available, and had to pay out for a new boiler.
Otherwise we would have stopped the rent. We had booked for 2 months.

We had similar issues in Wales and Devon pre covid. Rented 3b and 2b houses but only one room made up. Informed we had to leave place spotless, bed stripped, floors and fridge clean or deposit not returned. One had a freezer we could barely use as it was full of owners food. Both had rooms we or the dog not allowed in despite paying full price and extra for dog. We booked with owners direct in both cases but find it much better if you book through a company specialising in holiday rentals.

Alioop

I've found that quite a lot. When I was married my ex snored like a train so sometimes I had to go to another room to get sleep. The spare beds, most of the time, hadn't been made up with just a bare mattress or the bedroom doors locked so I had to lie on the sofa. Never rebooked any of them, why pay full price for a half closed up cottage .

Why not make it clear at the time of booking that you will be using the whole villa/flat/cottage etc - 2 on arrival with guests arriving during the week- if you know you are likely to want to use more than one room.

As for goodies- I really don't expect any.

Paperbackwriter

*Still on the theme of holiday cottages, can anyone tell me why owners have seemingly stopped leaving any 'welcome packs' of any kind?*

It was Covid regulations and still is. My daughter and her partner rent out a cottage and they're still not allowed to leave a welcome pack. You are supposed to do (or bring) your own shopping.

If you rent a 3 bedroom place but only require one bed to be made up, I do think you should say so and accept that you don't use the other two rooms. Otherwise, those doing the changeover have to launder the unused items, replace the duvets with a 'quarantined' one, etc. It's a lot of work (and staff are hard to come by, thanks to Brexit) and it's not environmentally friendly to be washing unused bedlinen.

This isn’t COVID rules, it’s certain rental agents rules! My daughter rents out her house and has never stopped offering a welcome tray of goodies.

Far too many companies using COVID as an excuse!!

What happens if you want to have guests for one or two night during your week stay? Surely that should be allowed if you pay for the 2hole cottage. Sound incredible to me.

I run my own cottage through a booking company. I always email guests directly to ask if they would like both rooms making up as you can never assume 2 adults means a couple, we get siblings or parent and child staying and they wouldn’t want a double!!

On the other side it is nice when they only ask for one room ti be made up as it saves extra washing and ironing and I also work full time. I haven’t had a single complaint so far and enjoy meeting all our guests

It’s very rude to lock off rooms, you rented the whole house! I would’ve complained. Some owners are very stuck up about their properties. I live in a beautiful thatched chocolate box cottage so it’s lovely to have guests come and appreciate it.

I've found that quite a lot. When I was married my ex snored like a train so sometimes I had to go to another room to get sleep. The spare beds, most of the time, hadn't been made up with just a bare mattress or the bedroom doors locked so I had to lie on the sofa. Never rebooked any of them, why pay full price for a half closed up cottage .

I have a similar issue but that is the price of having a single room in a hotel or b&b. It costs the hotel no more to have a sole holiday-maker than a couple. We only eat one meal, only sleep in one bed, only use one towel, so why are we made to feel a nuisance, and have to pay for this privilege?

No cushions on garden furniture and sun loungers!! I would be cross!

Ha ha ...try it if there is only ONE of you ......impossible ! Even caravans are charged for the whole one ......nowhere except a tent for one

Also, no cushions or throws either in or outside will be provided

Ive never been anywhere with throws but removing those huge piles of cushions from the bed (that there is never anywhere to pit) is a plus in my opinion!!