Holiday let, disrespectful guests.

Doodledog

*Guests were never asked to put the dishwasher on before leaving but they always did anyway just like we always did when we stayed.*
It's perfectly reasonable to expect the dishwasher to be loaded and switched on, but IMO not to expect guests to wait for it to finish, empty it and put the dishes away. The last time my group went away we washed up by hand so we could be out on time - it's not a massive deal, but it does make for unnecessary stress, and when people are supposed to be on holiday I don't think it's necessary.

The dishwasher would always finish its cycle while we were having our showers and loading up the car. I expect that’s what most guests would do but I expect there were some who just put dirty dishes in the dishwasher and left and who could blame them with often a very long journey ahead of them.

We used an agent to manage the house for us.

I'm sure everyone has their own way of doing things, and none or right or wrong. My point is just that I don't think that setting the dishwasher away before leaving and letting the cleaners empty it and put away the dishes is anything other than reasonable. Not leaving them dirty in the machine. Not leaving them scattered around the house. Not stolen and in the back of the car. But in the process of being cleaned .

People who walk off with items such as bath towels, kitchen equipment etc. are thieving, and they know it! The holiday lets we've had, hold a deposit against breakages or damage. People who make off with the owners' property should have that money forfeited.

I agree, but how could the owner prove anything?

No idea! DD Apart from blacklisting them, I imagine they could deny everything.

Recently a couple were caught on CCTV walking out of a hotel with bags bulging with many of the contents of the room. When the hotelier released the footage on FB she was visited by the police who advised that this was causing the former guests distress

We had a lovely holiday in a beautiful farmhouse in Tiverton this year, it was so well stocked and comfortable, we loved it. We left it clean and tidy, stripped the beds as asked and left in good time. We met the cleaners going to the house )they’d for a quick turnaround which we’d known about) and spoke to them. We had a lovely message about how grateful they were about how we’d left the place. It didn’t take long at all. Mind you we paid £300 cleaning costs as part of the price!

Doodledog

I agree, but how could the owner prove anything?

Very difficult, unless there is an inspection before leaving. The cost of that is prohibitive, so losses have to be accepted. But it is a huge shame, and utterly shameful.

We have always stripped beds, wiped tops, left everything tidy and certainly cleaned any areas where there has been a spillage - DS, when small, would invariably slop drinks around in the kitchen. However, I would not expect to vacuum and dust. If cleaners are at a premium, then the owner should do this.

TerriBull

People who walk off with items such as bath towels, kitchen equipment etc. are thieving, and they know it! The holiday lets we've had, hold a deposit against breakages or damage. People who make off with the owners' property should have that money forfeited.

This.

If an owner asks for the person's credit card number you can take a payment for damages. We did so twice, explained why in an email, and those renting didn't even query it.

Joseann

TerriBull

People who walk off with items such as bath towels, kitchen equipment etc. are thieving, and they know it! The holiday lets we've had, hold a deposit against breakages or damage. People who make off with the owners' property should have that money forfeited.

This.

Sadly we can’t prove a thing, we called in to the property to read the meters as the cleaners were preparing it for the guests from hell and everything was in its place.
Guests will just deny having taken anything.

I’m over it now, I read through the visitors book at all the lovely comments from the other lovely respectful guests and that made me feel better!

I refuse to put stickers on items or signs everywhere, I hate that in a holiday let, we just have to hope we don’t get any more bad guests.

Here’s one of our lovely reviews;

👍
Unfortunately there's often one bad apple, but the other reviews you've had will override that.

We must have rented hundreds of holiday cottages over the years and have never damaged anything. We always leave the property clean and tidy, beds stripped, surfaces wiped etc. but wouldn’t hoover unless it was badly needed.
I must admit though paying a housekeeping deposit, on top of an already hefty rental charge, has always annoyed me.
After reading about the outrageous behaviour of some guests on here though I will certainly be more sympathetic to the owners situation in future.

AreWeThereYet

One place we stayed in had a cleaning charge that they said would be taken off the deposit if the place wasn't left clean. I've no idea what they meant by clean - we always wash and put away dishes, clean surfaces, mop up and vacuum spills as we go, put out rubbish and leave everything looking clean when we leave, but we got so paranoid by the constant notices we ended up cleaning the bathroom and kitchen from top to bottom, vacuuming all the way through and double checking everything before we left. We spent the week worrying about breaking anything or staining anything - I don't know why because we haven't done that in any other place. We haven't been back, it was a lovely house but far from a relaxing place to be.

We had this once too.
Could easily have gone back as a fabulous property in a nice spot.

We didn't return.

Whilst I fully sympathise with Sago, after the cottage we hired in Wales this year and the state of it I will no longer feel I am a guest I am a customer. I will be treating a holiday cottage as I would a B&B or hotel.
It will be left tidy and everything in the place we found it but I will not be stripping beds and giving a thorough days clean unless it is stated in the hiring requirements and then I will not choose to stay there.
It is my holiday ,the price of these cottages in popular places are becoming extortionate and cost more than a package holiday.
Having said that I do have sympathy for owners like Sago who see the people as guests. We know someone who set up an Air B&B and after the stay of one couple found they had been cleared out of even furniture using a van.

M0nica

If you do not want to clean up and tidy after a stay in a holiday let, then stay in a hotel.

The last holiday let I stayed in they charged a cleaning fee of £150 - too right I am not vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms when I have paid for a full clean

Who on earth goes on holiday and moves the pictures around!!
I always make sure the dishes etc are washed up and out away and vacuum the home - I got an excellent rating the last Airbnb I stayed in

No sympathy
You are I assume making a profit?
You are also keeping a property that people could be living in
Again no sympathy

The bad results where lets have been trashed or just not been looked after, is why I would never want to enter any renting market - the state of some houses (and how some people live ) shown on the T.V. programme are heartbreakingly dreadful and beyond comprehension!

I guess there will always be some guests who don't adhere to the basic rules of respect and courtesy. We have hired self-catering accommodation for about 50 years and always leave properties in good order. I used to be fanatical about cleaning when I left. The joke in our family was that Mum always leaves the holiday house on hands and knees going backwards out of the house, cleaning cloth in hand. I'm less fanatical about it now that old age has taken a grip. DDs regularly use AirB&B and have (almost) persuaded me that no cleaning is expected.

My family probably don’t put things back in the right place. Mainly because when we arrive we have to spend a long time looking for things. At the end of the holiday no one can remember who found what and where they found it. I just assume that the next people will do what we do and look in the logical places. I certainly can’t remember which glasses were in which cupboard.

We don't stay in holiday lets as we are bondholders in an organisation which has properties in the UK and abroad. It used to be, maybe still is, advertised using Judith Chalmers as a spokesperson. We have never had any unreasonable demands about cleaning and, as we and other guests are 'members', we have never indulged in the type of behaviours I see described here. I hesitate to use the name of the organisation as this might be viewed as advertising - but I think if you look for Chalmers and holiday bond you might find it!

Mizuna

My son was letting his flat as an (immaculate) Air BnB. The last people left it in a disgusting state. They were living in a van, travelling, and had obviously used his flat to wash everything they owned and had a dog whose fur was everywhere. The kitchen was filthy, grease all over the place. The carpet was full of unidentifiable dirt, the tablecloth saturated in some sort of oil. In a two night stay I can't imagine how they managed it. They turned the heating up to 30°, presumably to dry the clothes. Sadly it's put my son off letting it now although it was an income he needed.

When we rented a house in the French countryside, the agreement was x units on the electric meter was included in the rent, anything over was charged extra.

Some years ago we rented a gite in Honfleur - 8 of us. As we were driving over the Pont Normandie we got a phone call from the couple who had arrived before us. Beds unmade and a heap of dirty be linen on the kitchen floor. BU this time it was after 5.00pm and we weren't sure what to do. In those days supermarkets didn't open on Sundays so we had little time to buy bed linen.

The owners were English and had provided 2 phone numbers, neither of which were answered. Just before we arrived two teen aged girls arrived with clean linen. They offered to make the beds up but we did ourselves.

This gite was for 8 people but there were only 4 outside chairs and an outside table which was about 1 meter in diameter. One day when we were eating lunch in the dining room the table started to collapse. We managed to stop it falling over and my DH (who used to be a furniture restorer) looked underneath and found broken parts which had been wedged in but were gradually coming adrift. The owners, when finally contacted, were quite offhand. There were other problems too.

Just a thought. If young children or children with disabilities were staying perhaps that's why matches, lighters, scissors, sharp knives etc were moved up higher.
Never stayed in a holiday let myself but had a touring caravan. By the sound of these prices after 4 or 5 holiday let stays you could have bought a second hand caravan in gd condition for the same price or cheaper.