I wish these people would just never go on holiday!!

[Brightlightmoon]

This is just a rant. I'm so sick of people!

I work in tourism (holiday rentals) and I'm sick of (unfortunately, mainly Brits) threatening legal action for absolutely EVERYTHING!

They book a property without aircon, it doesn't say anywhere on the listing that there's aircon nor have they mentioned any desire for aircon. They arrive, notice there's no air con and go fucking ape shit, threatening us in emails and text messages and phone calls, demanding all of their money back immediately or they're going to drag us through the courts. Same situation for anything else you can imagine - a washing machine breaks during their holiday (it happens, they don't break down on a schedule!), so they deem the property to be unfit for rental and not in line with the advertisement. We try and arrange for it to be fixed or for a new one to be fitted as soon as possible, but if we can't have it all done and dusted within half a day of their complaint, in come the threats and demands for full repayment.

I love my job, I love it so much, but fucking hell this type of shit gets to me.

Not at all! I'm very used to it now as I've grown up with it, but I'll never forget the look on a British owner's face when the roof caved in of one of his villas and he was told by the French roofer "Of course I can help, I can be there in 3 weeks time, it is August now you know"!

It's just different over here and I find that a lot of people expect the same standards as in their home country when it's just not like that here at all.

We stayed in a ski villa in Alp D'Huez a few summers ok. We decided to leave a day early to break up the journey back, but didn't tell the rental company. Then we got a really angry phone call as apparently we were meant to wait for them to come and inspect the property before we were allowed to leave! I had never heard of that before.

Bloody hell, I don't even get this level of abuse working in the NHS.

garlictwist
Then we got a really angry phone call as apparently we were meant to wait for them to come and inspect the property before we were allowed to leave! I had never heard of that before.

Oooh a lot of our owners used to want us to go and check as well, but it's just not viable. Some owners go mad if a wine glass is broken and I refuse to take any money from the client's security deposit just for that, it always caused arguments! We just ask our cleaners to keep an eye out as they're on the property every week anyway and then we let the owners know if anything is broken, it saves so much aggro. I used to hate walking around the property "checking" everything.

@Brightlightmoon most of the things you've mentioned - the lack of air con when not advertised, the temperature of the pool, a few leaves in the pool, the cracked wine glass, the splinter and the small bit of tree branch falling in the garden at 3am in high winds - are not valid complaints and you should be able to politely dismiss them.

But you have complained about the clients who didn't complain about the dirty pool causing problems for you. What do you want?

If I booked a place because it had a washing machine and it broke I would understand that these things happen. I would report it to you and expect it to be repaired or replaced within a reasonable time - I think three days is reasonable. If not I would expect a partial refund. Again I think that is reasonable.

You have chosen to be the middle woman between holiday let owners and their tenants and charge for the service you provide. That includes dealing promptly with valid complaints from holidaymakers and telling some of your property owners that they are not coming up to scratch. It also means sometimes dealing with difficult people on both sides. That's your job.

I'm finding your posts quite patronising. I'm aware it's my job, I chose this job and I love this job - am I not allowed to ever have a rant about the people who scream abuse at me down the phone or send countless threatening emails?

The people not noticing the pool going green is a funny anecdote, they weren't charged, they weren't complained to, they were waved off with a smile and a little chuckle of "people on holiday forget their brains at home!"

I think you're right about the French attitude - it could take weeks for things to be sorted, and people are used to a snappier service here.
Expectations are higher now and it's the case that people are used to, and demand, very high standards. It does seem to teeter into unreasonable territory all too often! Couple that with no holidays for a couple of years, and the situation gets exacerbated.

It sounds a bit like when people move to the country then moan about tractors… they like the lovely views but they don’t want to see the work that creates those views. Similarly, these people want a holiday in a lovely sleepy place, but they also want everyone to snap to immediately should there be the slightest inconvenience (while not disturbing the charming sleepy atmosphere, of course…)

Stay strong op, the end of the summer hols must surely be in sight!

I must admit I was a bit miffed when I booked an apartment in france and the only air con was in the living room. The listing didn't mention in every room but the fact the listing mentioned air con in the title was misleading. I also would be annoyed if I specifically booked a property with a washing machine only for it to be broken - I travel by motorcycle so only have clothes for 4 days. Mostly we have been lucky with rentals but I've heard so many horror stories. If you are renting properties in a climate warmer than the U.K. I think you should implicitly mention that you do not have air con because I too would expect it as standard just like heating is automatic

@Brightlightmoon and I'm finding your posts more than a little baffling. When people complain that's always wrong but when they don't complain that's sometimes wrong too.

The only thing that would please you is if people stopped doing things that annoyed or inconvenienced you in any way and you could just take their money.

Booking villas in the middle of the countryside surrounded by beautiful vineyards, but calling me at 11.30 pm demanding to be moved because of geckos in the lounge. I felt like crying!

Three weekends left before things really calm down! I reckon I can manage it if I average 3 glasses of wine a night 😂

It is annoying when there’s something missing. Our mid holiday rental had no washing machine - my fault I had assumed there was one hadnt double checked as thought it was pretty standard. Dh had to experience an Italian launderette! didn’t contact owners as my error but yes was internally eye rolling.

gogohmm We have a little tick box on the listings for aircon, so if it's not ticked, there is none. It's usually mentioned on all of the listings anyway as if there's no aircon, there are fans etc. It's just a case of reading the whole description and list of facilities before booking and it can't be missed. I think often that people are just very excited (understandable), get ahead of themselves, don't check the facilities and then are disappointed, which is a pity for all involved.

I melt in the heat. If you want air con you have to check the listings. I’ve stayed in mid budget places in cooler countries that have air con and in a ridiculously expensive place in a hot country that didn’t (I booked at the coolest time of year.)

I’m sorry people are so rude to you OP

@limitedperiodonly ... have the holiday rental overlords sent you to test my blood pressure..?

@Brightlightmoon

If a washing machine breaks and the part will take 4 days then offering to do the laundry of the affected customers is the answer perhaps. There are solutions often and we as customers recognise when a company is trying their best. Too often though there's an attitude of "oh well can't do anything" the high prices these days (eg the rental I have in September is nearly twice the 2019 rate mean we expect a far better more professional service. Property owners who are reaping the profits need to up their game

Thanks FlorettaB 😊it's annoying but definitely giving me a thicker skin, which isn't a bad thing. My first year I think I spent the whole summer in tears.

gogohmm Yep I agree some owners are really taking the piss. We try and stop them but at the end of the day it's their decision. The washing machine issues are usually fairly straightforward to deal with, it just requires patience all around. We (finally!) have public washing machines at a few supermarkets now, so that's always a good solution if the one in the villa does conk out. Previous to that, we would've had to direct them to the nearest launderette, which also wasn't really a thing, or take their washing home with us.

We had the whole electrics system go on an old small chateau I rented once - handy man came straight away (of course spoke no English) and did lots of shrugging. Luckily my poor school girl French was good enough to understand he wasn't an electrician and there was nobody around who could - but my father had already diagnosed the problem (electrician!) so after a quick call to the owner in Paris who did speak perfect English thankfully the handyman under dad's guidance went to buy the fuses and all was good. Love travelling with him!!!

My rate for the upcoming bank holiday weekend is just £16 per person per night based on 5 people staying for a week. This is for a 4* Govt rated detached Victorian cottage with a private garden and excellent reviews.

How is that not cheaper than a hotel?

No but if I booked a holiday through you and had a problem like the washing machine I was relying on not working and you either didn't fix it within a reasonable time or didn't give me a partial refund to compensate me for the cost and inconvenience of finding a laundrette or washing my smalls in the sink you would find me a difficult customer.

If you did that it would be fine and I would thank you and tell people what a nice person you were.

I would phone you between 8am and 5pm and would think it was entirely reasonable of you to have your phone going to voicemail outside those times.

I would not be interested in hearing about local difficulties or being told to relax and have a glass of wine. If that happened I would tell people never to book through you.

I had to laugh about the roofer. Which part of the south are you? Round here, yes it would be September. Next year!! All the trades except the dodgy ones that don't have décennale insurance plan thé work for the year between 25-31 December the previous year.

Big miffed myself 2 years ago when thé gîte I rented with pool, use of the pool depended on the owners unlocking/opening the cover in the morning. 3 or 4 mornings they didn't. Said nothing.

And I would respond to you as quickly as I could and make sure that your expectations were correct. It's August now, 80% of businesses around here are shut until September. I can go into a shop and try and buy a new washing machine on the spot, but will more than likely be told that they need to order it and the warehouse is shut, come back in 3 weeks.
I could try and get a technician out - the majority of the local technicians are on holiday until September, the remaining ones are backed up with work, also until September.

My only option is to direct you to the nearest place where you can do your laundry. Refunds/compensation aren't my decision, they're the owners decision. If the owner of the villa you're staying in is a dick and says no then there's nothing I can do, so yes I will show up with a bottle of wine and an apology. If they're lovely then they still get to decide the amount, if you're not happy with the amount then there's nothing I can do.

If you're phoning me at 8am to have a go after I've told you all of this and shown you to the nearest public washing machines, then yes you will be put at the bottom of the list because the people staying in the villa with a leak in the pool is more important, the ones with the toddler who fell down the stairs and needs medical attention but the parents don't speak French is more important, the villa that hasn't been cleaned because of a system error and the owners not being aware and the guests are arriving in an hour is more important. If you understand all of the above and aren't yelling at me, then you're a wonderful guest who understands that sometimes shit happens and despite me doing my absolute best, there are things that are out of my hands. If the above makes you think I'm not doing my job correctly then there's nothing I can do for you. I do my best, always, but I'm not a magician and can't force people to not go on holiday in August, nor stop washing machines from breaking mid-stay, unfortunately.

Right down South, about an hour from Spain! When I first arrived here it was 20 times worse, we're at least 2 decades behind. We've only just got takeaway coffee shops in cafes for goodness sake 😂

In my opinion as a manager, I always think more information is better than none so I would always urge people to let the owners/managers know. We can't be on-site the entire time so there will definitely be things we're not aware of. If the kitchen only has 2 frying pans, its easily because the previous renters broke the rest and didnt replace them or let us know, so we wouldn't know to fix it for you. If the kettle has conked out, if the fridge is leaking etc, all helpful. Always give feedback with a smile, then at least we're aware of what needs to be fixed 😁 You definitely should've said something about the pool cover, that's not on!!

🤣
I would love this!