If you lent someone your holiday apartment for a week would you expect a token thank you gift?

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My cousin and her partner and his two teenage children have asked to use our apartment in Cornwall for a few days in September. Would you expect them to pay or at least contribute towards their utility bills while they are there?

Do you run the holiday home as a business or is it empty? If it is a holiday let business, then it makes sense for them to cover cleaning fees and utilities.

Otherwise, I would personally only have the same expectations of them as I would houseguests. A token gift would be nice, but not mandatory.

It makes sense to ask them to bring their own towels and sheets if it’s an inconvenience for you. Give instructions for taking out bins and locking up etc.

I would say you can stay for X amount. So if you want a small contribution say £100 or 150 or something. That is going to be cheaper than anything else which is similar.

I think if you do not stipulate they might not offer anything.

I think you are making a mistake by wanting something from them if you then don't actually ask them for it.

Be honest with yourself and work out what you would like in return. You will be saving them lots and lots of money so it's perfectly reasonable to ask for something. I think you could ask for a couple of hundred and say it's to cover lost income, bills and an extra clean.

Expecting them to pay or give you a gift but not telling them that's what you expect is daft. It's far better to have a moments awkwardness now rather than end up in a situation where you resent them. It's in your interest and their interest to be up front about this.

When we got our holiday home we had loads of family attempting to be cheeky wanting to stay for free

It costs £150 for the cleaning to have someone stay there plus £80 per week utilities

When they asked for it 'free' over Christmas dinner in front of everyone I said "why would we pay for you to stay there"?

It shut them up and no one has ever asked to stay

I would expect that to be clarified beforehand.

Yes definitely and say mates rates for the use of your property

Hi cousin

as discussed, flat is free 1-4 sept when you wanted to visit. For the extra cleaning and utilities it Will be [£100] for the stay, please take your own towels

or similar

Our friends let us use their very naice Paris apartment for a week and I cleaned, washed bedding (left it drying) plus bought wine and a present for their son. I also left 200€ to cover utilities. (The minimum, if you consider the cost of accommodation for 6, in the Latin quarter, for a week!)

My friend was very cross and posted the 200€ back, but I think she appreciated the gesture. She did comment that other people had not done anything.

I’d expect a token gift at the very least, if not a contribution to bills and expenses etc.

I've been in this situation, & I've always charged. I covered the cost of cleaning, laundry, utilities
Probably too late now, but I'd say it will £x for Ydays.

We dont charge but do ask people to launder the bedding and towels and remake up the beds before they go (or bring their own bedding and towels) and leave it clean and tidy (including taking out rubbish) so that when we are next there we can enjoy it immediately and not have to spend our first day getting the house in order. we also let them know that they can use store cupboard food (cooking oil etc) but that if anything runs out or is close to running out it would be appreciated if they could replace it, plus to let us know of any breakages.

When my relatives have used it, they have all left a voucher for a local restaurant that we like and tend to go there the evening we arrive to avoid cooking the first night (someone did it first then passed on the idea), when DH's relatives have used it they have bought something for the house (i think this was MIL's suggestion and was great when we had just bought the house and were gradually stocking up on kitchen stuff etc but it is very well equipped now!). Friends tend to leave booze and also treat us back at home.

Although we don't rent it out, we don't say yes to all requests (some are from quite random people who we dont know particularly well or have not seen for years) and we have subtly got the message round that we would not say yes a second time if the house was left in a way that gave us too much work on our next visit there.

I am planning to retire in the next couple of years (DH already works part time from home), and expect we will be spending a lot more time there. We need to figure out our approach to people asking to stay when we are there. I do like entertaining etc, but dont want to feel like we are running a hotel, so need to figure out what might work.

We let family and very close friends use our second home. The expenses are already covered, no mortgage, very energy efficient and the council tax is paid already. We do not expect any payment as we love how they can enjoy the beautiful area and contribute to the local economy.
They do leave gifts and will often treat us to a meal at a special restaurant when we visit them.
However, if the house was costing me a lot to keep I would expect a contribution.

We've been lucky enough to get the use of various second homes that friends have. We've never been asked for any money but always offered and been refused. We leave a case of wine and paid for the cleaner and/or left the place immaculate.

Friends have an apartment in Spain. We have used it a couple of times. They asked for £100 for 10 days to cover utilities and to leave 30 Euros in cash for the cleaner. We thought that was very fair. We also took them out for a pub meal when we got home.

I wouldn't wait for them to offer, I'd set out the terms absolutely up front. And probably hope to put them off but at least know that if they went ahead it would not be freeloading.

I would also be more direct rather than hope for a thank you gift. I’d probably send a message saying you’ll need an upfront payment of X amount to cover fuel usage and cleaning costs.

We have a place in France which we don't rent out commercially but let friends use on the basis of a contribution towards utilities. They either take their own linen or wash ours if used and always leave it very clean, most also leave a bottle of wine or some chocs. Never had a problem, people are very happy to be paying a fraction of what it would cost otherwise for somewhere like it.

My friend goes to her uncle's holiday home every year. They pay the cleaning charge (which includes having sheets and towels washed) and also pay £50 pw for electricity.

There's no way that you should pay for these costs yourself.

I used to get frustrated when people left bottles of wine or chocolates which were either drunk by the next guest (if it wasn't me) and replaced with something cheap, or went out of date (if it were chocolates). Or sent me a bunch of flowers. I always asked for payment for utilities but as it was rarely forthcoming, I stopped people from using it. Now, I would approach it differently and say that the cost of electricity is €10 per day for average usage and more if they kept the air con on a lot, €50 for the cleaner and €30 for the linen. Payment up front.

I agree about payment up front and tbh if someone didn't immediately agree to that and pay up, I wouldn't let them stay there. The last thing you want is a resentful group of people staying in your home.

I wouldn't wait for them to offer. Just tell them it's for example £20 a night to cover utilities and then however much to cover the cleaners. It's obviously still a massive favour from you as it is going to be significantly cheaper than anywhere else they had to pay for! Mention also that if there are any breakages they will need to pay for it.

My sister and brother in law have a property (static caravan) that they have on Air BnB. They are happy for family to use it when its not booked but ask us to pay the cleaning fee. I also gave them a gift each to say thank you and offered 100 hours babysitting to cover the hire charge

When I used to clean for a holiday cottage about 10 years ago I was paid £55 per clean flat rate (regardless of whether all 3 bedrooms had been occupied). So if I was staying at a friends holiday property I would give them £80 as an absolute minimum! If I knew they had a linen service or the property had a garden (for which they’d be paying a local to come and maintain during the season) then I’d leave extra.

The air con! It just guzzles electricity. This is why I don't want other people using our place in Mallorca. It's only us, our grown up DC, and sometimes my parents that use it. Electricity is very expensive. I don't charge anybody any money (my DPs insist on giving us money anyway) but if anyone else were to use it I'd have to.

However the problem with charging is that people will have the aircon on night and day, thinking they were entitled as they'd paid. It would cost a bomb.
I don't charge my (adult, working DC) so I can order them not to use too much electricity, and berate them when the bill comes in if they do!

I agree that you need to charge an amount per night/week to cover your costs, it establishes from the outset that there is a cost to you that they need to cover. You then make it clear to them if bedding/towels etc are included or not. and get payment up front so there is no mistake.

It is better than hoping they will give a gift and being annoyed/upset when you don't get one.