Not to clean the holiday cottage?

[softlysoftly]

Due to leave tomorrow and having a disagreement with DM.

I think that you should vac the main living room floor, make sure there aren't any stains on the loos, wipe the kitchen sides down and clear any food.

DM wants to clean totally, I'm talking vac all floors (huge 4 bed 2 reception room barn) polishing tables, gloves on and hands down loo (4 loos), she's been and bought hob cleaner, we've only cooked on it once!


So who's right?

[ExitPursuedByAKoalaBear]

I've never stripped the beds

[cyclerunmum]

I'm responsible for cleaning 4 holiday cottages weekly so have seen many different levels of 'leaving it tidy/clean ish'.

We always reclean everything, but... it is much easier if bins are emptied, and cupboards and fridge are clear. If beds are stripped we are delighted, but it isn't expected.

I must say though, you would be amazed how filthy some people can be in a week and how awful some leave things. Yoghurt smeared all over huge windows, dirty nappies, sanitary towels left open in unemptied bins, muddy dog paw prints and hairs all over bedding, inside and out, whole work tops of dirty crockery (ie a few days worth) and pans. Incredible amounts of rubbish accumulated in a few days piled up in the kitchen.... the list goes on. These are 5 star beautiful properties, and yes the changeover clean costs will be incorporated in the letting fee, but the level of mess can mean the difference between a clean taking 3 hours or 5 hours for the same place.

The other things people forget is that any maintenance jobs need to take place in that changeover period too, so it isn't just cleaning that has to be done. Which is why my own personal bugbear is people leaving late, or arriving early! We need the time to keep up standards, if you are arriving at a property that sleeps 8, with a checkout time of 10am, and you come at 12.30pm (happened many times) how do you think we can get it ready for you to the right standard in less time!

Rant over

[Graciescotland]

Totally agree with you. I have a holiday cottage and I expect bin emptied and place left vaguely clean. Cleaner will come in and give everything a proper clean anyway. I'm always surprised by how many people make the beds before they leave though. I have to say with the exception of some mucky Germans everyone has always left the cottage in what I would say is acceptable standard.

[rookiemater]

I've stripped beds in holiday cottages to find a less than pristine mattress underneath. I tend to avoid doing it now so I don't get any nasty surprises.

[306235388]

I'd sweep or vacuum communal areas which are likely to be the messiest, leave the kitchen and bathroom clean and leave all towels and bed sheets in the bath / shower.

[clary]

I don't do a "thorough" clean or spend a morning/day doing it! - we are talking max 3/4 of an hour, between our early morning dip at 8am and then packing the car; we have to be out by 10 so we are just cleaning up and tidying between 9.15 and 10.

It takes about 5 mins to hoover a couple of rooms. And it's useful as you often spot some stray belongings of yours (or the kids'!).

Yes there is a cleaner, but if I have hovered round she can do a more thorough job on some of the other bits. I don't have cleaning products so can't do the bathroom properly for example.

Guess I just don't want to be thought of as a dirty mare by the cleaner! My own house is not very tidy (too many people live here) but it is clean.

[clary]

See all you cottage owners saying "when you see the state some people leave them in..." - I would just die if that were me!

[Sweetmotherfudger]

The trouble is you wouldn't realise! The worst people are the people who say 'I've given it a really good clean' then you go in to find dog hair, poo on the floor and food everywhere. And you think 'what the bloody hell was it like before your clean???'

[mum9876]

We rent cottages regularly. We make sure all the pots are washed up and put away. We put all rubbish in the outside bin. If we've got a mark on the carpet or something, we wipe it off. We put the used towels in the bathroom.

Otherwise no, you generally pay for professional cleaning within the price.

[SarcyMare]

The most i have ever done when leaving a holiday cottage is painting woodwork, i dont know why but my dog (for the first time in her life) decided the chew a door frame. Lucky for us we found some white gloss in the cupboard under the stairs, so quickly gave it a sand and paint.

But i dont clean when i leave as i am often waving goodbye to the cleaners as they arrive anyway.

And why pay for a dog and bark yourself.

[Kiffykaffycoffee]

This thread reminds me of when we stayed in a holiday cottage on a farm in Yorkshire when I was little. My mum asked the farm lady for a dustpan and brush as there wasn't one in the cottage. The farm lady was gobsmacked and said my mum shouldn't be doing any cleaning as she was on holiday!
Like most other posters I would tidy up and leave it ready for the cleaners! Never had any complaints. Especially as we usually have to be out by 10am, there isn't time to do any more thsn that.
I am surprised at the number of people who pay deposits when booking a holiday cottage. I've never had to do this, and the cottages have all been clean. Having to pay a deposit would put me off booking, in case I didn't get it back.

[alemci]

in the usa florida they ask you to strip beds and start the wash and then the dryer so effectively 2 washes. I don't mind but as a courtesy they should provide you with some wash powder

I would always leave it clean and tidy etc.

had a couple of holiday cottages when dc was young and I did a clean as part of the deal which was no fun.

I would do as you thought in op

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Kiffy-it's standard to pay a deposit,I imagine it's to cover the insurance excess. We've always payed, and always got it back within the first week back. I think you'd be hard pushed to find some where that didn't ask for a deposit tbh. We've never had money taken off it even when ds broke a lamp and I broke the handle off the washing machine. I think they just chalk that up to wear and tear and the deposit it's to cover anything bigger.

[alemci]

ohhelp the cottage we were asked to clean thoroughly was in wales and it was nothing special, just hard work and cheeky imho. dcs were little and it delays your departure.

[Kiffykaffycoffee]

Well none of the owners of the 4 cottages I have rented in the past 5 years have asked for a deposit so i guess i must be lucky! One was through an agency and three were privately owned.

[chemenger]

We have only paid a deposit for very large properties (more than 20 people) in the uk. Normally we rent at least two cottages a year and have done for a decade. This year we inadvertently paid a cleaning deposit for a flat in Stockholm which is causing us all sorts of problems, I will watch out for this in the future. I would not consider a cottage where we had to do a proper clean, we leave everything tidy and empty bins, do recycling etc but we don't clean.

[cardamomginger]

I don't understand why you would clean. This is a holiday rental property that the owners are letting out as a business. Would you clean and strip the beds in a hotel? A b&b??
Having said that, when we stay in a hotel with full kitchen, I always clean up after cooking and straighten up the beds. But that's just how I like my living conditions to be. I tidy dd's toys too, to make sure things don't get lost.

[cardamomginger]

Unless it is something messy that happens. DD wet through her nappy, so I stropped the cot, cleaned the waterproof mattress, chucked sheets in bath and then phoned housekeeping to tell them what I had done.

[cardamomginger]

Stripped, not stropped.

[BackforGood]

Dame - we hire cottages most years. Not with any particular company, sometimes through websites that link you direct to owners and sometimes through agency places, and I can't remember ever paying a deposit

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Perhaps it depends on price?

[madamemuddle]

You are. Go out for the day and leave her to it?

[cottageinthecountry]

I own a cottage and use them. It makes me cringe to think of people, especially those with young children, our typical guests, stressing about cleaning before they go home. I want them to go home thinking about the lovely time they've had not worry about what I think about the dirty cup they left in the sink.

I must say though as guests we leave an apartment tidy but not spotless.