to only do the washing up/put dishwasher on and no other cleaning on departing our holiday cottage?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Oh and empty bins?

Just having a week away in a not inexpensive cottage. Have to be out by 10 on the last day, am planning to leave nothing dirty lying around (apart from sheets, obvs) but shan't be doing any actual cleaning either.

That's not unreasonable is it?

Having worked cleaning holiday let's I can say that although the housekeeper might get paid hundreds the actual cleaners are paid minimum and are not professionals... We had 1-2 hours to change beds and clean and move on to the next property any little helps, when people leave it so disgusting that we literally have to scrape shit off the toilet seats, clean out used personal items from bins where they haven't replaced the bags even though spares are provided, scrape rotting food, burnt food and thick grease from every single pot pan plate and mug that has to be done by hand as the dishwasher takes too long it means we over run and don't get paid, have to rush through this and the next few houses without the extra pay for the extra time we have to take and get run into the ground... I really appreciated every single guest that emptied the bins, washed up what they had used (breakfast items excused), stripped beds and left the place almost as they found it and would loved to have thanked them all... For the other disgusting tramps that left it as if it was as easy to clean as clicking your fingers eff you...

I don't clean holiday lets, cleaning is part of the cost. On the other hand we don't live like slobs, so if something was spilled it would be cleared up at the time and kitchen surfaces would be wiped after food prep etc. otherwise it's just washing up, emptying the bin and removing perishables from the fridge.

Love this post! Thank you! You've all made me feel so much more relaxed about leaving self catering cottages. I hate it when they ask for it to be left as it was when we arrived - I don't want to clean on holiday!! I don't even really clean at home. Why would the last day of my holiday be the only time in my life that I have to spend sweeping, hoovering and dusting on top of packing up children and luggage? From now on, I'm going to go with the wipe round, stripping of beds and dishes away tactic.

As someone who has a holiday cottage and does a separate changeover, I am constantly amazed at what people think is an acceptable state to leave a house. All food should be removed from the house, bins should be emptied, dishes all done, beds should be stripped if requested. The cleaners job is not to tidy up after your party etc it is to do a basic clean, redo beds etc. I would never leave a house without cleaning it, the cleaner is obviously going to clean everywhere but shouldn't have to scrub your kids yoghurt off the sofas and floors or clean toothpaste off the doors, I could go on... Treat it as you would treat your own house and you can't go far wrong!

I have a holiday cottage and I clean it myself. It's two bedrooms and it takes me from 10am till nearly 3pm to clean it. (I'm aiming for perfection, or as near as I can get!) I'm grateful when I don't hear a crunching sound underfoot as I step through the door! I hate having to hoover my way from the front door across the kitchen. I don't expect my guests to clean it but it's lovely (well as lovely as cleaning can be!) when there isn't a lot of scrubbing involved.

I really like it when the dishwasher has been left running - I know that I will just have to very briefly check the dishes and put them away, rather than pick every item up and check it and put it back. I really don't like it when people have unloaded the dishwasher and put things away wet. I just have to dry them all. But I do think they were really trying to help.

With the beds, I always thank people who have stripped the beds - it does make it quicker for me, but I also miss the chance to examine the bedding and spot any stains or tears. So I have to do that later when I wash it which is harder really.

So for me, don't clean, but clear up any nasty messes, and I'll love you for ever if you eat out a lot!

Holiday Cottage owner here. I dont expect guests to strip beds or clean before they leave as they are on holiday!
I just ask for them to depart by 10am on departure day so I can clean..
I do supply cleaning stuff, dishwasher tablets, bin bags, a mop and hoover for their use in case they need to use during there stay. No list asking them to do anything. I do the cleaning and laundry myself.
The only thing I ask is for the flowers in the tubs to be watered during their stay if very hot and dry so they don`t die (hose supplied) and the water feature topped up!
I have planted up some nice tubs to make it pleasant for our guests.

Caravan, did you leave poo streaks in the loo?? You must be proper posh! I swear to god the filthiest things I have seen have been in the houses of terribly nice, terribly posh acquaintances.

Totally depends on what's agreed. Our rentals are with cleaning included because your idea of clean is unlikely to equal ours. (Do you scrub under the toilet rim?).

In our terms and conditions it does say that cleaning is included. It also says over X hours will be charged although we've never done it despite occasions that merit it.

We ask for beds to be stripped though and all dirty linens to be put in the baths. Some owners prefer beds not to be stripped so they can spot and treat stains before they go in the wash.

Also bins emptied and washing up and at least in machine and turned on. In a big house the turn around time can be really tight.

We have a holiday rental in France. It takes DH & I at least 7 hours (combined, he does the bathrooms I do everything else) to clean, we do it exactly the same whether or not the departing guests have done bits and pieces, so don't bother! Most people make a real effort, but I don't think any less of those that don't bother at all - exception is when food is left on the floor as it attracts ants which is a nightmare, other than that it makes no difference. It's a nightmare packing up the car with all that wine getting DC's organised etc I'd hardly think it fair to expect oven scrubbing and bed stripping as well!

No, I agree with you. On several occasions when we rented abroad we were told, while there, that we had to clean the villa, a full clean in the boiling heat without proper cleaning materials. On one occasion the letting agents turned up to supervise, saying if it wasn't done properly we would go on a blacklist. My opinion was that there was money budgeted for a cleaner in the rental, which they pocketed. We wrote to verify, but never received an acknowledgement, so we boycotted them. In the years before TripAdviser.

It completely depends on the terms of your rental agreement. I include end of stay cleaning in my pricing but reserve the right to charge for "excessive cleaning" if the place is left like Beirut on a bad day. I specify in the welcome pack what is required on leaving day. Bins out, glass to bottle bank, towels in a pile by washing machine, fridge emptied and surfaces wiped. With a 10 am check out it isn't reasonsable to expect guests to "clean" I anticipate the dishwasher will have run or be running.

Also an ex chambermaid who strips beds in hotels!
We're coming to the end of two weeks in a caravan, I have no cleaning stuff but will wash pots, strip beds, quick sweep round so all it needs is a quick clean.
Used to make my day to find the occasional room like this, no skin off my nose to do while dh packs the car and puts a smile on someone's face.

We have a holiday let in the UK. I suppose I'd describe it as higher end but not super luxe. We don't expect any cleaning beyond a cursory wipe and actually request no bed stripping as all towels and bedding go to a laundry and it gets confusing when the cleaners don't know what came off what bed.

We do request that guests clean the BBQ if they use it (cleaners do it again but don't have time to deep clean it) empty bins and set the dishwasher going. A lot of guests don't clear out the fridge completely - many will leave in date food and the cleaners help themselves- they specifically requested that we don't demand a full fridge bin One week they got about 5 BBQ packs of meat left plus a load of beers.

Quite surprised that overwhelmingly people leave the dishwasher running. I would normally think everything had to be put away, maybe need to relax a bit about that.

Other than that we just make sure no crumbs/mess, everything back in the room it belongs in, and then just ensure we're out on time, which in my experience is what cleaners really want!

giraffes we just appreciate that a 10am departure is quite early, so to facilitate that, it helps if they can just set the dishwasher off as they leave, rather than having to factor in the cycle time. Also enables a pre-departure cuppa, which is always nice!

I would take photos to prove theres no actual dirt left.

I tidy the place up so it's ready to clean but that is all. No matter what you do, they will be in after you cleaning it, because there is no way for them to assess what you have or have not done.

At least you would hope they do that!

Plus I was also a chambermaid in a Hilton about 20y omg and we had 30m per room, did about 13 rooms a day.

We used to rent a place in New England that did not routinely supply bedlinen / towels. They agreed to do it for us but we had to get them washed & dried before leaving (10 am latest). That took some doing! We would also always do a thorough clean only to find the cleaners coming in as we left...having said that, we became good friends with the owners & rented the same place for 10 years (at reduced rates) so it was worth it for us.

Can I ask a question of holiday let owners? We are staying again in a place in Devon this year that in the list of instructions says "Cleaning: Please leave the cottage as you found it". One member of DH's extended family (in her 70s) interprets this to mean doing a full clean. I interpret it as wiping surfaces, sweeping the floor, putting everything away and emptying bins. Surely you can't leave it as you found it unless you spend several hours cleaning, which you can't do if you have to be out by 10, have children to marshal and a car to pack up?

We own a holiday cottage, and never expect guests to leave it spotless or even run a hoover round or anything! however its always lovely to get in and see all the beds stripped! Infact i quite often find it with food in the fridge, full bin and dishwasher etc!!

Strip beds and towels and leave in nice heap! Empty bins, put dishwasher on, wipe surfaces and toothpaste off sink and have a Hoover round if there is obvious mess like half of dd2's toast. We also rent the same place every year and want to be allowed back! Anything less feels scuzzy and anything more is overkill given the cleaner will be in when we've gone.

We stayed in a different place at Easter and the cleaner turned up early and was sitting outside in the car reading the paper (she was lovely, kept shooing us back inside and telling us not to hurry etc). She spotted us cleaning the kitchen and waved at us to stop!

Hygellig, holiday cottage in Devon owner here. I would never leave a note like that, and given it's just taken me from 10am to 2.45pm to changeover, I think it's impossible and that they probably mean what you think they do. Just don't leave anything nasty behind!!

I can't believe people do more than the OP described.

I'll wash up, dishwasher on and that's it.

I must be a total slattern!

Can you imagine turning up to someone's slapdash efforts?

That's exactly it, IMO.

I would make sure there was no actual disgusting grime for the cleaners to be faced with, so would empty bins, leave the loos decent and put the dishwasher on etc, but standard weekly cleaning duties (hoovering, bedlinen, bathrooms, etc) wouldn't occur to me. I wouldn't have time pre-10am to get it to a standard that would be acceptable for the next guests anyway, so why even bother?

If it's someone's holiday home they're lending you favour, then obviously I'd happily spend a good couple of hours cleaning - but I wouldn't have to check out at 10am either, or pay!