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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

4 out of 5 for leaving a holiday let clean and tidy

80 replies

Whatjusthappenedexactly · 08/06/2017 21:09

Just come home from a four day stay away. Rented a cottage through an airbnb type site. In addition to the inflated half term fee there was a cleaning and service fee of 80 pounds. We were out all day and cooked in the kitchen once and cleaned up after ourself as in our own home. Upon leaving I hoovered, wiped down the kitchen and bathroom, ( put bleach in tho loo) made the beds and gathered all the used towels into a laundry basket. I plumped cushions and folded the sofa throws. Bin emptied, recycling sorted and put out. Loaded the dish washer and switched it on but it was not finished by the time we had to vacate at 10am so we left it running. Also checked the communal space at the back of the house for missed doggy do every day ( but we watched the dogs like hawks anyway so not really possible).

We gave the cottage a five star review as despite a few niggles it was pretty good overall.

The owner has given us a 4 out of 5 star rating as guests for cleanliness. That's on my guest profile and I'm now a bit annoyed.

So bearing in mind I woke up early to ensure the place was left clean and tidy and a fee of 80 pounds is taken to include a clean before the next guests arrived, what was I supposed to do to get a 5 out of 5 star rating on my profile.

Would it be unreasonable to e mail the owners and ask, only I know I'll come across a bit disgruntled.

Wish I had now mentioned in my review how crap the lack of a back garden in a supposed dog friendly cottage is.

OP posts:

thegirlupnorth · 09/06/2017 07:27

I think you did brilliantly especially as you also paid for it to be cleaned as well. Definitely ask them why?

dappledlightinflight · 09/06/2017 07:32

I have given up on holiday cottages. Some rich bastard with a second home is bagging loads of money and providing no service whatsoever. I hope taxing on second homes goes through the roof - lazy buggers. I don't expect to spend an hour or so cleaning before I leave. I only stay in hotels now as at least they have service and cleaning included.

rightwhine · 09/06/2017 07:35

Yes definitely email them.

CasperGutman · 09/06/2017 07:47

Meh. Scoring perfection at 4/5 is just the British way.

I used to work for a multinational, and all our clients were asked to complete satisfaction surveys when projects ended. If we scored less than 80% we'd be hauled over the coals and for significant projects someone from HQ in California would come over to talk to the client about what went wrong. Almost invariably, the client would look bemused and tell them nothing went wrong, we were good and they'd use us again.

We ended up trying to do at least one thing on each project that would surprise and delight the client, in a bid to get the scores up. Maybe next time you rent a cottage you shouldn't just wipe the work surface but also clean the windows, polish the floor and leave the owner a box of chocolates and a thank you card. Maybe that would get 5/5. Or maybe not! 😃

WindyWednesday · 09/06/2017 08:39

I'd rather the dishwasher was on than have some dodgy hand washed plates to find.

bathshebaneverdene · 09/06/2017 09:05

I hate this - cottages in France are really bad for charging huge cleaning fees. We always leave cottages clean and tidy, but surely part of renting out a holiday property is that you expect to clean it between guests.

It's also annoying that the last morning of your holiday is spent stressing out over cleaning.

Last morning of our last holiday on France the cottage owner came in to check we had cleaned. He brushed under the bed and found some long blonde hairs, then stood over me while I swept the whole room again. Thing is, DH has a salt and pepper No.3, and I have short greying mousey hair - so I was basically sweeping up someone else's mess!

It also makes me wonder if the cottage owners are doing any cleaning between guests, or whether you have to rely on the previous guests being good cleaners!

Mulledwine1 · 09/06/2017 09:06

I agree people are weird. I remember selling a book online and I got marked down to 4/5, not because of the condition of the book, which the seller was meant to be marking me for (and delivery time etc) but because of the content of the book! I was so miffed as I had a 100% score before that!

£80 for cleaning?

Coddiwomple · 09/06/2017 09:07

dappledlightinflight you do realise that most hotels are not employee-owned, but belong to an individual or are part of some investment fund or what-have-you

I guess it's easier to resent someone who owns one or two properties, than someone else who owns a whole chain and has more money that you can comprehend. Some posters are funny.

JigglyTuff · 09/06/2017 09:10

bathsheba - that's appalling!

I think a cleaning fee should be included in the price.

I always leave the dishwasher running when I leave a cottage. Always. I'm not washing up by hand on holiday when I wouldn't do it at home. Knocking 20% off your score for that is ridiculous.

MrsPeelyWaly · 09/06/2017 09:20

I rented a property in Scotland for a large family gathering and I had a cleaner come in twice every day we were there so we could just get up and go out for the day etc. The owner is the one who found the cleaner for me. The house was spotless when we left, all the owner had to do was put clean sheets on the bed because the others, the only pairs, were in the machine where we'd been told to put them. I was a bit surprised when she left feedback for me as a visitor that said we'd left the house clean and tidy. It was spotless. I think its just the language she used so I wasn't too put out by it as I have other excellent references on Airbnb but if it had been my first feedback it could have put other home owners off me.

Am I going back to the house? Yes, I booked for this year the day we left last year.

TellMeItsNotTrue · 09/06/2017 09:21

If what you did wasn't enough then I think they need a printed list in the property of what they expect to be done, and the same list included in the booking pages so that you know not to book what to expect

I could/would never leave a place untidy but I can't say I would do quite as much as you did, so I probably would have received a 3, and would be embarrassed and angry by that

80sMum · 09/06/2017 09:28

£80 for cleaning seems excessive to me. But I would never leave a house unoccupied with the dishwasher running, because of the fire risk.

Roomster101 · 09/06/2017 09:30

They perhaps only give a five out of five if you spend your whole holiday giving their accommodation a spring clean. I always leave places tidy /do dishes but there is no way I would do a big clean if I have paid a cleaning fee and am on holiday. I have rented a couple of places that did an inspection afterwards and there is no way I would rent from them again as a consequence.

Roomster101 · 09/06/2017 09:31

£80 for cleaning seems excessive to me. But I would never leave a house unoccupied with the dishwasher running, because of the fire risk.

A lot of places tell you to. It's not a fire risk if cleaners are coming in straight after you leave.

dappledlightinflight · 09/06/2017 09:34

Coddi of course I get that but holiday cottage owners take the piss. They seem to want more from the punter than is reasonable most of the time. They also leave crappy signs everywhere. At least hotels actually want the customer to feel like they have been on holiday. If I actually had the good fortune to own a holiday let, I would make sure the client didn't feel stressed out at the end of a holiday making sure the cottage met the owner's exacting standards.

DorisDay88 · 09/06/2017 09:40

You sound like the perfect guests to me - I run a holiday let in Tenby and wish all my guests would leave the accommodation as you did!
I'd definitely question as to why they gave you 4 stars - and in my opinion leaving the dishwasher running is not a valid reason

Goodbuycat · 09/06/2017 09:41

We have holiday cottages and we would be overjoyed at the work you had done. We don't charge a cleaning fee as we feel it's included in the rental fee. As for the dishwasher...the cleaner would empty it once she'd finished cleaning, and would be very happy that you had bothered to do it in the first place. I would definitely email them to ask why, As they are the ones being unreasonable.

MrsPeelyWaly · 09/06/2017 09:42

They also leave crappy signs everywhere

Ive rented holiday accommodation in many countries but Ive yet to come across signs.

Hassled · 09/06/2017 09:50

Absolutely query it - you went above and beyond what most people would do, and then there's the whole £80 thing - and it wouldn't have been about leaving the dishwasher on.

I lost a lot of rating points when I sold a book on Amazon once because "sections of the text are highlighted and the spine is creased". My sale description of the book stated in bold that "sections of the text are highlighted and the spine is creased" (he'd used exactly the same phrasing) - I was so bloody cross.

LadyinCement · 09/06/2017 09:51

I've never come across signs until our last holiday. They were everywhere . We laughed at first but then it became a bit annoying. Also didn't like the "welcome" letter which started, "Welcome to MY house..."

Anyway, the last straw was when I received a phone call on the house phone from the owner saying she had a smart reader she could access from her home (hundreds of miles away) and had we turned the thermostat up? I was terrified she had hidden cameras and was spying on us.

I left the house spotless as there was a hefty deposit. I now understand why there were so many fawning comments in the visitors' book. People were worried about losing their deposits!

Nonibaloni · 09/06/2017 09:51

My mum always rents cottages for holidays. She just about had a heart arrack when I mentioned that I leave the dishwasher running when I leave places.

In my head, it proves dishes are clean and just needs emptied. Otherwise the clearer would need to check everything, rather than quick check to make sure everything is there. Like with beds, I strip and stick in the machine but don't remake cause then the cleaner would either need to change or sniff check (boak).

Mother on the other hand says she does the dishwasher at night, puts everything away and then doesn't have breakfast. This explains a lot about family holidays of my youth. But she did get charged once cause she replaced a washing up bowl with one that was a different colour.

dappledlightinflight · 09/06/2017 09:54

@ LadyinCement

Branleuse · 09/06/2017 10:02

the cleaning fees are why i wont use airbnb. Some of them are bloody extortionate, especially if you only want to stay a night or two

WindyWednesday · 09/06/2017 10:02

Where I stay they do ask you to leave the dishwasher on when you leave, but every time I've been I've been driving away at 10am and the cleaner has very discreetly been walking towards the cottage ready to clean.

I once stayed in a holiday let. It was thick with dust and the previous guests breakfast crumbs everywhere. It took me 2hrs to clean it. Then at the end they charged me for cleaning. Apparently they had a weird set up where if the agency took the booking it was a bit more money as they used a cleaner afterwards, but if you booked direct with the owners they got you to clean it for the next guests, but you got a cheaper holiday.

So we booked with the agency and paid for the cleaner to clean for the next person, yet we got a dirty cottage. The agency were useless and didn't want to know. I did complain, but it got me no where. In fact the agency laughed in my face and told me I must have very high standards.

I am now very wary about where I stay.

Helenluvsrob · 09/06/2017 10:03

I'm afraid air b&b usually have large cleaning costs. Frankly it's the owner keeping the price down (an the air b&b fees , which benefits the hirer as well).

I'd see them as part of the overall price, we managed to claim them back last year as the let was manky. I took many photos .

This year we have on site hosts so we can ask what they expect done, but for £80 I'd be emptying bins ,washing the pots and checking loo basically clean, quick brush round and that'll do.

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