To think a Beko fridge might put people off a luxury holiday let

[questionsandquestions]

AIBU? New business for us - combination of newby and nerves. Is 4 bedrooms in Lakes. Kitting it out with excellent mattresses, luxury 500 tc Egyptian cotton bedlinen, great towels, blackout curtains, furniture from Laura Ashley etc. Rest of kitchen is nice. Had read holiday lets should give people stuff they don't have at home where possible, so twin slimline Bosch dishwashers (is a thing in the US apparently), really good stove, steam oven/microwave combo. Was going to get American style fridge/freezer but actually prefer this Beko which has fridge at top (big, well lit, water in door but no plumbing needed/no ice), then a drawer which is a flex-zone (can be fridge or freezer), then a freezer at bottom. I would like this in a holiday let as I could have more freezer or more fridge. And these massive American ones put me off I hate scrabbling at the very bottom of them for veggies. But I can't find Samsung or LG or Kenwood version of one I want, only Beko. Other half says Beko gaff. Is 750 quid, vs. about 1100 for American but for me it's not the money. So AIBU to put Beko in luxury holiday let?

I agree with not providing a fridge with complicated options that you have to get to grips with.

Least favourite feature of my favourite cottage is an induction job that I had to get the teen to work out how to use it's electronic wizardry, and even then dinner was an hour late. It's not what you want after a 7 hour drive.

And any London guests in the Lakes may we'll have had a 7 hour journey.

OP, I have a luxury knife block. Look for one with carbon rods instead of slots. Your guests will be amazed.

This kind of thing... amzn.to/2sxENEN

I bought a Samsung American style F/F years ago because there was one in a villa we rented that I liked. It must be 12 years old now and annoyingly (as I want a black glossy one now) still going strong.

All I would say is go for a plumbed in one if you can. People like lots of ice in their G&Ts on holiday.

I think, given your general approach of giving people stuff they don't have at home, the American style one would be a better fit. Not because of brand, but because it's one of those things that people fancy having but often don't actually have. I rent holiday homes a lot and I like the sound of yours!

Do people really nick stuff from holiday lets? What kind of stuff?

We had a hand-mixer pinched - I stupidly bought a £70 red posh branded one because DD thought it was 'cute.' Also a glass jug from Laura Ashley, with painted wild flowers on it. Sounds twee and it was a bit, but more retro really. I was kicking myself that I hadn't just put it in my own house.
I replaced the Parlux hairdryer after that as well!

As an experienced holiday home owner - keep it simple. Complicated appliances are not a good idea. People will not read the instructions but will complain when it doesn't "work". I suspect not one of my guests has ever noticed what make my appliances are. They just like that they have a dishwasher, washing machine and tumble drier. As it happens most are good brands.

Laminated notices are totally naff. I have them above the lavatories as a necessity but nowhere else. Put appliance instructions in an expensive looking folder.

TBH in a luxury let I'd be far more dismayed by your mention of peeling paint and scruffy floors. That is exactly the type of thing guests paying for "luxury" are going to notice and mention in reviews. If the are paying top ££ they don't want to be reminded of their own neglected paintwork. I expect to repaint the whole cottage on an annual basis.

(PS - make sure you have really fabulous showers - mine earn me lots of praise)

Ohmygosh I want to stay there 😍
Preferably before my baby comes in December (or even after would be fine!!)
Pleaaasse link op! (I don't mind about the fridge as long as I can walk to a pub and shop!)

Do people really nick stuff from holiday lets? What kind of stuff?

Loads of stuff "goes missing". From the batteries in torches and remotes to light bulbs and books. Anything that isn't screwed down basically. When we first started I left some nice shopping bags for guest use. They'd all gone in the first month. I didn't replace them.

Some are breakages the guests try to conceal and I'll accept that some things get packed accidentally but tea trays?

Bed linen and towels frequently get trashed.

I found agency booked guests, particularly from one of the very big agencies were the worst. Once we fired them and took control of the bookings ourselves, the quality of guests improved dramatically and repair and replacement costs plummeted.

Be prepared to replace bedlinen and towels more often than you expect. People go on about how wonderful white is but sometimes you get guests who wipe their shitty arses on towels (yes,seriously!) or spilling fake tan, hair dye etc. on towels or bedding.

Or someone picks their zits and you get tiny blood spots on the pillowcases which the guests then seal in nicely with a hot wash.
It's best, we find, if guests don't strip the beds when they leave as we can then see what stains need treating before laundering.

We sleep 8 and have one standard dishwasher. No one has ever complained.

Good luck with your new venture!

As someone else said everything that isn't nailed down gets nicked.Bedding, towels, kitchen kit, toilet rolls, lamps, cushion covers, games, books, console games and controllers, hoover, artwork, half used boxes of washing powder, dishwasher tablets. We were naive - and wanted to provide lots of extras (toilet rolls, handwash, washing powder, really good kitchen kit etc). I can see why most places never provide this stuff. All the lovely expensive cotton JL bedding just disappeared (even stuff still in its the wrapper)_

We weren't on site and our cleaners were useless at checking the inventory (which they were paid for). The agency which were very expensive were useless. We suspected in the end that the cleaners were also thieving (some of the extra new stuff was locked in a cupboard to which the cleaners had the key) as were "friends" who we let to at mates rates (saw my extra large frying pan and a Global kitchen knife in their house not long after - friend admitted purloining them as she" coveted "them). We stopped holiday letting after one season - disaster. We were fully booked all season but actually lost money once all the breakages/thefts etc and the horrendous agency and cleaning fees were accounted for.

I think if you are not doing the cleaning etc yourself then you need to make sure you have a good team working for you - cleaners, inventory checks and agents.Ideally someone local who you know and trust. That is more important than the make of appliances as is cleanliness.

As for towels ( we found a tartan laundry bag full of shit stained ones in the utility outhouse at the end of the season) and the MIele washing machine was f*ed. Delightful.

Sounds like a stealth boast to me

Blimey Worm I think we've got off lightly. No disappearing bedding or towels, and just a few breakages. As I said, the only things that have walked in five years were thefood mixer and fancy glass jug, which I suppose could have been broken.

Yesterday 21:44 TheNewSchmoo

I'd be more appalled by the Laura Ashley furniture tbh

I read that and had the same reaction!

We eat mostly frozen veg, have chips at some point every week. Our little freezer doesn't have room for anything else, so room for ice creams and individual pizzas would be nice. I don't notice brands when I'm in a holiday let though.

I live on my own. A full size dishwAsher is a non negotiable part of the plan for my new kitchen.

Only one kitchen company have so far tried to persuade me a slimline is better.

I had a slimline one in a rented flat and hated it. They take much less stuff than you would expect for their size compared to a full size one.

It sounds like you are spending a huge amount of money on it. I have just set up a holiday let, and even not going high-end it's cost a fortune. We have gone for a more antique/cottage look, but with Laura Ashley curtains and cushions. We bought a beautiful and hugely expensive dining table and I spend a lot of time worrying about it. What I'm saying is you have to be prepared for things to get trashed, which is hard when you have spent a lot on them.

If you are spending so much, how are you going to make a profit? Just wondering, as it will be 2 years before we break even.

A tip for the future, or for others setting up, is to look at Out of Eden and Soak and Sleep and King of Cotton for bed linen. They are extremely good quality and much much cheaper than John Lewis.

We use a bed linen company that caters for five star hotels, it's much cheaper than John Lewis, and that's for our own house!

Which company is that 2014?

I just read someone saying they would throw a laminated sign in the bin. This is the sort of person who will trash your things because they are arrogant and think they can do what they like because they have paid. At least just put things in a drawer if they offend you!

King of Cotton supply high end hotels. You get a discount if you show you are a business.

Personally I love a file with laminates in. And leaflets on local area, restaurant recommendations and manuals for all appliances.

Two dishwashers - never having to unload the dishwasher and not accumulating dirty plates on the side whilst you wait for the first load to finish and be unloaded.

You just keep taking clean stuff out of DW1 and putting dirty stuff in DW2. When DW2 is full, you turn it on and then DW1 becomes the place you put dirty dishes. And so on.

I think it's a great idea.

I'd agree with the query about 500tc being luxury.

I have never noticed the brand of any white goods in a holiday let, as long as it works it doesn't matter to me. However I hate it if there is no empty cupboard space- so many holiday lets have masses of kitchen equipment, random bits and bobs, which I end up having to shuffle around to make space to unpack groceries! I think there should always be a couple of empty and clean cupboards for food.

King of cotton sounds like something I need to review

Pint glasses and pasta bowls? Yes yes yes and same with oven dishes and microwaveable stuff and baking trays
Most people I know take pizza/lasagne and easy stuff to do and need these things plus good frying pan for breakfast
Cannot believe people nick stuff- actually yes I can. Hand wash and washing up liquid and atea towel and at least one loo roll is a must though