to be angry with our holiday let guests

[birdladyfromhomealone]

As Holiday makers, have you ever wondered why you are asked to pay a refundable damage deposit?
The reason is - not every one is respectful or treats rental homes as they would their own.
Just a month ago we posted pictures of our newly refurbished studio apartment in our villa in Spain with a brand new day bed that pulls out to two singles or a double.
With thanks to our first guests of this season we will now have to refurb again although the deposit may not cover the cost of their "the bed just broke"
We have a great team of cleaners that keep our Villa in immaculate condition but they should not have to clean up what has been left.
Why would anyone leave a holiday villa in this condition?

Sorry but those slatted beds are a total nightmare and fall apart at the drop of a hat.

Sorry,mdondomt quite finish. Personally, when I leave a holiday let, I expect to leave it clean and tidy - I would have wiped round in the kitchen and hoovered the main downstairs areas. I wouldn't have left dirty washing up but I might have left the dishwasher running wth the last load.

I would expect cleaners to come into the property and have some work to do beyond making up beds - so more thorough hoovering, mopping of kitchen and bathroom floors and thorough cleaning of kitchen and bathroom. I wouldn't expect to leave a house in a condition where the cleaners would come in and say 'wow - filthy!' But I also wouldn't expect them to come in and say 'wow - no work to do here'

Out of interest, is there anyone with holiday lets or a cleaning company who can tell us how much time a cleaner or cleaners is given to turn around a holiday let? I know bed changing can take a while, but surely they expect to do some cleaning too.

I think this is probably part and parcel of renting out a holiday let - with an actual rental you can ask for references first. You only have to look at some of the threads on here to see people have very different ideas about what constitutes cleaning and how often you should do it. Some people probably think that if a cleaner is coming in at the end of their stay there is no need to bother. You have made the mistake of assuming everyone who comes to stay will be like you and have the same standards. Re the bed, all furniture needs to be sturdy - not all of your visitors will be light-weight even if you and your family are. If the bed is there, you can't be surprised if people use it. The same applies to your cushions - white outside is asking for trouble. Looks good in the photos, but totally impractical for holiday use. You make the excellent point in your OP that this is why rental charges need to reflect wear and tear and why owners ask for a deposit - keep the deposit and charge accordingly. I should add I couldn't be bothered with running a holiday rental for all these reasons - total PITA and hard to turn a decent profit especially if you place a value on all the time it takes you to sort this stuff out.

YABU

If guests are not supposed to sleep in the bed in the studio then they shouldn't have keys for it. The bed looks very flimsy and cheap and I am not surprised it broke.

Why do you have cleaners if they don't expect to clean?

You sound like a bit of a nightmare to be honest. My SIL was like this, she rented out a ski property but had to stop as she couldn't cope with little things like "They hadn't used the coasters!!!"

The bed doesn't look all that substantial even for a day bed which I take to mean not one to be used for a night's sleeping, only relaxing m during the day. From all else you have said though, your guests do seem to have been very disrespectul of your property. Perhaps you should get someone to go to the villa before guests leave to ensure all is in order. Don't tell guests you are doing this, as they may well leave earlier just to escape being caught out.

Out of interest, is there anyone with holiday lets or a cleaning company who can tell us how much time a cleaner or cleaners is given to turn around a holiday let?

For my 3 bed detached cottage it's 4 hours for a standard changeover including stripping and making 4 beds ( one a superking). With a checkout at 10am and a check in at 4 that doesn't leave a lot of time if you do get the guests from hell.

You’re lucky enough to be a position to rent this property out and make lots of money off it, sorry but that’s the risk you take

We have 3 lets (1x4 bed, 2x 3 bed), and they are a 3 hours changeover. That’s bed changes, cleaning, hot tub, lines, welcome pack, garden in that time plus it is difficult to replace broken items quickly - we have crockery, glasses, kettles and toasters in stock but not beds! About 30% of guests arrive early and checkout late, so that further reduces the amount of time available. If the dishwasher is full, the bins not emptied, you need to pick up fag butts and dog poo, It really increases the time spent on the changeover. We love guests who clear food, empty the bin and put it in the outside bins and strip the beds, they are brilliant and we offer them a discount if they come back.

I have a holiday let in Spain, that is totally par for the course I'm afraid. You factor it in with your price, how much did you charge? I wouldn't take a deposit for that, you need a more substantial bed.

Rubbish is completely normal. Not seeing an issue.

at 700 euros from Ikea I would not have said cheap

Liar, liar, pants on fire... neither Ikea nor 700 EUR.
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Guest-Bed-Frame-and-Trundle-2FT6-3FT-Metal-Daybed-Stable-Black-Whit-No-Mattress-/132624601378

£72.99 for the frame plus "economy" mattress, £100 maybe £120.

Elphame, well said re changeover times. I have spent 10 hours today doing two of them. I am knackered.

Not quite sure why the OP is having such a hard time. I think she needs to get her business head on and realise that some guests are tossers, but I'm not sure it merits this degree of vituperation.

@birdladyfromhomealone, going back 25 years... We renovated a hol let more lovingly than you can imagine. The first tenants had five children, who drew on the walls, peed in the beds, etc, etc. We were mortified at the time, but it toughened us up a bit. Now I expect any degree of lunacy/mess, and am grateful when it doesn't happen. Most recent guests in all of my hol lets were exemplary. The majority fall into the 'absolutely fine' category. The brilliant ones and the unspeakable ones are at the very ends of the scale. It's unfortunate that your first ones fall into the latter camp. You haven't done anything wrong, regardless of all the posts which suggest it's somehow your fault. However, you do need to accept that shit happens, and move on. That's running a business.

Have you asked what happened to the daybed? I think that would be more constructive than ranting here and might shed some light on it.

in a 4 bed villa, my worst experience was from 12.00, to 7pm, (3 people for 3 hours & myself alone for the rest.) they were so drunk that some of the party locked in a bedroom couldn't be woken at official time of 10am. I said I would be back at 11am & if they were still there at midday I was calling the police. (bluff) I was told one of them had gone to hospital as had "fallen" & dislocated shoulder, I will never know if it was true, if so, the fall was due to wild behaviour.
When I went back at midday, they were all gone, all the doors & windows open, the curtains blowing in the wind
In the kitchen, there was earth all over the floor, from my BIG ceramic pot plants, that I couldn't lift. apparently they had been thrown at the fridge? or they were trying to carry them on their heads as a drunken game? so the American fridge freezer was like an car crash scene.
The floor was covered in broken bottles, alcohol, uneaten food, plates & shit everywhere, the sink blocked, just an explosion of squalor.
Every single room was filthy, full of empty bottles & general shit.
they had done wheelies in the court yard in Daddy's Porsche sending gravel over the grass & generally destroying the entrance.
The pool was full of towels, & glasses, candles had dripped all over the tables & floor, empty Macdonalds crap all over the garden
Everything had been used, & nothing had been washed or cleaned at any time.
Very fortunately for me the incoming clients arrived at 7pm, (late due to traffic) & I was still trying to paint the walls.

Then there was another booking when I popped by to clean the pool at 6 am. opened the garage & 7 people were sleeping in there, like a dormitory..... (extra people) .another gem of a story

Or the Dutch woman who used my linen to make a tent for her precious daughter, making holes for the string of course.......

I think the thing with a holiday let is that you can't expect it to be returned in the same state as you would if you allowed friends or family to stay - you're making a profit. The bagged rubbish is no big deal - surely you pay a cleaner between lets? The bed is a shame if it's brand new but as others have said you do need to invest more in a bed that's going to be used by strangers in a holiday let than you might at home. Who knows - maybe they were being reckless with it, maybe it was just poorly made. I would just take it as a learning opportunity. You're going to have a range of guests (and honestly some will probably be worse than these).

When I cleaned gites, I could get all the cleaning done in the time if guests had left the place at least pretty reasonable but, as was only too often the case, the place was disgusting then I really struggled to get everything done.

I also found that quite often the leaving party did not leave on time. Sometimes they left an hour or more later that the stated time for departure. Also often the arriving guests arrived early. Sometimes only maybe by about half an hour but sometimes an hour or even two early. They quite often got annoyed too when I said they were early and the place wasn't ready.

When I cleaned an hotel the time for each room was really short (can't remember exactly) and I literally had to run round the room changing the bed etc.

That is another reason why I will always do as much as I can before I leave to make their job just a bit easier

We’ve got a similar bed from ikea - the Hemnes one. Great as a single, utter shite when you pull the truckle bed out. Certainly not up to the job. Ours struggled with an 11 yr old and 12 yr old for a sleepover, they aren’t hefty kids either. I suspect there’s a lot leave lets like this, having seen couldn’t give a crap for anyone except myself behaviour every day

Well huh.. my hemnes ikea daybed manages perfectly well with 2 full grown (not tiny) adults !

Seriously you’re overreacting and the pictures don’t depict what you’re saying. The bed looks crap and some tidy rubbish is left there ready to be put out. Wouldn’t like to rent a let from you.

OP I’ve just finished reading this thread. I’ve got experience from both sides. I’ve rented villas before and Ive also regularly cleaned a high end air bnb.
The main question I had to ask myself is why did you post the other photos so late on in the thread, as they weren’t initially your main gripe. Your last photos were unreasonable as it’s wear and tear. Not caused by one family on holiday.

-The washing machine/tumble drier has a build up, clearly not one stay. You can’t blame rules coming loose on anyone except the the person who built it, unless it’s years of use.

-Taking photos of behind the tv with the aerial unplugged is scrapping the barrel.

The stained floor, which clearly looks like it needs to be restained is your fault.

-stained sheet, just wash it.

I’m going to echo what others have said.

-The bed is flimsy whether you like it or not, it looks cheap. €700 no chance. I’ve also shopped in ikea abroad.

• food in the fridge. I personally leave food as I don’t have the heart to throw it and I hope someone will take it. As a cleaners point of view, it never bothered me as I’d leave some items for new guests and chuck items such as milk, cream etc.

• white furnishings are quite brave but if you have furniture outside next to a pool then the assumption is that it is waterproof and stain resistant (sun cream)

• the rubbish. When I clean I take all rubbish out, absolutely no problem. Seems to me they’ve left you some wine.

I wrote a manual for the rented air bnb. It included the location of items and instructions on how to use oven, lights etc.

I’ve had some good guests and bad. It really is part and parcel of letting. Your experience really isn’t that bad. You have a deposit and a cleaning fee, that should cover mover than enough for the day bed. I wouldn’t dare charge them for the tiles or any other wear and tear, you’d be laughed at.

Well having read 14 pages I suppose I would say this thread is interesting .

Very opposing views .

Anyone else think the OP was slightly patronising in her

"As Holiday makers, have you ever wondered why you are asked to pay a refundable damage deposit?
The reason is - not every one is respectful or treats rental homes as they would their own"

I think OP is over reacting .

I have a holiday let and it really does toughen you up. I can remember the first really hellish guests we had, completely trashed the place and I was heartbroken as so much care had gone into making the place as comfortable and homely as possible.

I think 90% treat the place well and then 10% are complete piss takers. I was shocked that people could leave a place in such a way - but then you read this thread and there is a large number who seem to think it is completely acceptable 'because they paid for it and cleaning was included'.

We have had a glass coffee table apparent 'spontaneously combust' . They had the audacity to ask us for a discount for this as it was apparently so shocking. The same party called our manager out (over an hours drive) for a lost key which was then in the guests pocket. Our fault apparently for having small key fobs.

I echo the people who say it is the ones who complain the most who tend to cause the most damage and leave it in the worst condition.

Someone stole all of the LED lights in the kitchen and replaced them with cheap substitutes that burnt out the sockets a week or so later. So much stuff has been stolen.

Someone asked us to install an extra shower in the property in advance of their planned stay in a fortnights time as they apparently needed, three not two showers actually.

Holiday letting in the UK. Almost all lets have been fine here the odd one has been awful. One a group of six women had to redecorate where scrubbing the walls did not work. One a Chinese family who used every pot pan dish crockery in the place dirty and the kitchen in a hell of a state. My friend had it worse. A religious conference their two bed cottage was used by a dozen people a neighbour said, bunk beds broken place filthy and her big burly husband had to go round to collect the balance owed. They were accused of being racist when they did this . Most folk are lovely have received thank you notes, flowers, a bottle of wine. You do wonder how some people live in their own homes

Whether the bed was 'flimsy' or not, it got damaged. The waste food left in the fridge, the dirty bbq left for someone else to clean, the tumble dryer being disconnected from the vent in the wall (why would someone move a tumble dryer on holiday??), the wires being disconnected behind the tv. There is bound to be more stuff but in answer to your original question OP, I don't think you're being unreasonable to be angry with your holiday let guests. They are guests after all and you would expect them to treat your belongings with a little respect.

If I were you I'd do the following:

• get a lock for the room that is beside the pool and only give the key out for that room if the number of guests is more than can be housed in the rest of the villa. Also indicate that this room is for adults only and children are not allowed to use it as a bedroom.
• In your welcome pack, leave clear instructions that if the villa is not left in the same conditions they get when they arrive, you will charge an excess for cleaning.
• In your welcome pack, leave clear instructions that any breakages are to be made clear immediately and any structural breakages will be charged for (beds/equipment etc.)

If you got that bed from Ikea, I'd imagine that they have tested their bedframes extensively (as they would be selling thousands of them) so for one to buckle so easily, if you have the receipt, you could request a refund or get their advice maybe?

You may have to be a lot more selective in who you let stay in your holiday let going forward.

@welshmist do you think you do actually come across as racist to some people though? I’d say given your need to include “Chinese” in one of your examples suggests that yes, you do.

Oh well. Part and parcel of being a landlord. Presumably you will have insurance for such things anyway.