To expect holiday cottage to be cleaned during our stay?

[Uhohmummy]

We’re renting a holiday house for 3 weeks this summer. The company we’re renting through has said sheets will be changed once a week but otherwise they don’t arrange any cleaning.
AIBU to expect the house to be cleaned once a week and clean towels to be provided? Presumably they would do this if there were 3 separate week-long lets so why not for a longer let? We’re not paying any less for 3 weeks in a row than we would for 3 separate weekly lets.

Do you have a washing machine in there?

No I wouldn't expect that in self catering to be honest

Yes there is a washing machine.
I thought because they would do it every week if the occupants were changing then they should do it regardless. But this is a genuine AIBU so interested in people’s views!

At least you’re getting clean sheets. We’ve never stayed in a cottage longer than a fortnight and have never had sheets and towels replaced - not seen a cleaner either.

If you're not getting any discount then they should be IMO.

If the sheets are changed then I'd expect fresh towels but otherwise cleaning only by arrangement

I can see what you mean, but no, I don't think you should expect them to clean. TBH, I'd expect clean bedlinen to be provided, but I'd do the bed changing myself. And yes, our holidays are all in rented cottages now.

No. It's self catering.

To be honest I wouldn't want them coming in cleaning. I'd rather just do it myself - home from home type thing.

We go on at least two self-catering cottage holidays every year in the UK and every cottage we've stayed at has been equipped with cleaning materials, hoover, mop etc. as well as washing machine etc. We just keep it clean and tidy as we go along and wash towels, tea towels etc. ourselves, - as we would if we were at home.

Once I got that key - whether I was staying there for a week or three weeks, I wouldn't want anyone coming in, quite frankly, and certainly not to change beds with all my personal stuff around. I'd rather do it myself.

We were just away abroad in a villa and there was a towel change on a Tuesday, quick clean and towel/ bed change on a Friday. We were there for 2 weeks so had several sets of clean towels. The cleaning wasn't up to much but we had to keep it clean anyway as the tiny ants would descend upon any crumbs that got dropped on the floor or worktops!

Not unless it specified maid service I wouldn't.

I wouldn't expect clean towels or cleaning to be honest. Surely it's fairly easy just to chuck the towels in the wash. If I wanted cleaning and fresh towels etc. I'd stay in a hotel.

I wouldn't expect it to be cleaned. New towels & bed sheets but that's all.

That's not really how it works with holiday cottages?

The cleans between lets are priced on having an empty cottage to clean and not on having to work round guests.

Anything left by previous occupants goes in the bin, there's no shampoo bottles, dirty boots, piles of clothes, last nights pans etc to work round.

Plus it's not like a hotel where they sneak in while you are out and are reasonably flexible, the cleaners generally do a number if different cottages and have a set route that they need to do before the next guests arrive. They would literally turn up at their rather than your convenience.

No i wouldn't expect it to be cleaned. Any self catering lodge I've stayed in have provided cleaning materials, hoover, mop etc

I think if you’re not paying any less for multiple weeks then yes it should be cleaned if you want it. Whenever we’ve rented for 3 weeks (always in USA) the rent has been discounted and no mid rental cleaning done. We did once pay extra for a mid rental clean but to be honest it was a bit of a pain as we had to stay around to allow the cleaners access.

Former holiday cottage owner here. Our short stay rates worked out higher per day than long stay, so if we'd sent a cleaner in weekly (over a 3 week let) we'd be eating into the profit margin. You also have to consider that you might have to rearrange your day to be out when the cleaner was there, which you might co wider an inconvenience.

If someone wanted additional cleaning I'd expect them to pay a surcharge to contribute toward it

If they're not giving you a discount, they should get it cleaned and towels changed every week, if you ask. Speaking as a former holiday let owner.

Some good points on here about cleaning around our stuff, etc. Thanks.

I think I’ll ask for clean towels as well as sheets and see what they say. There is a washing machine in the cottage though so no great hardship if we have to wash them ourselves.

I’ve only rented a cottage for 2weeks at a time but assuming this is a normal self-catering setup I wouldn’t expect cleaning services. It’s basically your home for three weeks. They accept that bringing three weeks of towels and sheets just isn’t practical so these are provided. Sure there’s no discount for them not needing to clean each week but you’d hope they factor that in over the course of the year i.e. if they did clean every week they might have to charge more per week to everyone.

We tend to go go out lots whilst on holiday and take very good care of other people’s property so there’s not much cleaning to do anyway. You might be surprised with how little you really need to do.

Personally I think that they should do, and you’re not BU, unless you’re getting a significant discount for a three week stay, so that it costs less than three individual one week stays.

However, I’d be amazed if they did clean it. The holiday cottage business in the U.K. seems to be pretty poor as far as I can tell. We’ve stayed in so-called luxury cottages and they’ve been sub-par in terms of cleanliness and comfort. Things like the Kitchen equipment being dirty, dust and cobwebs in the corners, and the last one we stayed in, the cot provided for our 4 month old baby smelt mouldy and looked as though it had been stored in a shed. We had brought our own so didn’t need to use it but there’s no way I would have put her in there.

No, it’s self catering. Just put the towels in the washer.

Cleaners coming in to a holiday let gives me a pain, that's because we are a bit messy on hols and the embarrassment factor is HIGH if cleaners see it!

All I want are clean sheets and towels, we can do the rest ourselves in our own time and at our own pace.

I’m in the no camp.

Some are let for long weekends, some for a week or more.
It’s self catering. It’s only turned over between guests. It’s not a serviced stay.

Just enjoy your holiday.

I suppose it’s something you should have negotiated upfront. A basic mop, hoover and sanitaryware clean would cost no more than a full clean between tenancies.