To be puzzled and upset over holiday rental complaint

[violets17]

I rented a villa last month and a week after I had left I received an email from the villa owner's husband saying that I was the messiest renter they had had in 2 years and not to bother trying to rebook (which I hadn't). I emailed back asking for more details and he emailed back saying "it was a mess" with no further detail.

I've really racked my brains and asked my eldest son who was with me to help me remember everything. This is what I did/didn't do:

Positives
I took out all our rubbish and put it in the correct public bins
Emptied the fridge of our leftover food
Put most things back where they were (see negative list)
Didn't use BBQ therefore no mess
Roughly wiped down sides in kitchen
Checked all over for obvious spills/toothpaste etc

Possible Negatives
I didn't put all the towels in the bath because there wasn't instructions to do that so wasn't sure
Left dishwasher running with a few morning things
Replaced coffee I had used with half a jar I had bought, replaced sugar I had used with some sugar packets
Left a lilo (still working) by the pool for next guests
Left a half used bottle of laundry liquid in the laundry room
Left a brand new (unused) insulated cool bag on top of cool box

Negatives
Did not put clothes horse back in correct place
Did not put hairdryer back in drawer
Placed sofa throws on correct sofas but didn't fold them
Didn't wipe outside table (a bit tacky)
Didn't wipe glass coffee table (a bit tacky)
Didn't actually clean anything just looked for obvious toothpaste/spills/toilet stains and dealt with that - ie didn't sweep/mop/get out the cif

I then got a "guest rating" which only gives star ratings out of 5. They gave me the following

Overall experience - 1 star
Cleanliness - 1 star
Communication - 2 stars
Following house rules - 2 stars

I'm flummoxed - house rules were no smoking inside (I didn't), no house parties (of course not), no excessive noise (um - I don't even drink and had no music on).

Communication was ordinary until he emailed me to complain and I asked for details which he didn't give and neither of us communicated further.

This is about the 10th holiday villa I have rented and it has always been positive with owners asking me back and refunding my deposit immediately - luckily there was no deposit with this one.

I know I have given this too much thought but I honestly feel like I don't know what he was talking about. Why did he wait a whole week after I left to email me?

Sorry for long post - didn't want to drip drip

[clicketyclick66]

I am delighted for you Violet 17!!!! Victory!!!

But it still doesn't excuse them giving you a bad guest rating in the first place.

[Flowerylampshade]

Fab

[bella2bella]

@violets17 I've been following with interest as we have a properly we advertise there and it worries me if they do anything (like remove slightly negative reviews unnecessarily) that compromises the integrity of them. Glad yours has remained. There was no need for them to write your full name in their response.

I'm sorry you went through this and that they put you off for life but totally understand.

[mariniere]

Great news violets17!
I'm still pondering whether to review mine when the owner was really quite nasty to me on the last day. I wouldn't have bothered but he left a review of me a day later and I'm in no doubt it wasn't flattering...
Ladyme 😱 what a story!

[PintOfMineralWater]

Oh that’s a good result, OP!

[ladyme]

Everyone should have a rage file!!

Yes they were great to be fair! Really apologetic and said they couldn't discuss the details of the discipline but that the guy didn't work for them anymore (which I can help feeling a bit bad about!) and they gave me £300 off my next holiday (never used) but they did have good customer service. They may or may not have googled my name as I was working for the press at the time - and so was my husband! I hope not though as you just shouldn't have a holiday ruined like that.

@violets17 I didn't think I'd ever see past being livid but actually although it still gives me the rage, all this time later I remember that holiday as a really special trip I did with dd and don't think of the fury at all!

[violets17]

YES!!!! yes yes yes yes

HA has taken down the owner's response AND left my review up.

Good, phew that really took some wrangling.

[CandleWithHair]

Oh trust me @violets17, Tinder is definitely worse 😂

@ladyme I need a rage file! Did you get your apology?

[violets17]

ladyme - I love you for having a "RAGE" file. And thank you so much for sharing your story.

It's been so comforting to have so many people sharing their own horror stories - although I (naturally) share their pain!

I felt so similar to you in that the villa's cleanliness was only 6/10 boy clean/top show a little tacky underfoot and a little whiffy. I left it a little worse than I had found it but - it was a commercial transaction! I didn't want to hurt their feelings by pointing it out and I'm an easy going person and didn't care tbh.

Their remarks to me wiped out the whole holiday for me. I will NEVER rent a holiday property again. It feels to me like I imagine tinder is - you just have no clue if the person is a nutjob who will make you feel terrible or rip you off. HA have been no help, they do nothing for the traveller at all.

[ladyme]

I have never, and will never been camping since even though they gave me £300 off my next holiday.

[ladyme]

Oh @violets17 I still have the rage about a holiday I had back in 2012. I've got the email saved in my RAGE file:

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to complain in the strongest terms about the conduct of one of your reps at the above site.

Before I go on I will explain that this is the first time I have been on a camping holiday. I am not au fait with camping etiquette. I was taking my daughter away on her own and thought it would be more fun for her if we stayed in a mobile home than a hotel.

On the morning of the 24th, which incidentally was my birthday, I got up, did the dishes and put them away, cleaned the loo and shower, swept the floor and put the towels in the shower, which is usual in hotels so they can be laundered. I did leave on the side a bag of sugar (I had used two teaspoons) a box of tea bags and some shampoo and conditioner which I hadn't used either. I could as easily have put them in the bin, but it seemed like a waste if someone could use them.

I admit that I did not leave the property exactly as I found it, but I didn't realise I had to and as I had seen other mobiles being thoroughly cleaned during my stay, I assumed what I had done was adequate, especially since the mobile was not like a sparkly pin when I did arrive, more on that later.

My five year old daughter and I walked to the reception, checked out and started to leave the campsite when an Irish man on a bike, who I believe to be one of your reps cycled up close to us and said 'thanks for leaving your mobile in a shithole' [sic]. I was so taken aback I called after him to ask what he meant. At that point, I would have happily gone back to sort out whatever 'shithole' I had left. To be quite honest, I don't think the mobile was ever in a state that could be described in such terms the entire time we were there. Only two of us stayed, I didn't cook there and we only used one bedroom. However, this guy cycled off as quickly as he could when I tried to follow him to find out what I was supposed to have done wrong.

My daughter and I then walked, with the cases, back to the e*camp tent and waited there. I tried to ring the number displayed but kept being forwarded to voicemail. All I wanted at this stage was for the man to apologise for using bad language around my daughter, which I object to strongly, and to tell me what I had done wrong so I could put it right.

I then went back to the mobile home to see if he was still there. He wasn't but someone had been in and moved things around and left the door open. So I presume that whatever 'shithole' I left was put right within the 20-30 minutes of us leaving.

As I said earlier, I have some feedback with regards to the mobile home. I never would have mentioned this had the incident not occurred because I had told myself I was being to fussy and to get on with enjoying the holiday.

1. There are a pile of ‘spliff’ ends by the rubbish bin assigned to the mobile
   
2. The fan in the mobile is so filthy I nearly cleaned it myself but reminded myself I was on holiday
   
3. There were crumbs along the sink in the mobile when we arrived
   
4. While I realise I didn't buy the welcome pack, it would be nice if there was a little bit of toilet roll in the loo so that people don't have to wait until their five year old has used it before they realise this isn't included!
   
5. The bug shields are filthy and there are hundreds of dead mosquitos around the outside light, this obviously hasn't been cleaned for a while.
   
6. If you want people to leave the mobiles spotless, perhaps introduce a checklist so that we know what is expected of us. I am happy to clean up after myself, but I assumed what I had done was adequate.
   

I had a reassuring web chat with Georgina shortly after the incident occurred. She told me that you will take this seriously. I think what upset me the most was that I was walking along happily after a nice holiday and it was intimidating to have a man cycle up close to abuse me! I strongly suspect this kind of thing doesn't happen to men and wouldn't have happened if my husband had been there. Is your rep is the kind of person who thinks it's fine to bully women and children?

I would like to know how you plan to proceed.

[Birdinthetree]

I for one am staying well clear of HA after reading this thread. Sorry OP but thank you for sharing your experience.

[CandleWithHair]

I hope you’re going to give HA an absolute pasting on social media. I can’t believe their attitude here. It would be EXTREMELY easy for them to obfuscate your name and leave the reviews in tact - I don’t buy their logic at all. It does seem like a ploy to remove negative reviews.

Also, ignore the PP saying it’s normal to bleach everything before you leave. No, you oddbod, it is not.

[KERALA1]

You clean everything despite paying thousands and a cleaning fee? The word mugs springs to mind.

[spottybetty]

@elphame. Yes. I checked their invoice. Bloody ridiculous. They're just a shop window for the villas. They don't actuually do any work.

Good idea to take photos, @violets17

[violets17]

growingboys - I left it ready to be cleaned.

[Growingboys]

It sounds to me like you left it dirty tbh. We leave holiday rentals spotless - I take Dettol wipes with me for that reason and use the whole packet cleaning every surface.

Honestly if you left the tables tacky it sounds pretty grim to me - I would never do that and would be shocked if someone didn't.

We clean everything - bleach the loos, our sofa covers back exactly where they were etc.

[Elphame]

@spottybetty Did you know that Homeaway pockets a service fee of up to 12% of the actual cost of the villa? Makes the cleaning fee look like chickenfeed.

[violets17]

clicketyclick - thank you and I have sent you a PM to thank you too.

MN were very quick to remove. Ironic that I was more concerned about breaching the owner's data than my own tbh. Mostly because I didn't want potential flack I admit.

[violets17]

Pint of - I do think it's a tactic yes, which is why all their published reviews are perfect.

Spotty - the LiveChat is rubbish - I think they have a policy of just saying "we are sorry to hear about your experience" and hoping they will soothe a lunatic down enough for them to go away. It's good that your's has a cleaning fee has (I would have thought) that means you are not expected to clean and also to pay. Take photos upon arrival and leaving though.

Cruggs - the property is not on TA. It is on airbnb but the only reviews are automatic ones to say that the host cancelled the booking. Maybe only HA gives them enough control over posted reviews.

AND my full name is STILL on display.

[Cruggs]

OP have you looked on TripAdvisor for this property? Quite often you can review holiday homes on there too, and it is a far more fair system. I'd go on there, find it if you can and get medieval on them, with a devastating review.

[spottybetty]

Wow, just read the rest of the thread and seen the bit about your name. Completely insane. They are being ridiculous. Makes me rethink using them next year too.

I had to use their live chat and the person I got didn’t have English as a first language. Sounds like yours didn’t either.

[spottybetty]

I’ve just booked two villas with HomeAway, one costing £2300 per week, one costing £3200.

The first wants an extra 80 euros in cash for cleaning, the second has a 100 Euro cleaning bill built into the cost.

So i’m not doing any fucking cleaning on holiday! Greedy bastards.

Op, you did nothing wrong. Glad your review has been published. There have been a few threads about HomeAway recently, though...

[PintOfMineralWater]

Wow this is shocking - I can't believe they published your full name!! I would be furious.

Do you think this is a tactic they have used to get you to take the review down? It's so fishy.