Holiday home left in a real mess

[BigOldOakTree]

I wonder if I can call on the wise of Mumsnet to help me with a question? I manage a couple of holiday homes and we've had a very busy Christmas. I'm not new to this and know the ups and downs of this business. Our guests in one of the cottages over Christmas were given a complimentary welcome pack on arrival, I'd checked beforehand and they were vegetarian so it was catered for their diet. The cottage was decorated with a real tree and I went to a lot of effort to make it warm and welcoming for them. It is a five star holiday cottage and they paid quite a lot of money to stay, but they did receive a lovely property (in my opinion). It's not my cottage but I take a lot of pride in making it nice.

There are a few basic instructions, nothing too bossy, but the main one is please bag up your rubbish and put it in the outside bins on departure. When I went in to clean it after they'd left I've never seen anything like it in three years. It was utterly disgusting. All of their rubbish was in the house, some bagged, some not. They'd moved furniture around. The bathrooms were not fit for a dog. The kitchen was full of dirty pots and pans, food on the counters. The place was a real mess, not just the things I've written here. I couldn't believe two adults and two teenage children (older teenagers) could make such a mess.

We won't withhold their deposit as it could all be cleaned (even though it took me 7 hours to get it back to how it should be) (3 bedroom, 3 bathroom cottage). This is because it will only lead to a negative review and that is so damaging to the business, but am I being unreasonable to think this is out of order?

I originally voted YABU as you didn’t keep the deposit. I’m a landlady of long term rentals and too right I keep deposits for tenants not cleaning at the end of the tenancy. I spent 15k refurbishing a property 12 months ago and the tenants recently vacated. I cannot believe how badly they treated the house. They won’t be getting a great deal of their deposit back tbh. It is my job to ensure my property and I are respected.

Personally it wouldn’t put me off renting a cottage with a bad review if the owner can back up why the deposit was kept. It would actually make me think the owners cared about their property.

Some people are filthy pigs. We stayed in a lovely air bnb a couple of years ago with Laura Ashley furniture, only just done out. I did wonder what state that would get in and how fast. I was very careful as it was so lovely. I think perhaps the owner went a little overboard on what is required and perhaps put a bit too much of his heart in it.

We leave it as we found it, all dishes washed and put away, work surfaces wiped, take rubbish out, bathrooms decent but don’t do a deep clean.

I would have taken photos and withheld the deposit-YABU for not doing that.

Holiday let cleaners don't expect holiday makers to do a deep clean before leaving a property. Washing up your dirty dishes or loading the dishwasher before you leave is common courtesy though.
I don't recommend hoovering before you leave either unless you've marched ten tonne of mud through the place - cleaners will always hoover regardless of how spotless you think you've left the property.

I owned a holiday property, & employed a cleaner to clean, do laundry etc. If people left a place clean, that was a bonus for him/her. The cost of cleaning is part of the rental charge.

A deposit is to cover real damage - e.g. broken window not broken plate.

Although we often holiday abroad, we still also book a holiday cottage in different parts of the country most years.
I always bag and dispose of rubbish and leave the kitchen in as clean a state as possible.
All saucepans will be clean and put away, and our food removed from fridge and freezer (it is amazing how many people leave stuff in the freezer). Obviously if it is not something I am taking with me, then I will bin in the appropriate bin.
I will always bin any food we find, except often the cupbards will contain salt and pepper, etc
I also check any instructions (they will often say put rubbish out for for collection on certain days, and how or whether to sort rubbish for collection.)
I do not usually strip the bed, though will leave it tidy, unless the instructions say so.
Note. in the 'old days', we had to take our sheets and make up the beds, though usually sheets and towels are provided nowadays. Also, I find it very nice to receive a welcome pack, and again this was something not done in the past.
I should add, that of course, this does not negate any cleaning that the cottage may require, but I always try to leave in a presentable state as possible.

I voted YABU - simply because without being funny but what is the point of taking a deposit if you won't with hold any/all of it due to a negative review? Take photos - post them up if they do negatively review, and tbh sensible people do not get put off by a single negative review. you should have taken photos of it all 'set up' too, just so people can see it was lovely before hand - so in effect 'before and after' photos.

I just wondered what you expect from your holiday home and how you leave it?

I would leave it ready to be cleaned. So, all washing up done, rubbish bagged and disposed of, everything tidy. I'll also try to differentiate between any towels / bedding that have been used, and those that are clean.

Eurgh. Imagine what their house is like the dirty pigs.

Please blacklist them!

If check out time is 10am I just do the basics.
I would never strip beds/clean bathrooms or Hoover. We spend a lot of money on our SC cottages and I’m not getting up extra early on my last day to clean. I would not rent somewhere where I’m expected to clean.

If check out is later, then I do more.

DH’s aunt runs a business cleaning service for holiday lets and some of the tales she can tell of the utter filthy pigsties she has to clean up would turn your stomach. I’ve helped her and seen some of it myself: actually, pigs would be ashamed to make such a disgusting mess after just a week or two.

You should have withheld the deposit. About time these people learned there are consequences to treating others like this. Most people can manage to keep their holiday lets reasonably clean and tidy - some are immaculate - so why can’t they?

Yanbu. Feel bad for you. There's no excuse for such disgusting behaviour. At least bag rubbish up and leave in a decent state, it's not too much to ask of a guest. Sorry this happened

Thanks for the responses. Its good to know most people are decent and will clean up after themselves to a certain degree. I don't expect it to be immaculate on departure, that's why I'm there to clean up, but to leave it in such a disgusting state.

Just a few points from some of the comments. If you leave later than the check-out time you just make the job more difficult for the cleaner, the owner is often not inconvenienced. Also, if you leave very late it has a knock on effect for those arriving, how would you feel if you had a delayed check in because the last guests left so late the cleaner couldn't get it finished on time.

They were definitely a family of four, mum, dad and two older teenagers. I met them on departure but before I'd had a chance to see how they'd left it. They are now blacklisted.

You'd be crazy to allow them back so certainly blacklist them.

There are other recent threads on how much cleaning and tidying guests do before leaving.
Nearly all put out the rubbish, empty fridge, wipe worktops, make sure there are no stains in toilet etc and have all dishes clean and put away ( some leave the dishwasher running).

I understand your need to vent as that was a horrible state to leave the place in, but presumably in three years most of your other guests are decent.

I'm always puzzled by the deposit. I book mainly in Scotland, sometimes the north of England, and I've never had to pay a returnable deposit.

I spent a couple of seasons cleaning caravans in my younger years - I had the delight of cleaning some of the most disgusting things I have ever seen. Put me off renting a caravan for life.

How disrespectful. I believe you should always leave a place as you find it, within reason ( I struggle if it's a early check out sometimes to get all the bins and cleaning done)
Unfortunate that you can't name or shame them, or email expressing concern that they must've had a real emergency to attend to in order to check out leaving the place in such sh*t order.

You should send them an email to let them know they’re not welcome again.

It’s a shame there isn’t a system in place between providers to alert other companies of people who are like this?

I mean I know they just left mess but I’m sure there’s much worse that goes on.

It shouldn’t be a gamble for you.

@listsandbudgets

I sometime leave half finished box of cereal or pasta, maybe some cheese or milk in the fridge. All well wrapped. Last time I left most of a bottle of olive oil and some satsumas and apples in fruit bowl and a frozen pizza in freezer... stuff basically I didn't want to take home on a train with 2 DC. It was summer holidays and I knew people would be in immediately after us and / or that the cleaners may take it. Does it go straight in the bin?

The trouble is, the new people don't know that you're just a kind, decent soul, leaving things to be helpful.

I've known people leave milk that's been spat/pissed in (this happens in kettles and liquid soap too). Fruit could have needles pushed in it. Cheese could have been wiped on the floor.

You see the problem? People are strange and unfortunately, you can't trust them. Some would be tickled pink all day to think that someone is happily drinking their spit-infused milk.

Best to just bin it.

They could have just thought it was worth losing the deposit to not bother cleaning up.

Utterly disgusting. The last cottage I rented I cleaned from top to bottom before we left and made sure it was in the condition we found it. That's surely basic good manners??

Theyre rude and disgusting only prob is they will do this next time as theres no consequences

we leave holiday cottages with a basic wipe around, ready for the cleaners to clean property. So kitchen surfaces wiped, kitchen floor swept, sink clean, but wouldn't for example hoover a bedroom or dust. Last washing up by hand so the dishwasher's not midcycle if the cleaners leave early. I would add that the better cleaning materials we have, the more able we are to clean as we go. I don't mind buying fairy liquid but I'm not going to be buying a dustpan and brush, and have rented placed that don't have them.

As someone who checks reviews, the odd negative one in a sea of positives doesn't bother me, and I assume these people either have ridiculous expectations or are seeking to get back at the owner as you suggest.

I do find a lot of holiday cottages aren't as clean as I would like on arrival, perhaps superficially, but many could do with a thorough deep clean.

And yes, often a lack of materials to actually keep it decent while I am there! Although I think things have improved slightly in this regard over the last few years. I try and remember to pack a couple of cleaning cloths etc, but don't really want to be spending money on cleaning products I have to leave behind.