To think that a 7pm check-in is too late when you have young kids

[sqirrelfriends]

I woke up to an email this morning from the company I booked a holiday cottage with for next month.

For corona reasons:

7pm check in (instead of 3pm)
9am check out (instead of 10)
Removal of all high risk items (they mentioned board games and the DVD player but I would imagine it's going to be barren)

We would have to drive about 4 hours to get there with a young child, 7pm just seems too late to me to check in, and equally 9am is too early to check out, especially with all the extra stuff we would need to bring. Am I being unreasonable to think it would never take 10 hours to clean a cottage? And would you be cancelling?

Did all the people on here saying that cottage owners should refund them the first night of their stay also ask Tesco for a refund since they had to queue up outside, or their kid's music teacher for a refund since lessons are Zoom rather than in person, or ask the government for a tax refund since their child has not been able to access a full education, or attend the GP face to face? Will you ask restaurants for a refund when they don't offer the full menu upon re-opening? We're in a fucking pandemic!!!! Owners are not changing the check in times for shits and giggles!!!

[quote TryAnotherNickname]@Elphame if they’re furloughed by YOU, you can’t employ them. But with this demand they shouldn’t be on furlough. If they’re furloughed by someone else (or of course if they’ve been made redundant like many hospitality workers) then of course they’re free to work for you. That said, I am astonished that you can’t find people at £25/ hour. That’s an incredible rate and substantially higher than waitressing etc (even with tips)[/quote]
Short notice working

Seasonal

Absolutely 100% reliable

Weekend working

Cleaning to a very very very high standard - down to removing the last toast crumb from the cutlery drawer and dusting the coat hangers in the wardrobes.

Sometimes having to deal with some horrible cleaning jobs - used tampons left on the bathroom floor for example. Used condoms are another frequent find. People really are that horrible - and it's usually the ones who want a discount who are the worst for this.

We've had guests leave the place in a disgusting state. I won't forget the fridge that was full of blood in a hurry. We've had huge stains on the sofas ( I have a horrible suspicion about some of them), chunks taken out of the wall, chair legs broken off and curtain poles pulled out of the wall. All this has to be dealt with in a 4 hour changeover.

It's not a job for everyone

Now we have to do all that and disinfect with some pretty user unfriendly chemicals ( Dettol is nowhere good enough).

they have been told if check out is same day they need to leave the cott\ge to "settle" for a while before the triple clean.like at dentists how any thing still in the air can settle.this was in the email about our cottage.

9am checkout is fine, pack the night before, up at 7am gives enough time to get sorted in the morning. Agree 7pm is too late.

@Tarararara

Did all the people on here saying that cottage owners should refund them the first night of their stay also ask Tesco for a refund since they had to queue up outside, or their kid's music teacher for a refund since lessons are Zoom rather than in person, or ask the government for a tax refund since their child has not been able to access a full education, or attend the GP face to face? Will you ask restaurants for a refund when they don't offer the full menu upon re-opening? We're in a fucking pandemic!!!! Owners are not changing the check in times for shits and giggles!!!

Exactly! This thread is really odd. But apparently children's routines being even slightly affected is where the MN line is.

It's tough times right now. They are probably gonna have to deep clean in between each person nowadays so I can see why they may have to adjust the times. Send an email tho as their cleaners might generally be done earlier but no guarantees. If you're driving why not go to the town you're staying earlier and enjoy the evening in the town before check in. Maybe have dinner in the town before you check in

@Tarararara
Thank you! At least some people get it!

As I said earlier, even in ordinary times I don't make a profit from my holiday let. Any money made goes into the account to jeep the place ticking over when I don't have guests. However it seems some people want me to pay them to use the place. Sorry, it ain't going to happen.

Keep not jeep.

That’s all completely different. I don’t have a paid in advance contract with Tesco that I can just walk in and shop. Some people have been given refunds and others are happy that any lesson is happening. The rest is just semantics.

A holiday is a nice to have, you pay for the accommodation in advance, for the accommodation you have selected with its extras, perks and facilities.

I for one don’t book somewhere say without a pool, if the pool is closed I don’t expect to pay the inflated price of a place that has a pool. I don’t book places with check in later than 1pm because I want to get in get unpacked and start my stay. I will pay extra for the fact I can check in early. I would never book a 7pm check in.

It may not be the cottages fault but you cannot expect people to be happy with such a change with no option to cancel/change dates or a inconvenience Part refund.

And I used to own a holiday rental. If my guests could not get in on time due to something that was an issue my side of the deal they where given goodwill gestures.

If the tv broke I didn’t tell them to go to the beach because it’s a few hours maybe I got it done ASAP and sent a bottle of wine/take away vouchers or something to apologise for the inconvenience.

Holidays are a discretionary spend though. Not comparable with shopping for basics.

Why would people shell out significant cash if they’re not happy with the terms? It’s entirely their choice.

The MN line is whether it's something you do for fun.

Tesco queuing? Well, we need food. Piano lessons? You're paying to keep your place and to keep those skills ticking over. Holidays, though? They are supposed to be enjoyable not something you do for the good of the economy.

I don't have children who've ever been that inflexible with their sleep, so I would probably still go in the OP's situation without quibbling, but if I had children for whom one night of disrupted sleep meant a week of ramifications, I would bloody quibble about it. If going away for a holiday is going to be less pleasant than staying at home for the same week, then of course I won't want to go ahead with the booking!

I bet tonnes of the music lessons over Zoom were discounted btw.

The extra cleaning regime caused by coronavirus is not something within the owners control though, or something they have power over.

No but it’s still not the customers problem.

Pubs are shut the owners and brewers are losing money. Not the customers problem however.

Hairdressers are shut and not getting paid, not the customers problem.

See the theme.

People are watching what the owners of holiday let’s are doing Be that big companies or one cottage owned by someone. How this is handled is changing who people will be willing to book with in the future.

I’ve crossed a couple of places I wanted to go off my list due to poor communication, poor refund time scales, poor customer service responses etc

I just did the big reveal to DP about our check in / check out - same as op. 7pm arrive 9 am leave.

DP said "fine, good, suppose they have to do extra cleaning. At least we are going. How exciting!"

I will be emailing them to say thanks for all the extra stuff you are doing, we are just so pleased to be using their faultless service for the seventh year running.

Well I could discount the 3 lost hours of your holiday I guess. At peak rates it's £5 an hour to rent the cottage. That's £1 per person per hour.

Will you be asking for refunds from the airlines for the extra time it'll take to board and for the inconvenience of having to quarantine for 14 days when you get home?

No thought not.

Will you be asking for refunds from the airlines for the extra time it'll take to board and for the inconvenience of having to quarantine for 14 days when you get home?

People just won’t book.

Which is entirely their prerogative,

And not good news for the airline industry.

@OneForMeToo

No but it’s still not the customers problem.

Pubs are shut the owners and brewers are losing money. Not the customers problem however.

Hairdressers are shut and not getting paid, not the customers problem.

See the theme.

When hairdressers open, are you going to expect a refund because they won't be able to give you a coffee any more, or offer you magazines?

I don’t go to a hairdresser who offers those things. I go to a independent lady who’s completely self Employed and can be mobile or based in her own extended space at her house.

However if the experience changes such as those perks Which is often why people are willing to pay higher prices then of course the price should reflect the fact that customer is not getting the same experience.

I wouldn’t pay A Mustang Price for a Volvo.

As a cottage owner I'd be quite happy to give any of the people on here who say a 7 pm check in would spoil their holiday a cancellation and full refund. Demand for cottages is very high, and there will be even more demand when the government confirm re-opening for the 4th July (the industry has had the nod that this is going to happen) so there will be no problem in re-letting.

What I'm disappointed about is the large number on here who would still want the holiday, but say they would expect cottage owners to refund the first night of their stay, simply because the owner is following industry-wide PANDEMIC guidelines that PROTECT GUESTS AND CLEANERS, and will in themselves cost the owner more to implement. I just haven't seen that lack of understanding/flexibility in any other aspects of pandemic life that has inconvenienced people.

PS. Paying full price for discretionary Zoom music lessons here. We're in a pandemic; I need to (a) be flexible and (b) consider the music teacher's livelihood.

what bit of supply and demand do people not understand?

Hairdressers will be inundated yes. They can probably afford to up their prices. That’s because a lot of ppl are desperate for haircuts.

Most people are a lot less desperate for holidays in the current circumstances. If they arent happy with the terms they’re under no obligation whatsoever to agree to them.

IMO demand will outstrip supply and if you don't like the revised terms it is highly likely that others won't mind. It is just the same as the hairdresser. I don't mind losing the cup of tea and magazine - I'm just desperate for a cut and if I do mind there's a queue of people waiting so no loss to the hairdresser/ cottage company.

My hair dresser isn’t putting up her prices she likes her loyal customers rather than losing them for high demand for a couple
Of months this year who will go back to their regulars once they have space to lose her regulars.

That’s the thing this years boom won’t be next years repeats. This years boom is because there isn’t really other options yet.