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Original poster

Holiday let and bin

108 replies

kirstlatta · 09/04/2022 19:41

Hi guys

After an opinion. We paid a £250 deposit for a holiday let deposit. They are charging us £125 for over full kitchen bin, not emptying the bedroom bins and a bowl of dried leaves the kids left behind(as a present for the next people, which obviously we knew they wouldn't want but kinda thought they would just empty it!) The kitchen bin did have the stuff from the kitchen but their guest book said no need to worry about your bins (we emptied them daily until the last day) but they meant putting them out to be collected when I asked for clarity. No breakages, no stains, just a unemptied kitchen bin, some rubbish in the bedroom bins and some leaves in a bowl. They are charging us £125 for this. It's our first holiday for 3 years as our son has being shielding so can't describe how this has marred it.

OP posts:
IamtheDevilsAvocado · 11/04/2022 05:51

@sparklystar333

we have a holiday let which is 100 miles away, on the few occasions guests haven't put the wheely bin at the end of the road, i have had to drive there to empty the bin involving taking black bags and decanting rubbish into bags and putting them in my car. A 4 hour round trip. It's very hard to find a cleaner where we are and she doesn't drive to transport bin bags. Saying that, I haven't ever charged but it's a real pain.
But surely the issue here, I is that you live a long way away... Yes its a pain... But not a reasonable charge for you to empty them.

If I paid for non emptying bin in the circs you describe... Which do sound more difficult than usual bin emptying... It would be no more than a 20£ 'fine'... Assuming it was written on the holidays handbook.

Toponeniceone · 11/04/2022 06:13

.

autienotnaughty · 11/04/2022 06:59

That's ridiculous, we leave cottages in a tidy state pots done etc but I don't clean it. If I was cleaning it I would want the cleaning fee reduced from my bill.

A family member has a cottage they pay their cleaner £80 to turn the cottage over which is four hours. Emptying the bins and getting rid of leaves might add 30 min at best. I'd offer £10

PrinceParry · 11/04/2022 07:13

That is shocking op. We always leave holiday accommodation tidy and bins emptied but had we left behind a full kitchen bin, especially with that note in the house book, I would not be paying £125 for it. We've actually left behind much worse in terms of damage. I've always contacted the owner immediately and offered to pay and not once has any of them taken me up on the offer, they've been very gracious about it being part of the job, so to speak. Unbelievable!

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 11/04/2022 07:31

If your DC has medical needs - was there medical waste and/or sharps in the bins?

If so, they'll have needed to pay for a specialist company to come out, which will have cost a lot on a Saturday at the last minute.

notanothertakeaway · 11/04/2022 07:38

I love self catering holidays for the privacy and freedom, but have noticed in recent years increasing expectations that guests should strip beds, hoover, empty bins etc

Putting a wheelie bin out for collection on bin day is sensible. Otherwise, rubbish might never be collected

SquirrelG · 11/04/2022 07:43

I really wouldn't be leaving bad reviews everywhere like one PP suggested. I own a holiday let and bad reviews everywhere would literally destroy my business.

I most certainly would be leaving bad reviews for a holiday let which tried to charge that sort of money for a few bins which weren't emptied - and they deserve to have their business destroyed.

abc4321 · 11/04/2022 07:54

I'm not sure we've ever emptied the bins unless specifically requested. Nor stripped the beds. Although we would leave everything tidy and straight, and take care not to damage anything.

My cleaner charges £55 for 4 hours and makes everywhere look immaculate. So I'd expect the above to be included if I'm paying over £100, and some of the AirBnB cleaning charges are £200. We've always had really nice reviews back from the owners so I don't think they expected anything beyond how we've left it.

MinnieGirl · 11/04/2022 09:10

They told you to not worry about the bins, then charged you £125 to empty the bin? Contact them and say there must be a mistake, you are following their instructions and how can they charge you for leaving some leaves in the place.

If they refuse to budge tell them as a family with a disabled child you were going to leave glowing reviews about how nice the place was but now you are going to leave reviews saying they have ripped you off. And do it. They are greedy CF’s and deserve it

Fleurtjeblau · 11/04/2022 09:29

@yellowsuninthesky I do think £125 is really excessive for the bins, no doubt about it. But a conversation should be had before leaving bad reviews everywhere. If it turns out the owners are dicks who just want to take more money off their clients then absolutely fair enough that people should be warned. I know in some areas where I am, the bin men will NOT collect your bins if they're overflowing (so if someone didnt put them out when they were supposed to and then they build up) and you can get fined for it (£125 is around the amount I'd expect for a fine here), so that could also be a factor for example. Regardless, I think £125 is an insane amount but if it's in the actual contract then I dont think there's anything OP can do.

woodhill · 11/04/2022 09:40

I've always stripped beds and put bins out etc but this charge is ridiculous and you should query it

I must admit we paid a deposit last year and I worried about getting it back as everything was so difficult with COVID etc

We did get it back but I was very particular about doing everything required itms

rookiemere · 11/04/2022 09:57

@Fleurtjeblau even if specific instructions for the bins were included in the contract- in which case why say don't worry about the bins on the room pamphlet- it's still worth mentioning in any review.
Something like " it is important to read the contract carefully as we ended up paying £125 to have the bins emptied, which I found in the small print ( if indeed it is".

Fleurtjeblau · 11/04/2022 10:03

[quote rookiemere]@Fleurtjeblau even if specific instructions for the bins were included in the contract- in which case why say don't worry about the bins on the room pamphlet- it's still worth mentioning in any review.
Something like " it is important to read the contract carefully as we ended up paying £125 to have the bins emptied, which I found in the small print ( if indeed it is".[/quote]
Yes, fully agree it would be important to mention it in that way. In my mind, the above doesn't constitute a bad review, just an honest one that lets people know to watch out for something. I agree that their instructions are strange, I also would've assumed that "don't worry about the bins" would mean to leave them be.

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 11/04/2022 10:37

Definitely query it...

Am wondering if someone has retained your deposit... But the amount hasn't been authorised from the owners?

I'd be wanting it waived.... If not I'd be leaving a truthful review

IamtheDevilsAvocado · 11/04/2022 10:39

PS the maximum time this could reasonably take to rectify the bins would be 10 minutes...

Unless you dumped nuclear waste in them Smile

purplecorkheart · 11/04/2022 10:39

If it is a hotel run letting I would contact the manager of the hotel directly and explain the issue. Ask them to explain the wording of the policy and ask them for a breakdown of the extra costs that they incurred considering they had staff onsite and it literally took minutes to empty bins.

Most likely there is a blanket charge of £120 regardless of what the issue is and the person you are dealing with does not have the authority to waiver it where as the manger will have the authority .

Noglassjustthebottleandastraw · 11/04/2022 10:52

Nope sorry op but I would definitely challenge this. No way should they have contacted you about these things let alone charge you. I have holiday let's and we do ask for guests to strip beds (this is so the bed can air and it does save time so you can get a few other extra bits cleaned) we also ask for bins to be emptied as it's not great dealing with peoples rubbish ( sanitary items, condoms, snotty tissues etc) but if the guests check out and haven't done these things then I don't blink an eye and get on with what needs done.

Hope you are ok 💐

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 11/04/2022 12:21

Holiday let deposits just come off the final payment, it's not something the owner holds back and then returns.

We've been to a number of places where you pay an extra amount that is then returned back to you a few days afterwards, assuming you haven't left it in a dreadful state or caused damage (excepting the odd broken glass or something) once it's been checked after you leave.

The last place we stayed at, the (lovely) owner thought that we'd left something quite bulky and asked if we'd like her to post it back to us, explaining that the postage cost would (very reasonably) have to come out of our deposit - although it was actually something that a previous guest had left and we'd found there when we arrived and assumed came with the place!

Elphame · 11/04/2022 18:21

@abc4321

I'm not sure we've ever emptied the bins unless specifically requested. Nor stripped the beds. Although we would leave everything tidy and straight, and take care not to damage anything.

My cleaner charges £55 for 4 hours and makes everywhere look immaculate. So I'd expect the above to be included if I'm paying over £100, and some of the AirBnB cleaning charges are £200. We've always had really nice reviews back from the owners so I don't think they expected anything beyond how we've left it.

Holiday let cleaners charge a lot more than £13.75ph!!

Each changeover costs me £100 + extra for the laundry and I know there are other owners who pay a lot more. Good reliable cleaners who are available at the drop of a hat on a seasonal basis are few and far between. It can be a horrible job at times too. Would you want to scrub a stranger's faeces off the bathroom tiles?

tomatorich112 · 11/04/2022 18:42

This is why going abroad it so much nicer. We have stayed in so many UK holiday lets that want me to strip beds and clean the enitre fucking place, whilst charging £200 per night... leave it pristine and pay a cleaning fee...

Roll on people going abroad and ditching the overpriced shitty uk ( been taking advantage) holiday market.

OFFER TO TAKE THEM TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT OP!

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 11/04/2022 19:20

This is why going abroad it so much nicer. We have stayed in so many UK holiday lets that want me to strip beds and clean the enitre fucking place, whilst charging £200 per night... leave it pristine and pay a cleaning fee...

Roll on people going abroad and ditching the overpriced shitty uk ( been taking advantage) holiday market.

I think that's very unfair on the huge number of decent, honest people in the UK who work hard in the tourism industry. We've stayed in plenty of places (ordinary holiday lets) and not one of them has expected us to clean the place or tried to withhold our deposit. The odd one has asked us to strip the beds, but that takes, what, one minute per bed?

I don't know where you've been staying - it sounds like you've been very unlucky - but hopefully, the minority of bad, unreasonable and dishonest accommodation providers will be exposed through (honest) online reviews and word spreading in other ways - and then, if their businesses suffer or go under, they've deliberately brought it on themselves.

Take the power back: contact places that you're considering renting and ask if cleaning is included. If they confirm that they expect you to do it, even when charging £200 a night (it's a bit different if it's a cheap hostel), tell them clearly why they've lost your business in favour of a place that doesn't so that.

To be honest, any place that relies on the guests to do the cleaning, rather than a dedicated, competent, actual cleaner who knows what standard is expected, is always going to be truly dreadful, anyway.

We don't have holidays abroad ourselves, but I've heard considerable horror stories of terrible experiences that people have had in other countries too - along with the great many very enjoyable, positive ones, of course.

Disclaimer: we don't work in the tourism industry in any way, but I think that broad generalisations of entire legitimate industries are just too simplistic and very unfair.

HELLITHURT · 11/04/2022 19:35

@tomatorich112

This is why going abroad it so much nicer. We have stayed in so many UK holiday lets that want me to strip beds and clean the enitre fucking place, whilst charging £200 per night... leave it pristine and pay a cleaning fee...

Roll on people going abroad and ditching the overpriced shitty uk ( been taking advantage) holiday market.

OFFER TO TAKE THEM TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT OP!

Hilarious!

GrinGrinGrin

Everything "abroad" is just fabulous, never an issue, never a problem Grin

LongSummers · 11/04/2022 19:43

I own a holiday let - I would not be impressed by full bins but also wouldn’t charge extra for it. The cleaners shouldn’t charge the owner any extra for changing them. Par for the course with guests not doing what they are supposed to! Challenge the charge and say it’s disproportionate.

Bryonny84 · 11/04/2022 19:45

I own a holiday let which I let via an agent. There's no deposit apart from the £25 booking deposit, not even for pets (of which I allow two). Most guests empty the bins, some don't. Some leave the house very clean, others don't. £125 for not emptying bins???? Ridiculous. People pay me for their holiday and I don't expect them to spend their time cleaning, that's my job. If they don't empty the bins then I do it. As for leaving a bowl of leaves? I've been left a lot worse than that lol, rhymes with twit.

HELLITHURT · 11/04/2022 19:58

@Bryonny84

I own a holiday let which I let via an agent. There's no deposit apart from the £25 booking deposit, not even for pets (of which I allow two). Most guests empty the bins, some don't. Some leave the house very clean, others don't. £125 for not emptying bins???? Ridiculous. People pay me for their holiday and I don't expect them to spend their time cleaning, that's my job. If they don't empty the bins then I do it. As for leaving a bowl of leaves? I've been left a lot worse than that lol, rhymes with twit.
I also own a holiday let! I don't clean it myself but if my cleaners said they bin was full and they left leaves, I'd laugh!

I tell friends who rent it, do not be cleaning it, just clear up and the cleaners do the rest!

You're on holiday, relax!