Holiday cottage cleaning - is this agent taking the piss?

[Bunpea]

Is this agent taking the piss? I’ve just booked a 2 bedroom holiday cottage for a week in July, in St Ives in Cornwall. £1600. Just spotted in the agent’s fine print that I must “i) on the End Date, remove belongings and refuse from the Property and leave the Property clean and tidy so that the Property is ready for immediate re- occupation“. It’s that last bit that gets me - and there is a threat of retaining my deposit. Checkout by 10:00 is usually a scramble, I expect to wipe surfaces, sweep floor, basic bathroom clean etc but that’s it - always assumed a housekeeper would be in. How clean is the place likely to be when I check in, if it depends on the previous guest? Want to cancel now.

YANBU when we were running our holiday let check out was 10am and check in at 2pm. A full professional clean was carried out in the gap, how long it took would depend on the state it was left in. Whilst it was great if guests had stripped beds and tidied a little it was not expected - they were on holiday after all!

Some properties in St Ives ask you to remove the rubbish as the bin vans may come around very early in the morning as the back streets are so tight. They also charge for parking if you need a pass for the Rugby Club as there isn't anywhere else to park.

Could you PM me the name of the agency? (I'm local).

I would never clean clean though, just strip the beds, wipe things down and clear up.

Try Aspects in St Ives. We've booked with them a few times without problems.

I'd cancel, sounds like they're being cheap on the cleaner. What's the bet the agent is also the cleaner!

This

I can’t imagine for a second that they’re actually asking you to clean the holiday let. I imagine it actually means leave the place tidy and please don’t trash it. Obviously someone will be going in to change the bed sheets, unless you’re expecting to share sheets with the people who stayed before you? I would imagine they’ll also be cleaning the house.

Sadly these things do sometimes need saying. Personally I’d like to put a sign up in the kitchen of one of the houses that I look after that would read ‘please put food waste in the bin, don’t just throw it in the general direction’.

Or ‘please don’t douse yourself in fake tan and hair dye and then sleep on our white sheets and use our white towels to take your make up off’.

Or, from just last week, ‘please don’t fill the loo with used condoms. They don’t flush away.’

🤢

I wish they would say what they actually mean. If they just mean please leave it reasonably clean and tidy, then I wish they would say that, and I am more than happy to do it.

But so many are ambiguous about whether they are asking you to fully clean it (which I am not happy to do).

One place we stayed recently implied you needed to clean the floors etc. We were hoovering when the cleaner arrived at 10am and she laughed and said no need to do that, it's my job! Which was great but why not make that clear.

Came here to say this. Book a hotel instead.

Those saying it just means leave it in a decent state: I would not interpret "ready for immediate reoccupation" to mean that. I think they are trying to cut corners on cleaners. I think you made the right decision to cancel, OP.

That's outrageous! Get your money back tge cheap skates!

I once booked a caravan and only then was I told we had to be out by 10am, clean and vac, change the bedding and put used bedding in the washer. My kids were 3 and 4 it was a nightmare!

worst still the family friend who was due to stay after us and the owner came over at 9am and got in the way. I was polite only cos I didn't want the kids to hear me peel the skin off the owner! My DH was brilliant but never again, no fg way!

There's no way I would pay a single penny to stay somewhere that's been cleaned by the previous guests and not a professional cleaner.

I think it just means don't leave it in a state for the cleaners as there may be a quick turnaround If check out is at 10 what time is check in as that will be the gap they clean in

We stayed several times in a place where you could pay for an end of stay clean but it was optional. We did - I dont want to clean on holiday! By our 3rd stay we said never again as it was so dirty - clearly most people saved the money and 'cleaned' themselves. There was a mouse in the kitchen and bathroom surfaces were dusty - yuk. Glad you could cancel OP.

Sounds OK to me, we usually cut the grass, give the fences a quick lick of creosote, re-grout the bathroom tiles (and kitchen - if necessary), make good any loft insulation, rake the gravel drive, and a quick rod of the drains and then make our way home.

I assumed everyone did this, are we being taken for mugs?

It would be better if you could pay for a thorough clean BEFORE you arrive, then you get the benefit. Just a whizz round with the hoover and wipe kitchen surfaces as you leave.

Don't blame you for not going back!

Definitely not! 😜

I work in self catering cottages, that is a strange term indeed!
I am glad you cancelled.
Please try to book direct with an owner in a small busines if possible. They know their properties best and have a serious interest in pleasing all guests.
Look for the 'book direct' movement on social media.

In our terms, we ask guests to leave the property clean and tidy when they leave. We list specifics about bedding, rubbish etc... but always go in and thoroughly clean everything.

Do you fancy coming to visit me and stayi
for the weekend? 😄

I work as a Housekeeper cleaning holiday lets and our company has a policy similarly worded. You would not believe the state some people will leave a holiday cottage for example in. Its wording is used to strongly discourage clients from basically trashing the place, causing damage and putting housekeepers miles behind in terms of allocated time to clean per let. I cannot imagine you’d be expected to do a full clean because that’s ludicrous but to just leave it in a state that’s acceptable. ie. Not lots of rubbish, not putting dirty cutlery back into cupboards, leaving soiled products in bathrooms ie tampons, excrement or just unnecessary levels of mess and belongings everywhere. I’m sure just generally tidying up after yourselves like you would normally would suffice just fine which is just curtesy. There will be people in to change bedding, towels, do a proper clean of any kitchen, bathroom and living areas. Some people go on holiday and with the mindset that they can trash a place and not bother to even flush the toilet during their whole stay because they’ve paid for the privilege of knowing Housekeepers will come in after them. Within the company I work for the threshold to charge for uncleanliness is much, much higher than I’d personally like it to be being someone who has to deal with grim and frankly unsafe mess sometimes on a fairly regular basis. This is just my experience but do make sure you clarify first.

Glad you've cancelled.
I was particularly infuriated by a holiday let that left a comprehensive list of cleaning jobs for occupants but also wanted an hour earlier check out and hour later check in 'cos covid'.

We do this when we stay at a relatives holiday home ,for free, so perfectly happy to do so but it takes a few hours on the final day and we don't plan anything until lunchtime as we know we'll be making it spotless.

If I was paying money to stay somewhere commercially no way would I be willing to do this!

Run!

That certainly needs clarifying. Having been a cleaner on changeover days myself, it's amazing how disgusting some people left the place. Talking to some owners I know throughout Cornwall, people are leaving places a lot messier and dirtier these days. I don't know what's changed, I know this area has become more costly, so maybe people are thinking they've paid a small fortune for their holiday and they sure as hell aren't going to tidy round at all after having paid silly money for a week.
Add to that a shortage of cleaners and it's all become a perfect storm. Teams of cleaners are running around like idiots trying to clean several places between 10am and 2pm, with only an hour allowed to a lot of rentals it's just not possible to clean a place thoroughly which maybe why they are asking guests to do more?

It can't possibly mean LITERAL reoccupation by the next holiday makers unless they have specifically asked you to change sheets and replace towels etc surely?
There must be someone in to do those things and clean also.
They would get so many bad reviews they wouldn't last a minute on any holiday letting website if people were turning up to used sheets, dirty/wet towels etc.

I've always just left the place tidy, wiped round the bath & worktops, made sure the dishwasher was empty & all pots put away. As we left we put the last of the rubbish in the bin, as I did that ds had a last sweep round to check we hadn't left anything behind or under the bed. When we arrived the cleaners were still cleaning, they mopped the hard floors & hoovered all the carpets.