To think holiday cottage company is taking the p**s

[HettyMeg]

We don't stay in holiday cottages very often so I don't know if we are a bit out of touch. But the one we're staying in has got a list as long as your arm of things we need to do before check out, including strip the beds and place all bedding and towels in a bag for laundry. It also says categorically do not put glass bottles in the bin, but there is no recycling for glass or information about where to recycle so we just need to take them home with us. If you get makeup on a towel you will be made to pay for a new one, which seems OTT to me as they can surely wash out a bit of foundation?!

We always buy shopping once we arrive at a holiday cottage and have unloaded our suitcases. We wouldn't have space or inclination to transport glass bottles home with us

Weird that I know so much about holiday let cleaning? Hmm. I wonder why that could be. Perhaps it’s because I’m a fucking holiday let cleaner??!!

And in future I will be leaving a polite note to inform guests that they will be expected to take their glass with them. I empty the household bins into the outside bin but as we don’t seem to have anywhere to put the glass and I don’t always have time to collect it up and drop it off, I really don’t think it’s so unreasonable to ask people to take their shit away with them.

Why this is such an insurmountable problem for some people, I just don’t know. If I have to take it then I have to take it but if I can do it, and it’s not even my mess, then surely you can too?

And no, it isn’t down to the owner to pay more money to get more cleaning hours. The cleaner simply won’t have the hours in the day to give.

Doesn't that rather depend on circumstances? If the cleaner is only cleaning one cottage, for instance, they may be quite glad of an extra hour's pay. If the cleaner is being expected to clean several cottages, the obvious answer is to employ at least one more cleaner.

If you accept that all the other waste is disposed of in the "outside bin" then why do you find it unreasonable for glass to similarly be dealt with as part of the service a renter pays for? Put it another way - if there was no "outside bin", then would you (a) expect the holidaymakers to take all their rubbish home with them or (b) expect the owners of the holiday lets you clean to provide suitable facilities for waste disposal?

I'm not saying it's reasonable for you to be expected to deal with the glass, by the way. But it seems like this is an issue for you to sort out with the owners of the properties. Perhaps suggest that the owners provide a recycling bin at the property, to be emptied by a commercial service? Shouldn't all the waste be dealt with by commercial not domestic waste collections anyway, if the property is a holiday let? Alternatively, perhaps you could charge more to cover your time and transport taking glass to an appropriate disposal point? If you did this though, strictly speaking you'd probably need to be a registered waste carrier to do this, and issue the appropriate paperwork each time!! 😉

Exactly. It’s just not feasible and creates an extra headache for us when it could all be avoided by the guests just dropping it off on their way home.

It´s not up to the guests to ensure the let is clean. Obviously a decent person won´t leave the place disgusting, but it´s the owner´s responsibility to ensure it´s clean for the next guests. If they have to pay more hours or more cleaners, that´s a cost of running a business.
I will keep the place basically clean while I am there and sweep the floors (hardwood) or get the worst up with a hoover. I will give the sink and worktops a wipe and not leave dirty dishes, but the rest is not my problem, that´s what a cleaning fee is for.
If the owner ca´t afford enough cleaning time or cleaners then they need to rethink their business model

oh I seeeeeee - because you’re a cleaner you know the situation of all other cleaners in the country? You must realise how ridiculous that sounds?. We employ a cleaner, for our holiday let, and we pay her by the hour. If we asked her to take on extra jobs she would have time to do so and I suspect she’d say yes, you seemed to have made an assumption that all other cleaners are time limited, which seems like a wild assumption to make.

As a cleaner, it’s not your job to make arrangements to get rid of the glass, it’s the owners job to make provisions, the provision could be to ask you to do it, as an extra duty, which you would get paid for. Obviously you would have the opportunity to decline if you wished.

And no, it isn’t down to the owner to pay more money to get more cleaning hours. The cleaner simply won’t have the hours in the day to give.

Then they need to hire more cleaners. It´s not the guest´s responsibility to clean between lets. If they can´t afford this then they need to rethink their business.

Really 10 is fine for checking out how hard is it to wash up your brekfast dishes

Surely none of this is a major convenience to you OP?

The bed stripping takes a few mins and is a hangover from Covid.

Bottles? Leave them out in a separate bag? Or ask?

Towels? Not an issue unless you are one of the idiots who smears white towels with mascara and such. They have presumably been burnt by this multiple times.

God, @enchantedsquirrelwood, you don't need to take glass to the tip! Just to the closest supermarket!

@Thelonelygiraffe it is frustrating when you visit a different area where the recycling rules are completely different to the ones you are used to, ( where we live glass is included in the kerbside recycling ) thinking of Dorset, where we did what you suggested and took glass to the supermarket but they didn't have glass recycling, so ended up putting it in a selection of public bins whilst out and about. I find wine boxes useful on holiday for this reason A lot of holiday home owners won't/don't pay for recycling or domestic refuse collection which is incredibly frustrating, because most of us would like to dispose of rubbish appropriately if given the perfectly normal opportunity to do so.

I always strip the beds and have done so for the last 16 years of using holiday cottages in the UK, it means I can check properly in case anyone has left anything despite telling me they definitely haven't. I also always clean the bathroom and kitchen and would run the hoover around if there is one available, takes less than an hour.
The let we are staying in at the moment wasn't particularly clean, nothing to complain about but not the usual standard but the area had had no water supply due to a burst main, so I imagine this will have had quite an impact on cleaning !

Why is it the guests problem that the owners haven’t sorted enough cleaning time out?

We pay enough for self catering cottages in this country. Last one we couldn’t check in until 5!! And had to be out by 10..

I’d rather just stay in a hotel than spend hours cleaning on my final
morning. It’s just taking the piss.

Stripping the beds is a Covid thing and I won’t do it from now on. Was asked to once just after Covid but fortunately not since then. Stripping beds is not part of my holiday! People should just stop this then maybe cottages wouldn’t take the piss and ask.

Those that do it without asking because of some misplaced ‘I’m so clean and tidy’ pride thing..You’re helping nobody. As one cottage owner said they like to do it themselves to check for stains that need treating.

I will leave the place clean. I’ll wipe down surfaces, make sure bathroom is clean and set the dishwasher off. That is it. I’m not paying a cleaning fee to do their job for them.

Good idea to ask for checkout demands before booking - we should all start doing this. Maybe if business starts to suffer holiday owners will stop taking the piss.

Stripping the beds is not a Covid thing, I have been stripping beds in holiday cottages at least 5 years before Covid came on the scene

I don't think it unreasonable to ask people to wipe down work surfaces and clean bathrooms which you find reasonable as well. I run the hoover around if asked but it's a round the furniture I don't move anything and if sand is left on carpets it gets into the pile and wears them out

It doesn't take hours and I am not a party to the "I'm so clean and tidy" pride thing - you are welcome to come and visit my house as it doesn't hit that mark at all and my cleaning of a holiday cottage is quite minimal but I do the basics required

I haven't stayed in a holiday cottage post Covid so I haven't been asked to pay a cleaning fee. I got into the habit as when I first started using holiday cottages there was a returnable deposit for leaving the cottage in a reasonable state and that included making it look tidy

I totally understand the foundation rule. It doesn't wash out and some low lifes can use every white towel in a rental to wipe their make up off. It's expensive to replace all the towels after someone has trashed them out of laziness.

I’ve never been asked to strip beds pre Covid. Maybe it depends on where you stay and how much ££

@Delatron I am trying to remember when it became a 'thing' , it was certainly part of the instructions for several years pre pandemic in the properties down in Cornwall that we stayed in, none of which were budget end of the spectrum.

I would be happy to pay a small premium for someone to come and remove any rubbish or recyling when I'm staying in a holiday cottage, if facilities aren't provided by the owner.

I think it’s rude to leave a full dishwasher for the cleaners to sort out for you, self catering means you DIY…..

We work for ourselves. The owner won’t necessarily want to pay for an extra cleaner. The houses have set prices and it isn’t always feasible to try and stretch to an extra cleaner. It isn’t a huge stretch of imagination to realise that most cleaning companies have several houses that they do in a day to make the job viable. Good, reliable cleaners are in demand. If your cleaner has the time to spare to do extra work then she obviously isn’t that busy. I am. And so are most other good cleaners that I know.

And yes it is up to the owners to provide facilities but again, if the council don’t collect, they don’t collect. In private or commercial form. Yes obviously I can take the glass but we are rural and recycling facilities are miles away. So the glass will sit in the boot of my car until I pass somewhere where I can stop and drop it off. Sometimes it’s inconvenient to have a boot full of boxes of glass. Funnily enough I do have a life outside of cleaning and my boot is full of dogs or my own shopping and stuff. It really would be so much easier if the guests could drop it off on their way past, which I’m sure they can do as they’ve probably travelled some distance to the holiday let. It really isn’t that difficult. Or worth this tedious argument.

Absolutely, and splattered them with hair dye or self tan, and if they arrive to stained towels there is all hell to pay!

You may not have time, that's fine. My point is that to say that it is not possible to pay someone to take responsibility for getting rid of the glass is patently ridiculous. However, as I have stated, as a cleaner, it is not your problem unless you have agreed to take on the duty.

The discussion here us whether it's reasonable to expect guests to take their recycling away with them - I would not expect to take my rubbish away from a holiday let, anymore than I would expect to take my rubbish away from a cafe. If it were expected, I would want to be told in advance.

Who goes on holiday with fake tan and hair dye, that’s what I want to know.

Many people, or it seams like it when washing stained towels and sheets. But it’s all part of running a holiday let, as should commercial waste collection!

*They won't have space for a load of bottles.

They obviously had the space to transport them to the cottage. Empty’s easier, they’re lighter.*

Very odd that you can't imagine people not bringing everything to the cottage with them and actually buying things while on holiday. Indeed that you've never had the scenario of having more to pack on the way home than you set out with, so having less space - it being about space in the car not really weight.

Some people are finding it hard to think beyond their own situations here - they can't do holiday let cleaning for an extra hour so no cleaners can. Huh?! All very odd indeed. And no, I don't at all expect to 'take my shit with me' when I leave a holiday cottage. That's not how these things are sold. They're sold as a holiday and we pay for the stay and for the clean after. I always strip the beds and follow the rules for leaving things neat, but I don't take the rubbish home with me any more than I'd take my rubbish from home on holiday with me.

@Ibetthatyoulookgoodon wrote:
Yes obviously I can take the glass but we are rural and recycling facilities are miles away. So the glass will sit in the boot of my car until I pass somewhere where I can stop and drop it off. Sometimes it’s inconvenient to have a boot full of boxes of glass. Funnily enough I do have a life outside of cleaning and my boot is full of dogs or my own shopping and stuff. It really would be so much easier if the guests could drop it off on their way past, which I’m sure they can do as they’ve probably travelled some distance to the holiday let. It really isn’t that difficult.

Not that difficult, but apparently too inconvenient/difficult for you to do it, because the recycling facilities "are miles away" and "it’s inconvenient to have a boot full of boxes of glass" and you need to carry lots of your own stuff. Doesn't that all apply to people staying in holiday homes, too? 🤔

Yes, visitors will have travelled a fair distance, but recycling banks tend to be provided at locations which are known and convenient for locals (e.g., supermarket car parks), not on main trunk roads or at motorway service areas where holidaymakers will find themselves on their journey home.

Stayed in one in the summer and no demands. We obviously emptied bins as we were there for a week, but didn’t have to strip beds or anything like that.