Why don't holiday cottage companies do these things? AIBU?

[TheStroppyFeminist]

I have been searching for a holiday cottage for next year and so far haven't found the right one but FGS, why don't cottage companies:

1. Show you a floor plan? I want to see where each bedroom is in relation to other bedrooms because of snoring etc
2. Show you the bathrooms properly? I want a huge walk in shower and I want a separate attachment as well but you can hardly ever see whether there is one
3. Insist on a 10am checkout and a 4pm or later check in? It's annoying and we sometimes leave the day before to avoid getting up early

I also won't empty bins or strip beds, I'm on holiday! AIBU? What are your self catering hates?

YABU, understandable, they CBA
YANBU, they really should provide this info

@SGJ there is nothing about check in and check out times? A weekend there would be lovely. But I suspect in reality its Friday evening to Sunday morning.

Staycations are when you go out for the day from your home, so you would not be strictly beds. Going away to stay somewhere else is a break or holiday. I will die on this hill. NB. Never stayed in a holiday cottage without stripping the beds.

Can't find any cleaners, hated by locals in Cornwall.
I do hate perfectly good three bedroom homes near primary schools being empty for most of the year except a couple of months.
Loads of these house got converted to holiday let's during COVID and rates went through the roof. Just horrific but there's vacancies all over the country including beautiful niche grand design places that would have been waiting lists a couple of years ago.
The cleaners are at the bottom of the food chain. If you pay more than the minimum, with a decent run of hours, year in year out, you won't have any problem finding anyone.

Hotels every time. Airbnb experience was too many rules, and too expensive. And very precious owners.

It really does make a huge difference.
We stayed at a lovely hotel in Devon recently. We arrived a bit early (2pm) when check-in was 3pm and the room was ready.

On our last morning they agreed to an 11.30 check out instead of a 11am. We did the park run and came back for breakfast. No cleaning, tidying and stripping beds.

The hours changed in Covid and for many self catered places they haven’t switched them back. We went to Wales last year and it was a 5pm check in. Ridiculous.

They need to be clear abut their silly demands. Then you decide whether you’re happy with them.

I have booked cottages through independentcottages.co.uk a few times. It's not the best website for sort function etc but you can find a range of places there, last minute offers and no agency fees. It's basically a platform for cottage owners to advertise and you deal with them direct, which I prefer to the likes of Sykes and Cottages.com.

Ah yes sorry, it would be 4pm Friday to 10am Monday as they have a super thorough cleaning routine... but on the plus side it is very clean!
Insider info, but you could always enquire as to whether they've got any shutdown weeks planned (for maintenance, about twice a year, and so they can have a holiday) because they might be able to be more flexible with a later checkout on the Monday then ☺️

I agree being able to leave luggage at hotels makes a big difference.
I also stay at hotels that allow you to use the swimming pool and other facilities after check out time. So if its bad weather, you can spend your time in the pool before heading home.

@SGJ Thanks. I would have booked it for a weekend if I could spend more than 1 day and 1 evening enjoying the facilities.

And the following week and the one after? Generally guests want a weekend check in. It’s not practical.

We had a very intrusive owner once. It was their first year of letting out the cottage they'd bought next to their house; I'm sure they thought they were being friendly but every time we set foot outside - they were there! Last morning we were sorting ds and packing up when the owner marched in at 8am to get the bedding because she needed to wash it for the next guests!

I stayed in a cottage once where they told us that rubbish should be taken to the tip rather than put in the outside bin.

The closest tip was 20 miles away.

That didn’t happen…

Same property also had a patio with aspirations rather than the advertised parking space, so I think they were trying to pull a bit of a fast one with the local council.

Those are just booking platforms. They do not inspect any of the properties that list there. They just use reviews as a quality control measure.

We are VisitWales and get regular inspections to make sure that we are still up to standard for our 4 listing. I actually told the inspector that I didn't want a 5 as that would raise expectations too high.

I once emailed a big cottage firm to ask which properties were next to each other on a large complex of 10 holiday homes as we wanted to book two together for two groups to holiday together and we didn't want to be constantly walking past other peoples' patios/front doors to get between the ones we were renting.

They emailed back to say they didn't know! That's helpful! So I replied asking if they could contact the owners/managers to ask them, but they emailed back saying no!

So, we didn't book with them and found a different place where the listing said where each was on the site and ended up on a corner where the front doors were virtually next to eachother and we had two corner plot back garden areas which were ideal for the kids to play football and other games without disturbing anyone.

I did always wonder if the owners realised how unhelpful the directory/agency were re enquiries etc.

Oh, maybe I've not been clear, it's Friday to Monday, so 2 evenings and 2 days if you left Sunday eve.

We have a gîte - our checkout time is 10am, check in 5pm.
It takes every bit of that time for the 2 of us to bottom the house (3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms) . You might be able to give the house a quick "once over" in a couple of hours, but not to "spotless" ! Yes guests do check for cobwebs (rural, lots of wildlife, beamed ceilings), they do expect totally shiney showers, pristine pool and garden...
We get lots of families with children and dogs- the combination of sticky hands and dog hair is lethal 😳

I ask that people sort their recycling as they go (clearly labelled bins) and to put their breakfast pots in the dishwasher, chuck towels ect in the bath. It's a bonus for me if they strip the beds, but I don't ask them too.
I don't charge extra for cleaning, the cost is included.
Most people leave the house ok- some well 🤮.

I couldn't leave a day between arrivals- think about it, you arrive early Saturday, that means the previous guests have to leave on Friday... won't work, sorry.

The arrival time thing isn't such a problem for me- my uk and Dutch guests all have a long drive south to get here, and the French know the score!

YABU.
Obviously (as has been explained lots) they need the 'turnaround time' to get the place clean, tidy and ready for the next people. Not sure why that is a surprise to you.
Wanting a floorplan is ridiculous - you are sleeping there for 7 nights, not buying the place
Same with bathrooms really. I mean, it doesn't really matter for a week, does it ?

I don't spend my last evening packing, takes no time to do it as we go along. One bag (usually our grottiest) will be designated for dirty stuff which we just put in the corner of the bedroom and fill as we finish with something. Takes a couple of seconds to throw the days dirty clothes in there as I'm undressing.

1 and 2 I agree with you. 3, I guess you mean why DO they insist on those timings? Well, the answer lies in your final comments. It's to give time to clean up the mess you have selfishly left because you're 'on holiday', so that the next lot of holidaymakers have a nice clean house.

Yeah, it matters to me. I want a luxurious walk in shower and I'm prepared to pay for it. And I want to sleep so need a room away from the snoring hence the floor plan.

😂what makes you think I “selfishly leave a mess?! “ I don’t but neither do I strip beds.

I've booked a lot of holiday cottages (usually through the same large nationwide company). Never had a bad one really, certainly not lists of rules. I mean there's always going to be something you don't like but it's only a week. My own need is a bit niche and that is comfortable garden furniture. If it's got bistro style iron chairs, or no pictures at all of the furniture, I just scroll on by, even if it's OK in other respects. We spend a lot of time reading and I want to be comfortable.

It used to be 11am or 12 check out that was most common. During COVID they moved it to 10am as they needed to clean more but now most airbnbs etc have kept it at 10 now and aren't doing any extra cleaning anymore!

that sign would definitely put me off.

Its a holiday home. I do not just bring a few clothes. And I hate mess so put everything away.