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

Are you staying for an extended period? If it’s a week, or even a fortnight, how many clothes do you actually need?

I manage five cottages. First time in 9 years that I’ve been asked for a floor plan. We got straight onto it.
If you’d like early check in or late check out, just ask! Two cottages asked this week and I juggled around some cleans to make it work, gave them a 1.30pm check out. We do ask guests to strip beds, it’s a habit that has stayed on since Covid and we all prefer it. It beats finding people’s underwear in the bed and anything else they’ve left behind. If people ask for early check in, more likely than not, we are ready, but like someone said, we need the time to deal with breakages and cleaning if someone’s left it in a state.

Sorry too lazy to read everything

We have an airbnb, check out is 11, check in is 3pm, but you can drop off bags etc and we can store them on your last day.

We have to clean, as in actually clean, not hoover a tiny bit, wipe a kitchen side and fluff some cushions.

Change three beds and four duvets, hoover two bedrooms, a living diner, kitchen, bathroom and entrance hall including moving sofas etc to make sure nothing is underneath. Dust skirting boards, clean around lamps etc to prevent cobwebs, clean windowsills and see if windows need cleaning on the inside. Change cushion covers on the sofa scatter cushions.

Bathroom toilet, sink, bath, walk in shower, sauna, mirror and floor including buffing the glass surround for the shower, sauna and mirror.

Kitchen clean all surfaces, inside microwave, empty crumb tray on toaster, clean the hob, oven, floor and if needed clean the bin. Make sure all cookware etc is clean and present. Check cutlery tray etc for any crumbs.

Check all drawers, wardrobe etc for any left belongings,

If someone had poor cleaning standards it would be quick to clean, to actually clean it properly takes a while, you then need a buffer so if something needs sorting you have time to do it, like the time we discovered a vomit covered carpet.

Oh, and we do have a floorplan in the pictures.

It is a holiday home. Clothes, toiletries, hair straighteners, shoes, spirits, a few books, laptop, tablets, decent kitchen knives and tea towels, left over food e.g. chocolates, spices, oil, etc, wireless speaker, maybe board games, hiking boots and wet weather gear left drying, washing powder if there is a washing machine, flask and picnic stuff, etc etc.
If I just take some clothes and shampoo I book a cheap hotel room.

I think I’d prefer to stay at home if going on holiday required that much stuff.

thankfully I just throw a suitcase in the car, do a shop on the way, and call it good!

@Simonjt we all know what cleaning means. You also need to clean fridge freezer, if you have a hot tub empty, clean and refill, Clean cooker and oven.

Stayed at an apartment in Spain with a 2pm check in time. Turned up and owner apologised saying previous people had left it in a terrible state. I dumped my bags and went out. Returned 2 hours later and it was sparkling. I was fine with that as it meant I could enjoy the beach without taking my suitcase with me.

No point in a whole house then.

Interesting. I am currently looking for a place over Easter for a large ish group and am absolutely astonished at the cost. Even fairly average places are £2000 for the week, with a lot £3 to £4k. For families this is a huge cost for a group holiday- bit different if you are a group of friends where all are contributing.

From what I’ve seen in many hotels and holiday lets many people really don’t know what cleaning means.

Additional space and bedrooms, plus ability to self cater.

Better to go abroad, which is what we did.

Holiday home cleaner here. We require bins emptied and beds stripped. It's a bonus if the dishes have been done and put away. I know one of mine takes 5 hours to turn around hence check out at 10 and check in at 3 to give me maximum time to blitz the place. If people don't strip the beds or empty the bins or do the dishes or move furniture around it takes longer to do these extra things...I don't have extra time to magic up so I then have to spend less time cleaning or will still be working when the next guests arrive. I am self employed so I work alone and just do the one changeover in a day. Many places will get someone in and they might have multiple changes to do in that tiny time slot.
Also really hate people who leave late and turn up early as that makes you rush.
I love doing my holiday let's and I love it to be fresh when the next guests arrive so it's a nice experience for them.

don’t you unpack clothes through and hang them up? How can you do that as you go along? We washed clothes last time we went away as it was for two weeks with friends, so some clothes were drying with friends clothes. Then sorting fridge, then dishwasher, then wiping bathroom surfaces and kitchen surfaces, then realising your teens have only half packed their bags and are still in bed 30 minutes before leaving time, rubbish, recycling that is 3 floors down from an apartment and then a walk of two minutes to a back area to dump it. I think all these jobs add up to more than ten minutes but to be fair with the last place it was very strict with all the cleaning and I would not have booked it if I had known, a friend booked it and I didn’t take enough notice.

I want to live in the other rooms. Not just keep all my belongings in the bedroom.

We’ve noticed hotel rooms have increased, even ‘budget’ ones such as premier in , travelodge etc. we go to the same area every year (visiting relatives) at the same time. Used to be around £75, it’s now easily double that.

Village Hotels are cheap.

Sounds great, which agency are you with?

Marsdens/Original Cottages which now come under The Travel Chapter.

The house looks in lovely condition. I noticed when I looked at prices that it appears you can only book for a week - which I understand in school holidays but the rest of the year you are missing out on short break bookings.

We’ve stopped booking holidays for many of the reasons listed. All the cleaning and checkout times make it feel stressed and not like a holiday compared to home. At least at home I know we will have enough supplies and the kitchen will be well outfitted. Hotels often aren’t options for us for other reasons. Between the costs and all the extra effort involved, we save the money and stay at home instead, going on day trips.

Every now and then I think about booking a cottage but the thought of emptying bins and stripping beds while rushing the whole family out is completely unappealing.

Losing a day's rental on a booking is huge! Who is going to want to pay for that? Makes more sense for the guest who really doesn't want to pack up early to just pay for an extra night.

And how often does anyone actually want to check in at 10am?? Seems unlikely! Unless you've just done an overnight flight.

I definitely had the same thought re the floor plan this summer. Living with a family of snoring, sleepwalking people it would help me plan where I can get a good nights sleep on my one week holiday for the year!

There have been holiday home owners on here - how do you rent out? We had a bad experience with Sykes a few years ago (paid a fortune for a Hen party house - just for 7 of us, with a hot tub) and things like there was dog dirt all over the garden, a kitchen cupboard door fell off, one of the beds was broken, there should have beds for 10, but we had to look for bedding for no 7 - plus the bathroom was on a separate floor for everyone except one ensuite.
AirBnb - generally pretty good (on a lovely one atm) until we had a REALLY dire experience where we paid £800 for a 5 bedroom house for a weekend for a wedding and it was unsafe (had small children with us). Hanging electrical cables, broken glass in internal doors, door wouldn't lock and it was filthy with standing dirt in the drawers and stains on the sheets and towels. It took months to get 30% refund but the house is no longer on AirBnb (they didn't take off immediately). It had 7 or 8 x 5* reviews but they had to be fake. I found it listed on another site with bad reviews afterwards.

I now feel I have to see 100 reviews to feel safe!

Me too, you can always smell that doggy smell, no matter how clean the place is. Dog hairs on furniture too, yuk.