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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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

533 replies

TheStroppyFeminist · 27/08/2024 15:28

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

OP posts:
Theydontknowaboutus · 27/08/2024 18:04

Agree floor plans would be useful. I wish there were more properties with zip and link beds ie beds that can function as doubles or a twin. We often go away with our dc and wider family inc dc, and the number of properties with just doubles cuts down so much choice, as siblings don't want to share a bed.

Nadeed · 27/08/2024 18:07

3beesinmybonnet · 27/08/2024 18:00

1 and 2 - nobody has ever asked us for this info so we don't provide it. If a customer requires more info they ask and we'll do our best to answer.
3 - 10 am checkout because we don't know how much of a mess the previous customer has left. We usually let the next customer know if the apartment's ready for them early.
We ask customers to empty the bins, wipe the surfaces and sweep the floor, personally I'd be ashamed of not doing this in someone else's property, it takes minutes. We only asked customers to strip the beds to protect our cleaners during Covid, we don't now.

People should not have to do housework when staying in a cottage. If I am emptying the bins, wiping the surfaces and sweeping the floor I am doing half the cleaning. I do not leave a mess. but bins and floors are part of the cleaning. And yes I know you have to clean ovens, fridges, etc - but I leave all of those clean.
Honestly rubbish like this is why I now stay in hotels or aparthotels.

TizerorFizz · 27/08/2024 18:07

@HoopLaLah Ok. We have always managed it. Everyone takes a bag. The trade off is the North Cornwall coast views. That’s why the lounge is up there! We eat out a lot. If you have the money, Nathan Outlaw just up the road. Port Gaverne is a walk but popular. There’s more to a holiday than worrying about stairs for most people. Taking a suitcase up and down is further in many hotels!

Shodan · 27/08/2024 18:08

But one person’s take on firmness is going to be different to another! I have a holiday cottage and mattresses are med to firm I’d say. Never had anyone complain.

It wasn't a personal criticism. And I would only complain if the mattress was lumpy, because I accept that what I consider to be uncomfortably firm might be someone else's gloriously comfortable. But an indication, like you've just given, would be good. Something along the lines of what mattress companies themselves do.

Nadeed · 27/08/2024 18:08

Theydontknowaboutus · 27/08/2024 18:04

Agree floor plans would be useful. I wish there were more properties with zip and link beds ie beds that can function as doubles or a twin. We often go away with our dc and wider family inc dc, and the number of properties with just doubles cuts down so much choice, as siblings don't want to share a bed.

Zip link beds are standard in hotels, but more expensive. Loads of cottage owners kit out their property as cheaply as they can - usually from Ikea.

starfishmummy · 27/08/2024 18:11

SnapdragonToadflax · 27/08/2024 16:17

We had a cottage that was checkout at 9am once. Never again! The cleaner was knocking on the door at 8.55am, glaring at us for still being there. We had a nine month old!

Our last cottage the cleaners arrived at 9. Our confirmation email said 10. I don't think they were happy tonsee us - nor us them!! But they did say they'd come back later. Phew

Heedthaball · 27/08/2024 18:12

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This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

poetryandwine · 27/08/2024 18:12

Hi, @TizerorFizz -

Your townhouse looks lovely. DH and I don’t mind lugging groceries upstairs, so I wish we had known about it when booking a property in Cornwall earlier. We paid more, got some old fashioned English character but rather less comfort. Ah, life is a trade off

I think it looks fine value for money. It’s a good layout for two couples to share, also

Fizbosshoes · 27/08/2024 18:14

I booked our accomodation this year for 2 families (we went with IL)
There were various requirements but I found most places gave quite a decent description. It enabled me to rule out several I thought were unsuitable. I've seen descriptions where they tell you one bedroom leads into another, and that would be a no for us. The shower was a bit crap, but almost every holiday shower is not as nice as my own but it's not a deal breaker for me. My most common gripe is no full length mirror (ive had the same complaint since i was a teen in the 1990s! ) and knives not sharp enough. We have a collection of "holiday" knives and peelers that we've bought in various places as the ones provided weren't suitable! I've never gone to the bother of buying a mirror though! 🤣

Bizarrely you usually get a floor plan when you book a caravan!

MattSmithsBowTie · 27/08/2024 18:15

They should tell you when the sofas were bought, every single one I’ve ever been in has had knackered old sofas and I end up with a bad back for a week afterwards. I definitely get the feeling they look at them and think “that’ll do” when they’re renting them out.

whyNotaNice · 27/08/2024 18:15

My question is: how is it possible a cottage to be just around 45 sq m? Are these houses where before that family of 4 might have been living?

HoopLaLah · 27/08/2024 18:17

TizerorFizz · 27/08/2024 17:51

@shams05 Unashamedly marketing here. It’s Port Isaac Bay Holidays - No 9 Castle Rock. We do have stairs to first and second floor.

I’ve had a look. If DP included that in a shortlist, my immediate reaction would be: sleeps six but based on those photos, there’s only one two-seater sofa on the top floor, one two-seater sofa on the ground floor, and two chairs on the balcony. Looks tiny.

So the only circumstance, I could see us booking that would be if we wanted to persuade our uni student DC to join us for a holiday and bring a friend/DP along with them getting the ground floor to themselves and joining us for meal times.

If the property has more seating that is shown in the photos then I would suggest you need to improve the listing to show all of the seating / all of the living area.

NetZeroZealot · 27/08/2024 18:20

All Landmark Trust properties include a Floor Plan.

PontiacFirebird · 27/08/2024 18:23

I just booked a place in Greece and it has a 11 am check in and a 3 pm checkout. Much more civilised. Presumably they clean the afternoon you check out, or early the next morning, and have a day between bookings.
I also like it when there’s a proper inventory of all kitchen utensils and pans ( which never happens in the uk). I stayed in a cottage here that sleeps six and there were no big pans at all!

Nadeed · 27/08/2024 18:23

@HoopLaLah My biggest bug bear is cottages that do not include enough facilities for the number of beds. Most commonly a lack of dining chairs. If you have 6 beds I do expect a table large enough for us all to eat at and 6 dining chairs.

Isobel201 · 27/08/2024 18:23

I've used cottages.com for the last 4 years, like you OP, I need a walk in shower due to slight mobility problems, and I usually don't take the risk if I can't see a clear picture of the bathroom showing what type of shower it is. However, most of the pictures on the website are shown clearly, although brightened up and look better than true reality.

Purplegrapejuicefan · 27/08/2024 18:27

I have a holiday let. Our check in is 3pm and check out 11am. Please remember, though, with an Airbnb you’re renting a whole place and that living room, kitchen, bedroom/s, bathroom/s etc takes way longer to clean and be ready for you than just a hotel bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. Hotel guests leave at staggered times meaning a whole crew of cleaners can get round and do each room, hence hotels might be able to let you in earlier.

I guess you’ve got to decide what’s more important to you, an earlier arrival / later check out and somewhere to leave your luggage in return for a bedroom and bathroom, or a lot more space and an entirely different experience but maybe arriving a little later or leaving a little earlier.

We do ask people to at least tidy their mess/rubbish as again, the cleaners have a whole lot to do to be ready for the next guests, just as they did for you before you arrived. Clearing up, washing up, dealing with rubbish etc can take up a lot of time before they can even start. And again remember, given you’re ‘living’ at the Airbnb with all the extra spaces and kitchen etc, you generate a lot more rubbish than just a small paper bin’s worth in a hotel room. It’s common courtesy to not leave a hotel room in a state with mess everywhere so surely the same courtesy can be extended to those cleaning after you in an Airbnb.

That said I wouldn’t dream of asking guests to strip beds or Hoover etc, but basic tidying up, washing up/dishwashing, and taking the rubbish out is completely reasonable x

NeedToChangeName · 27/08/2024 18:27

I wish more companies allowed you to search for properties with king size beds

PorridgeEater · 27/08/2024 18:28

I've often wished sets of towels could be in different (toning) colours rather than all white - so each guest could easily tell which is theirs. Doesn't seem to happen though.

Port1aCastis · 27/08/2024 18:29

TizerorFizz · 27/08/2024 17:51

@shams05 Unashamedly marketing here. It’s Port Isaac Bay Holidays - No 9 Castle Rock. We do have stairs to first and second floor.

Ah Port Isaac beautiful and famous place love it there. I hope your let(s) are successful. I'm also in Cornwall but further down on the Lizard and I have a holiday let business which is currently doing ok.
Best Wishes and Good Luck with your cottage.

starfishmummy · 27/08/2024 18:30

My let peeves in a listing are the numerous arty pictures- a close up of a vase of flowers or the now ubiquitous shot of a loaf of bread and glass of wine, really don't help.

I want to know if there's a bath as well as a shower and what the parking is - is it close by, only suitable for a fiat 500 etc. If its a complex of cottages can I park next to our unit, do we have any private outdoor space etc.

fortuneofthefearless · 27/08/2024 18:33

I think if you're prepared to live in someone's property (like airbnb etc) then to strip the beds and load the dishwasher takes literally 20 mins. I do it every year with what was a 2, 3 and now 4 year old in tow.

Only once did the advertisement have a floor plan and it was very useful but I don't think I'd say I need it as such.

If you don't like the conditions, then don't book it and book a hotel where these things aren't expected of you!

HoopLaLah · 27/08/2024 18:35

Nadeed · 27/08/2024 18:23

@HoopLaLah My biggest bug bear is cottages that do not include enough facilities for the number of beds. Most commonly a lack of dining chairs. If you have 6 beds I do expect a table large enough for us all to eat at and 6 dining chairs.

Yes, and I’ve noticed the “sleeps eight” places seem particularly bad for that.

Last month we had a mini break with my parents. Sleeps eight. But the dining area was: one side and two ends of the kitchen island! Two people high up on bar stools, everyone else low down on a bench. Which you couldn’t tell from the photos.

We managed fine for a min break but it was such a shame about the dining space because apart from that, the property was outstanding, and we would have been instantly booking it for Christmas. But obviously for a Christmas break you’d need a proper dining area, not a super-sized breakfast bar arrangement.

Diorling · 27/08/2024 18:35

I had a holiday home in Devon, until Covid, when the lack of income forced me to sell up. I did have a floor plan on my website plus a description of each room.
It slept 8 in 4 bedrooms, 3 upstairs and 1 down, plus a large garden.

It’s interesting the comments about how long it takes to clean a holiday property. You can be lucky with some visitors - but it’s not always the case. You need time to clean it properly anyway, especially in a large property. It took me 6 hours to clean the house and the garden properly. I had commercial bed linen (properly boiled washed each time, which you often can’t do with domestic bedding, to make sure it was squeaky clean), plus stripped all the beds and washed everything - and after every second visit washed the mattress covers and pillow covers as well (every week if the weather had been hot). Washed the pillows every few weeks. Left a choice of pillows and spare bed linen for both a single and double bed, in case of accidents.
Unlike a hotel room you have to think about all possibilities - for example I’d pull all seat cushions off both sofas and both chairs in the living room - you’d be amazed what was there - sandwiches, toys, Lego bricks, half eaten biscuits etc. Cleaning the showers took ages - especially if the shower trap was full of hair. I antibacced every switch, dusted everything, restocked all toiletries, put away any toys and books, checked all crockery, pans, glasses and cutlery to check it had been put away clean (and all too often it wasn’t). I used to buy the cheap tea towels from IKEA - they were 40p each then - wash them, iron them, and then leave out two as complimentary - it worked out cheaper than the laundry charge of £2 per tea towel.
Most guests were great. However one changeover day I drove down to find the family of 7 still packing. They didn’t go till 11am. What a mess - dirty dishes piled up in the sink, furniture moved all over, sticky rock trampled through the carpets, the oven - immaculate the previous week - covered in some kind of baked on batter - worst of all they’d decided to strip the beds - they weren’t asked to - and piled the duvet covers - still on the duvets - sheets and towels in both baths - and then turned the taps on! Everything was soaking wet. My garden chair cushions were spread across the garden - one was under a bush - and had been left out so were wet. They’d even taken the balcony keys with them (they denied it but did return them weeks later - with insufficient postage so that cost me too). Even one loo seat was smashed. I had another set of guests en route and couldn’t see how I could sort every thing out in the time; luckily a neighbour helped me. It took the two of us 12 hours to get the house back to a lettable state - fortunately there were loads of spare bedding. The following guests weren’t much better - found extra beds made all over, party glitter everywhere - it was obvious they’d had a party (so many bottles and cans left everywhere) and their friends had clearly all stayed on for free, no doubt invalidating my insurance. It was annoying to find rings left by hot cups on polished surfaces when there were heat resistant mats right next to them - almost touching the mugs. I could go on, but it’s why you need time to make the house gorgeous again. The worst one of all actually left the house looking great - but oh the smell! No idea what it was from, but a rancid acid smell permeated every soft surface throughout the house. Fortunately the house was empty for two weeks after them, and it took all of it to get the smell out. Had to steam everything - including all the curtains - and borrow an ozone generator. I was lucky - always had great reviews, but a further booking that week wouldn’t have been good at all.
Hotels only have a room and bathroom usually to do though the staff are often asked to do the impossible. I was at a hotel recently - one of the larger chains - the staff there get 20 minutes per room (I asked them) - that’s twenty minutes to strip and change the beds, empty the kettle and curl up the flex, clean the bathroom, change the towels and complimentary items like tea and coffee, and vacuum. It can’t be done. The truth was it looked ok on the surface but I ended up getting cleaning products from reception at 10pm as it was so filthy- and judging by the hairs in the bed the sheets were never changed at all - I ended up sleeping on top of the bed (and yes, did get a refund).

ChimpanzeeThatMonkeyNews · 27/08/2024 18:40

LlynTegid · 27/08/2024 15:30

It is because they can get away with it. Same as estate agents and the spivs who seem to work there.

Maybe proper regulation of estate agents that I advocate should extend to all rental of property, even for short term lets.

Spivs is an excellent description of EA.