To minimise stress when checking out of holiday cottage

[Dishwasherdebacle]

On holiday next week, self catering in UK.

Normally find last morning very stressful and get up really early to get everything sorted. Check out is 10.

Is it unreasonable to not strip beds and to leave dishwasher running? Would still leave tidy, or course.

Thanks.

Absolutely do not leave the dishwasher running for someone else to empty or unattended. Do it the night before and hand wash in the morning what you’ve used in the meantime.

Don’t strip the beds. That’s not necessary.

I say those things as someone who has a holiday cottages and uses other ones several times a year. We pack the car the night before and in the morning just have coffee and a pastry - easy and quick.

At Christmas we were up and out in 25 minutes and that’s with two DDs and five dogs. Everything tidy and ready for the cleaners.

Just do dishwasher the night before? Then there’s only some breakfast things to hand wash or you could just skip breakfast and have nothing to wash.

I’ve never found 10 particularly tricky to be out for. You can do most of the packing the night before anyway.

I wouldn’t dream of stripping the beds unless they asked us to. Most places I have stayed in ask you specifically NOT to strip beds. I think it’s fine to leave with the dishwasher running or have damp but clean dishes on the draining board

We usually grab a McDonald's on check out day.
We lay out a full set of clothes the night before and pack everything else, except a towel and washbag.

I have a holiday cottage and clean it. I'm more than happy to have the dishwasher left running, as long as it's not on eco setting! I don't expect beds to be stripped.

Anything that has been washed by hand I would put in the dishwasher again anyway

The Airbnb-ification of this market has led plenty of amateur hosts to come into the market and have unreasonable expectations of guests, forgetting that people are paying for a service and being charged a cleaning fee. Then they wonder why the demand isn’t there and people turn back to hotels.

I will set the dishwasher off. I’m not stripping beds. If we’ve made something messily dirty - marmalade is smeared on the kitchen counter, toothpaste got all over the sink - then I will of course give it a wipe to remove but that is it, I’m not cleaning it for arrival of next guest.

Before booking I will read the listing and any hint of unreasonableness in expectations I don’t book. Try and introduce silly rules on our arrival then nope too late.

We’ve just checked out of a holiday cottage this morning.

We left the beds unmade and put all towels in the bath (both as per the check-out instructions); started the dishwasher (also as per instructions); wiped the kitchen surfaces down quickly; took the main kitchen bin bag out and that was it. Very easy and not stressful.

I always think you should leave somewhere in a state where the housekeeper can just come in and clean the house, sort the laundry and beds etc. I would not expect them to wash anything up. I would however not do any additional cleaning like hoovering or cleaning the shower - rental costs are extortionate as they are and that should be included.

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I only strip beds if instructed to do so. We tidy up and do the dishes the night before and go out for breakfast after we pack up. I leave everything tidy, empty bins and wipe round the kitchen but I don’t clean, there’s a view in parts of MN that you are a slob if you don’t deep clean a holiday house before you leave, I don’t buy in to that! I wouldn’t book somewhere that expected me to clean (although it isn’t always easy to tell).

I always leave the beds and put the dishwasher on before I leave. I take rubbish out but that's about it.

I would not clean or do the beds etc unless it was clearly a booking requirement. Why would you?

-I'd put the dishwasher on the night before and pack away in the morning
-If you can't hand wash breakfast items due to your skin, either take a pair of marigolds or ask someone else in the group to hand wash those
-I've never striped beds unless asked

I've often found more detailed instructions only once I've arrived at a property, so don't discount that there might be more info then.

Agree with this totally! It’s reasonable to do basic things before check-out so the housekeeper can come in and do a good clean etc before the next guests. It’s not reasonable to do anything extra when this should be included in the cleaning charge. The cottage we’ve just left had very reasonable, minimal check-out instructions. It was spotless when we arrived and I know it will be for the next guests. They were very good owners/hosts indeed.

If you put it on a quick wash it will be finished before the cleaners are!

I actually don't mind if people have loaded the dishwasher and not put it on. What I do mind is people washing up by hand- badly in nearly every case. I would always put all hand washed stuff in the dishwasher anyway

I don’t strip beds but leave towels in a pile in bathroom put bins out and put dishwasher on. In cottage we stayed in last week it said please ensure dishwasher is empty before leaving. We didn’t because dishwasher wasn’t finished by 10am as we put it on after breakfast. If they want you checked out by 10am I don’t feel this is a reasonable request

Most places give very clear instructions for how they want you to leave things. If they don't specifically ask you to do something - eg put the bins out or strip the beds - then you don't need to do it!

I think owners just want you to be considerate, show respect for their cottage and make life easier for their cleaner, and not create extra work for them by leaving half empty food packets or towels all over the place.

My check-out list is:

Bedrooms/bathrooms:
Gather up used towels and put them neatly in the bathroom
Check nothing left in drawers/bedside tables

Kitchen:
Empty the fridge and freezer
Chuck/take home any open food packets unless it's the kind of place that doesn't mind you leaving them
Separate any recycling
Put away any washed-up stuff
Put the breakfast things in the dishwasher and turn it on as you leave
I also bring a pack of antibac wipes and give the kitchen table and surfaces a quick wipe to get rid of any obvious food stains or crumbs.

That really doesn't take very long.

I hate the check out morning too! To reduce stress we don't have breakfast and give the kids something small to keep them going ( yoghurt pouch or croissant) then go straight for brunch when we've checked out.

How much I do depends on how clean it is when I arrive tbh.
I’d never leave it really messy or dirty but I begrudge having to strip beds and empty the dishwasher if I’ve paid for a cleaner who had left old socks under the bed, tissues in the bin and an unflushed toilet.

Depends on the instructions for your checkout - I've rarely been somewhere where they ask you to strip beds, for a start. Why not put the dishwasher on in the evening and then you'll just have a few things to wash up in the morning? If you normally have an elaborate breakfast, don't do that on the last day and keep things simple.

I agree with you it can be stressful. I’ve three small children. And to get everyone up and out plus tidy up by 10am is hard. 10am is v early.
I’d usually do a basic wipe down of surfaces and leave a load running in the dishwasher.
the only place I’ve been asked to strip beds is eurocamp chalets

I just do what they ask. Leaving dishwasher running is totally reasonable. So is not stripping beds unless they ask. You are presumably paying a substantial cleaning fee, why waste your holiday cleaning.

As an ex airbnb superhost I used to hate it when guests stripped the bed (despite rules saying not to.
You can’t check for stains, the bedding is now likely inside out which traps stray hairs and additional hairs get transferred to the duvet and pillows.