Cottage holiday - Cleanliness

[Spanieljoker]

We have a cottage in the Cotswolds and we had guests staying there. The property is managed by a thirdparty and we had cleaners there staying (4 hours!) and they state they cleaned the property from top to bottom.

The couple left 3 days early because the property was not up to standards…
she claims :

there is lichen on the furniture in the garden

the aga had some dust and one cupboard was dirty (i know this cupboard has chipped paint inside but it was dusted and cleaned) It is an old cottage kitchen and we didn’t renovate

pans with worn nonstick surfaces

floor with paint stains from past decoration

They claim this was too much and they could not have a restful stay and therefore left early?!
I really don’t understand. It is a lovely rural cottage with character. Is this that bad ? It is scaring me and wondering if this business is worth it. If every guest will complain for anything and make our life impossible.

Why should everything be high end? Not every holiday cottage is a high end cottage. Some are midrange and some are basic. If you want high end, pay high end prices. This isn’t that.

Pans would greatly piss me off - as would the paint. Sorry.

The furniture in the garden was like that when the guests arrived fyi

The only thing l would not be happy would be the worn out pans, the rest would not worry me too much as your price seems very reasonable.

That is a fair price if not five star but 'homely'. They are overreacting by leaving early, probably got bored and just wanted to leave early with a refund to boot!

As a regular user of Air BnB's I like to see lots of photos, I can zoom in etc and I know what I'm getting. Just make sure your listing has plenty and hopefully that will mitigate any future problems.

Only the pans would bother me...but not enough to leave at all!

Jeez you are all such snobs!
The dust on the aga would be the only thing that would bother me and even then I wouldn’t be that bothered unless it was filthy with it. Ooh the non stick pans aren’t brand new! Check you all out 🙄

We live in a complaints world.
I know people who go away for a weekend/week and complain about the smallest of things just so they get a refund. Aka free holiday etc.

Apparently if you stay at Premier inn and complain you didnt sleep well due to noise outside/inside or pillows not comfortable you get refunded.

I think "It is an old cottage kitchen and we didn’t renovate" speaks volumes. It sounds like you haven't put in any effort and are upset that the guest thought so to.

Whilst that is a reasonable price in comparison to other properties try looking at it that you’re charging what some are paying on a months rent or mortgage for a week. Most people are very proud of their own homes and have spent a lot of care and attention getting them nice so to leave that and come to somewhere not as nice (barring the location) irks. It used to be my biggest bugbear and when we bought our holiday home last year everyone was very surprised to hear we were refurbishing it because it was already as nice as everything else. We just didn’t want people to be disappointed that it didn’t feel as nice as their own homes. We spent a fair bit of money putting in new en-suites, new kitchen, new furniture throughout and everything was replaced down to the teaspoons!
the reviews we’ve had since refurbishing have been brilliant and it’s clear that what we’ve done has really made a difference to our guests holiday and that was what it was about for us.

We did renovate the bathrooms. Brand new ensuite. New hard floor. New fire doors. Ceiling fire sprinklers for the safety of the guests. Lots of bills have been paid don’t worry about that. I just didn’t do the kitchen yet. I have made lots of effort and the house is lovely

Ahahahah wow! No way. 😂😂 I love a premier inn. Will try that next time (joking I would never)

Haha seriously. I know someone who does it regularly. Everytime she books a premier inn as she knows she'll get a refund.

Infact every time my own sister and bro in law go away they find something to moan about and get either the full refund or 1 night refunded. I wouldnt dare myself but each to their own lol

Unless this was over a school holiday week, it's shoulder season so I wouldn't say the price was a bargain but I wouldn't be expecting something pristine. It's hard to know without photos but the fact she didn't send any makes it seem like she may think she's unreasonable.

However, the lichen on the garden furniture (if there actually is lichen on the garden furniture) doesn't seem reasonable, nor the state of the pans (if they are visibly worn). A holiday cottage should be fit for use, having to clean furniture before you can use it without getting your clothes mucked up is unreasonable and worn nonstick should not ever be provided - it's a health hazard. From my perspective that's a kitchen without pans. And it's not like pans have to be expensive to replace.

The chipped paint in the cupboard and the paint stains on the floor are not things I'd leave over, and I'd normally think they were fine in a cheaper property. But I can kind of understand, with the other things, why they would stand out as confirming that it's all been done sloppily.

I dont want to stay in pristine, boutique type cottages especially with small children. I wish there was a site for nice , clean but more basic cottages. Price to reflect that obviously.
Nothing on your list would worry me.

I book cottages/airbnbs etc because they are handy for where I want to be. None of your “issues” would have upset me.

I think your guests wanted Cotswolds without any countryside-iness. That looks like classic cottage outdoor furniture to me

Anyway I let my daughter play on the disgusting lichen I must be a horrible mother ! 🤣

You can get cancer from worn-out fry pans. And a new entire set of pans costs like £20 from Poundland.

I haven’t read the full thread, but could this guest have been angling for a refund? It seems quite the trend for guests to complain unnecessarily in order to try to get money back & a free stay.
Do you rent through Airbnb?
Having said that, the pans would have annoyed me, but the rest I would expect in a countryside cottage…

4 hours cleaning or 2 people for 4 hours eg 8hrs?

can you share the advert or some photos OP?

Did they provide photos to back up their claims?
non-stick coating would be an issue.
good presentation is important,
lots of paint splashes looks slap dash and spoils aesthetics.
I wouldn’t leave though

I have holiday guests and most are very nice. Occasionally you get one who is clearly a bit of a loon and usually they don’t tell you whilst they’re there, they just leave a pernickety review- I’ve had - there are too many windows, there was dust on the inside of the radiator, I should move the birdscarer in the farmers field, the vanity unit above the sink needs to be moved etc etc. I’ll fix anything that I can but sometimes it’s just not possible to fix the issue particularly after the fact. I would fix the issues raised but would it make me leave early? No way.

Hrft but if you could get some new pans, we'll be happy to stay there.

We regularly stay in relatively cheap rentals in Hastings with no garden and tired carpets. But the kitchens are well equipped. As long as its clean and comfortable we are grateful for a reasonably priced stay, as long as there is parking, thats my boundary lol.

OP I think if the majority of the reviews are good then don’t worry too much.

the non stick pans would be annoying but I wouldn’t leave early! I’d probably just leave a note in the questionnaire at the end.

the other stuff wouldn’t bother me for a cottage!

I could understand if it was really grubby and sticky.

maybe get some new pans and a new outside bench/bistro set or something.

I’m used to rural - were they city people??

some people love to complain!!