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.

Did you charge a premium price?

I am generally disappointed with the standards of cleanliness, even at expensive airbnbs. There is always dirt in the corners, dirt on the skirting boards and dirt under the radiators. It’s grotty and unpleasant.

Do you invite guests to your own home and expect them to sit on garden furniture with lichen on it?

I once went to a cottage that cost a huge amount and smelt musty, had mould in the bathrooms and the living room wall needed repainting. I felt conned. Especially the repainting would have been a 4-hour job. I don’t want to stay in a tatty place because my own home is smart and clean.

The cleaner can't clean away the paint stains or repair the pans, can she?

I hate the what’s the price. The price shouldn’t matter for cleaning. £20 a night or £100 a night it should be clean.

After a 4 hour clean there shouldn’t be dust.

The patio furniture should be clean to sit on.

If you know there is paint on the floor and damage to the cupboard why haven’t you fixed it.

Pans that have worn out should be replaced it should be on the cleaners check list to check just like checking there is 5 plates and 5 bowls or whatever number you have.

I also wouldn’t call your cleaner I hate that, as the customer of you calling your cleaners to complain they haven’t cleaned well enough.

I wouldn’t leave early but I wouldn’t come back.

Exactly why I always take my own frying pan, tongs, decent knife, slice and so on when going self catering such poor equipment in so many.

"There is always dirt in the corners, dirt on the skirting boards and dirt under the radiators. It’s grotty and unpleasant."

I've had much worse than that. Dirty fridge, hair in the bath, etc. At the last place I complained, but he didn't do anything about it.

I couldn't take it any further because I think Airbnb hosts can review their guests too, something I think isn't right when booking an entire flat/house. It's not like I'm staying in a room while the host is there and I'm the one paying.

but its not your home? its a holiday let? I mean you don't live there?

"Home" is a different scenario. Holiday home is an income stream. We have used cottages recently. The worst was in Ireland (not Airbnb) broken very old furniture, no bedhead, grubby, outside doors didn't lock etc. Reported to company but it was too late to get the issues sorted. So not a good holiday experience.

Airbnb all very clean, normally cheap white cupboards, which are easily replaced if damaged, good cooking facilities. The plus is both sides give opinions.

When guests have problems they need to be sorted immediately. It is their holiday time, and time is precious whether working or not. Your cleaners might not be very fastidious, hence the garden furniture. You always need to be ahead with everything, not behind.

@Spanieljoker I do think you need to change your mindset. It’s no longer your home, it’s a rental property generating income. My friend got really annoyed when people reviewed their ILs property- which was being rented out to help cover care home fees - as being like staying at your granny’s, decor wise. I mean she was right that they saw the photos before booking, but equally they haven’t changed the furniture and are charging top whack during the short peak season.

I would sort out the minor issues and increase your prices. It’s good to not be expensive, but there’s something about being disproportionately cheap that seems to attract a nit-picky sort of person.

@Tableforjoan , lichen isn't dirt.

I would absolutely love it but some people want an old Cotswold cottage to have the sterile beige interior of a new build.

People will look for the tiniest of flaws to complain because that’s what people are like now. You’re probably charging top dollar and they want some money back. Their complaints are ridiculous really. But if I’m paying the equivalent of a small mortgage I’d want the best too.

I wouldn't even notice those things tbh.

But then I am a total slattern.

How do you know they cleaned for 4 hours, do you have cameras?

You said the cleaners have said they can't come back, what would be the point of the guests contacting them??

Do you really expect cleaners to sort out paint stains and lichen?

@Spanieljoker Do the photos that you use on booking sites really accurately show what the place is like? You have said that your cottage is rustic, could it be that it is actually 'dingy' which along with the problems and you telling them to organise the cleaning themselves amounted to them bailing on the holiday.

Last time we used Airbnb to rent a 'luxury' apartment we were so disappointed at how dingy it was, the owner had obviously turned the brightness up when taking the photos. There were water stains on the couch and brown marks on the mattress topper. Individually, we would have probably just got on with the holiday, but combined just contributed to a sense of disappointment.

I have spent 40 years doing self catering as a guest @Spanieljoker
The things that annoy me ( always stay in 4 and 5* cottages) are -

• Any signs of dirt or previous guests
• Tired furniture and worn out sagging mattresses
• Old pans and knives that are blunt.
• Not enough cleaning products ( I would clean the shower if staying for a week.)
• Short rations of loo paper or dishwasher tablets (If I'm paying £1K for a week I'm not likely to take dishwasher tablets or loo rolls home)

I'd be annoyed by your cottage.

I would say the only thing that would bother me would be the non stick having worn off. That’s toxic so I would say not acceptable.

I see you’ve ordered more though.

Is the non-stick coating coming off? It's carcinogenic so rather off putting.
We stayed at a very old cottage recently and left a great review. The owner replied thanking us for "getting it". He said guests often ask him why he doesn't renovate and get new furniture from IKEA. Some people just don't appreciate old places.

What you accept as a home is not the same as renting it out as a business.

I'd not accept paint on the floor either as my home or renting it out, simply because a) if it had been spilled by me I'd clean it up at the time or b) if you had a decorator in I'd make them do it.

Even if you live in a different more casual way you must surely see that other people prefer different standards.

One of the best places I stayed in was a set of cottages where the owner had asked all her friends to visit the cottages and give blunt opinions and also make a list of what they'd like in the kitchen etc.

If you have the courage to list your cottage here we can see if the photos are true to what you say online.

Oh come on.
There is a huge difference between enjoying old charm of wooden beams etc and an Aga and a house being grubby round the edges.

An old cottage can still have new furniture in keeping with the style and the same for soft furnishings, decent pans, knives, crockery and be clean.

It's not Ikea at one end of the scale and Chippendale at the other.

The worn pans would really annoy me. The rest I wouldn’t care.

It’s a total over reaction and I’d stop worrying straight away. We moved overseas and consequently spend a lot of time and money on staying in Airb&b homes. The only thing that could be mildly annoying is the outside furniture being dirty.

i’d focus on enough crockery, utensils etc for preparing and eating meals for the number of people allowed to stay. Recently I’ve bought cutlery, wine glasses, mugs and extra plates when staying for a week! There weren’t enough chairs for a house that slept 6 (4), no lamps, bedside tables etc etc, I was annoyed but we made the best of it and just assumed we were first renters.

you will never be able to please everyone and if they didn’t ask for anything whilst staying, I would totally ignore!

There will always be one! You can’t please everyone. I learned long ago to stick them on the PIA list and move on. It’s an old characterful cottage you can dust one day and it’s back the next. Lichen on garden furniture! Really? People have become ridiculously precious. For the price you are charging they are getting a good deal for the Cotswolds.

But if it's that wonderful why is it so cheap?

Hmmm...

That is a bargain price for a Cotswold cottage , we paid way more than that for a week last month .
However …I’d definitely provide new cooking pots / saucepans as a worn non stick coating isn’t good .
Anything they cook will just stick to it .
And I’d make sure anywhere that needs a lick of paint gets done ✔️
I have been to many UK holiday cottages and most were very good , clean and tidy .
One older one was a bit dusty but I didn’t complain because otherwise it was actually clean with clean bedding and kitchen surfaces.
Other cottages I felt the cleaning team weren’t paying any attention to the detail such as skirting boards and behind radiators.
it actually looked like a small furry animal was hanging from just under the radiator 🤢 gross .
Another one was dusty and dirty with a ripped sofa and marked carpets

@DamnAFloppyLettuce because I am new to this and wanted to start with a year fully booked. Spent a lot of money on the house and need the income

I bet their plans changed and they are trying it on in order to get a refund. You haven't refunded them, have you?