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Original poster

If you were renting a self catering cottage, how would you feel about this?

54 replies

Inklingpot · 02/10/2022 17:37

The owner/agent popping round during the first couple of days in your stay to check everything is ok?

Would you find it intrusive? Would you prefer an email/text or just to be left alone?

I’m curious as this came up while talking to a friend who manages a holiday rental and apparently that’s part of what she has to do. I said I’d find it a bit annoying for them to visit but maybe that’s just me.

OP posts:
TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 02/10/2022 17:58

I like it. I have never felt it demanded small talk and if it’s done in a genuine spirit of helpfulness it’s positive.
Of course if the owner won’t go or you feel like they’re sizing you up it wouldn’t be so good.

DarkMatternix · 02/10/2022 18:06

I'd hate it, when do they time it? Guests might be out, still in bed, in the shower, having an afternoon nap etc. When I'm on holiday I'm not expecting anyone to knock on the door unless there's an emergency.

Mummyoflittledragon · 02/10/2022 18:07

I would hate it. We had this at an Airbnb over the summer. Luckily I wasn’t in swimwear as I’d been sunbathing earlier. The garden goes all around the house surrounded by fields and a tall hedge onto the road and as there is no back door, I would have been on full view as he came up the drive.

womaninatightspot · 02/10/2022 18:07

I used to let out a cottage and people vary in what they want. Some people, often foreign, are super keen to chat. Some are very hands off. I used to pop by quickly on the evening of arrival and introduce myself and check they had found everything ok. Sometimes this was a thirty second job woodshed is over there help yourself and please close the gate to keep the sheep out the garden, my number/ email is on the card. Other times you’d be inside lighting the wood stove explaining how to work the underfloor heating, giving advice on tourist stuff to do, restaurants etc I’ve ended up having drinks/ bbqs with people I’ve gotten on well with. Lots of children have come to play in our garden with the dc. Some people you never see after that first initial hello.

Its an old farmhouse holiday cottage was an old barn across the yard.

Generally you know what people want from you as a host pretty quickly. I always had really good reviews from really friendly and informative to didn’t see the host but knew they were around if needed both 5 stars 😉

Sonnex · 02/10/2022 18:08

I'd be really annoyed if they came either before I was up and dressed of after I was sitting down in PJs wtching TV or having a drink so they'd basically have a very small window either just before or just after we went out for the day. So a text or whtsapp seems far better to me.

Benjaminsniddlegrass · 02/10/2022 18:08

Urghhh I'd hate that, no, nope, absolutely not.

Whyishedoingthat · 02/10/2022 18:09

They must lose a lot of repeat business that way. I’d never book there again.

90ssalamander · 02/10/2022 18:10

I would hate this. Just send a message or an email if you really have to. Any issues and I would reach out to them.

Oxfordkitchen · 02/10/2022 18:11

I don't like it. Stayed in a house in Scotland last summer where the owners turned up to mow the lawn and to check the electricity meter in the house!! They were annoyed when we mentioned we'd prefer to be left alone during OUR holiday. We were slightly on edge for the rest of our stay.

rookiemere · 02/10/2022 18:12

I'm in the I'd rather not camp.

Any time the owners have been on site, it's invariably lead to issues and is irksome. However it's ok if its people managing the property rather than owners and suspect that's what your friend is.

All the information can be provided by email beforehand. We stayed in a cottage in Whitby last summer and the welcome email from the owner was superb. All the information you'd need to know plus favourite pubs/restaurants and walks that he enjoyed. There were a few things I needed to check and he responded to texts promptly.

I would imagine that few people in holiday lets either need or want a personal visit and perhaps the thing to do is actually check with the guests before coming to the property.

DillDanding · 02/10/2022 18:14

I would absolutely hate it.

I also hate it when they meet you on arrival. We rented a house in Devon last year and the whole bloody family turned up when we arrived. It was most annoying.

rookiemere · 02/10/2022 18:17

Actually I'm just remembering DHs and I on our first mini break. We were young and keen and naked in the living room when the owner came to tell us something about the central heating Blush.

TooHot2022 · 02/10/2022 18:30

Think it depends on the property e.g. if it's a farm cottage as part of a courtyard where I'd expect to see the farm owners during our stay, then I would be fine with them popping by to introduce themselves, sell us fresh eggs, tell us about any farm 'rules' etc. If it's a standalone rental somewhere then I wouldn't really want the owner/agent to visit.

lljkk · 02/10/2022 18:34

I wouldn't see the text in time...
popping by for 2 minutes: zero issue with that

LouLou789 · 02/10/2022 18:42

We’ve stayed at a lot of SC places. I strongly prefer not to see the owner and for the owner to stipulate that they will not intrude, We like to get into PJs as soon as back at the accommodation for the day and also often rearrange the lounge to suit us better (always put it back before departure) DH is much more sociable than me, and happy to see the owner for a chat at the beginning of the stay (he forestalls them at the door)

In one place (Isle of Man) the owners were around in the building every day (office under flats, fair enough) but intercepted us every day to ask where we were going, insisted on a midweek visit to the flat “to change the towels” and even came round on the last evening when we were eating fish and chips to get us to do a survey. The accom was beautiful but we would never return because of them.

On the other hand, we’ve recently returned from a short break in Gloucestershire and the (un)welcome folder stipulated that we were not to contact them unless it was a dire emergency and certainly not to ask how to work any of the applicances (for which no instructions were left) Ridiculous!

grapehyacinthisactuallyblue · 02/10/2022 18:48

I had both from the same place we stay every year.

First owner was a one they visit. Didn't really mind it, nice chat to have. They lived away from the cottage. So if we needed something, it took a while to get a response, so it was good of them to visit.

Another people took over, they don't visit, but they leave a note in the room. And they are always around in the house nearby, so if we need them, it's very easy to speak to them.

Pineappleflowers · 02/10/2022 18:54

I’ve had this happen to me and I hate it. I was in the garden in a bikini and the owner stuck her head over the hedge (which bordered the road) to ask if things were ok. Bit weird. I have a phone. Use it, or even better, wait for me to contact you.

Floydthebarber · 02/10/2022 18:55

I think it depends where they are. We stayed on an airbnb on the owners farm. They knocked on the door not long after we arrived to say hi and stopped by the next day to lets us know about local beaches etc. It was really welcome but we were also literally staying in their garden.

Ponderingwindow · 02/10/2022 18:57

that would make me feel awful. It could destroy my mood for the rest of the day at least . I hate unexpected visitors.

TooMuchToDoTooLittleInclination · 02/10/2022 19:05

womaninatightspot · 02/10/2022 18:07

I used to let out a cottage and people vary in what they want. Some people, often foreign, are super keen to chat. Some are very hands off. I used to pop by quickly on the evening of arrival and introduce myself and check they had found everything ok. Sometimes this was a thirty second job woodshed is over there help yourself and please close the gate to keep the sheep out the garden, my number/ email is on the card. Other times you’d be inside lighting the wood stove explaining how to work the underfloor heating, giving advice on tourist stuff to do, restaurants etc I’ve ended up having drinks/ bbqs with people I’ve gotten on well with. Lots of children have come to play in our garden with the dc. Some people you never see after that first initial hello.

Its an old farmhouse holiday cottage was an old barn across the yard.

Generally you know what people want from you as a host pretty quickly. I always had really good reviews from really friendly and informative to didn’t see the host but knew they were around if needed both 5 stars 😉

You sound nice & that sounds lovely😊

but @Inklingpot no thanks, someone employed by the owners to come around, I wouldn't like at all. I'm happy to be met on arrival or just a key left. As long as I have made contact via text before or on arrival I don't mind if they text or not while I'm there. I've made friends with mist if the AirBnB owners & met up with them when I've been back in the area even if their place was booked and I've stayed elsewhere. Don't mind them just dropping in either.

Original poster
Inklingpot · 02/10/2022 19:21

I’m pleased that pretty much everyone agrees! 😀

@womaninatightspot You sound like you’ve found the perfect balance and are good at reading your guests.

OP posts:
GGGD · 02/10/2022 19:44

In the last three months we’ve stayed in three SC places, all in the UK.
In the first the owner lived on site, was most unwelcoming (didn’t speak to us, watched us try to access the wrong door, told us not to use the garden - available to us - until the family had finished using it with their guests) which put us off. Instructions for appliances were left. Dead flowers and two manky biscuits constituted a welcome pack.
In the third the owner met us upon arrival, left a wonderful welcome pack, didn’t really know how to operate appliances and left no instructions, but we were given a contact number. I felt guilty wasting energy as we fumbled with the oven and heating.
In the second a key was left in a key pad. There were manuals for every appliance. The welcome pack consisted of eco cleaning materials. Throughout our stay we had no direct contact with anyone but were given a contact number which worked. We much preferred this. It was professional and didn’t impinge upon us.

ohthehorrorthehorror · 02/10/2022 19:58

I'd hate it.
A couple of times a year I house/cat sit for a friend. His house is a two bedroom cottage and the house next door is a four bedroom cottage that sleeps seven that he runs as a holiday cottage. I am absolutely not there to keep an eye on things at the holiday cottage. Obviously if there was a real emergency I could help, but other than the time I dropped off milk and bread and a few bits when one guest had tested positive for covid, I would never even show my face.

Original poster
Inklingpot · 02/10/2022 21:38

GGGD · 02/10/2022 19:44

In the last three months we’ve stayed in three SC places, all in the UK.
In the first the owner lived on site, was most unwelcoming (didn’t speak to us, watched us try to access the wrong door, told us not to use the garden - available to us - until the family had finished using it with their guests) which put us off. Instructions for appliances were left. Dead flowers and two manky biscuits constituted a welcome pack.
In the third the owner met us upon arrival, left a wonderful welcome pack, didn’t really know how to operate appliances and left no instructions, but we were given a contact number. I felt guilty wasting energy as we fumbled with the oven and heating.
In the second a key was left in a key pad. There were manuals for every appliance. The welcome pack consisted of eco cleaning materials. Throughout our stay we had no direct contact with anyone but were given a contact number which worked. We much preferred this. It was professional and didn’t impinge upon us.

We stayed an a self catering place in Wales a bit like your first one. It was a converted outbuilding on a farm and they were monumentally unfriendly.

We’d originally booked prior to covid and then obviously it got postponed through no-one’s fault but it was a bit fractious. I think the owner wanted to cancel us altogether and relist to get a better price once stuff opened up but we’d already kicked off about her fucking up our original booking so I suspect she didn’t feel able to just cancel us. Instead, she was just super unwelcoming.

OP posts:
emmathedilemma · 03/10/2022 07:53

Unnecessary IMO and it would feel like they were checking up on you. We rented a big house earlier in the year where the property managers lived on the same estate and they were forever popping up when we didn’t expect it. It really felt like they were keeping tabs on us and wasn’t relaxing.