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Original poster

How would you leave a self-catering house?

142 replies

Littlechickenhead · 05/01/2023 21:06

For transparency, I manage a holiday let (it’s not my house, it belongs to a company) and I’m trying to work out if I’m being unreasonable in applying an additional cleaning charge for some guests. I’m relatively new to doing this so still finding my way.

I’ve regularly stayed in SC over the years and I would always strip beds and leave sheets in a pile next to towels in the bathroom, wipe down surfaces, get rid of food, put the dishwasher on, put the rubbish out etc.

The guests left a mountain of 15 open bin bags in the garden which had nappies, food containers, general rubbish, food waste. Despite instructions, they’d left all the food waste outside so foxes got at it which meant I had to spend 30 mins litter picking all around the house. One bin was completely full of bottles and too heavy to lift. The oven is going to require a professional clean, the fridge and freezer were filthy, there were spills of food/drink everywhere (floors and furniture), blood on the sheets and mattress protectors and dirty dishes in the sink. The cleaning company were (rightly, imo) pissed off. They’re extremely conscientious and do a fantastic job.

The same family have booked in again for next year.

I am tempted to chalk the last one up as experience but ask the agent to apply an additional cleaning charge for their next stay.

Is this really how families expect to leave a holiday let? Or am I being a bit precious and if you pay then you should be allowed to leave it how you want? The thing that keeps nagging at me is that they surely wouldn’t have left their own home like that.

OP posts:
IneedanewTV · 05/01/2023 21:08

I would refuse to rent it to them next year.

rookiemere · 05/01/2023 21:11

Just refuse to rent again to them. They sound like animals.

Edinburghmusing · 05/01/2023 21:11

I stayed in one over Xmas.

i did the dishes but left some in the drainer

i cleaned out the fridge and wiped it but not a thorough clean. I vacuumed and wiped down surfaces but again not a proper clean. I did strip the beds but I wouldn’t always.

so basically I left it in a condition where I wasn’t embarrassed by it but it did need a proper clean.

what you describe sounds awful - although with the bins was it clear. All the rest though - grim.

SchrodingersKettle · 05/01/2023 21:12

Yes I also wouldn’t allow them back.

I would never dream of leaving a property like that. I did once bleed on sheets in a property so I might forgive that as it isn’t always avoidable. But the rest of it is careless and disrespectful. People should know better

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 05/01/2023 21:13

Strip the beds and leave in the bath with the towels, wash up, empty bins. Wouldn't do any more than that, I don't go on holiday to hoover! I would just refuse to rent it to them again.

Original poster
Littlechickenhead · 05/01/2023 21:13

I would like to refuse their booking but I’m not sure I have the option. I’ll call the agent tomorrow.

OP posts:
Lewiscapaldiscat · 05/01/2023 21:14

Of course you do. Just refund them.

bellac11 · 05/01/2023 21:15

How long were they there to have 15 bags of rubbish?

I would never strip beds, why would I strip beds?

Snarkysnarksnark · 05/01/2023 21:17

Blimey. How long did they stay?!

the last place we left was cleaner than when we arrived because I actually cleaned the bathroom floor under the stand, where as they had been going around it for goodness knows how long. The perfect rectangle of dust, that was only visible if you were sat on the loo, annoyed me our whole stay.

Glendaruel · 05/01/2023 21:18

Also worth taking photos when it's like that in case they come back and say it was tidy

underneaththeash · 05/01/2023 21:19

I don’t strip beds, I leave it tidy, but usually as I’ve paid a cleaning fee, I’m not going to clean. I put the dishwasher on and leave it. Pile towels up in the bathroom.

I put the bins out if there is space. We usually take excess bottles to the bottle bank.

that’s a lot of rubbish! I’d not take the booking.

harrassedmumto3 · 05/01/2023 21:20

Manky bastards.

Original poster
Littlechickenhead · 05/01/2023 21:20

They were there a week over Christmas.

I’ve always stripped the bed in an SC and I guess a lot of other people feel the same because 95% of guests have done it and left the sheets either in a pile in the bedroom or with the towels in the bathroom.

I was genuinely shocked at the rubbish. It wasn’t even just the bin bags but a couple of boxes with nappies and food in them just lying on the ground.

OP posts:
Brendabigbaps · 05/01/2023 21:22

There probably thinking “ we’ll go there again, they didn’t care that we left it in a shite condition so we don’t need to bother next time”

Id cancel them. How they left it isn’t acceptable

Lkydfju · 05/01/2023 21:24

I wouldn’t strip beds but we’ve always followed what is asked of us rubbish wise, left kitchen clean and everything tidy. I don’t “clean” but I’d wipe sides and table down in kitchen and sweep the floor

Original poster
Littlechickenhead · 05/01/2023 21:26

Thank you. The more I read this back, the more I think I’ll just ask the agency to cancel their booking. It’s not acceptable and it’s completely disrespectful for the cleaning company.

OP posts:
Livinginanotherworld · 05/01/2023 21:27

They sound like nightmare guests, I wouldn’t have them back….however, I wouldn’t strip beds and hoover before leaving a holiday let, that’s what the cleaning fee is for. If I had spilt something, then yes, I would clean up that, I’d also load dishwasher on last day wipe down crumbs and clean up cooker spills as I go. I don’t get where all this stripping beds comes from 🙄

MissAtomicBomb1 · 05/01/2023 21:27

I usually wash and put away crockery, empty bins and wipe surfaces. I don't strip beds unless specifically asked to.
I've occasionally run around the kitchen with the hoover mid holiday but only for my own comfort.
I wouldn't expect to have to do more than that to be honest as I would expect the cost of cleaning to be included in the stay.

RhubarbFairy · 05/01/2023 21:28

I strip the beds and leave the sheets in piles, I also pile up the towels. Wipe down all surfaces and make sure that all crockery and cutlery are washed, dried, and put away. If there's a dishwasher, I time the last load to finish before we leave so I have time to unload it, and hand wash any dishes used that last morning.

Also, quick sweep around of the floor as there are inevitably crumbs.

I'd definitely cancel that booking, they sound grim.

TolkiensFallow · 05/01/2023 21:28

I think over Christmas there will be a bit more rubbish because of gift packaging and eating more but there’s no excuse for how it was left.

I think the stripping of beds is a bit generational - I personally don’t tend to. I would expect a holiday leg to be professionally cleaned. So I will leave it tidy but it will need to be cleaned. The cleaning fees on Airbnb etc are quite high and so I would expect a proper job to be done.

This family are disgusting and should be banned but if you are letting a property with the expectation that guests strip the beds etc then you need to be clear about that in the booking information.

ThePoshUns · 05/01/2023 21:28

I don't strip the beds.
I put used towels in a pile in the bath/ shower cubicle
Empty the fridge
Wipe surfaces
Hoover
Empty the bins

If I'd bled I'd strip the bed and soak the sheet.

15 bin bags is a lot, we're there adequate bins/ clear instructions for disposal?

BarbaraofSeville · 05/01/2023 21:29

Of course it's not reasonable to leave it how you describe.

We probably fall into the 'good enough without going the extra mile like some Mumsnetters who do a load of unnecessary jobs then complain it wasn't a holiday for them' camp.

We'd put all our rubbish in the proper bins, wash up/leave dishwasher running, wipe kitchen down, sweep up any excess sand/mud etc and leave towels in the bath. We probably wouldn't have used the oven to the extent that it needed properly cleaning. We wouldn't strip the bed or deep clean the kitchen or bathroom, because that's the cleaner's job so it's properly prepared for the next guests.

I think if you accept this family's repeat business, it should be with an extra cleaning deposit and clear instructions about expectations about how the property should be left to have the deposit returned.

You say 'family' so does that mean a couple with children? A friend of mine works in a Spanish estate agent in an area popular with groups of (male, of course) golfers and she says they're terrible for leaving properties trashed and full of rubbish.

MrsKrankyPants · 05/01/2023 21:31

Nope that is bad. 5 years of having a holiday let and I think there were 3 sets who were manky, but no where near as bad as that.

The cleaners I used before they left, charged extra if more cleaning was needed.
It's not for me anymore for various of reasons.

Eastereggsboxedupready · 05/01/2023 21:32

I have managed a few properties over the last 5 years. Ime guests vary greatly! Used condoms on the top of a lidless bin, home made curry spilled on white leather furniture with no effort to clean off. To stripped and folded bedding and carpets vacuumed.. Via a booking agency we refuse rebookings now and again. I am a fan guest ime

Bellie710 · 05/01/2023 21:33

We stayed in an air bnb over xmas. I stripped all the beds, put all the towels in the bath, hoovered, emptied the dishwasher, put the bins out and left all surfaces clean.

The place still needed cleaned but it made it slightly easier on the cleaners, I have helped with changeovers before and would never leave a house the way some people have left it!

I would 100% cancel their booking.