Thank you LMH!!!

[Mouse]

Well you know all about the 'grass' incident, which I got resolved (no charge), I also had the a/c incident (explained in another thread...it was their fault, again no call out charge)
Plus I did relent and accepted the weeks booking even though it left the villa with 2 x 6 day periods either side and it was a Saturday. I normally can't do Saturday check ins/outs as I have our place to do and can't manage both.
The person booking was very grateful.

On check in his wife hardly looked at me, never spoke and has been quite ignorant and demanding all week long.

Normally check out is 10am (and cleaners arrived then), but agreed 10.30. She promised to have everything sorted and packed and out of the way of the cleaners.
I told them I'd be up after I checked our guests out but would have to leave quickly to get back and so I'd appreciate it if they did ensure they were out at 10.30 without me standing over them.

I go up at 10.10...to find the guests friends cooking scrambled eggs in the kitchen I told them they'd better be fast eaters as they had to be out at 10.30. I then tracked down Mr Guest to ask if they were on schedule. 'oh yes' 'we'll be gone'.

Go up to check in guests and cleaner still there and told me they didn't leave until gone 11.30 and at 11am Mrs Guest announced she was taking a shower and then would feed the baby

I am not happy; they knocked back the cleaning schedule, and the incoming guest couldn't get in on arrival and had to stand outside.
Disgraceful.
I told the cleaner she should have called me but she knew I was busy and didn't want to trouble me.

Mouse (not having a good day as our guests left distruction in their wake )
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[KAB-Dennis]

Mouse we have a line item in our rental agreement that states we can charge an hourly rate to guests that have not vacated the rental by the check out time.

I have never used it but in a case like the one you refer to with these folks I may have contemplated it.

[Mouse]

Thanks Kathleen...this is the first year I've not taken the Damage deposit on this villa. The owner can't be bothered to return the DD from a euro account to a UK account, and giving it back on departure just wasn't working.

So given it's mainly family/professional types staying I thought I'd give it a go the mature approach and leave it to them to tell me/discuss it on departure. I explain this to them on check in.

Sad to say it's been the worst year so far; over use of bedding, towels, pilfering of owners property (bottles of wine etc in his storage area), breakages not mentioned even though I've asked and finally today a ridiculously late check out.

Next year - DD is back and they can do it via my UK account unless the owner wants to keep taking the additional costs on the chin (running at €365 so far this summer and could have been more if I'd billed him my additional time)

Mouse
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[KAB-Dennis]

I, like the owners, hate the hassle of returning security deposits not matter how we refund it, check, cash or Paypal. It is just another admin item. We also present our foreign guests cash at checkout unless they paid via Paypal using a credit card. As many of them are travelling on here and can use the cash and also will not need to reconvert possibly losing.

But I am a firm believer that the pending refund in their sight certainly helps to keep them "honest" and appreciative of their environs. And I would never use the RBO sites damage insurance as I think that gives guests full license to act as they wish because they are "insured"

I guess by the responses these "guest issues" are unique to some of us here or we are all on a certain cycle of good and bad years. Up until this year and a small bit last year we had wonderful, grateful guests who would send lovely notes and leave kinds words in our guests books. Maybe it's me

The year has been so disheartening that we are hoping that soon the real estate market here rebounds a little as we are considering selling one or both of them if it does. taking the money and running faraway

[KAB-Dennis]

Mouse

Just curious what wasn't working when refunding the DD at check out.

[Mouse]

They were hiding things

Mousie
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[KAB-Dennis]

Do you mean hiding damages etc ....
How does the owner feel after their decision to suspend the DD
are they regretting it or just assuming it as a cost of doing business

[Mouse]

yes they were hiding damage - it is hard to see sometimes when the place hasn't been cleaned...and also the use of excess towels/bedding because it's hard to see until you start to sort it all.
It's a big villa and I've had towels and stuff hidden, plus damaged items covered up.

I don't think the owner really thought people were like that...he's an innocent. However he's had additional costs this year that I have to take him through and I think that is when it will hit him.

Mouse
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[golfing girl]

Welcome rental agent. I'm sure you'll find the help and humour here just the tonic.
Having rented for 12 years, I find that guests that come through agencies are very disrespectful and constantly damage things and don't tell you. We now do all the work ourselves, take a damage bond and spell out our expectations very clearly. We still have problems with messy guests and breakages, but not as much as we were having.I prefere not being reliant on agency guests.

[rentalagent]

Hi Golfing Girl,

I'm so sorry to hear about your problems, but please do remember there are all different kinds of agencies. I see it as my job to act as a buffer between the owners and guests... I hold the damage deposits (which are larger than most private owners hold) and always, always, always make sure that any damages are put right after every single rental. Even if I choose not to charge a guest for an item, I'll pay the owner out of my own pocket!

A good agent SHOULD take the stress out of the whole process for you, so you have minimal or no contact with the guests themselves, more bookings, no need to chase payments and better rental rates as well as more security (we have stricter T&C's for our guests than most private owners, higher security deposits as mentioned and more time and resources to chase up any "bad guests"). That's the way I work anyway, and the reason my agency is going from strength to strength as word gets round and more owners abandon bad agents to come to me.

I'm sorry you've had some bad experiences. To me, guests are precious and important but my relationship with each one is limited to a few weeks a year. My owners, cleaners and villa staff on the other hand I work all season for year after year and are the real backbone of my business. If you ever work with an agency again, make sure that both you and they know that and behave accordingly. The agency should be providing you with a service every bit as good (and hopefully even better) than the service they give to guests!

Mouse, I feel your pain... poor you, but at least the worst of the season is over now and you can get back to enjoying a calmer life!

Pambon... most of my owners are either English, German or from the North of Italy, but that's mostly because of the quality of properties they have is so much better than the locals. I apply what I call the "mum test" when taking on a new villa. If I wouldn't rent it to my own mum, I simply won't take it on the books so bobbly polyester sheets, musty smelling hovels and anything at all with dusty dried flowers as the main form of decor is out! The kitchens and bathrooms all have to be new and attractive as well as functional and a mish-mash of crappy plastic and pine furniture has me walking out the door in seconds. Sadly, most locals furnish houses badly on purpose as they don't think it's worth making them look good if guests are only going to damage them so I steer well clear!