Cleaning costs and welcome packs. How much is too much??

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
Willow500
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Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2022 8:02 pm

Cleaning costs and welcome packs. How much is too much??

Post by Willow500 »

Newbie here, we’ve had our FHL since Oct 2021 so I have no idea of how much is too much to pay for cleaners! I go through an agent (holidaycottages.co.uk) but have just left their management service as I was paying £200 per changeover plus £30pm management fee!

I have sourced a local cleaner who is slightly cheaper at £180 but that includes a 6 hour clean, all laundry for a three bed cottage and welcome pack. The welcome pack is tea, coffee, sugar, fresh milk, biscuits, wine and crisps. I can drop the welcome pack if I want and do my own and save £16. The clean is just then £165

The cottage is in Norfolk, does £180 sound about right nowadays or do you think?

I’m 3hrs away so can’t do it all myself unfortunately 🥴

Eternally grateful for any help/advice! Thanks
newtimber
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Re: Cleaning costs and welcome packs. How much is too much??

Post by newtimber »

Has the local cleaner got a backup in case they are sick/ away on holiday because the last thing you need is for them to suddenly say they can't do it and you've got guests arriving in 6 hours and you're a 3 hour drive away.

What options do you have? If there isn't anyone else who is really good, then you have to pay whatever as you can't clean it yourself. Taking on a poor cleaner who is cheaper that's not going to help in the long run as the reviews will be terrible and you'll have endless hassle dealing with unhappy guests. Laundry is actually quite a thing if you have back to back short breaks as if you have to send things off to laundry, it is very expensive and you have to buy 4 times the quantity as it won't come back in time for the next changeover .

Is it really worth a 6 hour round trip to save on the welcome pack costs? I'd have thought you'd spend that much on transport let alone your time.
vacancesthezan
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Re: Cleaning costs and welcome packs. How much is too much??

Post by vacancesthezan »

Initially, sounds ok to me! I dont think we would have left the management company without maybe a full year of renters just to see how it all went and whether it was really money well spent.

Split the costs between cleaning and laundry - plus welcome pack. Therefore:
How many loads of washing for a 3 bedroom property? Sheets and towels?
6 hours cleaning plus their travel time!

What about fixing things that do go wrong - dont under estimate this. The cleaner is likely to be the one to spot these! Plus do you plan to be the person on call if anything goes wrong whilst the renters are in place?

As the OP has said your cleaner is vital so dont scrimp! Plus there are other considerations.

VT
Willow500
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Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2022 8:02 pm

Re: Cleaning costs and welcome packs. How much is too much??

Post by Willow500 »

Thank you so much for your replies. Yes I will be direct contact for all my guests, they will be given my phone number instead of the agents. I have a local gardener and electrician who both live a few doors from me and a plumber who lives locally who I can call if anything that way happens. The gardener is a retired family man who looks after a few other properties when the owners are away and he has agreed to be a key holder should anything happen and he needs access to the property.

The cleaner has her own small company who has a few cleaners on her books so they have assured me that changeovers are covered no matter what 🤞 She has been going for about 5 years.

Sorry, when I said ‘do the welcome pack myself’ what I meant was source some things myself and leave it in the lockable cupboard. I was just wondering if I could put a few bits together, almost matching hers, but sourcing it myself as to keep costs down. The cleaner is happy to use my stuff but I wasn’t sure if it was worth all the hassle to bulk buy and store it up there when I go. I think speaking to a few other holiday let owners the £16 sounds about what they spend so I’ll go with hers I think.

Not sure if I’m being naïve but do you think I can do it being so far away? I’m starting to have doubts 🙈🙈
e-richard
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Re: Cleaning costs and welcome packs. How much is too much??

Post by e-richard »

Willow500 wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 6:27 pmNot sure if I’m being naïve but do you think I can do it being so far away? I’m starting to have doubts 🙈🙈
I've been renting our property for over 20 years now. Its 1500 miles from home in another country (25 hours drive). So, yes, you can do it, but it needs organisation, a good local manager and a cut in profits - but can be done, you can make money and can make it enjoyable if you do rentals directly.

Just another view....
** Richard
PIMS: Holiday Rental Management system
They say we learn from our mistakes. That makes me a genius !
newtimber
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Re: Cleaning costs and welcome packs. How much is too much??

Post by newtimber »

Willow500 wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 6:27 pm
Sorry, when I said ‘do the welcome pack myself’ what I meant was source some things myself and leave it in the lockable cupboard. I was just wondering if I could put a few bits together, almost matching hers, but sourcing it myself as to keep costs down.
I think you really need some fresh things like bread/milk for your welcome pack. Long life milk isn't very welcoming.
Martha
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Re: Cleaning costs and welcome packs. How much is too much??

Post by Martha »

Longlife milk is a a lot better than nothing if you've driven a long way and just want a cuppa!
I actually stopped completely with welcome packs as there was so much wastage and no-one ever said thank you. £16 sounds fine for that setup if you want to do it though. Price for a remote changeover in the UK (so they have responsibility) sounds very fair to me. Like everyone says, it's not an area to scrimp on.
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
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