Building Work

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rigmover
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Building Work

Post by rigmover »

Hi, Building work has started behind our property and our guests are not happy, we phoned the owner of the property and she said she didn't know the builders were starting on that day.......yeah.
Looks like the guest is going for compensation, should I also approach the owner of the land for compensation or just leave it?

Many thanks
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anya752000
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Post by anya752000 »

I'm not sure you have a claim for financial compensation from the land holder but maybe you can negotiate when the builders start work and when in the day they do the noisiest jobs - not always possible but could be useful.

Are they very close to your property and do you know how long the building work is to take?
Bunny
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Post by Bunny »

Hi Rigmover, I definitely wouldn't ask your neighbour for compensation. At the end of the day they are entitled to build within reasonable hours. If you ask for compo you will alienate them, when you need to get them on your side to get them to work with you, so that you can manage the situation and keep guests informed. It's perfectly reasonable to ask them to keep you informed of stages of the build and to keep noise levels to a minimum etc, but to do that you will need to get them to understand the impact on your business. This can only be achieved if you are on good terms with them IMO.

As for your guests, before you even consider offering any compensation, what stage is the build, what is the noise/dust/disturbance levels/times, impact on guests etc? A lot to consider, so don't automatically think you have to compensate just because they have asked. You may well find that the impact is minimal at the moment and guests are just trying it on. Take your time is my advice and gather the facts first.
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Robin S
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Post by Robin S »

Hi Rigmover

Tough call especially when your property is still quite new from a reviews perspective. I'd try and get a feel for the impact it's having on the guests independently if possible. How bad is it really and with that in mind are the guests trying it on?

As to a figure, it's a really tough call. We gave c. 20% of the gross value of a booking back to guests recently due a really poor clean and they still went to town on Tripadvisor.

It's sadly an art not a science.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

Building work, a bit open ended, what type, how much noise/disruption are your guests suffering?
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

Agree with the others....more info is needed. Noise levels, timescales etc. along with what type of holiday they've had i.e. do your guests typically go out sightseeing all day, or is your place a relaxing retreat type holiday destination.

I do feel for you. Building noise puts owners between a rock and a hard place and you just can't win. All you can do is manage expectations. Reasonable guests will understand that there is little you can do (apart from provide info and try and get your neighbour on side to keep things within reason). Unreasonable ones will want to take the opportunity to get a free holiday.

Mousie
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p.s. whatever you do your guests must understand any 'give' on your part is a Goodwill Gesture, as you have done nothing wrong....which is what compensaton is about. It might be worthwhile reminding them of that when you open discussions.
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rigmover
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Post by rigmover »

Thanks everybody, it's ground work going on so it's probably the noisiest part of the build, I'll know more on Saturday (change over day) Sykes phoned me yesterday and I told them what I know and they were then calling the guests, haven't heard anything so far today so maybe it's calming down. I've emailed the next guest as a warning, not sure if that is the right call, thought it only fair.
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