Lay My Hat Forum

Tizfata · Joined: 21 Apr 2008 Posts: 1157 Location: Tuscany

After reading another thread on an Dutch rental agency (belvilla.com) I went to snoop who is with them in my area. I found a beautiful villa I knew nothing about.
I was amazed to find out that, after paying 1632 euro (it is beautiful, but without a pool...) per week in high season, guests have to pay:
Deposit: € 300
Cleaning: € 165 (it looks very large and has 4 bedrooms)
Pets: Pets not allowed.
Bed linen: Required to rent, € 8 p.p./Stay (!!!)
Bath towels: Required to rent, € 8 p.p./Stay (!!!)
Kitchen linen: Included (WOW!!!)
Electricity: € 5/night (WHAT?!?!!?!?)
Gas: Included (WOW!!!)
These costs are charged on site. They are not included in the rental price.
On several occasions, fellow renters pointed out that is important to put an all-inclusive price as it is annoying for guests to pay x+?.
So far, I have separate bills for cleaning, heating & baby kit, but THIS beats me!
The electricity not included in the price actually fascinates me... I am thinking about short summer nights and candlelit dinners... Wink

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Holiday apartments and villa in Tuscany with pool
Maison Vacances en Toscane avec piscine

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Raone · Joined: 09 Mar 2009 Posts: 43 Location: Abruzzo, Italy

Amazing.

Ryan Air take a lot of stick for add ons onto their prices, but this is something else.

Regarding the cleaning, elecs, my thoughts are why bother, just lump it onto the price. I know a lot of rental places, particulary in Italy charge for bed linen and towels. We don't, we even provide beach towels.

I wonder what the satisfaction levels are??
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Musetta · Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:30 pm Post subject:

That IS crazy! I would never rent something like that - would just stress me out really. I don't charge extra for anything - cleaning, electric, etc. is all included in my rate because that's the way I prefer it when I'm the guest.
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Southern Italy Holiday Home
NY Area Holiday Rental

pambon · Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Posts: 1900 Location: Taormina, Sicily

I'm surprised they even get bookings.

I charge extra for air con. (central heating in the winter is included unless the usage is excessive......) and if the guests want extra cleaning during their stay. Beach towels are available to rent at a small charge for the duration of their stay (as in the past guests forget them on the beach or in a bar on their way home, or they get so dirty I have to replace them).

That's it though.
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Holiday Apartment in Taormina, Sicily

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
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paolapasino · Joined: 04 Feb 2010 Posts: 26 Location: Italy

I have ann all inclusive rice too.. but it seems common for Italian owners to split costs like that, it happened to us in a B&B where they wanted us to ay more if we wanted to use the pool..that bothered us, while we would have happily paid a higher price for the room...
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Paola Pasino
http://www.homelidays.co.uk/pragelato/studio-344602en1.htm

pambon · Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Posts: 1900 Location: Taormina, Sicily

Welcome Paola!

Quite a cultural shock exchanging Monferrato for Glasgow!
I know where I'd prefer to live!!

I fail to understand why these extra 'hidden' charges aren't brought to the guests' attention during the enquiry process. In fact I would go so far as to call it downright dishonest.....

The pricing of the villa on the belvilla.com site is actually quite common, presumably punters don't object and the villa owner makes a profit.
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Holiday Apartment in Taormina, Sicily

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
Confucius (551BC-479BC)

lushsandwich · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 7:57 pm Post subject:

its normally the case that these are the people that managed to be fully booked!!!
annoyingly so
sandwich

paolapasino · Joined: 04 Feb 2010 Posts: 26 Location: Italy

yes quite a change from Monferrato to Glasgow! My husband is Scottish, so that is how I got here... he would like to move to Italy and we might in a few years time!
although I miss Italy I do like living in Glasgow..its definitively a "grower" the more you stay the more you enjoy it!
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Paola Pasino
http://www.homelidays.co.uk/pragelato/studio-344602en1.htm

Giulia · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 54 Location: Umbria

We live in England, but we'll move to the villa for the best part of the year one day!
We have to charge for central heating because Liquigas is very expensive. We find that people are wasteful and leave the lights on when they go out Mad

. We keep our price low and it would not be worst to rent in the winter if the central heating was included. However it is clearly stated in the advert.

http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p58974

HelenB · Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 3:25 pm Post subject:

I remember staying in an otherwise quite decent hotel in the French Pyrénées when I was about 16 where we had to pay extra for hot water to be provided to our bathroom !!

TTP mk2 · Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 3:33 pm Post subject:

Musetta · Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 3:08 pm Post subject:

hahah yes! I remember staying in youth hostels years ago where we had to put coins in a box in the shower to keep the hot water going!!
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Southern Italy Holiday Home
NY Area Holiday Rental

pambon · Joined: 24 Apr 2008 Posts: 1900 Location: Taormina, Sicily

Don Ciccio · Joined: 24 Dec 2009 Posts: 481 Location: Trapani, Sicily

In our experience, the majority of western Sicilian rentals offer a basic price for the rental and then add electricity usage, gas and water on top because the rentals historically have been for 2 or 3 month (longer term) rentals in the summer months.

People without a summer home still rent a house out for a longer period and the electricity and gas used in this period, particularly by larger families can be quite high. In the early days we rented to a couple of families and got high electrity bills at the end, and found significant damage to the house (satellite dishes added, holes drilled in walls for cables etc). So we stopped doing this and moved into foreign tourist lets.

As more places have opened up to tourism in the west, this pricing structure has begun to change, but our Inclusive prices are still an exception to the rule as most locals haven't adapted to the holiday habits of other nationalities yet (as in the shorter rental periods) and still offer their prices up as they would to local domestic renters.

That said, at that price, you would think that they could absorb any high bills wouldn't you?

Ciccio

Don Ciccio · Joined: 24 Dec 2009 Posts: 481 Location: Trapani, Sicily