It sleeps four not 7!

How to communicate with your potential renters - how to turn site visitors into enquiries, and enquiries into bookings.
Anno
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Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2007 7:17 am

Post by Anno »

Harcourt57, as an occasional over-occupier of holiday homes (but always with permission) I just wanted to respond to your point about hotels a few posts earlier. I think a lot of us punters see hotels and holiday rentals quite differently: we'd expect a hotel not to allow additional bodies in a room that is clearly a space basically arranged for a given number of beds, but see a holiday rental as a whole house/flat for a period of time, with potentially room to sleep kids on the floor...

So when it comes to holiday rentals, I feel that this difference of perception, on top of cultural factors that vary from one country to another as to what constitutes normal prices or unacceptable levels of packing 'em in (and I might add quite a few rentals that include their living room sofa bed in the advertised "sleeps" numbers!) means you are bound to get these kinds of requests from time to time. Maybe more frequently in a recession?

But it's your place and your rules apply, so you're quite right to be firm. I can appreciate that inquiries like this can be annoying for you, but try not to take it personally. Following this forum has raised my awareness of owners' concerns such as the additional wear and tear factor which I admit hadn't crossed my mind as a renter.
harcourtv57
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Post by harcourtv57 »

I appreciate the points you have made Anno and may have felt the same before I was offering holiday rentals - my main concern is not just wear and tear but that there is only one bathroom, which I personally feel is just about adequate for four (we have plans to put another in when finances allow) but certainly not adequate for 7. If there were two bathrooms or even an additional toilet, I probably would have considered the request for extra guests.

In actual fact the enquirer has now come back to say that she has found alternative accommodation for half of the party and therefore wants to book it for four - my suspicion now is that they may 'smuggle' the extra guests in. This did happen to us once before and we only discovered by accident that another car full of people were waiting around the corner for us to leave . . .
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

I think you're right to be suspicious...... :roll:
ceilwart26
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Post by ceilwart26 »

I have a line in my T&Cs that if they invalidate my insurance by inviting additional guests not on the booking form, they will be asked to leave without a refund.

I haven't had any more of these "oh they have no where to stay" overcrowding issues since.
Jan Holmes
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964kevin
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Post by 964kevin »

I lose my licence to operate if exceeding maximum occupancy, which I don't set; the state does for me.

Welcome to Florida.


Kevin
http://www.encantada-vacation.com

Our little piece of Florida, never get tired of being there. Love it and the people to bits.
Steve Sas
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Location: Flagstaff AZ
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Post by Steve Sas »

This happens to me all the time. Max of 8, but they need 12 or 10. I either turn them down, or use this as an excuse to charge extra (but I do have a hard cap at 10) People rarely seem to read the details about your rules do they?
shamac
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Post by shamac »

If asked for over occupancy I always say "sorry but it breaks the rules of my insurance", total rubbish but no one has ever questioned it thanks to the vagaries of the world of insurance!!
The harder you work, the luckier you get.
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