Changeover today

[Marks]

Arrived just after 10am to find it all pretty good and an easy clean to come. The cleaning bit was easy at first but after 40 minutes or so we discovered there was no hot water. Nipped outside, no light on the boiler and no sound of water heating up. Fortunately my favourite plumber was able to call by within 20 minutes and diagnosed a thermostat trip out. He fiddled, poked, grimaced and the old girl wheezed back into life. He darkly warned it might 'go' any time between now and next June so we are planning a new one between guests provided the old girl lasts this booking.

The next problem was a faulty air-con remote control, no digital display but pointing it at the machine and pressing buttons producing reassuring beeps though I had no idea what settings the machine was on. A call to my favourite air-con engineer and he tells me remote is kaput so get a universal one. Finish the clean, disappear for drinks and a visit to the bank and then to Euronics for a remote. Take remote back to the apartment where we have hot water - hurrah!

Take batteries out of old remote and put them in new remote. Nothing happens, nada, no beeps and no display. Is this one faulty? Back to Euronics take them new 'faulty' remote and old 'faulty' remote. He tries batteries from the old remote in the new remote - nothing. Takes batteries out and puts in new ones, new remote works. Takes batteries out of new remote and puts them in old remote - it works

Go back to apartment with old remote after getting refund from Euronics. Decide to sit on balcony for a few moments, chair collapses under me so back out to get a new one.

All the time this is happening my inbound guests are gliding across France and into Spain blissfully unaware of the blind panic going on 36000 feet below.

So what have I learned:

1. Check the bl**dy boiler for hot water as soon as I arrive.
2. Always, repeat always, try new batteries first before embarrassing myself in Euronics or any other electrical store.
3. Never throw myself into a patio chair, ease myself in gently is a better option.

Other than that, a normal day

[e-richard]

How "refreshing" to read of the trials and tribulations of a tumultuous changeover where none of the blame can be aimed at guests.

[Normandie]

1. Check the bl**dy boiler for hot water as soon as I arrive.

Mmmmm... boilers.




Open a nice bottle of something chilled, this evening, Marks.

(Is there a higher incidence of stress-related alcoholism in the hospitality industry, I wonder...)

[greenbarn]

(Is there a higher incidence of stress-related alcoholism in the hospitality industry, I wonder...)

That'sh jusht a shcurrilush shlur.

[kg1]

Yep - the batteries! Never have the right size to replace, always swopping them around to see what works & what doesn't. The one time I stocked up on them for the house they got pinched

[annedab]

So reassuring to know that some of the...um seasoned(?).....posters have calamity changeovers. Spent yesterday finishing off the clean of the big house ready for the 11 US guests arriving today. At the end, I opened all the windows as the house has been closed up for a while - went off for a well earned cold drink. Returned with 3 new toilet rolls, the first of which I managed to drop straight into the toilet. Discovered that two birds had flown in through the windows and were panicking way up in the wood beams. Finally shepherded birds outside and went to check all the rooms again. Finally closed the front door and went off to check the balcony - we had people viewing the property recently and I had "dressed" the balcony with lovely big new candles in glass lanterns and forgotten to remove them. It was almost 40 degrees yesterday so both candles had melted everywhere. Ah well, never mind, last job was to water the lovely new tubs outside the front door....I know, I'll put the hose round the front door too rather than clean it by hand. All the cobwebby dirty water seeped under the front door into the kitchen. Go back in with mop, narrowly avoid slipping in the water. At this point, the cat whose main desire in life is to sneak into the house (he spent 36 hours locked in there last week!) sees his chance and darts through the door....into the pool of dirty water, and then runs upstairs with little wet feet. You have to laugh don't you - but sometimes it's a struggle

[annedab]

Actually Marks, you reminded me........ we have two boilers in the big house (boilers are normally Mr Annedabs job but he isn't here this week) I ran the kitchen tap this morning - hot, all good, but I didn't run a tap supplied by boiler two. Good job I went back and checked as it was cold.........total panic, but then realised that there is a small, extra switch which needs to be turned on for boiler two. Could have been embarrassing later, so thanks again. I love this forum.

[Mouse]

....and it is only the beginning of June

Roll on October.

Mousie
x

[annedab]

....and it is only the beginning of June

Roll on October.

Mousie
x

Seconded, thirded and fourthed

[brendan]

Loins duly girded!

[FelicityA]

My changeover yesterday - loos cleaned so you could eat lunch off the seat (well, nearly...) crumbs emptied from the toaster, fridge sparkling, oven shining, carpet vacuumed, floor washed, everything tidy and back where it belonged and this all before we started cleaning! Kind words in the visitor's book too. And our departed guests - British (unusual to find them so conscientious) a charming couple retired from the holiday rental business (seaside apartments)! Wouldn't it be lovely if everybody was like them!?