Must I take the phone at 2:00 night when guest call ?

From the moment they step through the door your bookings become guests, and their experiences determine whether they ever come back.
Vasily
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Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:06 am

Must I take the phone at 2:00 night when guest call ?

Post by Vasily »

Hi,

I hope you'll never have the stress I have ! Imagine a rentor checked-in at 23:45, my staff was present, showed the apartment and received a signature under a receipt stating " ..all is flawless in the apartment"

At 2 hour night this rentor called me, I was sleeping, excuse me, and the rentor left this message:

" I'm not happy with the bed-linen,they are dirty and smell. I have to got now in a hotel at your charge."

2 days later he wants me to reimburse 250 Euro for a hotel room .

But...he signed before that all is fine. I'm not a hotel where you can reach the reception night and day.

What am I doing wrong ? Must I be reachable to change linen at 2 hour in the night ?
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Moliere
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Post by Moliere »

I feel for you Vasily - but it is the obvious question to ask - do you know what the bed-linen was like? Is there the slightest chance that your guest was right? If so you need to sort out your "staff" pretty urgently.

If he is just a trouble-maker (and we all have those) then you need to confront him, quietly and patiently (forgetting that he woke you at 2.00 am) and contradict his claims. But you DO need to be sure, first, because otherwise you are unlikely to be successful.

So the first thing is - establish the truth. And the second thing is - act accordingly.

Good luck, my friend, but do remember that the one thing you must never do is to make it personal.

Moliere
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Ju
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Post by Ju »

There is no excuse for this. Even if (an I doubt this is the case) the bedlinen was not properly clean, in a self catering property one cannot expect the owner to be available 24 hours a day.

IMO There is no legal recourse for this renter. They can shout and scream all they want, but even if they did prove they had a case in a court of law, the most they would get is a refund of the rental. Subsequent liability is not your problem, ie if they choose to go to an hotel you do not have to pay.

I do however suggest that you check up on your cleaner, and check that the linen is to you satifaction before any other guests arrive.

Ju
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Lesblancs
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Post by Lesblancs »

I am going to stick my head above the parapet here - which probably means I will lose it later.

Vasily, you have made 5 posts, you do not declare where your property is, nor any sort of website.

The first was regarding guests who brought animals, and were threatening to take you to court, because you would not return their deposit.

The 2nd,3rd,4th were relating to a dispute with Alice.

The 5th was relating to a dispute with a guest over bedlinen.

You are either very unlucky, but also if I were in your position, I might wonder if holiday rentals were right for me.

Robert
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J&J
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Post by J&J »

If the bed linen was dirty - no excuse for that.
If it smelt (maybe whoever ironed it was smoking at the time) - no excuse for that either.

If both of the above were true then I'm sure your rentor would have taken great delight in phoning you at 2am with some justification.

What you need to establish is whether the rentor was right. I have to say that most people checking in at 23.45 would probably have had a long journey and be very tired. For something to keep them awake and drive them to phoning you at that time then I am sorry to say that the balance of probability is that they were telling the truth. As for refunding the cost of the hotel room well that depends on how much the rentor has paid you for the rental. You shouldn't ever have to pay out more than the amount you have received but it does sound like you may have to come up with some sort of reasonable offer.

As far as finding out if the accusation is true, you will need to make a surprise spot check (without your cleaners knowing you are coming) and look for yourself. If you can't get there then ask someone who you trust to do it for you - but make sure they realise you need them to be truthful and not just tell you what they think you want to hear.
Guest3
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Post by Guest3 »

I would certainly be grouchy if a guest 'phoned me at 2am in the morning to make a complaint!

However, if a guest checked in at 23.45 and then complained that the bed linen was dirty and smelly and wanted to check-in at a hotel because of that I would be very very concerned!
To be be fair Vasily, it does take guests at least 1-2 hours to settle in (even after a late night flight). So it does not suprise me that they settled down to sleep at 2am.

If you are not on site (as I gather you aren't) then I assume you have an agent :?. If you are relying on an agent for cleaning I would question this complaint directly with them. Are the cleaners cutting corners and not changing the beds? :shock: In which case this is gross negligence on their part and in turn affects your credibility as a holiday rental owner.

PS...It would be nice if you gave us a website link to your property. :D
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Bobby's post prompted me to read Vasily's previous messages - you have 6 apartments and 'some' hotels in Paris Vasily, if I'm not mistaken? :)
Last edited by Giddy Goat on Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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enid
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Post by enid »

Interesting Jane :)
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Gascony Goat wrote:Bobby's post prompted me to read Vasily's previous messages - you have 6 apartments and 'some' hotels in Paris Vasily, if I'm not mistaken? :)
Jane,

Many owners seem to think that the occasional guest appears to be a professional complainer. Do you think it’s possible that the shoe can sometimes be on the other foot?

If anyone telephoned me at 2.00 a.m., I would ring them back every hour on the hour starting at 4.00 a.m.

Alan
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