"Highly Irregular" Security Deposit Policy?

[limousin-cottage]

Yes, I agree. In fact - I ask my guests to pay the security deposit on arrival, in cash, or as it is France, a French cheque should be fine. I don't think I would feel right asking for it up front - before the guest has even had time to check all is OK in the accommodation. But that's just me.

[Essar]

We operate as follows:-
25% deposit (min £100) on booking plus a £14 booking fee, balance at 6-weeks plus a £100 SD (returnable 7-days after departure).
No problems so far in collecting it and refunding, however, our very first guests (2 adults, 1 toddler & 1 infant) in our brand-new apartment left the place in an appalling state, broken glass, mug, plate, picture off the wall, vertical blind chains/weights snapped. Mess everywhere all the pots left out (dirty) towels hung over doors, milk stains on the furniture and two wet beds to name a few.
I sent them an email pointing out the details above and advising that I would be retaining the sd to cover all the extra cleaning and breakages. I fortunately took pictures with my mobile just in case.
His reply was a dream:
"We didn't break any pictures, it was already there under the bed when we
arrived, and the flat was left tidy and clean. Should your subjective
opinion of cleanliness and tidiness as a hospitality business proprietor
(and in your capacity as a business owner you should know how to cover such
expense items as cleaning services, depreciation and amortisation, spillage
and breakages, wear and tear etc. out of your rental fees) differ from that
of your clients than you should stipulate your demands expressly and
unambiguously down to the minute details (for example, specifying which way
every fibre of the carpet has to face upon departure or demand premium
professional cleaning service additionally paid for or performed by the
customer before 9.00 a.m. i.e. through the night of the departure) and carry
out the detailed item-for-item check list procedure upon arrival and
departure in the presence of the customer with the final signing of the
Acceptance Act. Therefore, nothing of the following shall be deducted from
the deposit except the mug and the blinds (although their value and
condition can also be questioned since they were not brand new and the
discounted evaluation must be done taking into account wear and tear), thus,
returning £87.96."
I replied quoting our Ts & Cs detailing how the apartment should be left on departure(which he had accepted), attached the pictures and kept the £100.
Never heard from him again.
Everything was actually brand-new and it took us 5-hours to clean the place, I wanted to bill him for another £50 but Ann talked me out of it.
I'm thinking of quoting SD as between £100 and £250 then applying in the quote what I think will be right for the party size, length of stay, liklihood of damages, etc. - still thinking!
We also operate a system of a damage envelope where the guests can put cash in for minor breakages (glasses, cups, etc) the replacement price being listed in the inventory. We have had some guest leave cash, others with breakages not.

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www.one-one80.co.uk
www.seven-bluewater.co.uk

[paolo]

I would not describe your security deposit policy as highly irregular, because it is widespread, but as unfair.

As a renter I do not want to give someone I have never met, who may or may not be a reasonable person, a sum of money, which may or may not be returned to me at a later date, knowing that I will have no say in whether it is returned to me or not.

What redress do I have if I am falsely accused of having broken something? None whatsoever. A security deposit should be returned on departure, and the inconvenience this may cause the owner is part and package of being in the business of rentals.

[lorca]

This again just reinforces our decision not to take a damage deposit. Instances like this happen occasionally but are very rare (and if they´re not, then I suspect it´s worth examining the reasons for this and the type of guests you´re attracting). For me, the extra work and possibility of bad feeling involved (on both sides) are just not worth the hassle. I know it´s easier for those of us who are on site - but I for one have no desire to hold our guests to ransom while we go round the properties examining everything in detail (and to do this fairly you´d have to do it on arrival as well as departure in order to establish that everything as in good order when they arrived).

[Marks]

We also operate a system of a damage envelope where the guests can put cash in for minor breakages (glasses, cups, etc) the replacement price being listed in the inventory. We have had some guest leave cash, others with breakages not.

I accept minor breakages such as this as part and parcel of renting. I would not dream of asking for the cost of one glass or deduct from the security deposit.

[Hells Bells]

Mark, I agree.

[Topcat]

We take the security deposit on payment of the balance normally, but with guests in the euro zone I let them hand over the cash on receipt of the keys. In this instance the cash is returned to them when the agent or his representative pick up the keys and have a look round.

To be fair, I think it's only a fairly cursory look round, but it's not much less than happens when they inform me that other people can have their money back.

I'm seriously considering whether it's worth the bother of having to return it. So far, Spanish, Irish and French guests have been perfectly OK about handing the euros over on arrival, and no British guests have demurred about paying with the booking fee. But when things have been hidden (I've had soap dishes broken and hidden at the back of a cupboard and one or two things like that) there'd be no way of knowing who'd done that, anyway. I wish they wouldn't do that; I do say we don't charge for breakages under 30 euros, but then of course the culprit might be a child more afraid of parental wrath then worrying about their security deposit.

I've only had one major breakage, and the guests immediately owned up to it and offered to pay. They'd probably have paid for the damage in any case. One woman even offered to buy me a new paper back because she'd been reading it in the bath and dropped it. (Obviously I told her not to worry about it - I expect people to take books home if they haven't finished them) I think what I'm saying here is that people who acknowledge damage will offer to pay in any case, and people who don't acknowledge it will give you grief about not returning their deposit.

It's a difficult one; I'm kind of phasing it out, as I've decided not to charge returning guests the security deposit (that's as well as giving them a 10% discount so they do OK), and I've recently started getting more and more guests from the euro zone so now I have to keep checking as to who needs a cheque sent and who doesn't and I have better things to do with my life. Of course so far I've been pretty lucky with our guests. I have the occasional rant on here but it's only ever been petty issues really. It's petty theft that annoys me most, but it's never been of anything worth more than 5 or 6 euros so a rant on here anyway, so a bit of a rant gets it out of my system and it's back to where we were. I'm thinking of saying to Spanish guests to help themselves to my eggcups. As far as I can gather you can't get them in Spain, and two always go when I have Spanish guests. At 99p from Homebase (and they're lovely white china ones) it's not worth getting upset about. I just take another 4 each time we go out. Besides, no-one is going to check that all the eggcups are still there, so a sescurity deposit wouldn't help, anyway.

Hmm. Thinks to self - why bother with one!!

TC

[la vache!]

I stopped taking security deposits 5 years ago, and have never regretted it.

[e-richard]

As a renter I do not want to give someone I have never met, who may or may not be a reasonable person, a sum of money, which may or may not be returned to me at a later date, knowing that I will have no say in whether it is returned to me or not.

And yet an off-site owner will send a key to their multi thousand pound home to a total stranger who may or may not be a reasonable person, and will have sole occupancy of the home and contents for say a fortnight during which anything can happen. They could even hire a pantechnicon to empty the contents

We all run private rentals on so much trust these days. And its got to work both ways.

[kteee]

I was considering dropping security deposits for repeat clients, but am glad now I didn't. We had a repeat booking a couple of weeks ago who left a number of towels caked in make up/fake tan and mascara, and who decided to use kitchen roll when they ran out of toilet paper - even though the welcome book (in the apartment and emailed in advance) warns not to put any manufactured products except toilet roll down the loos and there is a shop, open till late, 2 minutes walk away!!

I soaked the towels in stain remover and all but two were salvaged so I deducted for extra cleaning, two replacement towels and for having the drains rodded and checked. I don't know if they were just more careless this visit, or because we weren't managing the apartment last time and weren't told about any problems

The clients accepted liability, apologised and were absolutely fine about it - I made the deductions partly to cover our costs, and partly in the hope that they'll be a bit more careful next time they book an apartment/villa

[paolo]

And yet an off-site owner will send a key to their multi thousand pound home to a total stranger who may or may not be a reasonable person, and will have sole occupancy of the home and contents for say a fortnight during which anything can happen.

They are paying you for a service you have agreed to provide. You have a contract and security deposit to protect you. But they have no protection if you decide to withhold the deposit.

[Big Sis..]

I take a security deposit and wouldnt dream of deducting for an odd glass or plate etc etc.
In fact the only times I have witheld anything[ 3 times] Ive had to withold it all [and still been out of pocket]
I know Im insured but thats still not the point.
These people would have been let off scot free by their mindless actions.......
It also helps to focus the minds of folks returning the keys[which can still take yonks]

I dont think that this is something we will ever agree on and of course thats fine.

[Hells Bells]

Surely the contract is there to protect the guests too?

[Topcat]

I think the bit about returning the keys is important. I'd forgotten about that, but taking a security deposit does mean that people make sure they look after the keys and return them. I think!

TC

[Moliere]

We require deposit with balance (2 months before arrival) and return it when we get the key back - those security keys cost me €35 each, what with paying my Manager to go and get them.

But here's a solution - if they object, pay them interest; let's see . . . £200 for 2 months at 1.5% = all of 50 pence.

Mols