Security deposit

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claudie
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Security deposit

Post by claudie »

Hello everybody. One last question on deposits: what is the norm with regard to security deposits for a small, one-bedroomed, self-contained (well-equipped) flat? I would be very grateful for any ideas :)
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tavi
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Post by tavi »

hi Claudie,

I have a sleep-two apartment - my security deposit is £100


8)
e-richard
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Post by e-richard »

A personal view:

I have a two bedroom flat in a block. I have been renting for 12 years and get between 14 and 20 unique bookings per year.
Thats up to 240 times that I would have simply returned the security deposit in full.
Thats up to 240 times I would have had to log in to my bank and type in the guest's account number etc.

Instead, I do not take a security deposit and pay myself £10 per booking to cover the costs of any damage by any specific guest. I am rich.
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Essar
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Post by Essar »

e-richard wrote:A personal view:

I have a two bedroom flat in a block. I have been renting for 12 years and get between 14 and 20 unique bookings per year.
Thats up to 240 times that I would have simply returned the security deposit in full.
Thats up to 240 times I would have had to log in to my bank and type in the guest's account number etc.

Instead, I do not take a security deposit and pay myself £10 per booking to cover the costs of any damage by any specific guest. I am rich.
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bessie
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Post by bessie »

For my 2 bed cottage I have a refundable security deposit of £150.I try to refund day of departure after cleaning has taken place.
Apart from one mishap over my hob ,and a guest who just left insisting I charge for a broken glass which I refused stating normal wear they seemed very happy.
I do state on meet and greet that everything has been checked ,but please contact me if they have any concerns.
Not everyone will agree but I think it is acceptable to ask for a security deposit.You trust the guest to look after your property so they should trust the owner to return the security deposit.
:wink:
claudie
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Deposits: On booking, what percentage?

Post by claudie »

Thank you all. Every answer is hepful to me.
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declanja
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Post by declanja »

I have a one bed in Nice and we take a €200 security deposit. When there recently I spoke about security deposits with another owner. She takes a €500 security deposit and feels by having a high deposit you get better guests. Interestingly, she also feels that guests will feel a place with a high security deposit is higher quality and so be more likely to book!
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Eagerbeaver
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Post by Eagerbeaver »

We don't ask for a deposit and in 3 years have had no losses we would claim back from a security deposit.
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

I think the subject of a deposit or not can also depend whether or not you are on site and do the change overs yourself. If the guests know that the owner will be seeing the property after they leave, there is surely far less chance of unannounced damage.

I have had to use part of the deposit about 4 times in 7 years. I see it more of a reminder to be respectful or it might cost money.
Joanna
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Post by Joanna »

Well put Kev. We rarely do it because we're off site and it could turn into the cleaner's word against the guest's with us not knowing who to believe. Also, damage could have been caused by a previous guest and the cleaner not noticed.
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waterwitch
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Post by waterwitch »

For our smaller cottage we don't take a damage deposit unless they book with dogs, then it is £100 (this is after a couple of instances of scratched doors and excessive dog hair on furniture). We have 2 changeovers a week a lot of the time so it we did deposits for all it would be too much of a hassle.

For the other property I take a £150.00 deposit and this is generally because of the nature of our guests which tend to be larger parties. Also we supply extras such as packs of eco-fire logs, eco-friendly bbq charcoal, etc on a help themselves basis and deduct from the deposit after their stay.

Obviously it's all done on an honesty basis but I stand a better chance of not being out of pocket this way - and the threat that excessive LPG consumption will be deducted, which is my biggest cost risk over winter.
rosebud
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Post by rosebud »

I generally take £100 for a small cottage that sleeps 3.

I have always returned the money up until now. Some damage has been caused (e.g to laminate at the end of a worktop run) but I have considered it as 'wear and tear' that is to be expected at some point.

Taking the money may be an incentive for guests to take more care - I am not sure.
Essar
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Post by Essar »

I set mine equivalent to the insurance excess for guest damage
cover.
At the apartment that's £100 and £200 at the townhouse.

So. if I can't recover the full costs of damages from the guests I can claim on the insurance for amounts well over the access and keep the deposit from the guest to cover the access.

I call mine a security deposit not a damage deposit; that way if I ever have to claim for extra cleaning or returning something left behind by the guests, the deposit description doesn't impede me.
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PW in Polemi
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Post by PW in Polemi »

rosebud wrote:Taking the money may be an incentive for guests to take more care - I am not sure.
That's our take on it - we value our property, so the guests are encouraged to, too.
essar wrote:I call mine a security deposit not a damage deposit
We call it a "refundable Security Deposit" - just to emphasise that we DO refund it (at the meet'n'greet, we tell them it's refunded unless they do something stupid like check if the TV floats or sinks in the pool!)
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Stewart
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Post by Stewart »

Be careful. If you use listing sites and do "deep discount" offers (which we did for a short while in year 1) you will get proportionally more low life gits amongst the nice folk. As Adam Smith put it, "...the cheaper the booking the less people value what they are getting.. resulting in poorer behaviour and more damage". (We had a muddy boot print inside as well as on top of a fridge by way of an entertaining example. Oh yes and the cigarettes deliberately stubbed out on a table, a fight, etc). A £100 or £200 security deposit mitigates this to some extent.
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