Security deposit

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Robin S
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Post by Robin S »

Revisiting this, ours was £100 but i'm about to raise to £200. 3 bed house sleeping 6. We're embarking on a new kitchen and floor through the living room and i'm naively keen to ensure it stays looking spick and span for a while!

We recently noticed crayon drawing on the wall hidden by a high chair rested on the wall and burns from the log burner on the carpet hidden by a fire guard. We want to increase the fee as a deterrent and with a view to driving up the quality / care of guests.
apiersa
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Getting and returning a deposit via Paypal

Post by apiersa »

Hello everyone,
I haven't been active on this forum for quite a while because everything was going smoothly with our flat in the French Alpine resort of Tignes which we started renting out in January 2014 and the advice I got here from other members was extremely helpful.
Just to set the scene: my flat is rented out by a Tignes rental agency but I can also rent it out myself and I do so via Homelidays or whatever it calls itself these days!
So for the weeks with "my" guests I have to have somebody to give them the keys, show them around, take the deposit cheque (€525, as charged by the agency) and then when the guests leave, take the dirty laundry, clean the flat and check for damage.
This winter season has been stressful thanks to our new "manager" who has been a disaster from start to finish, although she runs her own "conciergerie" . Amongst many other complaints, she did not take one single deposit cheque the entire season. Fortunately there's been no damage but for the summer season I need to find another system and I've been reading the posts and think that Paypal is the answer.
Could somebody who uses Paypal for deposits walk me through how you do it please? I do have a Paypal account but am not sure what information I'd need to give the guests for them to be able to pay into it. And can they do so if they themselves don't have a Paypal account?
I've also read that it's not a good idea to add the security deposit to the reservation deposit fee. So at what point does one ask them to pay the security deposit?
And if anyone else here knows of a good manager in Tignes please let me know because I've just "discontinued my arrangement" with the one I had this winter!
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AngloDutch
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Re: Getting and returning a deposit via Paypal

Post by AngloDutch »

apiersa wrote:Hello everyone,
I haven't been active on this forum for quite a while because everything was going smoothly with our flat in the French Alpine resort of Tignes which we started renting out in January 2014 and the advice I got here from other members was extremely helpful.
Just to set the scene: my flat is rented out by a Tignes rental agency but I can also rent it out myself and I do so via Homelidays or whatever it calls itself these days!
So for the weeks with "my" guests I have to have somebody to give them the keys, show them around, take the deposit cheque (€525, as charged by the agency) and then when the guests leave, take the dirty laundry, clean the flat and check for damage.
This winter season has been stressful thanks to our new "manager" who has been a disaster from start to finish, although she runs her own "conciergerie" . Amongst many other complaints, she did not take one single deposit cheque the entire season. Fortunately there's been no damage but for the summer season I need to find another system and I've been reading the posts and think that Paypal is the answer.
Could somebody who uses Paypal for deposits walk me through how you do it please? I do have a Paypal account but am not sure what information I'd need to give the guests for them to be able to pay into it. And can they do so if they themselves don't have a Paypal account?
I've also read that it's not a good idea to add the security deposit to the reservation deposit fee. So at what point does one ask them to pay the security deposit?
And if anyone else here knows of a good manager in Tignes please let me know because I've just "discontinued my arrangement" with the one I had this winter!

We rarely use PayPal for deposits, as most of our guests transfer the security deposit interbank along with the balance/final payments and we return it to them within a week (usually a couple of days).
We are though fairly familiar with PayPal's workings, so here are answers to your questions:
Could somebody who uses Paypal for deposits walk me through how you do it please? I do have a Paypal account but am not sure what information I'd need to give the guests for them to be able to pay into it.
In order for your guests to make payment to your PayPal account they will need your email address linked to your PayPal account. You can also just send them a PayPal invoice.

Here's how to send a PayPal invoice: via paypal.co.uk (we are using the new revised dashboard)> sign into your account>Tools>Request Money

And can they do so if they themselves don't have a Paypal account?
Yes, anyone can use PayPal without opeing an account. They can just use the PayPal platform for the payment each time.

I've also read that it's not a good idea to add the security deposit to the reservation deposit fee.
It depends how far ahead the deposit has been made from the time when you are ready to return the security deposit. After an amount of time (if memory serves, a period of 60 days) you can no longer return the payment, either fully or partially. You would in this instance have to 'pay' the guest the amount of the security deposit and they would therefore incur charges from PayPal for receiving the payment, unless you use the 'send money to family or friends' function (Tools>Send Money) where you can select to pay the charges at your end (I do not know if PayPal would pick up on any overuse of this facility on your account though!)

So at what point does one ask them to pay the security deposit?
It is much easier to ask for the security deposit say, a few weeks before arrival, so that you are in time to return it (or a partial amount) without any further costs involved on either side (apart from maybe any currency conversion differences if the guest is billed by his/her credit card in a different currency to that in which your rates are set).


Good luck with finding a new manager! It looks like you've been very lucky that there were no damges or theft from your flat, apiersa. We are lucky that we are on site and still young enough to be able to do the changeovers ourselves (but even we find that doing a same-day changeover on a 5-bedroomed house is not as easy as it was 10 years ago!)
:lol:
Last edited by AngloDutch on Fri Apr 22, 2016 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
apiersa
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Post by apiersa »

Thank you very much for these very informative answers.
Unibond3
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Post by Unibond3 »

Hi
This has been a very interesting thread - made more so because it has tended to stay relevant to the original request for advice. Anyway, we ask for security deposits to be payable with the balancce (although they are clearly advertised and guest's know they are payable before booking. In 10 years we have not had anyone demurring.

We manage around 100 properties on behalf of owners, with deposits ranging from as low as £50 for a small studio to £1000 for a Grade One Listed Manor House.

Only about 30% of our clients apply security deposits and in all honesty, we haven't found a significant difference between damage claims between properties with and without such things. The only difference is that, if you are prepared to run the gauntlet of threats and bad reviews, you do at least cover the cost of damages.

We have found that you do need to advise guests of a problem before the end of the day in which they deprted and prefereably before any new guests have arrived if booked in the same day. This stops guests claiming that all was fine when they left and blaming it on the incoming guests. This is a challenge for those owners unable to do 'guest goodbyes' although we do find that cleaners seem to be quite happy picking up the phone to report a breakage or missing item (the latter are really hard to report without implying your guests are thieves, "you may have packed it in error thinking it belonged to another member of your party" is a good line!

Finally, in terms of wording, when stating that a security deposit is payable, we, like others on this thread make it very clear that it is refunable and"all being well, is repaid to your account on the Friday after your departure". Knowing how and when it is going to be refunded seems to reassure guests.

I hope this helps!
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Cymraes
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Post by Cymraes »

Unibond3 wrote:Hi


Only about 30% of our clients apply security deposits and in all honesty, we haven't found a significant difference between damage claims between properties with and without such things. The only difference is that, if you are prepared to run the gauntlet of threats and bad reviews, you do at least cover the cost of damages.
Earlier in the thread you said this
Unibond3 wrote:Hi

We directly manage about 80 properties in the UK using an Owner's own terms and conditions. Some request security deposits, and others don't. Looking at things like reports of breakages we find that there are about 30% fewer for owners with a Refundable deposit policy in place than those that don't. Deposits very in size from as little as £100 up to £1000. Nobody ever seems to baulk at paying them as long as they don't have to do it when paying their deposit.

I would consider a 30% reduction to be quite significant personally which is why I'm now requiring a deposit.
Last edited by Cymraes on Mon Apr 25, 2016 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

Cymraes wrote: Earlier in the thread you siad this
Glad you noticed as I was also having that déjà vu experience.
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Post by Sam V »

After the email I received from my manager today, Im glad I do take a £300 deposit, just in case payment before departure is not forthcoming

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Adelin52
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Post by Adelin52 »

tavi wrote:hi Claudie,

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


8)
Hi, mine too is £100 :)

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charles cawley
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Post by charles cawley »

Most of our owners request a deposit of £100. If a stay is for more than two weeks this tends to rise to £200.

However, it is the owners' choice and some only ask for deposits when pets are staying or two children or more.

Saying that you will request one, even if you do not do so, does seem to have the effect of putting off guests who could be hard to please.

We do hear, from time to time, of upset when guests are angry that owners 'do not trust them'. This can seem a little unfair, considering the worth of the building alone is often in excess of £200,000 before its contents.

Security deposits will always be a bone of contention.
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russellt
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Post by russellt »

Six weeks on from my last post on this thread, and I have decided to increase the Security Deposit from £50 to £100.

We had a family in a couple of weeks back who left the property in a bit of a state - unclean and a few minor breakages(I paid the cleaner a little bit extra to get things ship-shape again) - so I concluded that the £50 threat was having little effect.

That said, I have never claimed against a security deposit, so whether it performs any real function or not remains a moot point.

BTW, as mentioned elsewhere, my cleaner takes photos of any unacceptable divergence from the T&Cs when guests leave. The evidence usually provokes an apology, and a wide variety of red-faced excuses, from the guests.

Guests often own-up to breakages on departure, but I have never charged for replacements. As service providers, we have to accept some business risk.
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tavi
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Post by tavi »

That said, I have never claimed against a security deposit, so whether it performs any real function or not remains a moot point.

I think it does perform the function of focussing their minds a little...after all they don't know if you're going to charge something against it or not.

I've never retained mine either but did once hold it back while the laundry tried to remove a weird grey suntan oil from all over a set of sheets. The suntan oil came out so I returned the deposit.
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Post by salmoncottage »

We similarly once held a security deposit back too Tavi, the substance was smeared all over a bath sheet, two hand towels and a bath robe, it turned out to be the ladies very oily foundation make up and she was most perturbed at having to wait for the laundry to inform us if it had come out in the wash or not. I felt like telling her 'if she had used the tissues provided instead of our towels to remove her make up she wouldnt have had to wait'.
(How dare I think that :roll: )
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Post by HoneypotCottages »

We take security deposits of £150.00 for a small cottage, £200.00 for a medium sized cottage and £250.00 for a large cottage. These can be paid any time before a holiday commences.

We do not charge for a chipped mug or broken glass or similar and we really judge breakages on whether guests report it to us and what the item is.

We suggest deposits will be returned as soon as possible after their stay however this may take a few days depending on other bookings.

We recommend guests pay via Pay-Pal if outside of the UK to avoid refund charges and that we will send a Pay-Pal request for payment rather than the guest send us a payment without our request to avoid any issues with exchange rates.

International bank transfer refunds are expensive and so we suggest guests avoid this.
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

HoneypotCottages wrote: International bank transfer refunds are expensive and so we suggest guests avoid this.
I'm now recommending Transferwise to guests as cheap alternative to Paypal or international bank transfer. Many have tried it and been pleased.
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