Lay My Hat

Martha wrote:I do it with Paypal and it's extremely easy, just send a template invoice, which I refund when they leave and then there are no PayPal charges.

Not strictly true, there is a Paypal charge but it's not very much.

If you refund within (I think) 60 days, the charge is also refunded.

You just need to be sure it's all kept in the same currency to avoid fluctuations
http://www.laymyhat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16021

I think there's a pretty strong link between over-occupancy and disrespectful guests. Though obviously it's not only the over-occupiers who can be bad guests.

A suggestion - not suitable for all - but if you are able to point a camera at the place where people come on to your property without being invasive, a security camera pointing at the entry point can be a deterrent to those planning to over-occupy.

We've had plenty of evidence of over-occupancy in the past but haven't had the proof. Now we have a camera pointing over the driveway which will be able to provide proof (as soon as we next go there with a micro-SD card which I forgot to get for it).

But the main point is that it is a deterrent. We are now letting guests know that it's there before they arrive. On our new online booking form, the T&Cs have to be individually agreed including the bit that says "Only those named on the booking form can occupy the property" and goes on to say that if over-occupancy is detected, they will lose their accommodation with no refund of rental or damage deposit.

Since we've had those stiff words on the booking form, I don't think that we've had any over-occupancy. But the camera is there just in case.

Just so that we know when to check the camera, there's a program running on the ventilation controller which counts non-permanent WiFi devices within range and sends us an email when it detects more than the normal count.

That's belt and braces then some more braces.

Ben McNevis: very impressed with wi-fi detector of more-than-normal-number-of-devices.

As others mention - the damage deposit keeps some focus and is not a pain, just part of the admin process.

It can be uncomfortable confronting guests if rules aren't quite followed - Mr Sunbeam is much better at it than me - but an important skill to learn in this business. Much harder without the back-up of a friend or partner.