Guest expectations

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eoinm
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Guest expectations

Post by eoinm »

After four years of renting our property we seem to have encountered our first troublesome guest. We've been lucky thus far I guess.

Anyway, we advertise as self catering but provide some laundry tabs and dishwasher tabs as a starter pack for people.

This guest is complaining that he should be provided two weeks worth of washing tabs. We will provide this but I just wanted to check I wasn't going mad.. I've stayed in many many self catering places and the most I've expected when it came to washing tabs etc has been whatever a previous guest has left behind.

Given that we do not say we provide this anywhere on our site, is this now the norm and we need to catch up?
The Olive Grove
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Post by The Olive Grove »

We do supply a reasonable amount, but usually guests do replace what they use. If they ask I replenish, if they don't I don't.
zebedee
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Post by zebedee »

I think it depends upon the standard and price of your accommodation.
If it is at the high end and the costs to stay are high, then guests expectations are higher.

I do leave all kinds of things, dishwasher solution, etc etc . I don't want anyone putting washing up liquid in a dishwasher! but guests usually bring their own as well. I think for a short break you would want everything there, but why do they want to do so much washing on holiday???
The Olive Grove
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Post by The Olive Grove »

The ones I do get a little peeved with are those that have a 2 center holiday, their first accommodation without a washing machine. As soon as they arrive the washing machine goes on.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

Some owners will provide a “full” supply, some will provide a few as an initial starter and the guest then buys more, some will provide none. We provide what we expect to be enough dishwasher tabs (one per day), and a couple of laundry tabs. We wouldn’t expect to provide for a guest who wanted to do a load of washing every day. We always remove anything a previous guest has left.

I think the key is to state what you do provide, maybe as part of the pre-arrival information - and down to a level of detail (eg "some tabs to get you started" rather than just “we supply tabs”)

Your guest’s expectations are unrealistic, based on a false assumption. It’s probably easier just to smile sweetly and say “here you are, is that enough? I must remember to explain what self-catering means in case I get anyone else booking who is hard of thinking.”
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

The Olive Grove wrote:The ones I do get a little peeved with are those that have a 2 center holiday, their first accommodation without a washing machine. As soon as they arrive the washing machine goes on.
I don’t have a problem with that at all. We provide a washing machine, guests can use it as they wish. A few extra loads here and there isn’t going to make any difference to our overall energy costs.
The Olive Grove
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Post by The Olive Grove »

greenbarn wrote:
The Olive Grove wrote:The ones I do get a little peeved with are those that have a 2 center holiday, their first accommodation without a washing machine. As soon as they arrive the washing machine goes on.
I don’t have a problem with that at all. We provide a washing machine, guests can use it as they wish. A few extra loads here and there isn’t going to make any difference to our overall energy costs.
It doesn't really bother me that much, although it does make quite a difference to our energy costs. The property is classed as a second home, on which we pay 3 times the electricity rate we do on our own apartment in the same building.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

The Olive Grove wrote:
greenbarn wrote:
The Olive Grove wrote:The ones I do get a little peeved with are those that have a 2 center holiday, their first accommodation without a washing machine. As soon as they arrive the washing machine goes on.
I don’t have a problem with that at all. We provide a washing machine, guests can use it as they wish. A few extra loads here and there isn’t going to make any difference to our overall energy costs.
It doesn't really bother me that much, although it does make quite a difference to our energy costs. The property is classed as a second home, on which we pay 3 times the electricity rate we do on our own apartment in the same building.
Ouch! After I’d posted it occurred to me that you weren’t in the UK and energy costs (and water?) would be different - but that’s steep.
eoinm
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Post by eoinm »

Thanks. That confirms what I'd already thought. Hopefully the rest of the rental goes well.
eoinm
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Post by eoinm »

Update on this.

I think we've got our very first difficult guest and it's hard to deal with as we run the place remotely. Luckily we've great neighbours who've been able to help sort each of the requests quickly (within 20 mins or less!)

He's already complained about the lack of washing machine tabs, also asked for more towels and just contacted me there asking for more hangers. This is only day 2 of a 14 day rental.

I can see that despite having notes everywhere in the house regarding restricted internet access (we've a 25gb monthly cap) and to please not use it for youtube / netflix etc. He's already used ~6gb.

So, we're going to have more problems in this regarding if nothing else.

Now, given the fact that he's been short with us in emails and asking / expecting certain things which we've provided I really want to avoid antagonizing the situation by asking him to reduce his net usage. He'll probably deny it anyway or else is unaware of the kids using it, or possibly it's iphones / ipads autoupdating without the guests knowing.

Once they reach 25gb the net will stop working so my options are to post them a sim card in advance with more GB allowance on it (yes we're limited to wifi / sim dongle in the house) or just let it run out and then post the sim once that happens. Option 2 will obviously annoy them but I'm getting frustrated with the continuous requests, especially because we've been doing this for four years and never have we experienced anything like this guest before.

Looking for advice on how to deal with this type of guest, taking into account it's a four hour round trip for us to actually go to the property so we're limited in what we can do.
Pirou
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Post by Pirou »

25gb cap seems low. We have a 50gb cap and I think that's low if we have 4 weeks booked in summer. I do explain this clearly on the website and in the terms & conditions (for various reasons an unlimited deal is more expensive and has markedly slower upload / download speeds so either contract is a compromise).

Anyhow, if you state it on website, in terms & conditions and in your "user book" or notes in the cottage, they booked accepting that limitation (even if they did not read it or understand what it meant!) As to telling him, well I guess I'd advise him at the halfway point so when he's used 12gb but if he booked in full awareness of the cap, I wouldn't be sending him a new SIM.

I don't think 25gb per month is enough but I know there are limitations (and compromises to be made) that people who live in towns and cities aren't necessarily aware of.

Good luck with managing the rest of his (self-catering :wink: ) holiday.
Marks
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Post by Marks »

If it were me, and I have been accused of running a fascist rental in the past, my answer is no more towels and all the hangers supplied are there.

Then I would remind him that the Wi-Fi is limited and if he continues on his current usage he will run out of data by Thursday (or whenever) at which point it will cost him £x per Gb and there may be a delay before you can get him a SIM.

No need to pussyfoot around with people like this, sometimes straight talking is best.
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Giraffe
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Post by Giraffe »

I've never had a demanding guest. My view is that up till now, although annoying for you, the requests are fairly trivial in the in the overall scale of things. Internet access, though, is a different kettle of fish! For many, especially those with children, it's one of the most important aspects of the holiday home.

If your guest was aware of the wifi limitations at booking stage I suggest you send him a gentle reminder that his family is using his allowance at a fast pace. Would he like to stick to the limit or pay extra for you to extend it?

On the other hand, if he was not aware at booking stage then I suggest you pull out the stops with extra SIM cards.

You mention that one of your main issues is your distance. I have a 10 hour round trip so I employ a local housekeeper/maintenance couple who also handle visitor issues - not cheap at £30 per call out but it solves last minute problems. I also overstock on everything to avoid the problems you are experiencing. I also have unlimited internet access plus the dedicated landline - again not cheap but it avoids the problem you have.

I hope things improve for you.
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NeatandPicky
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Post by NeatandPicky »

Pirou wrote:If you state it on website, in terms & conditions and in your "user book" or notes in the cottage, they booked accepting that limitation (even if they did not read it or understand what it meant!)
You need to ensure the guest is informed about Internet limitations prior to booking via website or booking contract.

It certainly sounds like these guests are unhappy, hence they're pushing things with requests for extra towels, and (can hardly believe this one) hangers. (Dishwasher tabs we provide, but it's a small cost in relation to our rental.)

Playing devil's advocate... previous guests couldn't have made off with hangers without you realising could they? If you know (roughly) how many there should be, you could ask them to verify that the correct number are there!
Sam V
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Post by Sam V »

I have a set of 'eco balls' for our villa washing machine as an alternative to washing detergent they provide 1000 washes (allegedly), so if guests don't like them they can buy their own detergent. TBH, 'your only on holiday a week or two', I'm sure a couple of washes without your usual detergent isn't the end of the world... or is it?

Why do they need more towels? What do you supply?
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