Lay My Hat

I know these rental horror stories can be boring so I will keep it short.

The that just left our villa were family pleasant enough but left some damage and a quitedirty villa. They also invited extra guests without clearing it with us thus exceeding our maximum of six and without filling Guardia forms for them etc.

I have a modest security deposit. I always return deposits. in this case the extra people and the poor treatment of the villa have me wondering.

What would you do?

If your gut says keep it back, then do so. You can justify it on the damage and extra cleaning whilst mentioning that they also abused your hospitality (and t&cs) by having extra people visit.

One thing I usually do is mention something I could have charged for but didn't, whilst telling them I am charging for other things. It's rare these days for us but a few weeks ago we had 2 ruined single duvets (we think due to eating pizza in bed and dropping it, amongst other things) but also had a snapped carving knife and a smashed candle holder. So I mentioned all of them but said I'd charge for the duvets as the others would only cost me about £30 to replace. I always think this shows I'm reasonable, which I am.

Mouse
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Mouse +1

Absolutely keep the money back.

I would agree with Mouse too and maybe say you are not charging for the damage or the extra cleaning (as you decide) but that they were in breach of contract by having extra guests without your knowledge or prior approval. This may have affected your public liability insurance and will certainly have cost you more money in terms of hot water, cooking fuel etc. etc.

Yes, Thanks for the input. I think it is a fine line between making the guests really angry (possibly initiating a bad review etc) and not doing anything and be left feeling aggrieved oneself.

I am going to try to be as fair as I can and return to them 50% of the deposit. That way they will have to give me their bank details and so have some input/agreement to the matter.

There’s not much point in taking a deposit if you’re going to return it all regardless, so if you have suitable grounds to retain some then do so. If you’re withholding some or all of the deposit, it's best to detail the costs you’re covering (including cleaner time) to keep everything by the book.

I would update your t+cs to specify what deduction will be made for smuggling extra people in.

Then when it happens again you effectively have a pre authorised deduction.

I let most potential deductions go as i just want bad guests out of my villa and out of my memory. Shame really, 100 good ones and then a bad one, ruins it for everyone.

Extra guests - This is a serious problem in France. Sometimes I feel like we are a hotel!
We live on the premises and are always amazed at how the French bring in extra guests. Last lot were disappointed we live on the premises when they turned up. We made it clear in the info. Wanted all their friends to use the pool. Had to point out that pool was shared with owners- also fully disclosed!
Just got the hell of it OH decides to get in the pool when they all turn up.

Moral. If you rent out in France and are not sure on site there is a very high risk that more than you thought will be staying in your accommodation. This is the land of the blow up beds _ supermarkets promote them heavily just before the summer season for good reason. You have been warned!

SW31 wrote:Extra guests - This is a serious problem in France. Sometimes I feel like we are a hotel!
We live on the premises and are always amazed at how the French bring in extra guests. Last lot were disappointed we live on the premises when they turned up. We made it clear in the info. Wanted all their friends to use the pool. Had to point out that pool was shared with owners- also fully disclosed!
Just got the hell of it OH decides to get in the pool when they all turn up.

Moral. If you rent out in France and are not sure on site there is a very high risk that more than you thought will be staying in your accommodation. This is the land of the blow up beds _ supermarkets promote them heavily just before the summer season for good reason. You have been warned!

Every time I have rented in France, I discovered that I needed to deduct 2 people from the number of guests accommodated, as the French always assumed that 2 people would sleep on the sofa bed. Not my style for an enjoyable holiday.

Jonathan