Lay My Hat

Bit of a lighthearted question, but would be interested if anyone else has had the same problem!

After two years of renovations, our first ever guests arrived yesterday My husband spent the entire evening fidgeting and saying, 'But what if they're cold? What if they don't like it? What if there's a mouse in the house? What if...' and driving me utterly crackers. I have pointed out that (a) they know where we live (they stopped at our drive and asked for directions!), (b) our phone number and email address is in the information book, (c) there are clear instructions on how to change the heating temperature, (d) we haven't had any mice since the extractor fans got fitted and blocked the holes they were coming in through, (e) we'd made it to 10pm without any complaints, so they were probably reasonably happy, but he's been stressing this evening as well. Since I walked past the house this morning to feed the sheep and saw Mrs guest sitting on the living room windowsill in her pyjamas with a mug of tea, looking out over the snow and sea in the sunshine with an enormous smile on her face, I'm guessing they're quite content.

How many bookings does it take for people to stop panicking that the guests are going to hate everything and demand a refund?

A text, email or quick call routinely after guests arrive should do it for him. Something on the lines of”is everything ok for you at ....”

Whisky.
Or gin.
Or beer.
If it's a bad case, insert the words 'lots of' before each of the above...

CarolineJ wrote: How many bookings does it take for people to stop panicking that the guests are going to hate everything and demand a refund?

About 5 years worth I would say.....

Ask him: "What if they are having a great time and enjoying themselves?"

I'm an offsite owner (230 miles away) so I always ring my visitors after their arrival to:

. Check that they have arrived safely
. That everything is to their satisfaction

Without exception they seem to like someone having a concern for them. I also telephone again before departure to check that they have enjoyed their holiday and that everything in the house was fine for the duration. This avoids the "late" complainers who are after a refund.

I have to say two years in I still get these feelings! Especially on changeover day - once they are in and as you say if I haven't heard anything by about 10pm I do relax a bit. But I'm hoping once I've been doing it a few more years I might chill out a bit!

Thanks, everyone! He's chilled out a bit this evening, thank goodness