Parking
Parking
There is off street parking at our cottage which during the busy summer season we cannot guarantee there will be a place available directly outside the house. On sites like booking.com without being misleading is it okay to tick the box for to say parking facilities are available at the property as long as we explain the situation in the description?
We have private parking at the rear of our property, that no one else can use, but there is a width restriction in the access route. When we started out we were with an agent who saw the property and advertised it as having parking for 2 cars. Since managing it myself I get to hear first hand exactly what people are looking for, and many people won’t book unless they know they can definitely park off the highway on private land where they perceive their car will be safer than on the public highway.
It will be interesting to hear what others say on this matter, but as a general rule it is better for a guest to arrive and find a property gives them much more than they expected, than for them to get irate that one detail that they wanted and thought they had booked is missing.
In this case, that would equate to your guests not expecting a parking facility but then finding that they can park easily outside the property. That’s a win win all round, but if they do end up walking a bit from their car, they won’t complain.
The key question is - is the agro worth it? (No, not in my mind).
Can you say there is shared parking??
It will be interesting to hear what others say on this matter, but as a general rule it is better for a guest to arrive and find a property gives them much more than they expected, than for them to get irate that one detail that they wanted and thought they had booked is missing.
In this case, that would equate to your guests not expecting a parking facility but then finding that they can park easily outside the property. That’s a win win all round, but if they do end up walking a bit from their car, they won’t complain.
The key question is - is the agro worth it? (No, not in my mind).
Can you say there is shared parking??
Not tried to ask booking.vom to change the listing detail, can you do that? Their chosen description of our place is a joke.
For me personally parking is a massive deal, particularly if staying in a seaside town with limited parking. My personal view is that if a listing states parking I am expecting a reserved space.
If your property is somewhere that will almost always have parking within a reasonable distance then perhaps that is still OK to say that it has parking but as suggested see if Booking.vom can update the description.
For me personally parking is a massive deal, particularly if staying in a seaside town with limited parking. My personal view is that if a listing states parking I am expecting a reserved space.
If your property is somewhere that will almost always have parking within a reasonable distance then perhaps that is still OK to say that it has parking but as suggested see if Booking.vom can update the description.
If it's on street/first come first served parking then that is what you should be saying. You don't have any parking by the usual expectation. It's a bit disingenuous to say you have parking when you don't have any right to a spot.Rosehill wrote:Just to be clear the description does say we have parking but under the facilities available at the property it states no parking. The cottage is by the sea but in a large development with lots of off street parking. We have an agent who posts all our adverts so would have to go through them.
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For me, parking means parking available, including on-street. Right to a spot = private parking space. If a listing said no parking I would assume that there was no practical/reasonable cost parking available at all within say, about 500m. I completely agree with the need to be very specific about what parking is available, but when there is on-street parking right outside I find it strange to say there is no parking. In most British towns on-street parking is what I would expect to be available.It's a bit disingenuous to say you have parking when you don't have any right to a spot.
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Yes, you can: our description contained errors, too (such as 'children's play park when all we have is terrasse with a trampoline and toys) and they were very quick to change it when we pointed out the errors. I think I contacted them through the dashboard with a list of requests.ianh100 wrote:Not tried to ask booking.vom to change the listing detail, can you do that? Their chosen description of our place is a joke.
It really isn't that simple in holiday resorts in the UK.africanpenguin wrote:For me, parking means parking available, including on-street. Right to a spot = private parking space. If a listing said no parking I would assume that there was no practical/reasonable cost parking available at all within say, about 500m. I completely agree with the need to be very specific about what parking is available, but when there is on-street parking right outside I find it strange to say there is no parking. In most British towns on-street parking is what I would expect to be available.It's a bit disingenuous to say you have parking when you don't have any right to a spot.
Assumptions are dangerous. I once booked a B&B in Cornwall as they said they provided free parking. They did - it was a pass for the very busy public car park 500yds away. We spent ages circling that car park every night waiting for a space to come free so we could park. Not the hassle free car parking we'd been led to expect from the advert. We left early in the end.
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Which is why I'm *not* assuming that a parking available box ticked yes means a private parking spot available at the property.Assumptions are dangerous.
In this instance I agree that the owner clearly was being disengeuous in saying they had parking. That meets my defintion of "no parking", and at the very least I would expect to have the situation clearly spelled out in the listing.I once booked a B&B in Cornwall as they said they provided free parking. They did - it was a pass for the very busy public car park 500yds away. We spent ages circling that car park every night waiting for a space to come free so we could park. Not the hassle free car parking we'd been led to expect from the advert.
But the OPs situation is different, as 1) parking is available right outside 2) they *are* proposing to clearly explain the situation in their listing.
On booking.com I have
There is another option - parking in the car park of a local pub (free but guests have to let bar staff know their registration number)
I assume this was an option from a drop down list. it is possible to park in the street but places are often taken..Free public parking is available at a location nearby (reservation is not needed).
There is another option - parking in the car park of a local pub (free but guests have to let bar staff know their registration number)
For me parking is a big issue, when we stay overnight either to a hotel or self catering accommodation I always ensure there is private off-street parking for my car next to the accommodation. I would not stay somewhere that does not have this facility.
I have also spent a small fortune and hard, physical work digging out and laying a block paved driveway at our holiday cottage for guests to use.
Talking to our guests they invariably state that they always book accommodation where there is off-street, private parking.
I have also spent a small fortune and hard, physical work digging out and laying a block paved driveway at our holiday cottage for guests to use.
Talking to our guests they invariably state that they always book accommodation where there is off-street, private parking.
Keep your powder dry.
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At my cottage it's not possible to get to it at all by vehicle. Parking is on a nearby public highway 46mtrs away. In reality if your lucky you could get a parking space within 300yrds or more of the ten foot that leads to the cottage. The description of the situation simply says on street parking 46mtrs away.
In three and a bit years I've knowingly lost two bookings and in addition had one cancelled. Those that cancelled did a practice run out in the car to find the cottage a few weeks before the actual booking! They then phoned to cancel because parking was too far away for the kids! I've had a couple of people grumble about the parking but I've had many more say how wonderful it is to be away from it all.
In three and a bit years I've knowingly lost two bookings and in addition had one cancelled. Those that cancelled did a practice run out in the car to find the cottage a few weeks before the actual booking! They then phoned to cancel because parking was too far away for the kids! I've had a couple of people grumble about the parking but I've had many more say how wonderful it is to be away from it all.