Dealing with enquires from groups of young people

How to communicate with your potential renters - how to turn site visitors into enquiries, and enquiries into bookings.
Donna P
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 9:26 pm
Location: Puerto de Mazarron
Contact:

Dealing with enquires from groups of young people

Post by Donna P »

Hi Chums

Does anyone accept bookings from groups of young people. I have just turned down a booking from eight 18year olds. It would have comprised of seven lads and one girl.
As there are no English bars or nightclubs in the Port (as stated on my website), I did'nt think the area was going to be suitable for them.
Am I just tarring all young people with the same brush or was I right to refuse booking.
I HAVE accepted a booking from three 21 year old girls who just want to chill after exams this summer, but , I still feel rotten about turning the first group down.
Does anyone else have the same dilema ?
:cry:
Donna x
"Stop the world I want to get off"
alifrank1
Posts: 546
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:56 am
Location: Spain

Post by alifrank1 »

Hi Donna
I would do exactly the same as you. They may well be quite respectable and responsible people, but en mass they seem to change :shock:

I won't take bookings from under 25's or all male/female groups as I don't think the problems that might arise would compensate me if things went wrong. Your charges are similar to mine and I suppose my attitude is if they want such a large crowd, they should pay more and stay in a villa where there is more room. :wink:

I wouldn't feel at all guilty, I'm sure they will contact a number of rental properties before they find one to accept them. Only my opinion and I'm sure others may disagree with me

Alison
davey2187
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:03 pm

Post by davey2187 »

I would have taken them as they do not neccesarily mean trouble do they not want to be near La Torre and Los Alcazares if so let them know about me :o
guest 4
Posts: 990
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:33 pm

Post by guest 4 »

I don't take groups under 25 either.

Don't feel guilty it is your place, you rent to whoever you choose. Why take the risk?

Ruth
Last edited by guest 4 on Sun May 06, 2007 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Guest3
Posts: 1588
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2005 11:24 am

Post by Guest3 »

I agree..don't feel guilty about saying no.

Even though I have a large villa, I won't accept bookings from groups under the age of 21.

In my opinion anyone over the age of 21 is old enough to legally sort out any problems that could arise whilst on holiday. In groups younger than that I don't want the hassle of shouldering a surrogate 'parental' role in case of any trouble..i.e. neighbours complaining about excessive noise, all night parties or be 'piggy in the middle' co-ordinating with parents in the case of any problems with the Police/Guardia etc.

In Spain if there are any brawls in bars, the Guardia is immediately called out ....and I am not joking..these guys don't mess about! Trouble makers are straight away taken to the local jail and prosecuted with stiff penalties!

(Edited...)

I have to say though, I did make one exception last year to a group of girls (ages 18-19) who wanted a chill out holiday before going to Uni. I spoke to the girl who made the booking to evaluate her 'maturity' and then spoke to her Father. I took a hefty damage deposit and contact telephone numbers of the parents. They were no trouble at all!

However, if they had happen to be a group of lads I would have said no straight away!
davey2187
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:03 pm

Post by davey2187 »

Bagpuss whats wrong with us young lads :lol:
Nightowl
Posts: 2185
Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2005 4:14 am
Location: Cadiz, Spain & London
Contact:

Post by Nightowl »

i have taken a booking which commences on 23 May for a group of 7 - consists of 5 girls and 3 guys, all spanish, average age 25. for 8 days.

I was in two minds whether to take it or not but my manager is going 'pass by' every now and then and as he speaks fluent spanish and I reckon he's a great judge of whether all is OK or not, I know that if he thinks there might be a problem he will 'mark their cards'.

I asked him before I took the booking and he said in his experience a group of spanish young adults is likely to be OK, but he did offer to check on them which I am very grateful for.

So I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, but if it was a group of english 25 year olds, I would have definitely wanted to have more contact with them before booking.

they paid their deposit bang on time and also the balance bang on time, no problems...

I will let you know how it goes....
Nightowl
Forever going one step forwards and two
backwards......
User avatar
Topcat
Posts: 1888
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:43 am
Location: Isla Canela, Costa de la Luz
Contact:

Post by Topcat »

I've been following this thread with interest. How do you know they're under 25? I know you can ask, but it seems a cheek. These days you can't just assume that if people have different surnames that they're a group of unrelated youngsters. I was nervous about one group of 5, for exactly this reason, but it turned out that it was a couple, their daughter+husband and also 83 year old mother. But I only know that because she voluteered it.

I ask on the booking form if any are under 18, but am not sure how much further I can go.

Pauline
Debut novelist at http://tinyurl.com/or89jle

http://wivenhoewriters.blogspot.co.uk/
Contributor to anthology 'In a Word: Murder'
guest 4
Posts: 990
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:33 pm

Post by guest 4 »

Hi TC,

I would say that 95% of enquiries I get are from families or Married couples.

I did have one recently from a 'Miss'. I just phoned the No. she gave me and her mother answered. I asked the question outright and explained that I like to make sure who will be renting as the villa is only suitable for families and older couples.
She explained that the whole family were going but her single 30+ daughter was booking it. She was very good about my call and said she understood why I had asked. I also make a point of stating on my listing that I will not take bookings from groups of under 25's so I think that stops them enquiring in the first place.

Ruth
Donna P
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 9:26 pm
Location: Puerto de Mazarron
Contact:

GROUPS OF YOUNG PEOPLE

Post by Donna P »

Hi Topcat
I was very suspicious of the gang of 8 from the start simply because of the vocab used in their e-mails.
I decided to ask them for their dates of birth . I used the old tried and tested excuse of needing to know for insurance purposes.
After that I started to request the same information from any enquirers that aroused my suspicions.
I don't think its a cheek to want to protect your property AND that of your neighbours and ofcourse the good will of the locals.

Donna
"Stop the world I want to get off"
User avatar
Topcat
Posts: 1888
Joined: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:43 am
Location: Isla Canela, Costa de la Luz
Contact:

Post by Topcat »

Thanks for quick replies. I think I might put something on my website about not accepting bookings from groups of singles under 25.

Though in the UK, the house next to us is a holiday let, and occasionally it has been a nightmare. The worst was a group comprising a couple in their forties, their 3 teenage children and somebody's elderly mother. They were AWFUL. They parked bikes against our front window, constantly ran backwards and forwards in front of our window (unnecessarily so, as there is another entrance which the owner of the property asks them to use), called up to upstairs windows (this was the elderly mother shouting Cooeee darlings, I'm home!), and to make matters worse clearly had local relatives who also tramped noisily up and down the iron staircase (the one they are asked not to use as it means them crossing our property - it's really a fire-escape). Oh yes, and they parked one of their 3 cars in my (numbered) parking space, and the man was horrendously rude to me when I asked him politely to move it when I got home from work. (So I blocked him in, and had great fun watching them manoevre their cars so that he could get out!)

I rang the owner of the property who was mortified - he'd no idea so many people were staying there - and he did send the agent round to speak to them, but it made no difference.

And they had very posh accents as well, so they weren't just ne'er do wells!

So age isn't always a barometer, I'm afraid.

TC
Debut novelist at http://tinyurl.com/or89jle

http://wivenhoewriters.blogspot.co.uk/
Contributor to anthology 'In a Word: Murder'
guest 4
Posts: 990
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:33 pm

Post by guest 4 »

Hi TC,

Of course you are right, you just don't know what guests will be like regardless of their age. But, I think you reduce the risk by refusing young groups.

We had a family stay last year, grandparents, son/DIL and two children. A few days after arrival they moved in about 6 more people according to our resident neighbour. Husband was ready to jump on a plane to go and kick them all out. They were very loud, noisy and dirty, but thankfully not too much permanent damage.

I do state in the TC's that if the house is over occupied we have the right to evict the whole party, but apart from husband going over with a couple of heavies I'm not sure how we could carry this out. I just hope it might put them off trying it on.

Ruth
davey2187
Posts: 66
Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:03 pm

Post by davey2187 »

On my booking form we ask for date of birth, but hey, they could lie :shock:
Donna P
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 9:26 pm
Location: Puerto de Mazarron
Contact:

Post by Donna P »

Yep !.. You are right Davey, they sure could lie. That is the reason I don't put D.O.B on my booking form.
I tend to tell guests that I need the info for insurance purposes
and just throw it into conversation rather than make a issue of it.
Donna
"Stop the world I want to get off"
Martha
Posts: 2289
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2006 7:01 pm
Location: Chamonix

Post by Martha »

I think you should do what you want - it's your house!

We have to have a slightly different take on this - if you refused to let to groups of young men in a ski resort, I don't know if you'd be in business long! Chamonix is a hugely popular destination for lad's holidays. We've actually had a couple of stag dos through the house and no trouble so far.

I think I'd be quite troubled by a group of 18 year olds though!

We are quite a long walk from the bars, so I think that discourages those who mainly want to pub crawl.



Luckily we have only one neighbour who is only there at weekends and likes to go out till all hours himself, and the house was furnished from the start with this clientele in mind - lots of sturdy furniture and as few breakables as possible.

Of course everyone has different circumstances...however it's good to hear that many of you decide on a case by case basis. Some friends of mine like to go camping together - three thirtyish women - and a huge amount of campsites won't take them because they count as a single sex group! Honestly, it's comical, they couldn't be more respectable. :)
Chalet la Foret, Chamonix
Post Reply