"Hotel Mentality"
Mine's probably about 10 years old so maybe when I'm next over I should look at a more up to date one. I've heard that some of the newer ones don't give out so much condensation so maybe I should look to see what's around next time I'm over. Stupid me, I've only just got back (yesterday) and had a month to look around but never thought to
then youll be able to see what you need Good Luck!!-
Hells Bells
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- Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
- Location: French Alps
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Yes, but there is a fine line between providing hotel style services in a self-catering apartment and being made a convenience of. Many of us are not 'on-site', and as such couldn't provide concierge services, but can still provide extra cleaning, linen changes, etc if required. Many of us already do a lot more than the average apartment/villa owner.
It is our policy to provide the service of a good class hotel and I think it pays off (see the guest book on our website). Yes, we are on site and we enjoy almost all of our guests and get huge satisfaction out of 'fulfilling their dreams' and helping them to have a great holiday. We give people the apartments and service we would love to have on holiday and have never yet found. Result: we have the highest prices and the highest occupancy in our area.
The worst guests we have had this year are the ones who lied about the amount of time they spent on the internet (we charge for it still because we are on dial up and have limited hours - we introduced the charge after an American family spent a whole evening playing fantasy basketball! We don't mind them doing that but feel an extra charge is appropriate).
We don't ask for a security deposit and most guests come to us at the end of their stay to own up to breakages and ask what they owe. So, generally speaking, we don't have badly behaved guests, no more than 1 per year anyway.
My philiosophy is that the vast majority of people behave as they are treated.
I suspect I will be shot down in flames for this posting. But it is simply an explanation of what we do and we have the evidence of the success. And it is the reason I dread renting accommodation for our own holidays.
The worst guests we have had this year are the ones who lied about the amount of time they spent on the internet (we charge for it still because we are on dial up and have limited hours - we introduced the charge after an American family spent a whole evening playing fantasy basketball! We don't mind them doing that but feel an extra charge is appropriate).
We don't ask for a security deposit and most guests come to us at the end of their stay to own up to breakages and ask what they owe. So, generally speaking, we don't have badly behaved guests, no more than 1 per year anyway.
My philiosophy is that the vast majority of people behave as they are treated.
I suspect I will be shot down in flames for this posting. But it is simply an explanation of what we do and we have the evidence of the success. And it is the reason I dread renting accommodation for our own holidays.
My opinion is that a leopard cannot change its spots. Treating all our guests with the same professionalism and 5 star treatment guarantees us nothing when it comes to their social behaviour.margaret wrote:So, generally speaking, we don't have badly behaved guests, no more than 1 per year anyway.
My philiosophy is that the vast majority of people behave as they are treated.
You've mentioned the guest book a few times now so I had a look. Very impressive, do you untie them from the chair before or after they've signed the book
Must be a social difference as a lot of our guests prefer to verbalise their thanks and neglect the comments book. I wonder if carrying a notebook and pen and asking them to repeat themselves would work.
A hotel standard (according to a UK hotel inspector who stayed at my place recently), includes having double bedrooms big enough to have a double bed in (i.e. the bed is not up against the wall on one side)margaret wrote:You have the option of providing a hotel standard service and upping your prices. Unless you want an easy life.
Not in my experience. People who pay a lot of money are often use to having cleaners in their own homes and haven't got the first idea how to clean and tidy for themselves.Guests who pay more treat the place better in my experience.
Margaret, I presume you don't know the area my apartment is inmargaret wrote:You have the option of providing a hotel standard service and upping your prices. Unless you want an easy life. Guests who pay more treat the place better in my experience.
Most apartments along the coast are fighting for survival. The rental prices are very low and there's a lot of competition. My apartment was not bought as a rental apartment, it was our second home for many years, so is comfortably furnished.I do not intend to try to make it into a five star hotel standard, it is what it is and I am happy with it. All my gusets have treated it well and I have had really good feedback. Of course I want an easy life, that's what I pay my management company for
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/179 ... TV-s-Basil
BASIL Fawlty is alive and well – and running a hotel with the words “No Idiots� scrawled on a blackboard in the foyer.
The electricity topic was interesting but seems to have got lost. As we are a skiing area, we have all year lettings and just think of it as an annual cost - better for the blood pressure that way! We also keep the central heating running all year because there can be cool days and especially cool evenings even in summer - although we average mid 20s throughout the summer and often a lot higher than that.
However, we do charge for things which use a lot of energy and which are optional, specifically the sauna, to prevent people leaving it on all evening while they are sitting outside chatting (which one family did) and also use of the washing machine and tumble dryer. When the laundry use was cheap we had a number of people doing all their washing before going home. The final straw was the family who brought down a small handful of washing every single morning and put it in our large capacity washing machine. Now that it is more expensive, people do make sure they have a fairly full load before they use it.
It wasn't the cost I minded so much as the waste of electricity and resources now that we are putting more emphasis on being 'green'. (We have Al Gore's DVD in a prominent place for guests to borrow!)
However, we do charge for things which use a lot of energy and which are optional, specifically the sauna, to prevent people leaving it on all evening while they are sitting outside chatting (which one family did) and also use of the washing machine and tumble dryer. When the laundry use was cheap we had a number of people doing all their washing before going home. The final straw was the family who brought down a small handful of washing every single morning and put it in our large capacity washing machine. Now that it is more expensive, people do make sure they have a fairly full load before they use it.
It wasn't the cost I minded so much as the waste of electricity and resources now that we are putting more emphasis on being 'green'. (We have Al Gore's DVD in a prominent place for guests to borrow!)
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Giddy Goat
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- Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 7:38 am
- Location: UK
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Hi Margaret and welcome. It was nice to see an owner of a Bavarian property here. We have very good friends with a B&B near Fussen. A stunning area.margaret wrote: We don't ask for a security deposit and most guests come to us at the end of their stay to own up to breakages and ask what they owe. So, generally speaking, we don't have badly behaved guests, no more than 1 per year anyway.
My philiosophy is that the vast majority of people behave as they are treated.
I suspect I will be shot down in flames for this posting. But it is simply an explanation of what we do and we have the evidence of the success.
You have made some comments that have been much debated on LMH, so you were right in thinking that there are many who are pro the above statements and many who might be in disagreement! But you are only going by what you have found to be the case in Bavaria, which is fair enough. Can I ask how long you have been running the business, and what proportion of your guests are from Germany, and where others tend to come from?
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
We are up on the Czech border so not the usual idea of Bavaria!
Very few of our guests come from Bavaria - the proportion of German guests in total is under 25% and falling and they only come for the skiing, apart from one couple from Berlin! 50% are Brits, 10% are Americans, the rest are Australians, South Americans, Dutch.....
We started letting in May 2005.
Very few of our guests come from Bavaria - the proportion of German guests in total is under 25% and falling and they only come for the skiing, apart from one couple from Berlin! 50% are Brits, 10% are Americans, the rest are Australians, South Americans, Dutch.....
We started letting in May 2005.