Passing information to caretakers
- Giddy Goat
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Passing information to caretakers
Prompted by Fibi's thread on the phenomenon of creeping guest numbers, we are not on site, and rely on our cleaner - caretakers. As soon as I get any information relevant to a particular party, I forward it to them, and since we pay them good money, (a generous monthly sum, year round, plus extra per changeover) I expect them to keep a record of all this and to collate it.
I have just been asked for the information again for the remaining bookings. No mention of their having lost the emails, it's simply down to laziness on their part I expect. And their new baby.... they see me as sitting here with time on my hands, just counting the money as it rolls in..
I am really cross; it will be very time consuming to trawl through individual emails now, and I am wondering what other absentee owners do with regard to guest information. It does, as Fibi has said, have a habit of changing over time! We've just had an email this morning from a group of Aussies. First they were just 2 couples, then three, now someone's sister is tagging along. I had given them a discount initally of 5%.
It's not just the numbers which are prone to change over time either - it's details like mobile phone, where the cot's to be put, and decisions as to who wants the twin beds and who prefers doubles eg. So, owners' responsibilty to store this info and pass it on in one lump just prior to the group's arrival, or caretakers' ? If you are not on site, how do you relay it?
I have just been asked for the information again for the remaining bookings. No mention of their having lost the emails, it's simply down to laziness on their part I expect. And their new baby.... they see me as sitting here with time on my hands, just counting the money as it rolls in..
I am really cross; it will be very time consuming to trawl through individual emails now, and I am wondering what other absentee owners do with regard to guest information. It does, as Fibi has said, have a habit of changing over time! We've just had an email this morning from a group of Aussies. First they were just 2 couples, then three, now someone's sister is tagging along. I had given them a discount initally of 5%.
It's not just the numbers which are prone to change over time either - it's details like mobile phone, where the cot's to be put, and decisions as to who wants the twin beds and who prefers doubles eg. So, owners' responsibilty to store this info and pass it on in one lump just prior to the group's arrival, or caretakers' ? If you are not on site, how do you relay it?
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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Just go to google docs and you can have spreadsheets and text docs - since my last computer crash I have booking forms etc for the gites up there. You can share them easily.
http://docs.google.com
Jane you know what i think of your caretakers - this would be the final straw for me
http://docs.google.com
Jane you know what i think of your caretakers - this would be the final straw for me
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- Giddy Goat
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Helen, thank you for pointing people to this useful tool, and to Enid for the link. Happily I already had a Googlemail account, so have started to have a play. I may need to PM one of you two to ask for help though if I get stuck!
Do caretakers also need a googlemail account to access the document? It may sound a silly question to you, but it isn't to a goat of little brain.
Do caretakers also need a googlemail account to access the document? It may sound a silly question to you, but it isn't to a goat of little brain.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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- Mountain Goat
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We've used a Google Docs spreadsheet for our caretaker/manager, but it's a bit basic.
The vital info is basically dates, but punters' names and number of adults/kids/babies/special requirements is also there, plus a load of colour coding to make it easier to read (in theory).
Happy to swop layout ideas and/or our Google Spreadsheet - email address via PM?
MG
The vital info is basically dates, but punters' names and number of adults/kids/babies/special requirements is also there, plus a load of colour coding to make it easier to read (in theory).
Happy to swop layout ideas and/or our Google Spreadsheet - email address via PM?
MG
- Giddy Goat
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In our case Musetta, even if we had French cleaners, we'd still need a caretaker to manage the property and oversee operations since the property is quite large, with garden and pool to worry about also. So to run the business from a distance without an efficient communication system would be virtually impossible, or at best, very difficult: before computers I probably wouldn't have even contemplated trying to let! In MG's case he has three apartments which presents another set of complications. If we had French speaking caretakers I would struggle but could just get by I think with the language, but we'd still need email.
If I were hunting for a holiday home again, I'd approach it very differently. We bought our house because we loved it - it was over budget, so we had no choice but to let it. It's fun, but hard work, as we all know! The serious down side is that we count the cost of using it ourselves when the weather is nice!
If I were hunting for a holiday home again, I'd approach it very differently. We bought our house because we loved it - it was over budget, so we had no choice but to let it. It's fun, but hard work, as we all know! The serious down side is that we count the cost of using it ourselves when the weather is nice!
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be