Treating guests like at home

[konrad]

Here is how we make th effort to make our cottage a home from home. In season we cut flowers from the garden and arrange them on the mantelpiece. Thats the first thing they see. All things like toilet paper, kitchen roll, detergent, handsoap is supplied. We buy in bulk and provide as required.. In the kitchen every changeover we put milk, butter, local cheese, tea, sugar cubes and so on.

We make sure the cottage is completely clean, all windows are invisible they are so clean. It takes longer to really clean and two of us take 5 hours but we think the first impression is important and we get maybe half our bookings from previous guests. That is great because then you spend less money trying to find the other half (marketing cost).

We don't interfere with guests but we tell them we are there if they need us for any little thing, nothing too small. I think they like this personal touch.

[John Borg]

I have found that "little things" make a big difference. A small complimentary grocery pack, inexpensive, but much appreciated. A small letter of introduction, welcoming our guests to our "home' and small things like a 5 day weather forecast go a long way in breaking the ice between guests and hosts. A small sample of our local cuisine every now and then also works miracles. It's these little things that makes the difference. I think it works because our bookings prove it.
You also must be able to amount of hospitality that your guests need. Some people require maximum privacy and better be left alone, whilst others are more receptive to the added "personal touch".

[Sue Dyer]

I agree with the personal touch. I always leave plenty of foam bath in the bathroom - it's appreciate and it makes the bath easier to clean too.
I leave cream eggs on the pillows at Easter, bottle of wine at New Year - costs so little but guests are knocked out and recommend to friends.

[Stephen]

For our Villa in Orlando I get the management company to leave a complimentary welcome pack($20) which consists of bread/milk/butter/coffee/cereal/cookies/pop/chrisps...something
to keep them going after the long flight, plus the usuall toilet/kitchen roll soaps etc.. I also give them a $10 phone card
which they can use from the villa to ring the UK (lasts for about 6 hours !!!yes 6 hours...very cheap)

For our holiday home in Northumberland which we look after ourselves we supply the toilet(3 toilets)/kitchen roll but not soaps (anyone know where to buy them little soap bars in North East England) we also leave two bottles of wine(Jacobs Creek 1 red 1 white)well the nearest pub is 4 miles away...+ a bunch of flowers from the Tesco Express garage(£2)cheap I know but it's the thought that counts....I very rarely meet the guest's, unless they are from overseas in which case I put a welcome pack on for them and show them around and answer any questions they may have(we live 40 miles from our holiday home)

I do make a point of ringing the guest's on the night of their arrival to see if they have any questions etc...

I think people like to be left alone to enjoy their break, I know I would..

Stephen

[Chris Radford]

You can buy lttle soaps and all those things you see in hotels from this mail order company who specialise in hospitality stuff

http://www.outofeden.co.uk/

We have migrated to leaving liquid soap dispensers which are filled from a huge carton we buy from them.

Chris

[Stephen]

Thanks Chris
Hey this is a great forum !! I'm learning new stuff all the time.

Thanks everyone it's much appreciated.

Stephen

[musicmonkey]

Do other people do what Konrad does and supply toilet rolls, soap, detergent, etc.? We do too, but just enough to get the guests started. We have never stayed anywhere that supplied and re-supplied should the item run out during the stay.

Of course, since we expect the guests to leave the place as clean as when they arrived, all cleaning materials are provided.

[John Borg]

We do the same as most, that is supply toilet rolls, small soap, etc, just to get them started. Being self catering, they know that they must provide their own. We also supply a "starter pack" on arrival consisting of a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, orange juice, milk and butter, on a complimentary basis, just to get them started. It dosn't cost much, but our guests appreciate the gesture.
As for cleaning materials, if they are supplied or not dosn't make much difference regarding final cleaning. It depends on the individual. You can spot a house-proud person a mile away.

[tansy]

I gave up with welcome packs and concentrated on cleaning materials - fosse septique!!

I leave everything, even dishwasher tablets - I draw the line at washing powder though !! But loo rolls, kitchen towels (enough to start them off - not a whole weeks supply), but everyting else is there....then we do a full end of stay clean - because I would always have to re do it any way so I've hired on a team of cleaners who arrive at 10 am & have the house turned around for mid day to suit the fast ferries in the summer.

I try to leave fresh flowers each week & Easter/Christmas the place is decorated out to reflect - at Christmas I even leave Christmas tea towels, apron & table cloths...the place is done out with a present under the tree fo any children staying...or an Easter Egg

But welcome packs I stopped a year ago - never got one thank you - I used to leave at least a dozen eggs from my hens, camembert cheese, bread, wine, milk, butter, orange juice & croissants - when I got a couple of emails demanding to know what was in the packs (I mentioned in the advertisement - a wecome pack on arrival!), I thought hang that for a game!! So it has been dropped from the ad - if I have some Americans arriving straight from Paris Charles de Gaulle then I will take a view to help them out.

I have even been requested by one lady coming from the UK to do virtually all her weeks shopping before they arrived...I did say no funnily enough!

We leave liquid soap as the containers can be easily refilled...I think the little bars look terrible when used so many are thrown out....I can't bear waste!

[musicmonkey]

Wow! What a fast response, thank you. I am glad to have the reassurance that I am not completely out of line here. Our French neighbour/caretaker seems to think that we should provide everything, but as we are only providing self-catering facilities I feel that as long as people have a little of everything to start with (maybe with the exception of dishwasher tablets and cleaning products that we supply) they should have no cause for complaint.

[Tom]

We tend to leave a basic supply and store all of our stock of toilet paper, detergent, etc. in the basement, but not locked. But we don;t tell them about it. That way if they are really desperate they will find it, if it isn;t an emergency however they will make it to the shop to buy their own. It has worked well so far, except the time one couple got through an entire pack of dishwasher powder in a week! Plates were clean though

[Lindacamp]

Hello

I have read all the messages with some interest. I am new to this forum but not new to renting, having run a corporate relocation business in London and now a small portfoilio of hoiday cottages in Gloucestershire.

I think it is essential to make people feel welcome as soon as they arrive. I totally approve of leaving flowers etc: we always leave the cottage stocked with all the essentials and a bottle of wine, cake and a card. James [my husband] calls people upon arrival to check that they can find things etc.

It is personal but not intrusive and means that, if there are any shortcomings, we know about them as soon as possible and can deal with any gripes.

We have people on their 4th and 5th visit after only 3 years.

[DivineMrsM]

We do the flower thing too. Also, we leave a welcome basket of basics, a fresh baguette and wine, along with all the cleaning and loo roll type stuff. Each en suite bathroom has an Evian cooling spray, Marseille liquid soap, Citronella spray in a fancy bottle, shower gel etc. This is my sister's doing (it's her property). I'm not sure I would go that far myself, but it certainly makes the guests feel special. We also have lightweight dressing gowns in all the rooms. Hey - they were £4 each from Primark... . We also provide pool towels.

If there are children in the group then she also leaves Kiddie Champagne. It's just sparkling apple juice but packaged like champers and the kids love it. If there are babies then she sometimes puts in a jar or two of baby food.

On the subject of cleaning, I once stayed somewhere where it was worded that they expected the property to be left as clean as when we arrived. I have to be honest that it completely spoiled the weekend for me to have to spend 2 hours at the end hoovering and scrubbing when it was very likely that the owners would be cleaning again anyway.

We expect to spend 6 hours cleaning and preparing the house on changeover day (my sis and husband do it all themselves) so I don't see the point in expecting the guests to do much before they leave.

The only thing we do ask is that they empty the cupboards (apart from basics and staples like herbs or sugar) and the fridge/freezer. We ask them to put what they don't want into a box then we deal with it. My sister doesn't like to leave the cupboards with half eaten packets of cornflakes etc.

[paolo]

Some really good tips there from the Divine One.

The benefit to supplying soap, shower gel, etc. in liquid form is that you can just top up the dispenser at each changeover and they look new - no waste, unlike solid bars of soap which you have to get rid of (please don't say you leave previous guests' soap behind! ).

I really like the kiddie champagne idea, and leaving two jars of baby food - that can be a lifesaver when you arrive at feeding time and find that silly old mummy forgot to pack any.

I agree that it's a bit much to ask that the property should be left as clean as you found it. Unless that is factored into the price of course. I used to leave properties pretty clean when I was unencumbered by children, as a token of my appreciation. But it just isn't possible on departure day to get the kids organised, clean the whole house, and leave by 10.

As an owner, I occasionally get guests who leave the house CLEANER than they found it, and that is really saying something. My cleaner loves them - she can just spend her Saturday watching the sheets go round in the washing machine.

One couple, and this will make you gasp, left at 9 a.m. having laundered and ironed their sheets!

[la vache!]

I always include bed linen and towels in the rental, also cleaning stuff (I don't bother with a food welcome pack for the same reasons as already stated, unless guests arrive really late). However, my (rather pathetic) bugbear is teatowels - I provide 2 per week (even though there are dishwashers) and there are always unremoveable stains on them so they usually only good for my cleaning box after 1 weeks use, which can end up working out quite expensive! Does anyone else supply them, and any tips on getting out the stains???