"Is there anything that would make your holiday better? with - yes make it two weeks - this year they are back for two and their friends are in our second gite!"
That's a lovely reward for your hard work! Nice to know you've got it spot on !!!
I've just had an enquiry for 2 months : June & July 2006. The request seems genuine ("I will not be working in France but would like to vacation there for the two months referenced. My children at the time of travel will be 3,10, & 11. When I travel I prefer to stay long-term to truly get the cultural experience of a particular region. I rented a home in Costa Rica for a month and was offered the home again for two months next summer, but before I commit and make my deposit I wanted to be 100% that is where I want to stay. I am a good tenant, the house we stayed at is extremely modern and beautifully decorated and I received a full refund on my deposit, so not to worry about the children. (you can see the home on xxxxxxxxx) When calculating the rent, please let me know if there is a cash discount, as I would prefer to pay by cashier's check. If the rate is reasonable, I will have the total paid in full at least two months prior to my reservation date (Just so you know that I am serious!!) Please let me know at your earliest convenience, so I cancel my reservation in Central America. Thanks!!)
It seems a perfect enquiry, but I have turned it down.
Would anybody else have done this?
I don't like to turn away returning visitors, & tying up the property for 2 peak months would lead to just this.
Also, the expectations/demands/behaviour of long term holiday-makers are quite different from the short-stay person. They tend to think that they are doing the owner a favour when, in fact, the only "favour" is not having to do a turnover every fortnight. This idea of doing a favour is reflected in the usual request for a discount: this is not unreasonable in low season but hardly a bargaining point in high.
Any thoughts on this could be useful to others.
I think you did the right thing turning it down, it sounded a bit fishy to me. In any case, I'm sure you fill the houses no problem in those months anyway. One additional thing I find with longer term lets, is the amount of wear and tear on the property seems to increase too. When you clean a place every one or two weeks, the place is kept very clean and you are able to keep track of any maintenance required, but when people are there for longer, they make more mess, move more things about and break more things. I have had quite few long term lets and on a couple of occasions, I had to spend about 8 hours cleaning up after the tennants.
Actually that sounds a bit fishy to me... I think you're right.
Long-term on-season rentals are tricky because of the discount issue. For the on-season I wouldn't give any discounts, or very minimum discounts to account for slightly reduced wear and tear. But most people wouldn't like that.
In any case, I think this person gave a bit too much information. And I just saw the bit about the cashier's check -- definitely a scam!
A very fishy tale, I would have said no too, especially for those months.
In my situation a longer rental saves me no money at all, since a weekly clean is included in the rate. It does mean a little time saved chasing up payments and sending out directions, but that's only worth a few pounds/euros/dollars to me.
