What should I do?

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latinguybenz24
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:25 am
Location: kissimmee

What should I do?

Post by latinguybenz24 »

I'm new to the business, but so far I have been doing great. Here is my question:

I made a booking from a skotish family for christmas and new years, but I have to go on an emergency trip to Ecuador for the whole month of Dec. I do not want to leave my home under the hands of a management company, I don't trust them! Please let me know what I should do, thanks. I just do not want bad press or them calling the listing site and complaint about me. :roll: :(
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paolo
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Location: Provence, France
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Post by paolo »

latinguybenz24 sent me a PM about this and I suggested he post to get other people's view on this - just to fill in on the situation:

He has to go away unexpectedly but has taken a deposit on a Christmas booking, which is when he will be away. He wants to cancel the booking because he doesn't want to take on a management agency during his absence as they are too expensive and he doesn't trust them. But he doesn't want the people who booked to complain about him to the listing site where they saw his ad. What would you do?
Paolo
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Alan Knighting
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Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France

Post by Alan Knighting »

In an emergency I would have to cancel the booking and return the deposit. BUT, I would find out if any of my friendly neighbours had a vacancy and I would offer the visitors the alternative if I found one.

Alan
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

Why not contact the people who have booked and explain the situation? Then you can give them the option of cancelling their booking if they wish (with a full refund), or continuing with their booking. In their shoes, I would appreciate the warning, but I wouldn't cancel. After all, if I was going to Kissimmee, I wouldn't care whether the owner was there or not (no offence :lol: !) as I would be at the theme parks most of the time anyway!

Good Luck, whatever you decide to do!
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debk
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Post by debk »

I would hate to cancel a renter's reservation. It definitely makes the owner look bad, not to mention creating another "horror story" about VRBOs. With so many TripAdvisor-type sites out there, it's easy to spread negative feedback about your place. Best to work hard to avoid it in the first place.

Also, the guest has much more at stake than just their money. They would now be at a huge disadvantage because they have to find a new place after everyone else has snapped up the good ones. I would be extremely frustrated to have my reservation cancelled, especially if I found out the problem was as simple (eg, inevitable) as the owner being called out of town.

Instead, I agree with CatherineS. Explain to your guest that you have an emergency and must be out of the country during their visit. Then offer the option of a refund -or- a self-service checkin/checkout: mail them the keys and a map. Explain exactly when you will return their deposit, eg, after you return to the States. Provide a local contact number, someone who will call you if there is a problem. That's it.

In the unlikely chance of any problems, the guest would call your local contact. And your local contact would then call you. Take your Preferred Contractor List with you to Ecuador and, if necessary, you can coordinate from there. (We've coordinated emergency repairs from the other side of the world. It's a bit of a headache due to timezones and phoneconnections but it's really not any different than calling/coordinating from home.)

In the meantime, I'd work to make your property as foolproof as possible. Most importantly, that means finding someone who is responsible enough to serve as a local contact: someone who will take a call and forward the information immediately to you. Then focus on little things like full instructions for the appliances, installing a very simple lockbox outside with an extra key in it, neighborhood information, leaving extra blankets, sheets, lightbulbs, whatever.

This probably won't be the last time an emergency keeps you from handling things the normal way. At Christmas, you'll have a good opportunity to test how it goes... while being paid at the same time. :)

Good luck!
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tansy
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Location: La Manche, Normandy, France

Post by tansy »

sorry I don't understand why he has to cancel...we have gone to a wedding in UK with the houses let out...we had local person on stand by in case of emergency with full list of plumbers/electricians/friendly folk to help...so why can't he do that?
fee
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Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:37 pm
Location: Florida
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Post by fee »

In Florida you have to have 24 cover in case of emergencies - this is part of the STR licence.

If you are concerned about your management company why don't you switch? There are hundreds of companies, and there are SOME good ones! Or you could just have a caretaker oversee things for that time if you normally handle everything yourself.

Do you belong to the top-forums - this is a forum specifically for florida owners and there is tons of advice on there.

However if you still don't wish to go ahead with the booking I would be honest and tell them why and see if you can find them another place to stay at so you are seen to be helping them!
janny
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Post by janny »

Do you not have a management company at all ? in which case you really have little choice but to try and find another home for them.As Fee says there are good companies around that will do the pool ,lawn and other small jobs for you -they are not all bad .For what they do for you the expense is not that great but if you live in the area then I can see why you would want to do things for yourself but at times like this when it could mean you losing a booking they are worth it.
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