The delights of renting (Part 1)

[MartynE]

Conversation with an apartment guest this morning...

Guest "our air con unit leaked water last night"

Me "sorry about that"

Guest "all our towels are wet now because we put them on the floor to soak it up"

Me "ok we will replace your towels. The leak was probably caused by condensation. Did you run the air con with the windows open last night?"

Guest "yes"

Me "ah, that's why then. Did you see that notice on the wall right by the aircon remote control? It says not to leave windows open when the air con is on, as it won't work properly especially when the outside humidity is high"

Guest "yes, we saw that. Can you make sure it doesn't happen again please?"

Me "no, but you can"

Jeez.

Linkback: https://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php?topic=11494.0

[kalkan4eva]

oooooh Martyn haven't you heard? The customer is always right

Why would anyone have the aircon on and open the windows...?

[MartynE]

oooooh Martyn haven't you heard? The customer is always right

Why would anyone have the aircon on and open the windows...?

No comment

[Chris S]

For the same reason they prize the electrical key card off the key ring, switch on all the air-con units and go out for the day!!

[MartynE]

Exactly. Obviously the same people. No regard for the planet, clearly....

I wonder if they realise each aircon unit consumes the same power as a two-bar electric fire... would they go out and leave three of those on in their house all day? Totally selfish and irresponsible 

[kalkan4eva]

sadly there is a mentality amongst some people that if they are renting somewhere they need to get "their money's worth" That means leaving the aircon on all day whislt they're out so its cool the minute they walk through the door....even though it takes seconds to kick in  ::)We've spoken to people who do this and I've asked the question, if you were paying for the electric would you still do the same? and their answer is, without exception and unsurprisingly, "no".
So perhaps that's your answer, owners, install electric coin meters if the key fob doesn't work.
I don't know how people can be so irresponsible and selfish...really, I don't.

[Blue Lizard]

Why not if they try to book again refuse the booking?

[MartynE]

Why not if they try to book again refuse the booking?

Already have!

[Christina]

For the same reason they prize the electrical key card off the key ring, switch on all the air-con units and go out for the day!!

It's my first season renting out my apartment, and following advice from other owners, I've had one of the energy saving systems installed. Time will tell if this little wheeze works but I have put the door key and electrical card on the strongest keyring I could find, and had it welded together so that neither can be removed from the ring and used independently. I also installed a key safe outside the front door which has been useful in situations where guests claim they need a second key/card to give them the flexibility of members of the party returning to the apartment at different times. (Providing a second key/card would of course render the whole system pointless).

[Chris S]

Hi Christina,
You have adopted the system I already have in place.  Unfortunately, a small minority of renters seem to regard this as a challenge and literally jemmy the key ring apart (wrecking the key ring in the process).
It seems this is just an integral part of renting out a property  .
Just yesterday, a twin curtain rail was found ripped off the wall by my villa manager.  The guests in residence denied all knowledge, so obviously it must have been the gremlins.
It is a source of some amazement and sad amusement to me what people will do and say to avoid their responsibilities when renting a property. 

[Chris S]

I obviously have some real rogue guests in residence at the moment.  My villa manager has just informed me (complete with pictures) that they put the hose in the pool, turned it on and went out.  As a result, the the reservoir tank has overflowed into the depot/pool room, flooding it to a depth of some 150 mm and diluting the chemicals in the pool severely, not to mention the waste of a considerable amount of water.
Any suggestions as to what I should do now.  I am worried that if I lodge my concerns, they have the potential to cause complete mayhem based on their performance to date and I don't think it is fair to expect my Turkish manager to challenge them.
By contrast, many of my guests have been great.  The essence of renting is based on trust.  The guest trusts you, as the owner, to the extent that they pay the rent and hope the villa is there and as advertised.  The villa /apartment owner trusts guests with their pride and joy, hoping they will not trash the place.
 

[kalkanbabe]

Can't understand the mentality of some people, you'd have to go some to wrench a curtain pole off the wall!
If I was lucky enough to own a villa/apartment I don't think I could bear to let it out (other than family/friends).

[Chris S]

Apparently, the pool pump and the emergency water pump were just saved from water damage, which would have been very costly and deprived the guests of use of a clean pool or emergency water in the event of an emergency.
What were they thinking of???

[kalkanbelle]

Chris S  Probably best to take note and photos of all the damage they have done and present them with the bill for repairs when they get back.  Obviously they will not pay up but at least you have the right to retain their damage deposit and let them know they will not be welcome again.   

[Chris S]

Hi Kalkanbelle,
I have not taken a damage deposit so far (4 years) as I have tried to rely on good faith, etc..
To date, there have not been too many difficulties and guests have been very good on balance.
Perhaps I am naive and will have to alter my approach but I am always conscious of the minority spoiling things for the many, and tend to resist the temptation to react to these isolated incidents.
As such, I suppose it is my own fault and shouldn't complain, but it helps my psyche to vent my spleen now and again.
I apologise to the forum in this respect.

[Cosetta]

We tended not to take a damage deposit but after a few incidents, one very costly, now I insist it be paid together with the balance before the guests arrive.  For the AC costs, raise the rent enough to cover the cost of running your ACs all day.  I did and it worked even better than I expected.  It did not cause a loss of a single rental.

[Helshe]

As a 'renter' I am amazed at some of the reports on here about how guests treat your properties, I am always so worried about causing any trouble/damage when I am renting. I treat the places probably better than I do my own home!! I hope that the good out weighs the bad for all of you and that what I hope is few bad eggs do not ruin it for the rest of us who do have a sense of responsibility and actually common courtesy and manners.

[headroom]

I'm sure that the majority of our guests have enjoyed and respected our villa however I am glad that I cannot be a fly on the wall to witness them, it would break our heart to see the few who simply don't care, such as the ones who spilled nail varnish on our newly laid travertine pool terrace (in two places), the one who somehow managed to burst a canvas beanbag chair, the one who badly scratched the coffee table top, the ones who didn't bother to put the (supplied) pool towels on the sunbed cushions therefore staining them with oil.
  Accidents do happen and A/C is sometimes gets used a little too casually, this we have to accept, we should remember there is expenditure as well as income, it's a business like any other but I have always believed  fair play should be a two way street, we do our best to provide the dream holiday experience, sadly it is not always appreciated.

[Lynne T]

We were told that the electric meter is read before and after our stay and if it was felt we had over used then we would be charged . This was in the villa information . It made us think .
Lynne T

[MartynE]

Teenage girls are the worst.

Nail varnish everywhere, blobs of mascara (or whatever they use) and lipgloss over towels, yellow stains from p20 all over sheets.. these we expect. However we are now very reluctant to have any single sex groups since our last incident.

A couple of airhead girls put some eggs in a saucepan, obviously intending to have boiled eggs for breakfast. Then, no doubt in an alcoholic daze from the previous nights antics (judging by the empty vodka bottles) they forgot all about breakfast and went down to sleep off their hangovers by the pool.

Luckily our cleaner was going in that day. She found the kitchen cupboard soaked with boiled-over water from the egg pan, and the (by now rather hard boiled) eggs were smoking in the dry pan and would have set the smoke alarm off if the girls hadn't taken the battery out the previous day when they burnt their toast. Another few seconds and we would have had a fire on our hands.

They did give us a nice review on trip advisor though...