What Would Make You Feel Welcome in a Holiday Cottage?

Lindyloo9653

We supply virtually everything as standard that has been mentioned in this thread; surely the days are over when you turn up at your rented holiday home and there is nothing to make a drink, and no loo roll?

Torry_Quine

Lindyloo9653 wrote: »

We supply virtually everything as standard that has been mentioned in this thread; surely the days are over when you turn up at your rented holiday home and there is nothing to make a drink, and no loo roll?

i agree and have always found that these things are present. Never take cleaning materials, toilet paper etc.

betoulle

as a holiday home owner in France for the last 8 years, our protocol is to provide everything a guest could need when arriving by air after the shops have closed, so virtually everything already mentioned including a packet of pasta & a pasta sauce so they can have some sort of evening meal. We do not however mention this in our information pack that we email to guests prior to arrival as we started receiving all sorts of bizzare requests .......it is always a welcome surpise for guests after a long journey & I think is one reason why we have such a high percentage of returning guests. An important factor though I think is always to leave new unopened bottles of oil, vinegar, coffee etc, as there is something slightly offputting in feeling you are using someones left overs...the guests should always feel they are the first people to stay, so clean cupboards are better than cupboards full of half used sticky bottles. Have stayed in gites myself where you open the cupboard to find old, used, sometimes date expired products - nothing more off putting as the owner may know who was there previously, but the guest doesn't.. Similarly, for us as owners there are some families whose left overs you definitely throw in the bin, others whose butter & left over coffee we are happy to finish off....
Learnt early on not to leave flowers due to allergies.

Tigsteroonie

Regarding the question of times, personally I would prefer a later arrival & departure time. During the course of the holiday, our breakfast times get later & later as we relax and sleep in more; having to get up early to breakfast, pack and leave by 10am then comes as a shock to the system! That extra hour, to a departure time of 11am, we would enjoy more than an extra hour on arrival.

Margaret_Millne

As a holiday home owner in Italy (white walls everywhere) I do find crayons a bit of an issue, as they always find their way onto the walls, and are impossible to get clean on a tight changeover. Coloured pencils are a better option, although they do still mark the walls.

Topcat2007

Hi. We run a Holiday Home in Hampshire. The question of providing wifi comes up quite often. The problem is that guests do not want to pay extra for it & therefore the question of usage becomes a thorny one. One family with a teenager who leaves a laptop connected 24/7 & does downloading can use in 1 week a whole month's usage allowance. The parents would probably be unaware but would not be pleased to be presented with a bill for excessive usage at the end of their stay. Also the provider is responsible for anything that is downloaded therefore potentially causing more problems. I sympathise with those wanting wifi (I am bereft without my laptop) but this is a minefield for any holiday home owner.

Otherwise this is a very interesting thread, we provide 99% of the suggestions made so far but it does show how guests expectations have risen recently, wanting 'hotel' type provisions like toiletries. Don't get me wrong, I supply just about everything I think a guest would need & what I would hope to find myself but sometimes guests need to remember that this is a 'self-catering' holiday. We have had a comment from guests who paid £350.00 for 5 guests for 7 nights in the winter, when they would be using the heating/hot water to the max, that there wasn't a box of tissues in the bedrooms. I still think they got good value for their money though don't you?

Gloomendoom

Perhaps an extra wifi deposit could be charged to cover the problem of excessive usage.

I find internet access extremely useful when on holiday for researching days out etc.

Topcat2007

Yes, that's a possibility, will think on that one. I suppose it would make parents more vigilant of their children's usage. Thankyou.

artichoke

lagoslife wrote: »

This is a great tip and one I hadn't thought of. Thanks.

hi

why not also give details of any local food suppliers who also deliver eg if in cornwall you could have a delivery from The Cornish Food Box, and many other parts of the country have websites selling all local food ..

art

apexblue

Where would you look for a UK holiday cottage. Online or Offline?