Cleaning puzzle

[Artois]

Why do the guests opting for our end of stay clean leave the place far cleaner than those who choose to do it themselves?

I just wish we had more people opting for the end of stay clean instead of the latter, as we find the hours spent cleaning is increasing year on year.

[Thebiga]

Some people's thought of leaving things clean is never in line with ours. We have never ever had a property left in the condition as when we hand the keys over. We end up cleaning endless glasses etc which they think are clean!! We may as well not put in out terms and conditions about leaving it as found. Someone enquired the other day about renting a property and then they came back and said they didn't want to book because of our srtictness on the cleaning and handover! They were allergic to cleaning I think..  

[tenniswitch]

[quote user="Artois"]

Why do the guests opting for our end of stay clean leave the place far cleaner than those who choose to do it themselves?

I just wish we had more people opting for the end of stay clean instead of the latter, as we find the hours spent cleaning is increasing year on year.

[/quote]

Must be similar to the phenomenon of cleaning one's home before the cleaning woman arrives.

[Owens88]

We once stayed in a spanish apartment (NOT GOOD NICK BUT WONDERFUL SETTING) and saw a French family spend half a day cleaning on departure. Now to mop the floors effectively means evacuating - like do that with small kids !

 

Our handle on things is that we expect our renters to respect the place,; empty the bins, sweep up during the week, empty the dishwasher and leave the kitchen clean etc.

We include a standard cleaning charge as we reckon it is damn nigh impossible to have a family in tow and leave the place as clean as others should find it. These are holiday lets after all.

John

[Artois]

We thoroughly clean the bathroom and wipe over the surfaces in the kitchen between guests. We pull out the furniture to dust and sweep, to wash the floors, clean windows and would not expect clients to do that.

We do however expect our clients to leave the hob, oven and sink as found, to wipe out the fridge in the case of any spills, to clean the barbeque if used, clear up crumbs from the floor and surfaces, clean up any spills from the floors, empty the bins, empty the dishwasher and leave the crockery and cutlery clean and ready for use by the next guests.

Maybe our expectations are too high??

Our end of stay cleaning offer is rarely taken up. We have a few lines in our guest welcome folder outlining roughly what we expect of our guests on leaving the property in the hope of avoiding any confusion.

Maybe we need a clause stating that in not taking up our end of stay cleaning offer, the guests undertake to ....but that of course is already mentioned in the contract.

[Callie]

We ask our guests to leave the place as they found it.  We also state in our T&Cs that the changeover clean is included in the price.  We also warn that an extra charge will be made if warranted (we have never yet deducted anything, though we once came close....)

In the end it all balances out with most people leaving the houseclean and tidy.  It doesn't stop me redoing the bathroom etc !  (pulling the shower runaway out and removing hair - no-one EVER does it !)

[Just Katie]

I stayed at a gite once and left it how I considered clean, I stripped the beds and left the linen on top of each bed, I cleaned all the dishes and put them away and I wiped around the surfaces.  The only thing I did not do, because I did not have time was to vacuum and mop.  You should have heard the complaints I had from that.

I know this gite owner employs cleaners and includes this service in the price.  It would have literally taken half an hour to put clean linen on beds, mop through and do all that fancy stuff they insist on doing with loo roll.

So what did I end up paying for?  When I go to a hotel room, I leave my room clean but I am not expected to vacuum through.

Needless to say, I never went back.  [:@]

 

 

[Cerise]

Well said Katie.   When I'm on holiday I'm on holiday.  I would leave the place cleanish and tidy but wouldn't expect to do spring cleaning.  Probably that's why I never rent gites - I'm too lazy and I don't want to get the hoover out.  Strangely gites always seem to work out expensive, especially if you are only two so think I'd rather have the housework done for me.

[Claire]

We don't put any thing in our arrivals letter about cleaning as we expect to do it ourselves.  However, we have been pleasantly surprised that most guest leave the gite in a very acceptable state, beds stripped and laundry either left by the door or folded neatly on the chairs, fridge and cooker clean and mostly crockery washed and put away. We always do a deep clean for our next guests anyway but it gives me a lift when I walk in and I think "this isn't too bad". 

[Richard T]

[quote user="Cerise"] Strangely gites always seem to work out expensive, especially if you are only two ...[/quote]

If you're only two I'd get your mum and dad to pay if I were you - much cheaper!

Richard T [:)]

[Richard T]

[quote user="Claire"]We don't put any thing in our arrivals letter about cleaning as we expect to do it ourselves.  However, we have been pleasantly surprised that most guest leave the gite in a very acceptable state.... [/quote]

That's probably because they perceive a sense of mutual trust. Personally, if I was asked to sign a contract which required me to clean I'd do the barest minimum I could get away with.

Although it's been many years since I regularly stayed in gites I can never recall ever being requested to clean, let alone sign a contract (perhaps because the owners were always French) but always left the place as clean as possible simply because it felt the right thing to do.

Richard T

[Cerise]

Richard T - my mum says I'm too messy and they'd probably get a complaint, so she won't pay![:D]

[Artois]

Our contract does not state we require guests to do any cleaning but just to leave it in a clean and tidy state on departure which is in line with mutual respect. It does state that cleaning is included but that if it is left an unacceptable state we reserve the right to charge an additional fee. It is a standard holiday letting contract.We don't leave mops or vacuum cleaners as we expect to do it ourselves. We expect to spend 4 or 5 hours cleaning our 6 person gite. What we don't expect to do is spend hours cleaning the oven and hob, rewashing all the crockery cutlery and pans and scraping dried food off the floor with a scraper. In our first few years of letting we had no problems but sadly things are changing. We do also only have 6 hours changeover time between guests. Twice this year we have had to explain to newly arrived guests that they will have to bare with us whilst we take the cutlery, pans etc into our house to wash them before returning them to the gite as we have been unable to complete the changeover in time. We find this unacceptable.

 

We have had no problems with anyone objecting to signing the contract, in fact a contract is to protect both parties and guarantees them the right to a clean and tidy property on arrival. I would be wary of staying anywhere where that was not in place.We think our own contract is fair but appreciate it could be open to abuse, there are unfortunately unscrupulous owners out there who take advantage and give us all a bad name.

 

[Callie]

Artois - Here, here.  You take the words out of my mouth !

We certainly don't expect our guests to do a spring clean, but we do expect them to have left the crockery and oven clean.   I also agree with those who don't want to clean if they're on holiday, after all, that's what it is - a holiday !  Yet it is often these people who insist on a washing machine - which for one week surprises me ! !

But, for example, in my own home clean the shower or bath after use, and wipe down the oven.  So this would be second nature if I were renting a gite.  And, before anyone asks, I'm not a fanatic, just old habits die hard.

I am always thrilled to go into the gite and find the guests have stripped the beds ! [:D]

[Babbles]

I would nearly always leave it clean and tidy but not a full on spring clean but I made an exception with the last gite I stayed in, if it hadn't been August I would not have stayed, the china was chipped and dirty and the loo wouldn't flush [+o(] also when decorations are 30 years old its hard to get them clean. I believe that most people will look after things if they are a decent standard to start with. I was on a house hunting trip and when I phoned moh we referred to it as the Bail Hostel, so when I came to leave I just walked out of the door and didn't even empty the fridge or do the washing up, they do not do gite owners any favours and it would certainly put people of the area.

[oscar]

[quote user="Miss Babs"] I believe that most people will look after things if they are a decent standard to start with. [/quote]

When we rented our gite it was from the UK so had to pay local people to clean.  We had fitted it to a high standard, charged top-end prices and included cleaning in the price of the hire.  Our cleaners said that ours was the nicest gite they looked after (3 others, with different turn-round days) and that ours always took the least time to clean because it had always been left in a much cleaner and tidier state than the others.

[Dan Chase]

We`ve been renting one or two gites per year for the last 11 years and have been noticed a distinct increase in the cleaning clauses in the rental contract.  We do like to leave the places clean and tidy and would have always mop and clean as we have no kids. 

More shocking is the state of some of the gites on arrival - many a sticky floor, dirty fridge, smelly bathroom etc.  I wonder if some gite owners are cutting corners by not doing any cleaning at all unless really bad?

PS - I have always paid the extra for linen - usually around 15 euros per room - why is it the dirty gites leave them in piles on the bed - or worse on sofa - so when you arrive at 10.00 at night after a tough drive to the south, you really feal like your moneys worth as you start making the bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cleaning is included in all rental prices - with a surcharge if additional is required - if your charging £1500+ per week then do the cleaning properly!

PPS - Cleanest property I ever stayed in had a cleaning maid go through the place every 3 days - fantastic and made us feel like royalty. 

[LisaJ]

I always leave all cleaning materials, plus hoover and mop. It used to drive me mad when we rented gites and you had to go out and buy cleaning materials as soon as you arrived. Everyone has left our gite very clean thus far, but we do a deep clean and make up the beds. In our gite details, we ask people to leave the place clean, empty rubbish and leave used linen and towels in a heap. (I added this after I found towels that had been folded up and put back even though they weren't clean.)

regards

L

[Artois]

Our guests who departed this morning had stripped the beds and left the house immaculate. It is such a joy to walk in and found it left like that. I have just emailed them to express my appreciation. They even offered to pay for a chopping board they had accidentally melted but we refused as we accept that accidents happen.

Our last guests left rings on the tables, pulled down a curtain rail and the plaster with it, left permanent stains on the bedcovers, left pieces of games all over the house, left candle wax on the furniture, picked the flowers from the hanging baskets, burnt out the kettle, left greasy pans and dirty crockery. It took us an extra 2 hours to clean the kitchen and half an hour to clean the frying pan. The toilet was blocked despite the normal advice on septic tank etiquette. the tiles were chipped and the staircase and wooden floors scratched. It is very disheartening and too many like them and it makes the gite business unviable. You want it to be nice for the next set of guests.

The next problem is when to retain some of the security deposit.When we started we naively thought taking a deposit was adequate enough as a deterrent. We have found this not to be so. We would never charge for breakages crockery glasses and in previous years have only with held money for a broken window and a burnt out wood burning stove (although what is £100 pounds when it cost 900 euros to replace). This year we have charged  3 lots of guests for damage and excess cleaning and surprisingly enough not one has raised an objection; We don't like doing it and it is only a last resort and we are very careful to justify our decision.

 

 

 

[oscar]

[quote user="Artois"]

Our last guests left rings on the tables, pulled down a curtain rail and the plaster with it, left permanent stains on the bedcovers, left pieces of games all over the house, left candle wax on the furniture, picked the flowers from the hanging baskets, burnt out the kettle, left greasy pans and dirty crockery. It took us an extra 2 hours to clean the kitchen and half an hour to clean the frying pan. The toilet was blocked despite the normal advice on septic tank etiquette. the tiles were chipped and the staircase and wooden floors scratched. It is very disheartening and too many like them and it makes the gite business unviable. You want it to be nice for the next set of guests.

[/quote]

I hope you charged this lot!!!!

[Thebiga]

We don't take a damage deposit as in three years we have never had any major damage apart from the odd broken plate or glass that has been it. Our first guests of the season did put something hot in the middle of a brand new wooden dining table and we now have a nice white ring on it.... What really gets me are the people who don't tell you that somethings gone wrong or broken and its not until we clean for the incoming guests that we find it. sometimes it can be really hard to go out and source something and fix it as well as cleaning. We are noe having to carry so many spares its a bit silly. Toilet inserts for the cisterns,toilet seats,shower hoses,spare kettle,toaster etc it goes on.

We do have it in all the gite info to tell us as soon as possible if something does not work or gets broken. Its much better than finding a note on sunday when they have left saying the microwave does not work but we didn't use it anyway! so how do they know it didn't work or did they do something to break it...

[Tarn1]

Katie, if you come to us you will probably end up having the cleaning charge imposed.

We state clearly that the gite should be left as found. It isn't an hotel, it's a gite. We don't charge hotel prices so don't expect it to be left in a mess. We expect to clean around, but not to carry out a deep clean between guests.

One booking this year: bought and used bleach to try to get a pen mark out of the side of the settee that their child had made. The settee now has a bleached white (on red) skid mark on it. The child liked oranges. Getting fresh orange out of bed sheets is less easy than you'd think. As is getting hair dye out of bed sheets, pillow cases and towels. Cleaning the dried on orange juice out of the bedside cabinet drawer wasn't nice. Getting the felt-tip out of the table cloth wasn't too difficult though.

The used needles left around after diabetes testing weren't very nice either. The bathroom looked like they had had a bun fight in it. All the pots, pans and cutlery needed washing again. In short, the place was a tip. And they broke plates and glasses.

We didn't charge them a bean. More fool us! It took two of us six hours, in August heat, to get it ready for the next guests who;

Spilt red wine on the bedclothes, stained the floor (wine again) walls (wine again) doors (tomato juice/pips?!) Gouged holes in the walls, moving furniture from room to room, etc.etc. (I'm boring myself now...). This time we imposed the full cleaning charge, which they accepted without question. It took us four hours to clean it.

Then there are the others. Five lots left it as they found it, which (hopefully) goes to show that there are more clean people than those who choose to live like pigs.

Rant over, Season over (nearly!)

Tom

[Just Katie]

Tom,

As I said, the gite was spotless, the beds stripped and linen piled, no bleach marks, needles or  residues from bun fights etc.  Only the kitchen needed a little mop through which, I (personally) consider to be light cleaning between guests.  Should you have decided to ask for a cleaning charge for that, after me paying a rental fee of 1000 euro per week, I would have gladly given it to you and wished you  the very best of luck. [:)]

 

[Tarn1]

[quote user="Just Katie"]

Tom,

As I said, the gite was spotless, the beds stripped and linen piled, no bleach marks, needles or  residues from bun fights etc.  Only the kitchen needed a little mop through which, I (personally) consider to be light cleaning between guests.  Should you have decided to ask for a cleaning charge for that, after me paying a rental fee of 1000 euro per week, I would have gladly given it to you and wished you  the very best of luck. [:)]

 

[/quote]

Apologies Katie,  you caught me after a bad day! Point taken, mopping the kitchen floor isn't exactly deep-cleaning.

If you're paying 1000 euro a week you can come here whenever you like :-)

Tom

[jon]

After ready your posts I realise that Gites are possibly more unpleasant than Chambre d hote.You can, in a way choose your clients.I will  next season specify that the only drinks allowed in the rooms are bottle of mineral water....and no food.If people wish to snack there are many places with tables and fruits to pick in season.....I will be happy to wash fruits for the clients.So far everyone has been very respectfull......Clients...that is.