Lori Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced this. It has not happened often, but my current guests have moved the furniture around quite a bit. I go down to do the housekeeping on the weekends and I noticed the changes. I don't really know why and some of the movements are odd to me. By example, we have a large dining room buffet against a wall. It was moved out by about 10 centimeters. There no electrical outlets - or anything else - behind the buffet. The dining room is quite large. The buffet is positioned in the most convenient place to the large farm table and chairs. I pushed the buffet back into place - it is HEAVY ! and I am on my own.Next, I went to the bathroom where there is a double sink vanity below a large mirror. It too is a heavy piece of furniture and positioned just so for plumbing that arrives and departs from the sinks. The floor in this bathroom is not totally even (flat), so we have a 5 x 5 cm square piece of tile positioned under one of the corners of the vanity. It keeps the vanity completely stable. Due to the weight of this vanity, it would be difficult to move it away from the wall. However, you guessed it, they had moved it about 10 cms from the wall and the tile piece was no longer there. This caused the vanity to move if you put your weight on it - say leaning on it to get closer to the mirror, etc.Then, in the kitchen, they had moved the marble table and four fer forge chairs to be in a different position. It was the way it was because it allowed for easier movement from sink to cooktop and around the kitchen, without running into the table or its occupants.All these things take me extra time (that I rarely have) to put back in order on changeover days. They also are heavy pieces of furniture, taking its toll on the back.Anyone else have this happen? I never thought I would have to include "please don't move the furniture around" on my Rental Confirmation Form....????Okay, thanks for letting me rant.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 When we used to rent our house as a gite this was the most frequent comment made by the couple who did our turnrounds for us. They said that almost without fail the furniture had been changed round, and they could see no logic to why it had been done. They agreed with us that where we had placed it was the most practical and sensible arrangement in each room. Fortunately, none of the really heavy stuff like the buffet or wardrobes ever got moved, but goodness knows what goes through people's minds when they do this. You'd think they'd move it back before they leave though wouldn't you. Perhaps they're checking for cobwebs or dust!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineS2 Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 This happens all the time!!! (Though it's usually small things like chairs and other occasional furniture).Whenever we turn up for a holiday, we wonder where we will find things this time! It's a bit like having poltergeists (but possibly marginally less scary!)I don't think it is worth asking people not to move the furniture, I think it is best to just take it on the chin as an "occupational hazard" and laugh it off, it's the only way to stay sane and chilled-out!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted June 20, 2005 Author Share Posted June 20, 2005 Oh well, I can't let it bother me too much. Who knows why they do it. A chair here or there is one thing, but heavy pieces are really hard for me to place back and they look really odd sitting so far from the wall.With the bathroom, it MUST stay where the plumbing is located.. oh you know what I mean.You're right Catherine, I realize it would be strange to add "don't move the furniture" to the confirmation form. Guess I'll just have to hope for the best.Looking for dust ... whew, I can tell you I keep the place spotless - am EXTREMELY picky - hence the annoyance with the furniture movement, but I shudder to think of the dust that might have been behind the double vanity in the bathroom as it hasn't been moved out from the wall in years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Taylor Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 If you're in a rural area, perhaps they heard little furry intruders (imagined or otherwise) and pulled the furniture out to check for mice?!Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letrangere Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 Dare I plead guilty to moving furniture around in rented gites? Probably wouldn't do it if just there for a week but staying longer - especially 3 - it is nice to have furniture where we'd like it and we do usually move it back. Remember once moving the best bits of furniture from all 3 bedrooms into the master as it was the only one we were using. The bedside tables/chest of drawers in the largest room were a bit grotty whereas the ones in the smaller twin were very pretty mahogany. Swapped a largish bookcase with a sofa in the last place we stayed in so that we could lounge on it and gaze out at the view through the windows. I think furniture placement is very much a matter of taste and sometimes when you arrive the house looks lovely but just doesn't "feel" right. Moving a few things around usually does the trick. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantine<br><br><br><br>Susie Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 This is just a thought...have you stayed in your own gite, not just for one night but 'lived' in it? is it possible that sitting at the table where you had it is just out of eye line to the view out of the window for example, as MWJ said about her moving the sofa for the bookcase. It could be that by actually staying in the Gite for a few days yourself you may notice that the furniture placement isn't quite right. Like I said, just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 Of all the things I would be getting done is that sink /vanity screwed to the wall. The rest, well, I've never actually moved anything around when renting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 Maybe for some of the items moved there is a simple explanation; I'm sure I'm not the only one who has dropped something along the lines of toothbrush, money, papers etc; which has resorted to having to move furniture away from the wall. I agree though that it would be polite to at least move it back when finished As for chairs and tables, well I think that is aceptable to move them as the guests wish (within reason of course). Some layouts may not suit old/handicapped/small/large/ guests with children etc., and after all you want them to be comfortable as possible and return next year, don't you?From a customers viewpoint, I've travelled a lot over Europe and particularly France, staying in all sorts of guest houses and the ones with too many silly nonsensical rules and regulations are the ones that I wouldn't return to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted June 21, 2005 Author Share Posted June 21, 2005 Fantine: lived in the 150m2 lower portion of our home - the gite - for a year while the upper house was being renovated. I understand what you are saying, but I think if you saw what was moved and to where you might see why I was confused.Punch - I thought of the dropped toothbrush thing too as far as the sink vanity goes - anything is possible. Had it been the only thing moved, I might have assumed that was the case. As far as drilling it to the wall. We probably should do that, but I don't intend to keep it there forever as I don't particularly like it, but you're right, drilling it to the wall would take care of the moving issue..You are also right in that those Rental Agreements that go on for page after page with, what I often think are ridiculous rules and regulations, are the ones that we do not stay in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 We haven't had too much trouble with this, although the living room furniture and mats are always slightly rearranged. We've just put a one line request in our house info folder, asking for anything that is moved to be put back before departure - this seems to do the trick! I seem to spend more time hunting through the cupboards looking for saucepans etc that have been moved to somewhere different! Marie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 I think they were all V.I.Ps in disguise and they were looking for bugs or hidden cameras !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mascamps.com Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 We've one couple who stay with us quite regularly and always empty the room of furniture (apart from the bed). Arnold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perlats Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 What on earth do they do with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 We have been known to move the beds round, but always put them back on leaving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mascamps.com Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Well, fortunately, they've only rented one of our B&B rooms so it all ends up in the corridor. I suspect that if they took our gite, the whole lot would end up in the garden.What gets us is that there doesn't seem to be any reason behind it. There's loads of room in the room and they don't bring a mountain of their own stuff. Arnold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Must be into feng shui , must be good customers Arnold, think i would draw the line at that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted June 22, 2005 Author Share Posted June 22, 2005 This is exactly what I'm talking about... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mascamps.com Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Well, we get 200€ to 400€ each time they're here, so I can live with it.Do you know, it just struck me that you might be right about the feng shui. They always specify a particular room too. I wonder if that's what it is? Arnold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parsac Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 we had guests last year that moved a double bed into a position where it must have been difficut to get into it, and we think that room was not actually slept in, we decided the area was probably used for prayer and that they needed a space to do that .Moving stuff just a bit away from walls makes me think of fengshui /lay lines that kind of idea, who knows really, as they say here in Yorkshire "theres nowt as queer as folk" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vrooje<BR>Cheers,<br>-Brooke<BR><br><B><A TARGET=blank HREF="http:www.experienceburgundy.com">http:www.experienceburgundy.com<A><B> Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 We do something similar to Marie.In fact, we state in our house info packet that guests should feel free to re-arrange the furniture in (for example) the salon to suit their tastes. And right on that statement's heels is the request that if they do this, that they return everything to its original place before they leave.It's sort of an attempt to turn a negative into a positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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