ARRIVALS

It is important that guests feel welcome on their arrival at your holiday property. Whether you are on hand to greet them yourself or you employ a housekeeper to do this for you, it is vital that whoever meets your guests is polite, helpful and approachable.

When guests arrive at your property, they may have endured a long and stressful journey, they may have tired, hungry children or they may simply wish to put the kettle on and sit down. Tread carefully when guests first arrive and try not to outstay your welcome. In some cases, it may be best simply to drop off the keys and point them in the direction of the information folder before leaving them to unpack and unwind.

You should be able to gauge the type of holiday guest you have in the first few minutes. If they appear stress-free and happy to chat, you could take the time to point out where things are and how they work. However, some people hate the idea of making polite conversation with a stranger and would prefer to find things out for themselves. If this is the case, hand over the keys and inform them of your contact details in case they need them, and leave them to it.

If you are not on hand to welcome your guests personally, you must ensure that you have a fool-proof method for handing out the keys. Your housekeeper may agree to do this for you, but what happens if guests do not arrive until very late at night? It is not very fair to expect your housekeeper to be on call all day and all night just to hand over keys.

I would always recommend that, whenever possible, there is someone present to greet guests personally; however, it is essential that you have a back-up system in case of late arrivals. I have found the use of a good-quality key safe to be the answer. Invest in a key safe with a number combination and place this out of direct view on the property. Do not advertise the fact that there is a key on hand by placing the safe next to the door bell! Even if your property is in a low crime rate area, advertising keys in this way is not a good idea.

If you are letting your property through an agency, inform them of your intentions to use a key safe and let them know the combination number. They will only inform guests of the number when they paid in full and have already furnished them with the address and directions to the property. If you are letting the property yourself, obviously the same will apply, and you should only inform guests of the combination to the safe after they have paid the full cost of the holiday.

Key safes are a good back-up choice. They prevent guests from having to hand around outside the property, waiting for the arrival of you or your housekeeper, should they arrive earlier than expected, and they avoid the need for guests to have to pick the keys up from your own or your housekeeper’s residence. An alternative to a key safe is to ask a neighbour to hold a set of keys for you, but again they will have the same problem as your housekeeper, and you should not expect them to be available to greet your guests at any time of the day or night.

Prior to the guests arriving, always make sure that you have furnished them with accurate directions on how to find your property. There is nothing worse than holidaymakers starting their holiday off on the wrong foot due to complicated directions. Remember, You may know the area well, but guests could be travelling from the other end of the country and have no idea where they are going. It is up to you to ensure they do not spend hours looking for your property due to poor directions. If you employ the services of a letting agency, they will furnish guests with directions to the property and instructions for obtaining the keys

Once your guests have arrived at the property, they will have their own expectations of what they hope to find. It is almost impossible to please all the people all of the time, but you must always strive to please most of the people most of the time. Try to anticipate what guests will expect and, wherever possible, provide it. Ask yourself What you would like from a holiday cottage and try to make the first impression one of a high-standard, well-equipped holiday property.

Guests will invariably expect:

• 1.Simple, easy-to-understand directions to the property.
• 2.A fool-proof method of acquiring the keys to the property.
• 3.A Clean, warm and welcoming property.
• 4.Appliances that are simple to use.
• 5.Hot water on arrival.

You can impress guests by going that little bit further and providing:

• 1.A welcome tray with tea, coffee, sugar and milk.
• 2.Fresh flowers.
• 3.Toiletries.

I cannot stress strongly enough that the to ensure that the property is spotlessly clean is the most important thing any owner or housekeeper can do. Added touches, such as a welcome tray, are pleasant and will be well received, but they will never take the place of cleanliness. A bottle of wine or a vase of fresh flowers will not appease guests who find the state of the bathroom unacceptable or the sheets grubby.

What kind of written advice should I leave for guests?

It is important that the information you leave for guests is accurate and straightforward. Try not to bombard them with information that it unnecessary and irrelevant, as pages and pages of instructions and information can be very off-putting. Guests holidaying in your property for a week will not want to spend three days of their time sifting through the folder of information you have left them!

It is important to remember that most guests will turn to your information folder upon arrival, so it must be well written and informative. Replace any worn, marked or ripped pages and update the information regularly. It is a good idea to have a ring binder with loose pages rather than a book for providing guests with information. This way pages can be added or removed when necessary, without spoiling the overall effect of the folder. I would recommend that you laminate the pages before placing them in the folder. This helps to keep the pages looking clean and fresh all the time and avoids tears and stains which will invariably occur when hundreds of people have thumbed through them.

The information you put in your folder should include:

• 1.A note from you welcoming the guests to you property and wishing them an enjoyable stay.
• 2.Your address and contact number, together with that of your housekeeper, if you employ one. If you do not live in close proximity to your property, make sure you information folder clearly states the first point of contact in an emergency or for help and advice. It is always nice to inform your guests of your own details in case they have a problem or complaint which they prefer not to share with anyone except the owner of the property.
• 3.Emergency telephone numbers and addresses such as the nearest doctor, hospital, police station, dentist and vet.
• 4.Details of where guests can park and my local restrictions.
• 5.Any security details for the property, for example details of the alarm system.
• 6.Simple, easy-to-follow instructions on how to work the heating and hot water systems.
• 7.Simple, easy-to-follow instructions on how to work the electrical appliances in the property, such as the washing machine, tumble dryer, microwave and oven.
• 8.Simple, easy-to-follow instructions on how to work any fires or stoves in the property.
• 9.Details of where to find the stopcock
• 10.Details of where to find the fuse box.
• 11.Details of where to find the fire extinguishers and fire blanket.
• 12.Details of the refuse collections: when bins should be left out and where to leave them.
• 13.Details of the nearest rubbish tip and recycling centres.
• 14.Details of how the television, video, DVD, games consoles, etc. work.
• 15.Details of any special instructions for the toilet if your property is not on a mains sewerage system or has a septic tank.

Remember, if you do not leave instructions on how to operate equipment, or if your instructions are complicated and difficult to understand, guests will simply play around with the appliances and this often results in damage. It is therefore in everyone’s interests to take the time to write down how to operate the equipment and appliances in easy-to-understand terms. If you have them, you may like to leave the manufacturer’s guides out as well. In addition to the information file, it is a good idea to photocopy and laminate the instructions for appliances such as the oven and washing machine and display these next to the equipment. Guests will often refer to the instructions when placed in easy view by the appliances, before sifting through a folder of information for the instructions they require. A simple guide pinned up next to the washing machine stating the most popular programmes will be very helpful to guests who have never used your machine before.

Areas that are not served by mains sewerage pipes may well have special instructions which must be followed to prevent blockages. Make sure that, in addition to mentioning these instructions in the information file, you also pin a small notice next to each toilet in the property to jog the minds of guests and to inform those who have not taken the time to read the information in the folder.

Other details that should be mentioned in your information file are:

• 1.Details of local attractions. Guests will be impressed by any information you can supply them with, and this is your chance to sell your property and its area to them. If you can encourage guests to explore the local area, they mat well be encouraged to return to your property for another holiday, particularly if they have not managed to sample everything on offer during their initial stay.
• 2.Details of the best beaches in you area. State which beaches allow dogs and which are particularly suitable for families.
• 3.Provide details of where guests can go fishing, water-skiing or diving, if your property is near the sea.
• 4.Provide details of the best places to shop for local produce.
• 5.Inform guests of the best pubs and restaurants in the area, which ones welcome children and which are open all day.
• 6.Give details of the best walks around the area, and what to avoid.

Any local information you can provide for your guests will be very welcome and will help holidaymakers to settle in quickly and feel part of the community. No one likes to feel like an outsider and the more help and advice you make available to guests, the quicker they will adapt to their surroundings and begin to enjoy their holiday.

It is a good idea to provide a visitor’s book. These can be purchased for about £10–£15 from bookshops and stationers. If you employ the services of a letting agency such as Country Holidays, they will provide you with a visitor’s book initially. Visitor’s books enable your guests to record their own findings for the use of others and will give them a way of informing you about the best (and worst) parts of their holiday. Avoid ripping out pages that may not be entirely complimentary. Future guests will immediately notice if the visitor’s book has been tampered with and will often jump to the wrong conclusion, imagining the remarks to be much worse than they probably were. Rest assured, if anyone has a serious complaint to make it is highly unlikely that they will do so through the visitor’s book.

The personal touch

Your property will be one of many thousands of holiday properties available to rent for holidays each year. Whether you manage and let your property yourself or pay an agency to do this for you, be under no illusions, you will be up against a lot of competition. There are hundreds of thousands of people who, just like you, are hoping to make money from letting their property to holidaymakers. Even if your property is in a small village, it is probably true to say that there will be other houses for let in the area. Whether or not your own property letting will be successful will depend on:

• 1.How many other properties are available for letting in your chosen area. Competition is fierce. If there are lots of other properties available, do not be too disheartened. If the area is very popular with holidaymakers, the demand will be high and it is still possible that you will be able to let your property for a reasonable number of weeks each year. However, you will have to be extra vigilant and make sure that your property has things to offer that the others do not, in order to secure the maximum number of bookings.
• 2.The attractions available to holidaymakers. If your chosen area is in a quiet backwater and lacks shops and restaurants, it is essential that you market it at walkers and country lovers looking for a quiet restful holiday in relaxing surroundings. Do not try to lure people there under false pretences — they will not enjoy their stay and may well complain if the area and the amenities are not what they expected.
• 3.Think about providing your own additional services to enable holidaymakers to utilise the property is in the its area to the maximum. If your property is in the heart of the countryside, think about investing in a few bicycles for the guests to use. If your property is part of a farm, allow visitors to look around and perhaps arrange tours for your guests to take part in milking the cows or watching the sheep shearing. Children, in particular, are fascinated by the workings of a farm. If your property is near to the sea, consider investing some of these services, it is important to check with your insurance company first to ensure that you are covered for any claims that may arise from them.)

As competition is likely to be high if your property is in a sought-after area and holiday let properties are in abundance, it is essential that you do all you can to ensure that your property stands out from the crowd and generates as many bookings as possible. If your guests have had a good holiday, it is highly probable that they will re-book and tell their friends and family, and this is something that you should be aiming for. Many established holiday lets are visited by the same people year after year and are booked up many months in advance. As a holiday home owner this is something you should be trying to achieve in order to maximise your property’s letting potential.

Competition is really only considered valid if the properties available are of a similar size and in the same type of location. Twenty properties within a seaside town will not all be considered potential competitors if ten are situated on the outskirts of the town, four are flats, there are large properties sleeping twelve people and the remainder do not allow pets. Out of the number of properties available near to your own, you should only consider those of a similar size and offering similar facilities to your own as being in direct competition.

If your property is within a small cluster of similar-sized houses on the seafront and several of these are also available to let, you will have your work cut out trying to make sure that your property stands out from the rest. If you market and let the property yourself you could look at the prices the others charge and make yours slightly cheaper. However, you risk alienating yourself from your neighbours by doing this and could be out of pocket if you do not charge what your property is worth.

holidaymakers, though looking for value for money, will not usually be persuaded to book a less appealing property just to save £10 or £20. Instead of reducing the price, you should be looking to improve the accommodation, and this is where the personal touch can swing it for you. Often guests will not appreciate the personal touches until they arrive at the property. Therefore it is essential to advertise any special features so that potential holidaymakers are aware of the service on offer before they book. Impressing guests on arrival and during their stay is an excellent way of making sure that they enjoy their holiday, and they may well re-book with you and tell friends and family of their good experience, which may result in future bookings.

The personal touch does not necessarily have to cost you anything, though spending a little on luxuries usually pays dividends. Think about things like:

• 1.Ensuring that guests have a hassle-free journey by providing them with accurate directions of how to find your property.
• 2.Offering a warm welcome when guests arrive, being polite and approachable.
• 3.Making sure that the property is clean and well aired.
• 4.Making sure that, if children are expected, all the necessary safety equipment is available and in a good state of repair.
• 5.Ensuring that all the appliances and equipment have been checked and are in good working order prior to guests arriving.
• 6.If you are expecting guests with dogs, provide feeding bowls and towels for them to use.

In addition to the way you present your property to guests, you may also like to think about providing little extras that can make their stay more comfortable and impress them at the same time.

Providing toiletries and food packs

Holiday let accommodation is becoming more and more popular and many people now prefer to go on self-catering holidays rather than stay in a hotel. Guests on self-catering holiday can please themselves where and when they eat and they generally have much more freedom. The demand for high-quality accommodation is huge and guests are beginning to expect more and more from their accommodation. In the days of virtual tours, when potential guests can view the property on line before they book, there is no place for shabby furnishings and pokey houses in run-down areas. In addition to the high standard of accommodation expected, more and more holidaymakers rely on the property owner or letting agency to go that little bit further and provide them with a welcome tray. Of course, not all guests expect this, but if you anticipate the needs and preferences of most of your guests, and pleasantly surprise the remainder, you will be on to a winner. Providing welcome trays and toiletries need not be expensive and, if you put the cost into perspective against the week’s rental, you will see how spending a small amount of money can pay dividends towards customer satisfaction. If one guest is prompted to re-book with you because of the extras you provide, you will have more than made back the money you have spent on extras throughout the entire year’s bookings!

What you provide in a welcome tray or pack should depend on the type of property you own and how much you charge for a week’s accommodation. No one would expect you to spend £20 on a welcome pack if you are only charging £100 for the week’s rental. Not only would this be inappropriate, but you would quickly start to lose money. If you own a small property and are asking around £200–£400 per week in rental, I would advise you to provide extras such as:

• 1.Tea, coffee, sugar and milk sufficient for the number of guests holidaying at the property. You are only required to leave sufficient for guests to enjoy a hot drink on arrival and should not be leaving tea bags, coffee, etc. to last them the whole week.
• 2.A Packet of decant biscuits or a small cake. If you enjoy baking, these could be homemade. If not, try to buy cakes or biscuits that reflect the local area. For example, delicious ginger biscuits are made in Grasmere, and if your property was near to this area of the Lake district, providing a packet of locally made ginger biscuits would be a nice touch.
• 3.A bottle of decent wine. This is a particularly welcome addition at Christmas time or if you are aware that your guests are celebrating a special occasion such as an anniversary or birthday. You will not be expected to splash out on a bottle of champagne, but neither would guest thank you for a bottle of cheap plonk from the local supermarket. If you are intending to leave a bottle of wine, invest in something around the £5 to £6 mark. A cheap bottle is worse than none at all, and will not impress your visitors.
• 4.Fresh flowers. These need not cost a lot of money, and if your property has a garden, you could even pick them yourself. A small bunch of carnations or chrysanthemums add a pleasing touch and, if the flowers are scented, provide an added bonus.
• 5.Toiletries. Again, do not go overboard and provide guests with a complete basket of toiletries, but stick to a small bar of individually wrapped guest soap placed with the towels.

If your property is in the higher price band and you are commanding rents in excess of £50-plus per week, you will have the money to provide your guests with a little more luxury:

• 1.Instead of a welcome tray, consider providing a hamper containing the usual tea, coffee, sugar, milk and biscuits or cake, but with the addition of eggs, bread, milk, jam, cheese, marmalade, orange juice and butter. If your property is on or near a farm, you may also like to provide a selection of seasonal fruit and vegetables.
• 2.A decent bottle of wine and a box of chocolates would be a nice touch at Christmas or if your guests are celebrating a special occasion.
• 3.Fresh flowers. A suitable arrangement of fresh flowers would be a nice touch. A bunch of flowers costing around £10 would fill several vases and provide colourful focal points around the property.
• 4.Toiletries. If you are commanding a higher rental for your property, you may like to supply your guests with a selection of complimentary toiletries. In addition to individually wrapped soaps, you can also purchase small bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath/shower gel. These can be purchased in bulk and, depending on the number of bookings you receive, should last many months. The companies who supply these goods usually supply hotels and guest houses. Bars of soap can be purchased in bulk in multiples of 500 for around £30, working out at a cost of just 6p each-a small price to pay to impress your guests and provide them with a little luxury.
• 5.Cotton wool pads and tissues. Placed on the dressing table, these are a useful, inexpensive addition which most guests will appreciate.
• 6.Bathrobes and slippers. Some of the more upmarket holiday properties may like to provide these. Again, they can be purchased from the same companies that supply your toiletries. However, it is important to remember that bathrobes and slippers will need washing and may even end up in your guest’s suitcases!

Christmas bookings

If you have bookings for your property over the Christmas and New Year period, you must spend a little more time preparing then property for your guests. You will be expected to provide a Christmas tree, tastefully decorated, but you may also like to provide a few additional luxuries for your guests. For example, if children will be present, consider wrapping a small selection box for each child. These can be purchased for a couple of pounds and should please both parents and children. A box of mince pies, a Christmas cake, bottle of sherry and some crackers would also be a nice touch. Often guests pay a premium when they are holidaying at Christmas and the New Year and, as it does not actually cost you, the owner, any more than it would if they were holidaying on 25 November, you will have a little extra cash to play about with. Do not go over the top with your provisions, however. You should always be aiming to make a profit and remember, if the guests re-book for July they may expect a similar welcome!

Before planning how to decorate your property for Christmas and the New year, it is important to remember to check with guests first. Most people will be going on holiday to celebrate Christmas, but some may have reasons for escaping the pressures of this time of year and will not thank you for reminding them of the occasion if this is the case. Similarly, some people do not celebrate Christmas and this is something you should bear in mind when deciding what to provide.

If you have guests travelling late on Christmas Eve, remember that shops will be closed when they arrive and may well stay shut for a few days, so ask your guests if they would like you to provide a grocery pack, for which you should charge them extra. Many people will bring their own groceries with them, but most will welcome the offer of assistance.

Grocery packs

Christmas aside, the offer of providing a grocery pack is a nice touch for all guests. If you live nearby and have the time, it is a good idea to ask guests if they would like you to do a little shopping for them in order that they have the basics available on their arrival. If you do offer this service, ask guests what they would like you to provide and make sure they are aware that they will be expected to pay for the groceries. If is essential that you ask how much they are prepared to spend and provide them with a receipt for the goods. Ideally you will be paid for any groceries you provide in advance, perhaps when they pay the balance of their holiday.

Always make sure that left-over food from previous guests is removed from the property before new guests arrive. There is nothing worse them opening a cupboard and finding a half-empty bottle of ketchup with a dirty cap on view. Very few guests will use anything that has been left behind and you would be better to remove all traces of previous holidaymakers, even if this appears wasteful. In addition to the welcome tray, it is usually acceptable to leave condiments and herbs and spices for the use of all the guests, but replenish these as and when necessary if you do choose to provide them. Damp salt blocking the holes in the salt cellar and out-of-date herbs will not be accepted.

Pets allowed?

Deciding whether or not to allow pets into your property can be difficult. In general, I would advise you to ‘ban’ as little as possible, unless you have a valid reason for doing so. The location and type of property you have will have an affect on whether or not you allow pets to holiday with their owners. If you have a cottage in the middle of the countryside with scenic walks on your doorstep, you would be well advised to welcome dogs to your property. Most people holidaying in this kind of area will be walkers or, at the very least, lovers of the outdoors, and a high percentage of these people will own a dog. People who book holidays in this country and own pets do so because they cab bring their pet along with them. Allowing pets into your property will, without a doubt, increase the number of bookings you receive if your property is in a rural position or near the seaside. Town and city centre flats are, of course, different and banning dogs from this kind of property may not have such a negative effect on your bookings.

The arguments for refusing to allow dogs are many and varied. Property owners worry about:

• 1.The smell the dogs may leave behind.
• 2.The hair the dogs may shed.
• 3.The damage to furniture and furnishings.

However, all these potential problems can be easily addressed by:

• 1.Ensuring the property is well aired upon departure: open windows to allows fresh air into the house.
• 2.Ensuring that carpets and furniture are vacuumed well.
• 3.Requesting that guests refrain from leaving their pets alone in the property and that they do not allow them on the furniture or in the bedrooms.

Many guests are very grateful for the chance to take their dogs on holiday with them and will nearly always agree to your terms.

My own experience has taught me that allowing guests to bring their pets is by far more advantageous with regard to running a successful holiday let business. The number of bookings I have received from guests with dogs has far out-weighed the problems they have created. More than half of the guests who use my property bring their dogs with them. If, after weighing up the pros and cons, you still decide to ban dogs from your property, be prepared to rethink your decision if bookings are not forthcoming. If you are unsure of whether or not to allow dogs try restricting their number and size initially and see what, if any, damage is done. You could state that one small dog only will be allowed.

Smoking

This is another difficult decision, through for me it is not as hard as deciding whether to allow pets. This may be because I am a non-smoker who loves dogs! I personally do not allow smokers into my holiday property for a number of reasons:

• 1.The smell of smoke, unlike that of pets, is very difficult to eradicate, as it lingers for a long time.
• 2.Smoking is damaging to both paintwork (discolours white walls and ceilings) and furnishings (the smell gets into cushions and curtains and is difficult to get rid of).
• 3.You run a higher risk of potential fires due to unattended cigarettes or pipes.
• 4.You risk damaging carpets and furniture from cigarette burns.
• 5.You may alienate other holidaymakers who do not smoke and would not consider renting a property which allows smoking for the reasons listed above.

Banning smoking will reduce the number of potential guests to your property, so you must again weigh up the pros and cons before deciding whether or not to allow smoking. Nowadays far more people are aware of the damaging effects of smoking, and banning smokers from your property may not be too big an issue. If you decide to play it safe and refrain from banning smokers in your property, make sure smokers agree to certain terms:

• 1.Do not allow guests to smoke in the kitchen, bathrooms or bedrooms.
• 2.Ensure that guests are supplied with sufficient ashtrays.
• 3.Restrict type of smoking to cigarettes and discourage cigars and pipes, which create heavier smells.

Children

It is not a good idea to ban children from your property, particularly in family-friendly areas such as at the seaside. You may get away with an ‘adult only’ property if you own a small one-bedroom flat or apartment in a city centre or a romantic cottage that appeals largely to couples, but a high percentage of people holidaying in self-catering properties in this country will be families. Often couples will opt for the luxury of a hotel, whereas families with two or more children prefer to book a self-catering property to allow them more freedom and because they are often much cheaper than booking a hotel.

Unless there are dangerous aspects to your property, such as a lake, railway track or steep/narrow staircases, I would advise you to resist the urge to ban children from your property. Wherever possible, make your property child-friendly and welcome families. The potential number of guests you will alienate by refusing children is immense and should be avoided at all costs. You may think that children will:

• 1.Run riot, be noisy and generally disrupt your neighbours.
• 2.Damage furniture and furnishings.
• 3.Smear chocolate and jam around the house.

However, in my own experience this is not usually the case. Most families on holiday will respect your property and will not allow their children any more freedom than they would encounter in their own homes. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but then there is no guarantee if you ban smoking that your guests will heed this request.

Wherever possible, avoid putting any restrictions on your property, particularly in the first couple of years of renting it out. When you have built up a good database of holidaymakers who are regularly booking your property, you may be in a position to introduce some restrictions, should you feel it necessary. However, certainly for the first few years you should be looking to generate maximum rentals and this will be made all the more easy if you do not restrict yourself to childless couples who do not smoke or won a dog!

Complaints

It is to be hoped, if you follow the advice in this book, that you will not get customers who feel the need to complain. However, as with most things, you can never please all of the people all of the time. You Will get people complaining from time to time. It is therefore important to know how to handle complaints and, most importantly, how to recognise a genuine complaint.

Genuine Complaints

The number of genuine complaints should be relatively low if you take your time to prepare your holiday home to the highest standard and ensure that the facilities on offer are checked regularly. However, there may be some holidaymakers who have simply not enjoyed their holiday. Perhaps the weather was dreadful; if it rained constantly for a week they may have been cooped up in the house and had plenty of time to find fault. The weather, however, is out of your hands and you are not responsible for guests’ enjoyment over and above the provision of the accommodation.

If you have invested in the services of a holiday let agency, you should have the added advice and protection they have to offer. It is highly likely that any disgruntled guests will contact you agency rather than you direct and put in their complaint – this is largely due to the fact that they have paid their money to the agency and received their correspondence from them. The agency will then contact you to notify you of the complaint and together you should be able to resolve the issue to everyone’s satisfaction.

If, however, you have decided to ‘go it alone’ and have not put your property in the hands of an agent, you will need to know how to deal with irate customers. No property is exempt from criticism. A well-managed property in a sought-after location can still incur a problem.

You will need to know how to tell the difference between a serious complaint and one that is unjustified or exaggerated. If you are on hand to greet your guests on arrival, this is the best time to let them know how to contact you if a problem arises. It is important that you act quickly, should your guests have a complaint and, whenever possible, sort the problem out immediately. A guest who waits until the end of their stay to bring your attention to a faculty cooker will drastically reduce their credibility if they are intending to claim back expenses they have incurred having to eat at restaurants for the entire duration of their holiday.

If you are unable to greet your guests or visit them during their stay, then make sure that you display a contact name and telephone number clearly in the property, and make sure that your guests are aware that they can contact you at any time, should they feel the need.

If guests do complain you will inevitably feel disappointed It can be very difficult to take criticism of your own property from a stranger, and guests can be quite rude if they do not feel they are getting value for money. Always remain calm and polite. Listen to the complaint first, without interrupting and before giving your own comments or reasons. If the problem can be rectified, make sure it is, immediately. If you feel the complaint is unjustified or exaggerated, politely explain this to the guests. Never take criticism personally and remember that your main aim is to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and ensure that your guests are happy. They may not return, and indeed you may not want them to. However, a happy customer is what you should always strive to achieve. Remember they may know dozens of potential customers and it is never a good idea to let holidaymakers leave unhappy if there is any way you can rectify things.

Compensation

You may be faced with a complaint that demands some kind of compensation. If you have enlisted the help of an agency, they should be in a good position to help you to decide whether or not a refund is necessary, and if so, the amount required. Rest assured that a decent agency will have seen a variety of incidents and will know exactly how to handle the situation.

If you are dealing with the complaint alone, you will need to decide whether or not there is any justification for the guest to demand a refund. The nature of the complaint, and how it has affected the holiday, will be the deciding factor in how much, if any, money you refund. Try to work out a solution with your guests. If they see that you are genuinely sorry about their complaint, and that you are attempting to make amends, the majority of people will be reasonable. Never feel tempted to refund the full amount of the cost of the holiday unless, of course, the property has been uninhabitable or dangerous. Remember that, if guests have remained at the property for the whole duration of their holiday, they will also have incurred costs such as gas, electricity, etc. and you should, at the very least, retain sufficient funds to cover these expenses.