Damage in a holiday home by tourists

[KathleenT]

Hello, is there anyone out there who had to deal with damage made by tourists?
I have 14 English tourists in our villa who are all men…………. didn’t know this up front, they never mentioned it would be a group of 14 men. Normally our guests are always families with grandparents, children and grandchildren. In the 4 years we rent the villa, never had a problem with it.
They paid a 500 euro deposit but during the midweek cleaning I noticed several damages. One of them being that one of the guys jumped into the pool while the pool cover was closed. No need to say that there are 2 big holes in it now. I asked somebody to come over to give me a price quotation for a new cover. Price being 1100 euros, it is quiet a large pool. Yesterday we asked the men who booked our villa to pay us the 1100 euros. He now wants us to deduct the 500 euros warranty from it. The problem is they only leave the house on Saturday and I want to be able to make a decent check of the whole house to see if there are more damages, so no I will not deduct that 500 euros. He is now going to speak to his friends to see if they are willing to pay. My question, if they are not willing to pay, will the GNR be able to do something about it ? Or is it no use calling them? Anybody who has any suggestions how to solve this IF they do not come up with the money today? Thanks in advance for any information.

[cereza]

There are a few lessons to be learned here which I know from experience.

1 ) Always find out the exact composition of the party and price the security deposit according to the risk and the values of your contents. Do not provide high cost items if renting frequently.

2) Never leave the pool cover out for renters - it is far too valuable and also easily damaged - unless they pay a separate security deposit for the full value ( they will almost always certainly refuse).


Regarding your situation now I would say that you should try to get the £1100 now but if they insist on only paying £600 by deducting the £500 deposit then you should accept it subject to an inspection now to see if there is any other damage - if there is more damage then you can demand payment for that immediately and then make another inspection before they depart.

As far as GNR involvement is concerned I would first consider if you have the necessary Tourist License to rent your villa ? if not then definitely don't contact the GNR as you will probably just end up being fined ! If you do have a license then I would only involve the GNR as a last resort after/if your own efforts have failed but use the threat of it if necessary.

By the sound of it these guys are not being totally unreasonable if they are offering to pay a further £600 so make an inspection immediately to see if there is any other damage and charge them accordingly. Split between 14 men it shouldn't come to too much per person and hopefully they will pay up.

Good luck !

[John Burgess]

It is a pain but if you get the extra 600 euro you will have done well put the rest down to it is all part of the job and try to take a step back and not be to worried about the odd glass. You did have a week rental and if you cannot stand things happening do not do it

[Farol]

Do you have insurance?

[Alison]

Really annoying Kathleen but I'm afraid I agree with cereza here: our booking form and conditions doc requires names of all people in the villa (we have to submit passport details of the 'lead' guest to the authorities). I would be very wary of taking a booking for 14 men whether they be golfers or young lads on a stag week.

Am also interested in your experience with the pool cover as we have a pool that can be heated but we have no cover, mainly because of the concern about it not being looked after correctly by rental guests. Our rationale has been that the cost of replacing it or getting it mended would be more than the extra electricity used in heating the pool without a cover, despite our guilt that this latter option is not very green.

You don't mention what the other damages were but if they are offering you the 600 euros and you can check there is no further major damage then, as cereza suggests, I think you're doing OK.

[cereza]

.
Am also interested in your experience with the pool cover as we have a pool that can be heated but we have no cover, mainly because of the concern about it not being looked after correctly by rental guests. Our rationale has been that the cost of replacing it or getting it mended would be more than the extra electricity used in heating the pool without a cover, despite our guilt that this latter option is not very green.

I've never had a heated pool personally but if i did I would give renters the option of having the pool heated at a price which would fully reflect the costs and with this option there is no need to supply a pool cover.

From my experience the pool cover is only useful for a few months of the year in Spring and Autumn. At these times any heat in the pool will be easily lost overnight but a cover helps to retain the heat and also serves to warm the water in the day time if the pool is not in use. From November to March there is no need for a cover as the water temps are just too low without a heater. Summer is so hot that a cover is unnecessary and also by limiting how much time the cover is in use you also lengthen it's life span - the summer sun in particular will degrade the plastic very quickly.

If renting in Spring or Autumn I would advise would be renters that the pool temperature maybe be too low but I never offered them the pool cover as the risk is just too high.

If I had a heated pool like you Alison, I wouldn't bother with a cover

[pato]

How does the deposit thing work? I presume you take a refundable deposit as an insurance against willful damage during their stay, so I suppose a deposit of £100 per person is reasonable when you let to 14 individuals, offenders will be very unpopular if they act like idiots and lose his friends their deposit, I suppose though it's par for the course when you let to anyone who wants to book, personally I don't do that, hopefully to avoid the problems that you've recently experienced.

[Rampage]

On the pool cover issue - I have a heated pool and would not do without a cover. For every 3degC that the heater adds the pool cover retains 2 overnight. Without it your heater would have to kick-in all the time to re-heat the water. As the heater only runs when the water is circulating this means that you have to run the pool pump 24 hours per day and pay the consequent electricity bills. We rented our villa for many summers with the option of having the heater at an extra GBP150 per week. None of our guests ever mistreated the cover. We are now here full time and I run our pool pump 12 hours per day, the heater runs automatically for only half that time. We have found that the heater/cover combination allows us to comfortably use the pool March through October. Outside those months the ambient air is too cold - the pool maybe warm but you dare not expose your wet body to the cold air when you leave the pool! The cost of installing the heater in 2004 was high (nearly 8000 euros but that also included extensive underground piping and cabling work) but the incremental additional power cost has been negligible.

[cereza]

You are right Rampage and I've changed my opinion - a cover does make total sense if you have a heated pool - but I would only have it for my private use.