Choosing a self-catering vacation rental is an adventure. Even going through tried and true sites or companies to rent your accommodations does not mean you end up where or with what you expected. The trouble then comes with finding a way to fix the situation. Most rental managers are NOT on site and you may only have a phone number for contacting the rental manager. Here are just a few of the situations that have come up for travelers in the past.

It’s wrapped up because it’s a big present?

1. What you see is NOT what you get. The pictures on the internet and in the brochure were wonderful. The rooms were spacious with great views. You eagerly send in your deposit to secure your vacation time. Your instructions arrive and you head out for your perfect vacation getaway. It doesn’t take long to see that maybe things aren’t quite what you expected. By the time you pull into the drive you KNOW they aren’t. There is no view, the rooms are small and cramped and now you can’t get hold of the rental company. You try to make the best of a bad situation, but the cramped locations and disappointment crowd out your former enthusiasm.

She’s trying to look happy, but she’s paying £350 per day

How to avoid this situation – although it may be impossible to insure against a flop 100% of the time, thorough research into the rental company, the location and even online for reviews will help reduce the risk. Ask plenty of questions when renting a place and make sure that the pictures you are viewing are actual pictures of your accommodations (and get that guarantee in writing).

2. There mess is your mess now. Most self-catering accommodations do not offer maid service to guests. Unfortunately this sometimes means that the only cleaning the accommodations might get will be from the guests. Left over foods, dirty linens and even dirty dishes may be what greats you when you arrive.

Your mess is your mess

How to avoid this situation – get all the cleaning information from the rental company upfront so you know what to expect when you arrive. It is likely that each renter puts down a cleaning deposit that is non-refundable so that a crew can be hired to go in after guests leave. Also, pack your own linens so that you know exactly what you are sleeping on at night.

3. Part of the benefits of a self-catered holiday is that you usually get more privacy than you do from staying in a traditional motel or hotel. But that is not always the case. Imagine arriving at your self-catered cottage only to discover that there are more guests than just your party. It turns out that the cottage is split into levels and the kitchen and bathrooms are on a shared level. You are now locked into a vacation with people that you have never met before in your life.

Welcome. We were just chanting - care to join in?

How to avoid this situation – ask a lot of questions when you are renting a place for the first time. Make sure that the accommodations are private and that there are no shared rooms or amenities in the package. Before you put any money down get every guarantee in writing.

4. You followed all of the guidelines for insuring the perfect self-catered holiday. You asked all of the right questions and got every thing in writing. Everything seems picture perfect when you arrive at your destination – until you settle in. The water doesn’t work, the stove doesn’t work or the electricity is flickering on and off. Some major problem is causing a major problem in your vacation plans. A call to the rental manager gets a prompt response but since there is nothing else available and it is the weekend, there is not much that he can do.

I’m no expert, but think you need this stuff.

How to avoid this situation – get a warranty for your accommodations that tells you exactly what you will get if there is a major problem with your accommodations when you arrive. This could include the rental company putting you up in an equal or better rental property or putting you up in a hotel or condo and gifting your food vouchers until the problem can be fixed. Be sure that you define major problem specifically so that all parties understand what is to be expected and when it is to be expected.

No matter how well you plan there is always room for error. Things can happen that no one expected or that has never happened before. Getting as much in writing as possible will help to make fixing any problems a little easier.

Get it all down in pen and ink

In the end you may just have to live with what you get and take on the rental company when you get back home. Think of the experience as one of those moments that will help you to grow, roll your sleeves up and get things going back in the right direction.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 30th, 2009 at 10:25 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.