Cleaning for longer-term guests

[hkw100]

Hello,

Apologies if this is a repeat post. I thought I had posted it a week or so ago, but can't find my post on the forum...

Anyway, my question is about interim cleaning for guests who are staying for a longer period. I have a 1-bed 4-star self catering cottage. All of my guests so far have booked for just one week at a time, or a long weekend. So obviously I clean the cottage, provide clean bed linen and towels etc before they arrive and clean again after they leave at the end of the week.

However, this spring I have a couple booked in for SIX WEEKS. How do I manage the cleaning, and do I charge them for it? Should I clean the cottage and change the linen etc every week during their occupation? And charge them extra for this, or include it in the booking price? There is a washer-dryer and all cleaning materials (hoover, mops etc) in the cottage, but I think it's probably not right to expect them to clean and wash everything themselves during their stay...or is it?

What does everyone else do?

Any advice appreciated! Many thanks!

Harriet

[greenbarncottages]

We haven't had anyone for anything like six weeks, apart from anything else the regulations under which we have to operate don't allow for a stay of longer than, I think, 30 days or thereabouts.

I can see a few variables here! Where we've had lets in excess of the normal week or weekend, we provide fresh bed linen and towels on a weekly basis, and factor that in to the cost. We discuss cleaning arrangements in advance, and most guests seem to prefer to do their own rather than have someone come in whilst they're staying; we give them the choice, and again charge accordingly.

But - and it's a big one - if we had guests staying for an extended period, we may well want to insist on providing a mid-term or whenever clean to ensure the place was being properly cared for (although obviously that wouldn't be stated as a reason!) It depends entirely on the nature of the guests, and predicting that is about as reliable as predicting the weather, but would you feel comfortable waiting for six weeks to get in to your property?

Tricky, but whatever you decide I'd suggest it's detailed in the booking agreement, or as a supplementary.

[barbersdrove]

we had a similar situation last year when one of the panto celebrities stayed here over the panto season. I did say to her when she booked that I would want access for cleaning as it was a long let. I didn't charge her for it as I would have been doing it if there had been a change of tenant anyway. (There is spare linen in the property plus a washer and dryer). She agreed to that, however, when she had been here for the first couple of weeks it became apparent that she was a very tidy clean person and the place was immaculate. I felt it was an imposition to let myself in whilst her personal things were in the place. She seemed happy but I was feeling uncomfortable. I spoke to her about this and we agreed that she was happy to do the cleaning, in fact it made it feel more like 'her' place if she knew she was in control. When she left the place was in very good order.

I wasn't happy with the way I had not been prepared for such an arrangement and have decided that if anyone were to book for longer than 3 weeks in the future I would charge a deposit that would be held to cover the costs of deep cleaning if necessary. You have just reminded me as I meant to write this into my terms and conditions.

[MC]

This touches on a hot potato for me. I have someone who wants to book for my self catering cottage for 6 months (they want to use it as a touring base for a tour of Britain). While this is an attractive proposition I understand that there is a limit to how long a booking can be.... does anyone know where I can find this information and any possible "work arounds" if there are limits? (for instance they will occasionally leave the holiday cottage for days at a time to visit the more far flung places etc - is there a stipulation on how long a gusest has to stay away before returning to a holiday let?)

[Der Alte Fritz]

Beware. We have the same thing in our area because there are a lot caravan sites along the coast. If people live in a caravan, they have to spend a period every year away from the caravan for it to be termed as a temporary residence. So they book themselves into local B&Bs etc during the dip season to get round this. The problem is that these people are not holiday makers, they are coming to live in your place, bag, baggage and all and will treat it very differently from your normal lets. The reason that they do not get themselves a flat on a short lease is that this would cost them more due to the minimum length of a lease.

We do not touch this kind of let. If you do go ahead make sure you get access every week without fail, take a big damage deposit, provide a full service and charge accordingly.

[greenbarncottages]

All clear as mud:

This from HMRC relating to FHL tax rules, which are scheduled to change anyway in April:

Certain conditions must be met in order to qualify for the tax treatment provided under the FHL rules:
• the property must be situated in the EEA;
• the business must be carried on commercially, and with a view to a profit;
• Availability: the property must be available for commercial letting as holiday accommodation to the public for at least 140 days during the relevant 12 month period;
• Letting: the property must be commercially let as holiday accommodation to members of the public for at least 70 days during the relevant 12 month period. A letting for a period of longer term occupation is not a letting as holiday accommodation for the purposes of the letting condition; and
• Pattern of occupation: not more than 155 days must fall during periods of longer term occupation.
A period of longer term occupation is a continuous period of more than 31 days during which the accommodation is let to the same person.

There's also some info in the Legislation checklist on the left if you track down to the bit about self catering letting options. This doesn't make any mention of the 31 day rule, but does advise on making sure the letting agreement is appropriate.

Good luck!

[barbersdrove]

we also have to contend with our planning permission criteria which states that a let should not be for longer than 28 days! So we have to meet the criteria for the tax and planning.