Holiday Hot Potato - Complaints and RefundsSource: http://www.vacationrentalpeople.com/

However much you would want to avoid complaints and unhappy guests, unfortunately it is almost certain that you will experience this at some point or other. It is very important to be prepared for any eventuality and thus be able to respond quickly and unflustered. Of course a lot of things can be included in your Terms and Conditions, but there are many which would fall under an ambiguous jurisdiction, like the breakdown of an appliance when you might not be sure whether it broke through normal wear and tear or through bad misuse by one of the guests. The most important thing is to be meticulous in your Terms and Conditions and be thus prepared for any eventuality which may occur within your rental home.

BREAKDOWNS

This would cause the most inconvenience to your guests and you must have a plan in place. If the electricity fails and your guests have to make do with candlelight, most people would expect compensation. If the Cable or WiFi you have installed fails to work, this will also cause much disgruntlement. It is worth including such eventualities in your Terms and Conditions and then be able to refer back to it, and it is worth making distinctions between things which are unavoidable and things which are not. If for example, there is an Electricity Blackout in the whole area, it is not your responsibility and you must be clear on this in the documents. However if it is quite a common occurrence in your area, you must point this fact out to your guests and let them know what your policy is. Alternatively, if there is power cut just in your vacation home due to bad wiring, then your guests may be insistent on some sort of compensation.

Things like TV and Cable and WiFi are trickier as working out the inconvenience it has caused in more complicated – loss of Cable for a few hours is not a big deal, but not having them for the whole week most certainly is and guests will have the right to be upset by it. Also, if the few hours when this occurred happen to occur when the World Cup Final is on and your guests had made specific plans to watch it, there will be greater impact on your guests and they will be more upset than usual.

If the fridge breaks down, or any other essential facility, your guests may have a good case for some compensation. To try and ease the burden of these types of breakdowns, you should establish a relationship with the local services, like a plumber or an electrician, so when something goes wrong it can be immediately dealt with and thus lessen the impact it has on your guests.

The main things to consider would be how much of an inconvenience it has caused your guests, and how much of it is down to your mismanagement or chance. Most guests will

tend to be reasonable about such things, but there will always be people who will use it an excuse to claim money back. Again, the most important thing is to be prepared for any eventuality by recording it in your Terms and Conditions. Also, as always, it is worth thinking about the cost of compensating against the benefits of a good review. Another aspect is whether or not you were informed in due time and were then given a reasonable chance to repair the damage or make good.

SERVICES AND AMENITIES

If you have offered to book up their Golf or Surf lessons and fail to do so, they will have a right to complain. The same goes for non-existent equipment which you have specifically stated in your listing would be available. Be extra careful with this and be diligent in making sure you provide everything you claim you will.

CANCELLATIONS DUE TO UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES

A lot of insurance companies won’t cover what they like to call ‘acts of god’ and it’s up to you to decide how you would like to deal with it, but there is no reason why you should have to compensate your guests for weather conditions which result in them to cancel their trip, especially if they choose not to take out their own insurance. Make sure you put a special clause in your Hire Contract and then refer to it if it comes to it. It would make good business sense though to offer those guests some sort of future discount or deal to try to soften the blow.

To be prepared is to be forewarned and you must sit down and think of everything that can go wrong, and then make a plan on how to deal with it. Just as important would be to try and evaluate your guests since different people would react differently to the same inconveniences. The most important thing here is to always weigh up the monetary value of replacing something, or compensating a guest, against the long-term cost or benefit of a good or bad review of your rental home . You might also want to consider small gestures, like free Surf Lessons, or a free meal at the local restaurant, or a bottle of wine, or a discount for future bookings. You can get creative and make good on a situation with a small gesture which will be remembered and appreciated by your guests.