This is unbelievable to me. I followed the advice of many of the posters on this board from last summer and decided to make a phone call to each guest to welcome them to our home. My phone call goes like this: "Hello, this is [my name], and I'd like to welcome you to our home at which you are a guest." They always respond by saying thanks and saying something positive about our home. Then I tell them that I hope they have an enjoyable stay, good weather, and if they have any problems, please email me at [my email address]. We provide a computer and high-speed wireless Internet at our home for our guests.
I got a call from the rental management company this week. The guests were offended by my call and said they felt as if they were being spied upon.
So I'm pretty down on "guests" right now. The paint spilled all over our home from our last renters still hasn't been removed. They are not answering the calls from the rental management company regarding forfeiting the damage deposit. Frankly, I don't think we'll ever get the damage deposit. I think the rental company doesn't want to offend a customer. I think that we'll be paying to re-do our pool deck.
Unfortunately, thanks to escalating taxes and insurance premiums, we're not in a position to not rent, as was the case two years ago. So we're stuck having our home raped every week during the summer (the pool guy tells us the horror stories, and he never sees what goes on inside, like the chipped granite, broken bookshelves, broken beds, broken faucets, paint on the dining room rug, etc.). Thank goodness the rental season only lasts from May to mid-August, after which we can rescue our beloved home from its abuse.
It's really sad to me that people have so little respect for other people's property.
BTW, goin' coastal, I agree with you.
Addendum:
Just so I don't appear to be disparaging all of our guests, I'd like to point out that we've had some delightful guests. For example, one even gave me her home phone number and invited my husband and me to visit her and her husband at their home. How sweet is that?!
It's just takes some venting to get over the unnecessary damage, as goin' coastal has communicated. It only took a few rentals for me to realize that I had to put away the Peacock Alley linens, the Wustof knives, the $125 Frontgate pool floats, the expensive pool furniture, etc. Our home was abused from day 1 of rentals. I'd love to provide the luxury experience for our guests that I had dreamed of. But because of a few bad apples, all of our guests will be denied the experience I had planned.
So, now I've vented, and I feel somewhat better.