Welcome Advice from Renters for Rentals

[amylouky]

What a great idea...keeping cleaning essentials in a locked cabinet w/combination for the adults to have access to...

I agree.. that would be wonderful. It drives me crazy paying for a whole box/bottle of detergents or cleaners that I'll probably use 1/10 of. I never take them home, because we have a 12 hour drive, and our trunk is usually PACKED. And I know that some of the rental agencies throw away leftovers.. it's a shame that it all goes to waste.

Just as an aside, I think the property owners at SoWal are the BEST IN THE WORLD, for the most part. We went to Oak Island a few years ago, and the rentals were truly disgusting. One had probably 100 dead bugs on the ugly bare tile floor. We spent our first day there cleaning the place. Also, apparently it's very common there to not provide LINENS for the rental.. our day also included a trip to Wal-Mart to buy towels and sheets. Yuck. We will NOT be going back there..


By the way, Beachma.. looks like we'll be there the same week. See you on the beach!

 

[dusty]

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(10) Remember that it is a beach house. It's a good idea for both owners and visitors to have nothing in the house that could not be replaced or that you would mind losing. When Ivan was coming ashore, I asked a family member to remove four items from our house and only one of those items went back afterwards. Made the storm watch for Dennis much more bearable. At the end of the day, it's all just "stuff."

Donna, you are a gem! Great list (and I was surprised to see 'two' of many items on it , and your tenth comment was the best.

It reminds me of when a sibling was bringing some really young ones to my parents at Christmas time and I tried to help prep my parents by asking them to only put wooden/non breakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree so little hands would not break anything or get hurt by some things, and to put up all the lovely breakables in the living room that no one would even miss during the holiday rush. After Christmas my parents were glad I had reminded them to do these things as there were a lot less "NO, NO, don't touch" comments flying throughout the visit.

 

[Paula]

I'm so enjoying this thread! It is useful to us as property owners who like to rent our places to guests and "surprise and delight" our guests. It's always great to walk in the door of a rental and be truly pleased -- to feel like you got even more than you expected. I really liked the post about having something fun in each room.

As for detergent, we always get some detergent at the supermarket when we're there and we go for Purex -- very cheap and Consumer Reports rate them as a "best buy". I thought about leaving stuffed toys but was afraid they'd get dirty and people wouldn't want their kids using dirty stuffed toys, but then realized that we could get stuffed toys that are washable in the machine so families know they can just through anything in the washing machine if they're concerned. And the plastic toys can go in the dishwasher. I think as much as possible should be easily washable by guests -- from bed covers, throw blankets, toys, etc. That way, they don't have to worry much and the places can easily be kept really clean and fresh.

Again, please keep these ideas coming! Thanks.

 

[Paula]

I'd like to get this thread up and running again. The suggestions people gave so far were great (I just went out and got great knives for our rental, based on the advice in this thread -- we already do a lot of the other stuff). We'll also leave instructions on how to work the tv, dvd, etc. since that can be confusing and sometimes things need to be restarted after electricity goes off after a storm. Any other advice?

I've even thought of leaving a high chair and stroller for families with children (we really love families staying at our places since we have families of our own and know how tricky it can be to find places that are aware of special needs of families on vacation). Would having a high chair and stroller matter much or would that just clutter up the place for people who don't have young children?

What else makes rentals great for families with children?

 

[beachma]

I'd like to get this thread up and running again. The suggestions people gave so far were great (I just went out and got great knives for our rental, based on the advice in this thread -- we already do a lot of the other stuff). We'll also leave instructions on how to work the tv, dvd, etc. since that can be confusing and sometimes things need to be restarted after electricity goes off after a storm. Any other advice?

I've even thought of leaving a high chair and stroller for families with children (we really love families staying at our places since we have families of our own and know how tricky it can be to find places that are aware of special needs of families on vacation). Would having a high chair and stroller matter much or would that just clutter up the place for people who don't have young children?

What else makes rentals great for families with children?

YES!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!! We come down with our kids...3 sons, daughter-in-law, fiance...Grandson. Grandson is only 17 months old and has already been down 3 times...4th time coming a week from tomorrow. Since he's been coming with us we've packed an all-terrain stroller...high chair...porta crib...In addition to the usual beach chairs, umbrellas, beach toys, luggage...etc, etc....Having some of the basic child items available would be soooooo helpful! This time he's a little too big for the big stroller...we would love to bring his Red-Ryder wagon that's equipped with "seatbelts and juice box holders"...but we don't think we can fit it on top of the Blazer :roll: ! I know a Red-Ryder Wagon is pushing it ;-) ...but some of the basics would definitely be a help for anyone bringing young children along.

P.S. If anyone in the Seagrove/Grayton area has one of those wagon's they'd be willing to loan/rent for a week...give me a holler...they really are worth their weight in gold!!!

 

[Kurt]

YES!!! YES!!!! YES!!!!! We come down with our kids...3 sons, daughter-in-law, fiance...Grandson. Grandson is only 17 months old and has already been down 3 times...4th time coming a week from tomorrow. Since he's been coming with us we've packed an all-terrain stroller...high chair...porta crib...In addition to the usual beach chairs, umbrellas, beach toys, luggage...etc, etc....Having some of the basic child items available would be soooooo helpful! This time he's a little too big for the big stroller...we would love to bring his Red-Ryder wagon that's equipped with "seatbelts and juice box holders"...but we don't think we can fit it on top of the Blazer :roll: ! I know a Red-Ryder Wagon is pushing it ;-) ...but some of the basics would definitely be a help for anyone bringing young children along.

P.S. If anyone in the Seagrove/Grayton area has one of those wagon's they'd be willing to loan/rent for a week...give me a holler...they really are worth their weight in gold!!!

Is all that stuff considered "the basics"?

 

[Beach Runner]

After reading this thread, the hostess in me was excited about providing our guests with extras to make their visits more enjoyable, at no extra cost to them. Then when we arrived at our home this week after just two sets of guests since our last visit, we found damage, missing items, and just a general disrespect for our property. I am so nauseated about it that my hospitality juices have stopped flowing. I am so disillusioned.

 

[ktmeadows]

After reading this thread, the hostess in me was excited about providing our guests with extras to make their visits more enjoyable, at no extra cost to them. Then when we arrived at our home this week after just two sets of guests since our last visit, we found damage, missing items, and just a general disrespect for our property. I am so nauseated about it that my hospitality juices have stopped flowing. I am so disillusioned.

I feel your pain. We tried leaving "extras" and while it might have been great for the first few guests, by the time we got down there a few weeks later, much of the "extras" were gone or destroyed. The one thing that we're still scratching our heads over (and the one thing I enjoyed to read most when we came back down to stay at our place) was the fact that we can't seem to keep a guest book for any length of time. At first it was just scribbling on the pages, etc. Then it was torn-out pages. Finally, the last time we went down right after we had a two-month rental move out, the entire guest book was gone. I used to look forward to reading guest comments and suggestions...they were so helpful. I've given up trying to keep a guest book out. Go figure!

 

[Kurt]

I feel your pain. We tried leaving "extras" and while it might have been great for the first few guests, by the time we got down there a few weeks later, much of the "extras" were gone or destroyed. The one thing that we're still scratching our heads over (and the one thing I enjoyed to read most when we came back down to stay at our place) was the fact that we can't seem to keep a guest book for any length of time. At first it was just scribbling on the pages, etc. Then it was torn-out pages. Finally, the last time we went down right after we had a two-month rental move out, the entire guest book was gone. I used to look forward to reading guest comments and suggestions...they were so helpful. I've given up trying to keep a guest book out. Go figure!

That is strange. You could understand someone messing up an entry and wanting to take out a page maybe.

I'll bet kids tear them up, or use them for coloring books, or somehow they get ruined, or tossed accidentally.

 

[ktmeadows]

That is strange. You could understand someone messing up an entry and wanting to take out a page maybe.

I'll bet kids tear them up, or use them for coloring books, or somehow they get ruined, or tossed accidentally.

That's been pretty much my guess too. Maybe the parents decided to just toss it out rather than leave a book full of scribblings.

Maybe it would help if I left a few coloring books and/or pads of paper for the kids. I might give it a try. I really enjoyed having a guest book out.