Introduction

This page discusses some requests and expectations that we have about how guests will leave the condo upon departure.

Background

It is important to understand the differences between staying at one of our vacation rentals and staying in a room in an all-in-one, large-scale resort hotels. Our nightly rates are 50% or more below the typical rates for those resort hotels. That means we do not have all of the resources on-site that resort hotels typically do.

Our vacation rentals are in residential resorts that do not have full-service, 24-hour front offices. Correspondingly, we do not have on-site staff, 24-7 to deal with hundreds of guests in a single structure. We do not have central laundry facilities nor an on-call maintenance staff. We do our best to resolve difficulties in our condo that arise from time to time as quickly as possible but response may be a little more lengthy than at an all-in-one resort. Overall, staying at one of our vacation rentals requires a bit more reliance on one's self than staying at an all-in-one resort.

During the stay

We provide lots of "extra" items in our condos at no extra charge. In return for making addition things available, we ask that guests take care of those things and clean them after use. The items we specifically call out in our messages to guests include:

• Second set of bedsheets
  Unlike many vacation rentals, we keep a second set of bedsheets for each bed in our condos. We ask guests to launder (wash/bleach, dry, fold) the first bedsheet set when the second bedsheet set is used. Our housekeeping people simply don't have time to wash two sets of bedsheets for every bed in the condo when preparing for the next guest.
• Beach Equipment
  Rather than requiring guest to rent or bring their own beach equipment, we maintain beach chairs, beach towels, beach umbrellas, and beach mats in our units. We ask guests to clean that equipment (generally, this means rinsing or shaking off sand) before bring it back in the condo after use.
• Baby Equipment
  We keep a high chair, pack-n-play (with a special mattress and sheets), and a stroller in our condos. As with beach equipment, we ask guests to clean any baby equipment in the condo after use.

This is the tradeoff we ask of our guests: in consideration for access to extra items, we request that guests clean those extra items after use.

Exit Strategy

In our pre-arrival e-mail to upcoming guests - and on a placard posted in the condo - we suggest several steps to take before departure. The text of those suggestions are similar to:

1. Please rinse and place dirty dishes and utensils in the dishwasher then start it. Please place the dishwashing brush in the utensils tray to clean it, too. It's OK to depart the condo with the dishwasher running.
2. We ask that you hand wash and put back the pots, pans, and appliances that you used. Surfaces on the pots and pans are damaged by dishwasher detergent.
3. Please dispose of any food products that might spoil. The next guest might appreciate condiments (left in the refrigerator) or staples in the kitchen cabinets.
4. Please take all kitchen garbage to the trash dumpster before you leave the unit. We don't want to attract pests if the housekeeper does not make it to the condo the day you leave.
5. Please place the TV and DVD remotes near the equipment they control.
6. Please place the A/C remotes in their respective holders.
7. If you've used a lot of towels, it would be nice if you could wash a load or two of them before going. Please don't leave any wet laundry in the washing machine when you depart - transfer it to the dryer then start it.
8. The usual: close and lock all windows and the lanai door, ensure all lights, kitchen appliances, TVs, and the A/C are off.

Note that these suggestions relate to not attracting pests into the condo, taking reasonable care of the items in the condo, and - if the guest is of a mind to - taking a few minutes to start laundering items the guest has used.

Tart Conclusion

The fact is that guests expecting the support services of a high-end, all-in-one resort hotel may be disappointed staying at one of our vacation rentals. On the other hand, guests that are a little more self-reliant can save a fair amount of money and enjoy a lower-key environment in our condos.

Sheeler Shelters LLC
Copyright 2019

< 2019-11-17 >