We believe many situations can be resolved by investing a fraction of the costs associated with disputes to prevent issues in the first place and then resolving situations amicably BEFORE they escalate into a dispute.
This is clearly a business decision by owners, which they are entitled to make, but we believe the wider damage to relationships and your business and the time taken by full blown disputes requires owners to take steps to build in anti-dispute actions along with their automated systems. They save time and energy for everyone.
Compulsory disclosure of any security cameras in/around the property is required.
If you have security cameras installed in/around your property please be aware that this must be disclosed to guests before they visit and announced by signs in/around the property. We expect you to respect guest privacy in private areas (bedrooms/bathrooms) at all times.
We advise owners to invest in a comprehensive Meet and Greet and Fair-well Check-out.
By far the majority of disputes we see relate to poor communication between owner and holidaymaker together with a lack of preventative procedures and the majority can be avoided, yes at a cost, but less than the wider costs of allowing things to escalate into damaging relationships and your business.
With such goodwill on both sides therefore resulting from the investment and implementation of good policies full blown disputes are usually avoided.
Know Before You Go
Simply Owners encourages holidaymakers to take advantage of being able to have a meaningful discussion with owners BEFORE making a booking to ensure that they have thoroughly explored any issues they may have. Such discussions facilitate the creation of a good match meeting the needs of both parties.
So for example: it may be that you as an owner are happy for a dog to be inside the property and therefore state ‘dog friendly’ but if the garden is not fenced in or the dogs cannot go upstairs or need to be on a lead outside the property because of traffic etc, it is important that such points are declared at the outset.
We advise owners and guests to make an inspection of the property and its surroundings identifying and highlighting any defects upon arrival.
Similarly, we advise owners and guests to inspect the property and its surroundings again at the point of checking out, noting any issues.
Both, guests and owners may want to record these inspection tours on a mobile phone or make any notes accordingly.
Done in the correct way owners can demonstrate to guests that they are keen to point out anything such as a scratch on the shower screen or any damage anywhere so that guests can relax and enjoy their holiday without worrying that they are going to get the blame for something they haven't done.
Similarly, the point can be stressed that all the major items around the property have been well taken care of and are checked at every check in and check out. This leaves the guests with the knowledge that they cannot just get away with things, but again done in the right way can leave guests feeling cared for and all bodes well for a good review and admissions if anything does get damaged.
It may be a good idea at the check in to inform guests that any minor breakages are not considered a big deal, 'so don't spoil your holiday worrying about minor things' but point out any major concerns such as not leaving any rubbish on the street as this could lead to an owners license being revoked.
Ensure you have a very effective booking contract in place detailing EVERY aspect of the arrangements.
There are many excellent sites on the internet with model contracts and booking forms for holiday rentals. We have included just three links below for consideration but there are many more. We strongly advise that you take some independent legal advice on creating your own specific booking contract to ensure that it is comprehensive and covers every aspect you need.
https://www.schofields.ltd.uk/blog/3982/holiday-let-email-examples/
https://www.pdffiller.com/75160757--Booking-form-Holiday-let-with-terms-and-conditions-March-201212doc-
It will be difficult for you to resolve disputes if discussions, booking contracts and all copies of correspondence are not secured.
The biggest disputes we have witnessed relate to ‘misrepresentation’ with holidaymakers arguing that the property, its location and facilities etc do not reflect those detailed on the advert.
By all means provide as much accurate information about your property as possible, its location, and its contents on your listing to promote it to those viewing it on our site. However, it is MUCH better in the long term to acknowledge, when necessary, that your property may not be suitable for a particular holidaymaker. If you take a booking knowing it is not a suitable fit, your guests will not only have a less than desirable experience but there is potential that they will leave a negative review or file for a claim in the small claims courts.
So for example: if a car is really necessary to get to the beach or to the shops it is better to state this.
Some countries and regions have legislation specifically relating to holiday rental properties and this is subject to change. It is important that you identify exactly what is needed by way of licences in your location and continually review such legal responsibilities to ensure that you are operating within your area’s legal framework. You can include any license numbers on your listing to give holidaymakers confidence that you are a legitimate owner. Similarly there will be a raft of Health and Safety issues relating to holiday rentals and it is important that you familiarise yourself and keep up to date with these to avoid any legal challenge.
By listing your property on Simply Owners, you confirm that:
Our Role
Simply Owners is trusted because we operate transparently and require owners to comply with all local and national regulations
We do not act as an agent, do not take payments and do not intermediate the booking. We provide the platform, the legal responsibility remains with the owner.
If a local authority gets in touch regarding compliance, or if we are informed of an issue, we may remove the listing until the matter is resolved.
The link below is an excellent start for considering the health and safety issues you may need to accommodate.
https://www.schofields.ltd.uk/blog/4060/holiday-cottage-health-safety-legislation/
Simply Owners does not have the resources, in terms of time or legal expertise, to investigate disputes between owners and holidaymakers. We are unable to collect all the information, assess the legitimacy of it and make judgments as to who is right or wrong. If disputes cannot be resolved amicably between both parties, then the ultimate place for a ruling on matters is in the courts. Simply Owners will support both parties as best we can with any information we have but will have very little weight to bear on legal matters as we are not party to the contract.
When Simply Owners becomes aware that criminal proceedings are being issued against an owner then we will suspend that owner’s listing as a neutral act until the case has been ruled upon. It would be remiss of us to allow future holidaymakers to follow in the footsteps of a situation that was found to be illegal.