:-)
The question remains, if they really are that awful then how many of them will still be alive after a fortnight or so of being on the island together? I imagine some would throw themselves in the sea, some would be thrown in the sea, strangling and using big sticks would account for a few more and some might just lose the will to live ;-)
Donna, I would love to a fly on the wall and see how long it would take them to comment on the other peoples and little angels behaviours. Its just that they don't see their own.
I love having people to stay and it gives us a chance to do some sightseeing too. I have a cousin who is not welcome as he freeloaded even when we lived in the UK so coming here would be terrible. I have told him he can stay in the gite and pay like anyone else but he decided it was too expensive and tried to find another couple to share the cost with and could not...(I guess his friends have been to the pub with the "bar shy Barry" as my husband calls him and realsied a holiday with him would break the bank!).
Anyway in 2 weeks lovely friends arrive and have asked what items we want from uk...(T Bags!) and have promised to cook us a curry and are bringing the spices necessary! Really looking forward to it. Can't think of rules for them other than 1. Enjoys yourselves. 2. Make yourselves at home. 3. Don't expect to be waited on, we don't do that.
I wonder if any of these guests from hell would recognize themselves if they read these comments ;-) I think they should all be shipped off to the same all-inclusive exotic location, where they can enjoy one another's boorish company and delightful, high-spirited offspring. Preferably an island that serves as a penal colony, if such a thing still exists (only in my dreams, I suspect).
Bring vast amounts of beer. That's the only rule I can think of.
I feel for you Karen, I really do. I think we would all like to think that it is all done on a trust and respect basis but, sadly it is not always the case. We have had some nightmare guests but I do not stand for it now. If they are that bad we don't want them back anyway. Thankfully, it is very rare these days. Word must have got out on the tom toms drums that we don't accept unruly & disrespectful guests.
Well said Steve!
Yes I should have said I wanted a security deposit, that may have helped.
My husband is so upset that at no point have they said one nice thing about the house and the lovely 2 acre garden and my friend saw it in its ārawā state so knows how much work has gone into it!!
And there are only 2 children and 6 adults!! Youād have thought that between then they could keep 2 children under control!
Yes with our other guests we do a full handover and lay down the rules in a polite and friendly way. They just seem to think all of that does not apply them even though I pointedly handed the info file to them and reclarified several points in there.
Most of our ārealā guests/PGs have been lovely and treated the place with respect and have been very complimentary about the property and surroundingsā¦ And they come to France because they love holidaying in Franceā¦ I think this lot will be off to an all-inclusive in Spain next year!!
I know what you are saying Leslie. My daughter has been bought up more French than English and is far better behaved and mannered even at the ripe old age of 10 she can't even understand why other kids can be sooo horrible. We had paying guest once who asked me if I had a problem with kids after telling one of them off for smashing a glass beer bottle against our table tennis table. Basically I said ' Don't do that because it could smash and cut someone' He asked me what my problems was and had I got an issue with kids. To which my response was ' No I have one of my own but she is far better behaved than yours. His response ' If you think I am going to supervise my kids while I am on holiday you can forget it' My response ' This is my house not yours and there are conditions to your rental, I would suggest you read them. This is not a creche. If you want a creche, you should have gone on a package holiday with the masses or to Butlins! If you cannot behave in a responsible and respectful manner I will ask you to leave in accordance with our terms an conditions with no refund' At which point he told the kids off, we had no further problems and they were as nice as pie. We even had an email after they left saying that they had a fab holiday and how wonderful the house was. We have a successful business which we have been running for 6 years and I'll be honest I don't accept bad behaviour anymore. Been there, done that. We have fab letters of thanks and recommendations proudly displayed in the house and return business. I guess we are just lucky? But, it wasn't like that in the early days, renting nearly put me off for good but, you learn how to deal with disrespectful guests in the end. Luckily the free loaders in our family & friends are not on my side of the family and I just lay down tools for the duration if hubby does not co operate. Since then he tells them if they are p**ing us off because he doesn't like being left with the washing, ironing, cooking and cleaning when they are here or when they have left.
Well Karen, that should give you a good insight into what some, not all of your guests will get up to. Learn the weak spots now while you have the chance especially floating toys etc in the swimming pool blocking skimmer openings etc and make sure guests are aware of this.
We did the same years back and if I heard the oven door slam once i heard it 150 times, don't people learn it has a spring on it so hold on to it whilst you close it!
Good luck
Leslie. Why tell off a visiting boy when you have your own kids who "tend to put folk right"? Let them do it & avoid being punched yourself. Personally I couldn't imagine being "put right" by a 14 year old yet alone one of the grand old age of 7, come to think of it I can't imagine a kid being allowed to do it. Chip off the old block? Lighten up man & try to see the good side of folk, hell you might even find a friend & decide you prefer it to a lonely life. You've only one life so you might as well have a go at enjoying it :-)
Hi Clare, kids hmm.
Once told a little boy off who was visiting and his English father took me to one side and threatened to punch me.
We have a 7 11 and 14 year old boys, who are ourdoor French country raised and tend to put folk right.
I do not have Friends but the Mrs has lots of Musical friends that to be honest are FRELOADERS, our first Gite is fully booked, but not with paying guests oh no, but with her Freeloader friends.
The most annoying types are the French folk with babies who for some reason believe I should be running around for them. I get damned fed up clearing up their Pee Pee that they can not get into the toilet bowel.
Anyway informed Mrs that I will have to re-decorate next year because the New Gite is ruined.
Australian Freeloaders in my experience seemed to be the worst.
As you can imagine our gites and plans for our future are now dissolving away, especially regards our marriage relationship.
Guests, ? Friends? just a bloody disaster.
As she is so careless of your home and (new) business - and is deliberately ignoring things like the guest info book - you may find that a little jealousy / envy has crept in and - blind to the hard work you have put in - she is allowing her children to run riot. A shame you have not got a damage deposit in place - that would concentrate her mind.
We had exactly the same. Trouble is, is guests, ( as one of our full paying holiday guests said, not friends or relations) do not pack their brains & common sense and that is where it all goes out of the window. They come on holiday to relax and the kids run a muck, they forget their parental responsibility. I have just taken to shouting at the kids if they misbehave. I treat them as I would my own. If they are not towing the line they are told so, I have even confiscated toys and inflatables, and to be honest the parents say nothing because they then have their brains telepathically transported back in an instant and back you up with embarrassment!
We currently have guests, best friend from UK and her family, staying in our newly renovated gite. They have paid low mates rates for thisā¦ There are 8 of them and it was agreed last year when we were working on the gite that they would ātest runā it before āproperā guests arrived. Well, Iām horrified! The grandchildren are a nightmare, climb all over the furniture, drag cushions off furniture to build dens with anything that moves. Looks like they used the sitting room as a racetrack ramming the sofas against the walls and sliding round the new wooden floor on a footstoolā¦ Curtains dragged so that rings are distorted, towel rails used as climbing frames, pool so covered in inflatables that it has not been skimmingā¦ And so onā¦ My friend is incredibly fussy in her home, why has she not extended this courtesy to ours?
I did have a word about a few things and presented them with the guest info booklet, but the list could have gone on and on and the info booklet was put on the shelf unread as though it did not apply/ matter to them. I am not even sure they like France! I donāt think they would choose to come here for a holiday normally, this was just a cheap getaway for everyone! Last time, thatās for sure!!
I have lovely friends arriving in September, two couples, who I know will come bearing gifts, will help with food prep and clearing or cook for us all themselves, hire their own car, take us out for a meal or twoā¦ Maybe I need to redefine the ābest friendā label!!
I could not agree more on the morning, cooking and visitor from hell. No doubt many of us have experienced those things and worse. On the visitor from hell, he is a college really, from the USA and wherever he has visited us it is all wrong. Yet go to him, hospitality is fine and his wife is a very patient, tolerant and clearly tough but extremely nice woman who survives his way of being, step out of his front door and the city traffic is murderous, air thick and polluted, people generally unfriendly and he is miles from any shops, restaurants, etc. Yet when he comes to Europe it is all wrong because there is nothing to do (!), only wide open spaces especially (well, I have mainly lived in rural places for around 50 years) and he hates all European food (including the ubiquitous Italian). The trouble is that his work was fantastic so I could not not allow him to visit but I hate to think what he is like now in retirement.
Guests like fish go off after 3 days, that is what my mother used to say.
I do enjoy visitors, preferably in pairs so I can send them off on their own!
I donāt like them to stay longer than 3 days.
I donāt like them to get up before me and stand around waiting for me all dressed up and ready to go. I need some quiet time for myself when I can feed the cats, have a cup of coffee and prepare breakfast.
I appreciate if they sit down and read a book or go for a walk instead of following me around all the time. I also want to have time to read the newspaper and making permanent conversation is very tiring!
I love cooking for my guests, but the kitchen is my refuge where I want to be left alone and donāt want to have company.
I think we all had a āvisitor from hellā! Ours was a male friend from Canada who stayed 4 weeks, didnāt bring a gift (just a token would have been appreciated), never offered any contribution to the daily living expenses nor took us for a meal, never did anything on his own - surprising that we managed to stay friends!!!