poollounger

Heard today that some owners without elex are not telling bookings that they have a genny and are leaving instructions for them on how to start it when the arrive. Is this fair game for people renting in a rural/country area, or plain dirty tactics ? The noise of the genny is, after all, not conducive to a relaxing holiday. And will it leave people in this situation with a bad aftertaste which will impinge on the renting prospects of the area in the future ??

spain

dont think I would like like that if I was on holiday - and they definitely wont get any recommendations or repeat bookings, surly its better to be upfront from the start

derbyflan

Could possibly be a short-term gamble I suppose?

Get the bookings, ignore the complaints, sell on the property or occupy it yourself after a while.

NicCol

We were going to cancel ours, if our rentees were going to have to put up with a genny. It didn't seem fair for them to have to put up with the noise, smelling of petrol, and worse of all, not being able to flush the toilet when the genny was switched off.

Having said that, we have our first rentees at the moment, boiler has broken down (which is less than a year old) and something went wrong with the leccy which meant all the kitchen appliances were live!

Can't wait to get their feedback when they get back.

poollounger

Bl**dy hell.....all live at the same time ???? The best people for boilers are the place in town I was told by the Spanish guy who checked ours over, and said our flue was outdated and no longer being installed..not dangerous but we should get it updated at some point. EFPOs or some name like that... a look on www.mycadiz.biz will get you the correct name.
Hope it gets sorted soon.

NicCol

Thanks poollounger - yes they were live at the same time. Goodness knows what has happened. Its safe now, but the electrician is sorting it all out this week.

I hope it hasn't spoilt their holiday.

Flooziesoozie

We passed all our bookings (deposits paid before we lost our electric) on to another villa via our agent. nearly 11 weeks in all. I don't mind family and friends suffering the use of a genny but would not consider allowing renters to put up with the inconvenience.

Big Pete

Well i would be pretty angry if i had arrived to find that i had to mess around with a genny for sure , so think its out of order .

Mind you if i knew in advance that it was the case i would probably be ok with it ..I mean if your out in the wilds then guess its to be expected and add to the surviving nature thingy .

lynnxa

exactly...........

surely if they knew in advance, and it was reflected in the price, no problem?!

poollounger

Of course. But my OP was not about that.. It was about people not knowing in advance.

lynnxa

I know, but I quoted bigpete, not you

NicCol

In answer to your question, not letting people know in advance is immoral!!

When people hire villas even in rural areas, unless told otherwise they will assume there is electricity. Not many people will have experienced a genny, and to expect them to have to time things so that appliances aren't on at the same time is an inconvenience that could mar their holiday.

Chiclanagir

Not just that, there is also the point that if either the genny broke or you needed to turn it off at night to save on the fuel, and somebody say got up in the night to go to the loo and fell over and broke a leg, or worse, because they couldn´t switch a light on, they could possibly sue you. Also how do you stand insurance wise with letting. I wouldn´t think that your normal house insurance would cover you for letting for profit, and you would need a commercial policy or perhaps I am wrong!

I know somebody in Pago who let without telling the clients they had a genny. The genny broke and they had to hire one which cost a small fortune to hire and with fuel. They were not happy bunnies.

poollounger

Well the contents policy we have through HIFX with Norwich Union does cover for properties being let. It even covers accidents that neccessitate the people leasing having to move to a hotel, and covers their hotel costs. Have never read the small print though.

Flooziesoozie

Our insurance is also with HIFIX and last year when we had a problem with the septic tank backing up into the property they covered the cost of repairs and also relocation of tenants to alternative accomodation.
Everybody who lets should have full insurance which also gives cover for public liability and injury to tenants.
If we hadn't had it last year we would have been seriously out of pocket as relocating someone at the last minute in the height of the season is often more expensive than the letting agreement you originally had.

Also on the matter of letting without advising that you are on a genny, I really do think this would be unacceptable. It is one thing to supply a genny if the electric fails for a short period but not for the whole of the holiday. To not tell someone before they arrive is unfair as they may not be able to find alternative accomodation and you may not know if they have particular problems or medical conditions that could be affected by a lack of constant electric.
I must admit though that we find it a bit of an adventure on a genny (lots of screaming when the shower cuts out and cringing hysteria at the noise when you first start it up) but then again we are not paying for the privelage.