How To Avoid Damages On Vacation
Paying for damages right after a vacation can be a huge downer for anyone. You’ve had a wonderful vacation and spent lots of money, and now the vacation management company wants some more money. This time it’s not for the rental, but for damages. You start to retrieving past information about your vacation realize all you broke was a can opener. Now the vacation company wants to charge you $35. You unwilling pay the $35 and vow to never use this vacation company again. Actually this happens often and its bad for both parties.
You have to think about it from both angles. I get it. You can’t believe you paid so much money to be nickel and dime over something so small. But what you don’t realize is that the company has to serve both guests and owners. Yes, some owners care about the small things. To help out, I have listed several tips to help you (the guest) and the company. Trust me–the company would prefer nothing is broken and you stay every year for the next 20 years.
- Pay The Damage Fee. – Perfect for large families. Typically, you will pay a non-refundable $25-$50. The fee should ensure all accidental breaks be taken care of. There will probably be a limit of “X” dollars. I mean, if you break a plasma TV expect to pay something. Although you hate paying another fee its is really about the transfer of risk. For every family who doesn’t break something, there will be a family who breaks a remote, bar stool, or pool stick.
- Check For Damages. This process doesn’t take long. You might be able to catch something that a maintenance man or cleaner missed. If you don’t want to be charge for something you didn’t break then document things upon arrival.
- Pet Friendly Accommodation. Don’t be surprised. A lot of people try and skirt the rules. Be respectful and understand that some people and home owners are allergic to pets.
- The Rental Is Not Yours. Just because you rented the vacation rental doesn’t mean you can take blenders, coffee pots, blankets, pillows, air hockey pucks, or anything else you can fit in your suit case. You will be charge…even if it is a mistake.
- Honesty Is Awesome. Some companies will let small things slide. Plus, if you do break something you should want to fix it. That is the right thing to do.
- It’s Your Right. Well, not really. Yeah, you paid for the rental but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. It’s not a good idea to turn the air down to 55 degrees, jump on the beds, play air-soft guns in the house, put an entire bed on the drive way, use bubble bath in the hot tubs, leave food out for the animals, through beer cans over the deck, break a window, order lots of pay-per-view movies, or anything else you wouldn’t do at your moms house. (Yes, these things have happened).
- Ask For help. It is a better idea to call the company and ask for advice than it is to break whatever it is you are working on. No hard feelings for not being able to figure it out…some things are hard to figure out. If the company has after hour services it would be a good idea to use them.
These rules are in place because something happened in the past to warrant their creation. No vacation management company likes charging a past guest for something broken. The company probably understands they will lose a guest forever because of the damages. But what is the company supposed to do?
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Marc is currently obtaining a Masters Of Arts in Religion. Although not considered well read by a friends wife and a conversation hog by another friends wife, Marc spends hours wasting time on political/news websites, blogging, and reading religious books. Lastly, he quintessentially defines football fanatic. 
