If things go wrong

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If things go wrong...

We don't like it either, but something things just go wrong - and sometimes it seems to be one thing after another. We will always try and put things right, but a few words might help set the scene first.

All the properties that we manage are privately owned, some of them are homes, some holiday homes. They are not hotels, nor are they 'resort-owned' apartments. This can make a difference, for example most of the appliances will be normal household ones, and if they get a hard bashing during a summer season they might fail. If this happens we will often be able to replace something quite quickly, but we won't necessarily have a store room of 10 identical items just waiting for one to fail - unlike a hotel that might have a store full of coffee machines for example.

Our owners choose their own linen and this reflects in part their styling, some do use hotel quality sheets, others don't.

Electricity and water in this part of Spain is fairly reliable, but when things go off there is very little we can do I'm afraid. Some apartments are connected to mains water, others are connected to a local supply so water problems can vary from location, Its not unusual for the water to go off, but if it does it usually comes back within a few hours.

Electricity is a bit more complicated. In Spain every property has an electrical rating - if you use more current that you are allowed the power will switch off. This is quite unusual for many people who won't have experienced this system in their own country. So if this happens to you, turn off a few appliances then re-set the system by switching the power on and off at the main switch. (This might seem odd to you, but this actually re-sets the system here in Spain)

Internet is quite advanced here with more fibre than in most countries. So if you have a fibre connection you are likely to enjoy high speed with good reliability. Other areas rely on ADSL and this is quite poor. We can't do anything about it, but as fibre becomes available we urge property owners to have it installed.

Bugs, and other nasty things do sometimes cause an issue. Its a fact of life that this area is sub-tropical and while that is great for a tan it brings with it all sorts of bugs. If you leave food out it will attract ants very quickly, so try not to. You can get sprays from the local shops if ants are a problem for you. In serious situations we have an approved firm who provide pest control and we will always ask them to attend if necessary.

What can we do to help?

It may seem obvious but we really don't want you to have a bad experience. But things do happen and we  will always try and find a resolution. If we can't get something fixed or put right we will explain why and in some situations might offer some compensation to try and make a situation less awful, or we might offer you another property to move to. But sometimes there might be nothing we can do, for want of trying. We are human too, just like you, and we absolutely hate it when things don't work out.

We have a number of contractors and tradespeople on-call during the busy season, but even so it can sometimes take a while to get something looked at. We know you are on holiday and every day counts, which is why we have a 6 hour response time written into our service contracts. So even if you think we are not doing our best, we'd like to assure you that we really do try hard.

 

The important 'small print'

We can only put something right if you tell us about it at the time. We can't sort things out after the event, and I'm afraid any offer of compensation has to be agreed by us at the time of any incident.

Just because you write and say things broke down or something ruined your stay after you have left, or are just about to leave then its a bit late for us to do anything, and compensation is out of the question. This might sound harsh, but it is fair. Tell us when something happens and we will try and fix it, if we can't then compensation might be offered. We might also offer to move you into a different property.

We hold a damage deposit, this is to cover any damage that may be caused by you during your stay. Accidents happen in which case you must get in touch with us straight away. We can then note what has happened and it is possible that you may not be charged. If you do damage something and you don't tell us, our housekeepers will report this when they carry out their routine inspection. We will advise you and tell you that we will hold your deposit until any repair or replacement has been arranged. If the cost exceeds the amount we hold then we will issue you with an invoice for the balance, if the cost is less than the amount we are holding then of course the balance will be refunded to you.

If you cause damage to the property which means it is out of comission you will be charged the standard daily rate until it is available again. If we have to relocate guests that have booked the property following your stay we will have to charge you for all the relocation expenses including possibly alternative accommodation with another provider. In severe cases like this we will notify the authorities and you might experience difficulties trying to leave the country if we have not reached an 'in principal' agreement. This is why you must get in touch with us straight away.

This isn't meant to sound horrid, actually it is all standard stuff that you will find in any hotel or accommodation small print. We just don't hide it away. As we said we know accidents happen so please tell us at the time and then it makes life easier for everyone. We don't always make the final decision so the more information we have at the time really helps.

We strongly recommend travel insurance; many policies will cover you if you accidentally damage fixtures or furnishings during your stay. You should also remember that our standard terms and conditions require you to treat the property you are staying in with respect, it is your responsibility to make sure that any other guests, including children, behave responsibly during your stay.