Holiday houses and apartments The role of a keyholder
Your work: The satisfaction of guests and owners depends on your professionalism. Dear Keyholder You provide a very important and personal service to our clients and owners. You look after both our guests and the owners property which is a vital responsibility. Without your help a hassle-free letting would not be possible. It will not work without you! Thank you for taking on this responsibility and for ensuring our guests expectations are met. The Interhome Team This brochure is designed to assist you in your work. It is a helpful guide to assist you plan and organise your tasks and give you tips for optimal preparation of the holiday accommodation you look after. The checklist on the back page is there to help you. Our clients will not accept sub-standard accommodation. The guest has the right to expect the quality and reliability associated with Interhome. We want and must be able to provide quality homes to our guests so that they enjoy their stay and continue to make bookings through Interhome. For things to run as smoothly as possible, we need your help. It is our aim to provide the quality levels which will ensure our guests continue to holiday with Interhome. You play a vital part in ensuring a smooth running ren tal. 2
Good to know: Some useful information to help you maintain high standards and provide the best possible service to our guests. In this brochure you will find useful information which should make planning and preparation a lot easier for you. It will also help you with client arrivals and departures and will give you tips on maintaining quality control. Please take some time to study this brochure and take note of the suggestions for making your job easier. Preparation for a perfect stay. Arrival Lists. We will send you a weekly reservation list by Email, fax or post indicating the client s name and holiday dates. This list is only sent to you if there are changes to the previous list. You will be informed by telephone of last-minute bookings (i.e. those within 14 days of arrival). Please use the checklist at the back of this brochure which lists the most important points to help you prepare the property for occupation. Customer Service. Before clients arrival, please check that electricity, hot and cold water, and heating are all available and in working order. Please check also the fridge. Please provide toilet paper and rubbish bags. Quality Check. Guests demand a well maintained property. The quality check must be carried out in the property either by yourself or the cleaner. Please display the checklist inside the front door so that it shows the date of the last inspection. The Quality Check forms can be ordered from your nearest Interhome office. Additional Information. The arrival list will indicate if an extra bed or cot is required and if the guest is bringing a pet. You will also see how many people have booked to stay at the property at the time of booking. Please bear in mind that we may not have been informed of any changes to the number of people to be expected. Before Arrival. You must ensure the property is ready and cleaned for each set of new guests. It is important that the property is handed over to them in perfect condition. This apartment was checked by... Diese Wohnung wurde kontrolliert durch... Cet appartement a été contrôlé par... Este alojamiento ha sido controlado por... Questo appartamento è stato controllato da... DATE SIGNATURE 3
Optimal Service: Good preparation and organisation in the resort guarantees a problem-free holiday. Arrival. In our booking conditions guests are asked to arrive between 16.00-19.00 hours. However, this may not always be possible. Please help guests who may be delayed. Voucher. Each guest will produce a holiday voucher when collecting the keys. They should also pay any extra costs which are due and a breakage deposit on arrival. The deposit can be paid in cash, by cheque or by credit card (whichever is easiest for you). The deposit is held by you as security and any breakages can be deducted from this on departure. Payment. Payment for services such as final cleaning, bed linen and towels which are due from Interhome can be made to you by bank transfer or cheque. The contract should indicate whether this payment is to be made to the owner or the keyholder. Both are possible. Your Interhome contact will advise you on the best method. Arrival and Departure Checks. We recommend that you inspect the property with the client on arrival and again on departure. This will avoid any disputes. Additional Costs. If there are any compulsory charges which you should collect from the customer these will be marked on the voucher. These would have been agreed by the owner when the contract was signed. Final cleaning and power costs (electricity, water, heating) are always included. Charges (e.g. bed linen and towels, local tax) which are not included must be paid in resort (as stated in the booking conditions). If the guest requires extra services (e.g. use of telephone, change of linen, extra cleaning etc) these costs must be collected immediately. You must give a receipt to the client for any of these extras. 4
Best Quality: Ensure guests expectations are fulfilled by providing them with the highest possible standard. Directions. Please accompany guests to their holiday home. If you are unable to do this, please give them clear directions to the property. A map will make things easier for them. Service. You know the property and the area well. The guests however will probably not be so familiar with the property, resort, region or country. They will be grateful if you can spend a few moments explaining a bit about the property (house rules, how equipment works, etc.) and inform them about the most important places around (beach, sports facilities, grocery shops, restaurants etc.). It would be best if you could prepare some information about the property and the resort and leave this in the house. Problems. If any guests should have a problem you must try to solve this immediately and inform the owner if repairs and/or replacements are required. All defects must be repaired within 48 hours. The guests have the right to expect a holiday home with no faults. Ensure a smooth departure Departure. According to our booking conditions, the client is expected to vacate the property no later than 10.00am on their day of departure. Please check with the client on arrival what time they expect to be leaving so that you can arrange for an inventory to be carried out and collect payment for any additional costs. Final Cleaning. The next guests may be arriving soon. Check the whole property and the inventory carefully. Use our checklist to help you. A thorough final clean will prevent any problems with the next guests. 5
Happy guests: The more care you take of your holiday home, the more satisfied your guest will be. Important information for you. External Influences. Anything unusual (e.g. building works, closure of facilities, or any other building activity in the complex or surrounding area) could spoil the guests holiday. You must inform us and the owner immediately about anything which could spoil the guests holiday so that we can advise them straight away. Guest Information. Interhome has compiled a general guest information sheet containing the most important details and guidelines. This contains tips on using the swimming pool (if available), damages, rubbish separation and fines, local tax etc. The information sheet can be ordered from your Interhome representative. Payment. Your fee for looking after the property (inventory and seasonal checks) and meeting guests is payable to you by the owner. Your costs for final cleaning and laundry can be paid directly to you from Interhome or by the owner. Absence. If you are not available at any time, you must ensure someone else will act as keyholder during your absence. If this is not possible or you are planning on being away for a long period of time, please inform the owner or Interhome so that we can block this period. Yearly checks. Before the beginning of each season. Please clean and air the house thoroughly including the mattresses, beds, arm chairs, tables, curtains, net curtains, carpets, cushions etc. Please replace any broken or worn items (it is better to have already done this at the end of the previous season). At the end of each season. This is your chan ce to check the property thoroughly. Please check all electricity, water and heating is swit ched off and close all windows and shutters. Ensure everything in the property is checked, including the linen. If there is any damage, or improvements or replacements are required (e.g. broken furniture/ equipment, worn arm-chairs, bed linen and dishes, shower curtain, windows, mould problems etc) you must report this to the owner so that the relevant work (painting, repair etc,) can be carried out before the start of the next season. The list of yearly checks must be kept safely and must show the most important checkpoints. Tip: From experience we know that most owners carry out the yearly checks personally. Therefore, please discuss this so that you can co-ordinate any necessary work. 6
Thanks: Without your personal commitment, a hassle-free rental would not be possible. Dear Keyholder, Thank you for the time you have taken to read this information. We have included many tasks in this brochure, and sometimes a few specifications to help you maintain a good service. As we have already mentioned, the keyholder has a lot of responsibility. Without your commitment we could not guarantee a hasslefree rental. We thank you again for your continued support. If you have any questions, please contact your nearest Interhome office where our staff will be happy to help you. We wish you every success. Your Interhome Team. 7
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