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Great point. But (for easy argument) our email said "we are pleased you can spend some time at the lake house again this year. We have been able to reserve the first of the month through the 7th for your stay. We have guests leaving on the day before your stay and arriving the early morning of the 8th so please let us know what time your flights get in on the first/leave on the 7th so I can make sure the cleaning crew has done turnover. "
My guess is that they stopped reading at the bolded part and took it literally 'through the 7th' and not 'until the 7th'. Many people just don't read everything. Clearly they are at fault for not reading the entire email but in the future I would clearly state
My guess is that they stopped reading at the bolded part and took it literally 'through the 7th' and not 'until the 7th'. Many people just don't read everything. Clearly they are at fault for not reading the entire email but in the future I would clearly state
Check-in: date and time
Check-out: date and time
at the beginning of the email.
For everyone, not just them.
Yes, I was thinking the wording might have caused some confusion, especially if English isn't their first language. They might have seen that they're staying "through the 7th" and that the next guests were arriving the 8th and thought they would leave early on the 8th.
Yes, I was thinking the wording might have caused some confusion, especially if English isn't their first language. They might have seen that they're staying "through the 7th" and that the next guests were arriving the 8th and thought they would leave early on the 8th.
Makes sense, but supposedly these are friends/family members, probably of her "mate" if history is any indication, so the language barrier (if it exists) wouldn't apply.
Makes sense, but supposedly these are friends/family members, probably of her "mate" if history is any indication, so the language barrier (if it exists) wouldn't apply.
The check-in and check-out date format would be better, but it is odd how there’s been no follow-up on this dangling dispute. Did the purported guests ever reply back with what they’ll do? This seems to be a theme in “the history.â€
Makes sense, but supposedly these are friends/family members, probably of her "mate" if history is any indication, so the language barrier (if it exists) wouldn't apply.
Her "mate's" family is from Argentina, but even if these friends don't have a language barrier, her wording did leave some things open for "interpretation."
When my late husband was in law school all the professors said "Never give away free legal services. Always write the actual bill and then tell them that they save a certain percentage due to Family and Friends discount". The professors said that when people got things for free they often didn't appreciate them as much as if they paid something for the services. And, if they did not know the real cost they might not know how much a bargain you are giving them.
Perhaps you can tell your friends "Normally we charge $700 plus a $200 cleaning fee (or whatever) for a weeks stay at our vacation home but because you are our dear friend we will only charge you the cleaning fee (or a certain percentage of the costs)"
I had a prof say the same thing to a class I took in grad school. People often do not value the free service. I trust the OP has solved this problem by now.
Just an update. We heard nothing from these guests so followed up with an email saying that we were unable to host due to the confusion about the dates/were opening the house up to paying guests. This garnered an immediate and rather desperate flurry of calls to my husband and myself. The guests have changed their departure and sent us their ticket confirmation for the appropriate dates.
Its clear that the entire purpose of the ",misunderstanding " was to get an extra night for free. We are now debating whether or not just to cancel as threatened or allow these guests to stay. It would definitely be the last stay.
Its clear that the entire purpose of the ",misunderstanding " was to get an extra night for free. We are now debating whether or not just to cancel as threatened or allow these guests to stay. It would definitely be the last stay.
I'd allow the stay, since you did originally make the offer and because you now know they did change their plane tickets and won't be overstaying - but make it the last one. In the future, no one stays for free!
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