POINTS FOR NEW OWNERS South Africa’s most exclusive hideaways
General Please ensure the person who does the ‘meet and greet’ is friendly and also well versed in how everything works. Talk through all the points you’d like them to address with guests, particularly the alarm system. Consider having a lock-box installed somewhere discrete so that departing guests can safely deposit the keys on departure if your housekeeper / manager is not available. For remote properties where no one is available to do a ‘meet and greet’ a lock-box can be used to give guests access on arrival too. Present a clearly laid out and thorough house instruction manual with contact numbers in case of issues on the first page – happy to send you an example to work from. When possible allow guests an earlier check-in and late check-out – this really adds value to the stay and to guest’s enjoyment of your property. During peak dates when the minimum stay is 7 nights it is fine to run back to back bookings and offer a same day turnaround – i.e. departing guests leave by 10am, arriving guests come in at 2pm. However off-peak and especially for weekend bookings guests want to enjoy their Sunday at leisure, not feel pressured into being packed up and out by 10am.
General After a booking have the house cleaned and prepped as soon as possible. We often get last minute enquiries and it makes sense for your house to be guest-ready at all times to take advantage of these. Whether your Perfect Hideaway is your primary home or your second home, the guests who come to stay will expect it to feel like a holiday home. ALL personal belongings MUST be packed away please, with any valuable items either off the premises or locked away. If you reserve any cupboards for storage of personal belongings please mark that these are ‘off-limits’ with a pretty ribbon tied around door handles. There must be ample space remaining for guests to store their clothes. Please ensure bathroom and kitchen cupboards are completely empty, except or complimentary toiletries in bathrooms and the usual essentials in kitchens. The fridge must also be empty, no shelf with half empty condiment jars please! If you regularly have pets in your home but it is not ‘petfriendly’ for guests please make us aware. Some people are highly allergic and need to know upfront that this home will not be suitable for them. Please ensure you supply your cleaning staff with a powerful vacuum cleaner and ensure they are diligent in removing all traces of animal hair.
Servicing The level of servicing required depends on the offering and the rate per night. With our higher end hideaways it is expected that daily servicing will be included in the rate. With our more down-to-earth hideaways we prefer for guests staying for a week or more to have twice weekly servicing included in the rate; certainly as a minimum one mid-week service must be included in the rate please. It is great if guests can arrange extra servicing in advance, and our Post Reservation Team will liaise with you, or your manager or housekeeper, to organize this. Guests then pay the cleaning staff directly in cash on the day. Please decide on working hours and the rate for a mid-week, weekend and Public Holiday service, and keep us updated if this changes. We suggest the rate is commensurate with the rate you pay your cleaning staff, or at most 20% higher, otherwise two things happen – one, your staff feel you should be paying them more and two, your guests feel they are being taken advantage of! It can be helpful to have an outline of what a service will include, just to manage expectations – for example: Our housekeeping team will wash dishes, clean up and sweep the kitchen, make the beds, clean the bathrooms and straighten up the living areas. If you would like some guidance on the right level of servicing for your hideaway, Amanda Perkins is happy to help.
L ounge Drape sofas with gorgeous, soft throws for wrapping up in on chilly evenings. Can be stored in a basket or small kist during summer months. Cushions preferably to have squashy down inners and covers to be checked and washed if necessary between bookings. Fireplaces – cleaned and laid with a ready to light fire during winter. A good supply of DRY firewood, newspaper, one packet of firelighters and some long matches. Pillar candles – you can buy decent and inexpensive candles from Mr Price Home.
Bedrooms Invest in good quality down duvets and pillows and high thread count linens – the higher the thread count the longer they will last so it’s a worthwhile investment. We suggest Granny Goose or Miss Lynn – Miss Lynn offer Perfect Hideaways owners a 10% discount. Use mattress and pillow protectors on all beds. Ensure you have two complete sets of linens (and towels) so that a same day turnaround is possible – this will soon pay for itself.For bookings up to 7 nights there is no need to change bed-linens, however we do recommend giving guests access to extra towels. For bookings of 8 nights plus please change bed-linens once mid-stay. Schedule staff to turn mattresses every 3 months to prevent sagging. Train housekeeping staff to regularly move beds and clean underneath them to prevent dust-balls forming. Consider how warm the bedrooms are in winter – each bedroom needs an adequate heater plus a supply of extra blankets and hot water bottles with washable covers.
Bathrooms There is little more off-putting than a grotty bathroom. Please ensure your house-keeping staff are trained to keep the bathrooms spotless, cleaning behind the toilet, under the sink plus those nooks and crannies that you only see when you’re relaxing in the bath! Supply a good stock of thick, snag-free towels – Miss Lynn stock great quality towels and Mungo offer gorgeous cotton towels. We suggest a minimum of one bath and one hand towel per guest. If your house has a pool or is close to water please also supply one swimming towel per guest. Ensure there is always a supply of good quality 2-ply toilet paper – we recommend BabySoft. Please ensure each bathroom has a small bin and a toilet brush. Check condition and replace toilet brushes frequently. Train your housekeepers to keep an eye out for black mould on tiles and ceilings – ensure there is always fungicidal cleaning products on hand. Check sealants around baths and showers – replace if worn or black mould appears. Ensure each sink, bath and shower has a bottle of good quality, brand aligned liquid soap and each loo has a room freshener spray – we like Charlotte Rhys or Healing Earth. Hand cream is a nice-tohave and guests use very little. It is vital that guests arrive to find there is hot water. Ensure the switch is flicked with sufficient time prior to guest’s arrival to heat a full tank.
Kitchen Consider if your housekeeping staff need point by point training in the Kitchen to avoid the eughh factor! Sinks, bins and drains need a frequent appointment with Jik. Ovens and the wall behind the stove need regular de-greasing. Fridges and freezers must be spotless and odour-free. Between bookings all kitchen items must be checked to see if previous guests left them clean in cupboards – lazy guests sometimes put away crusty or greasy pots. Dinner plates, side plates, cereal bowls, knives, forks and dessert spoons – please supply at least 1.5 times the number of guests i.e. if your house sleeps 8 then supply 12. Mugs, teaspoons, wine glasses, water glasses – supply at least 2 times the number of guests. Ensure there are adequately sized and number of pots, pans, baking trays, mixing bowls, salad bowls and chopping boards. Consider which equipment you would require for an elaborate 3 meal day and ensure the house has everything – e.g. a whisk, a sieve, colanders, etc. Supply a good quality knife block and a knife sharpener to avoid one of our most frequently received complaints! Rare are the guests who don’t braai – please supply a full set of braai tools and check the state of braai grids frequently – grungy or rusty grids are so offputting. Supply cleaning products, black bags, a new scouring sponge for each new guest group and counter wiping cloths which can be washed and / or bleached. We like Woolworths blue ‘Dual function microfiber cloth’. Have oven mitts and a plentiful supply of dishcloths – Miss Lynn have lovely white waffle dishcloths at a good price. Please supply the basics – salt, pepper, sugar, tea, rooibos and coffee – one packet of pods for Nespresso machines, a packet of ground coffee for the plunger or a jar of Nescafe. There must be ice in the freezer – either four clean trays with freshly made ice or a shop bought bag of ice and a carton of UHT milk is a nice-to-have.
+27 21 790 0972 ama nda @ per fect hideaways.co.za per fect hideaways.co.za