I’m often asked about the process of booking a cottage and why cottage rental agencies and some owners ask so many questions on their application forms. I can understand the concern renters have about providing this information and wanted to explain why so much detail is requested.
Firstly, booking a cottage from a private owner, either through an agency or via an owner’s listing site, is very different from reserving a hotel room or planning a package style vacation. The vast majority of vacation homes are privately owned, and are used by the owners much of the time. This means that the furniture, decor, appliances and all the other stuff you’d expect in a rental property, has been selected by the owner and is in use by their family when it’s not being rented. This is what gives the great feeling and ambience to a cottage and isn’t the bland, impersonal style you might expect in hotels and resorts. Because of this, owners need to feel confident their little piece of heaven is going to be treated with respect. Knowing who is in their cottage at any time is an important factor in their decision to rent.
Just imagine if you rented your home or condo out while you were on vacation. Wouldn’t you want to know a bit about the people who were using your beds and bathrooms, cooking on your stove, reading your books and watching your DVDs? I think you would probably limit the amount of people you had to stay, and be concerned about the possibility of them inviting lots of guests to a party one night. You would have to take out extra home insurance to cover possible damage or liability, and your insurers would probably impose some conditions on your rental groups. And, since it would only be a vacation rental, you would not be protected by any federal or provincial legislation. In short, if you came back from vacation and your renters hadn’t moved out, it might take some time to get rid of them.
It’s unlikely you would plan on doing this, but take a minute to put yourself in the cottage owners shoes, and imagine what it’s like to allow strangers into your home.
So, when you look at a rental application you need to fill in, or agreement you’ve been asked to sign, think about the risk the owner is taking, and try to understand their need to know a bit more about you and your group. There’s a lot of mutual trust in entering into a rental contract; you need to know that the place is as it has been described in the advertising, and the owner wants to be confident you will look after their cottage when you are there.
Why do you want to know if I have home insurance?
Some applications ask for confirmation that you have a home or contents insurance policy. This is because many of these policies will give you cover if you accidentally damage the rented property. All responsible cottage owners carry additional insurance on their policies to allow them to rent out, and their providers may insist that renters have a home policy too.
Do children count in maximum accommodation numbers?
Asking for details on your group is a common practice and it is important to include everyone who plans to be at the cottage, either for the duration of the vacation, or just a couple of days. And children do count! The large majority of cottages have septic systems to manage waste water and sewage, and these systems are designed to cope with a limited amount of usage. Believe me, you will not want a septic system to back up during your vacation, particularly during the heat of the summer. People often tell me that they didn’t think they needed to include babies and toddlers still in diapers. I suppose if they never planned on bathing their children that would be OK, but in my experience they do have a bath at least once a day, and bathing takes significantly more water than a quick shower an adult might use.
You’ve asked for my driver’s licence number and vehicle registration – why?
Your driver details identify you while you are at the cottage. There have been instances where a cottage has been rented by one person who has then sub-let to another group because they were not able to take the vacation for some reason. Collecting a means of identification gives an owner more confidence that the guests at the cottage are those that were listed on the application.
What do you do with my information?
Reputable agencies will have a privacy policy on their web site and describe what they do with the information you have provided. When booking a rental privately, ask for written confirmation that your details will not be shared or passed on to a third party.
This seems one-sided. How do I know the cottage owner is responsible too?
That is a good question and one that is difficult to answer when you are renting privately. It is a matter of trust, so make sure you talk to the owner directly and feel comfortable with sending them money for a property you have only seen on a web site. When booking through an agency, select one that is registered with a regulatory body that will protect you if the agency fails to meet its commitments. In Ontario, this is the Travel Industry Council of Ontario, and you should see a TICO logo on the web site and in printed literature.
Most rentals go really well, and the owners and renters are happy with the outcome. This general satisfaction is often based on the good relationship set up between owner or agency, and the renter, at the outset. The rental application is the foundation of this relationship.
