An article in the Ottawa Citizen this week had some good advice for those looking for a cottage rental this summer. However, I was a surprised to see a quote from another rental agency saying this:

“….cottages in eastern Ontario are less likely to be equipped with satellite television and other trimmings than those in the Haliburton and other vacation hot spots.”

That may be true if you rent with other agencies or from private advertisements, and for some people a rustic cottage with minimal facilities with obligatory mouse poop and dust bunnies is what cottage vacations are all about. However, if you are more discriminating about your vacation accommodation you’ll be looking for cottages with the features that will make your vacation more enjoyable and less time consuming.

From our perspective, it doesn’t matter where a cottage is – location should not impact on the quality of the accommodation. Each one is inspected and we turn down those that don’t meet our high standards. Just take a look at our eastern Ontario collection and see the excellent features and facilities in each. And if you are a cottage owner in this part of the province and want to work with an agency that values quality in each property we represent, just call us for an information pack. We’d love to meet you.

Photo: Stonewood on Little Marble Lake

Do children count? Can I invite guests? Is it OK to bring tents and blow-up beds?

These are a few of the questions we are asked regularly and are often the issues that guests become confused about. So, I want to clear up a few things about occupancy and hope these answers go some way to explaining the reasons for limiting numbers at a cottage.

Respecting the owner’s wishes

Renting a cottage is not the same as buying a room in a hotel or at a resort. You’re renting a privately owned residence, one that may be in use by the owners for much of the summer. They will decide how many people they wish to have staying and respecting that choice is part of the relationship of trust that should be in place when you begin your vacation.

 Septic capacity

With a few exceptions, cottage waste (water & sewage) is handled by a septic system. This is designed to cope with a finite number of occupants and that means both adults and children. When I mention this to potential rental guests, I’m invariably told that their babies and small children are in diapers and therefore don’t create any impact on a septic system. Well, my experience may be in the dim and distant past, but I do recall bathing my children, washing their clothes, and changing their bedding quite frequently. It wasn’t until my boys reached their teenage years that they stopped using water!

Bed configuration

Owners of rental properties often provide very flexible accommodation in terms of the beds they provide. This means a good choice of how to sleep the family, it doesn’t indicate that you can pack more people into the same space.  So when a cottage listing shows the maximum number accommodated is 6 people but there are sleeping spaces for 10, please don’t expect to bring an additional 4 people.

Day and overnight guests

I had a call a few days ago from a person who had booked a cottage, asking about the parking space available. She had asked some friends to come and stay with them for a few days during their vacation and explained ‘ we won’t be overcrowding the cottage because they are bringing their motorhome’. This raised quite a few issues, not least of which was the additional 6 people, over and above the maximum occupancy of the cottage. Day and overnight guests may be accepted, but this is at the discretion of the owner or agency and it is important to be honest and open about anyone you may have invited, or who may ‘drop in’.

Check rental agreements carefully

If you rent through an agency, you will be asked to fill in an application form declaring the number of people in your rental group, and the agreement you sign will probably limit you to those listed on that form. If you want to add more, have potential guests visiting you, all you need to do is let the agency know. Providing you don’t exceed the maximum occupancy, this should be fine. Just remember that the agreement you sign is a legal document and binds you to the occupancy limits defined on the form.

Overcrowding can be costly

Cottage communities are usually very close and supportive – neighbours watch out for each other and keep an eye on each other’s properties. If you decide to ignore the maximum occupancy for your rented cottage and invite additional people, the chances are that the owner or agency will be informed by a cottage neighbour, and this could result in additional charges or even eviction without refund.

Failing to keep within the owner’s guidelines for occupancy could result in upsetting consequences. Please keep within the limits and have a great vacation.

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.

Why you should book your summer 2008 vacation rental NOW

“I’m looking for a cottage rental for next summer and it needs to sleep 10 people, have a sandy beach and internet access. Oh, and I want to book for 3 weeks in August”. This was just one of many calls we received last week, and happily we were able to accommodate the family in a great cottage near Penetanguishene.

This lady was fortunate to find a property that met all her criteria as the savvy renters are booking early for summer 2008. Some of our managed properties are already fully booked and many of the larger ones have at least 70% of the weeks reserved.

Book now if you want the following:

• More than two weeks in the same cottage
• A large property – with more than 4 bedrooms
• A higher end cottage with a sandy beach
• Hi-speed internet access
• Two adjoining properties for multi-family use

Most agencies will be listing new properties right up to the early summer, however if you really want to secure your dream vacation rental for next year, do it now.  Check the cancellation policy as you will often find that if you change your mind you will only get your deposit refunded if the owner or agency is able to rebook the time, plus you will be charged an administration fee.   If you take out travel insurance at the time you book, you may be covered for change of mind so check the small print.

I have found it a real eye opener this week to be at the other end of the rental market. My days are normally spent helping people find properties to rent, matching them up with the cottage that meets their needs, and processing all the paperwork that will get them there with the minimum of stress. This week, I am at a rented cottage in Sedona, Arizona, taking some much needed down time, so I’m in the position of being a rental client.

The home we have rented is lovely. It’s in a residential area but has a fenced in yard so no-one overlooks us. Most places here are on one level so there are uninterrupted views of the famous red rocks from the living area and the garden. This is a pet friendly property so our golden retriever is with us enjoying the hiking as much as we do.

I really should practice what I preach though. Our website at CLRM has a master packing list that all our rental guests can download, along with a few notes to make sure nothing is missed. But, I totally forget it was there and arrived without my favourite knife. Rental properties are notorious for be equipped with blunt knives by the way. The villa is very well equipped though and there are a few things I will be passing onto my cottage owners at CLRM that I think would make their homes more user friendly for guests.

Here’s a few tips I have picked up this week:

• If you plan on cooking something special like a paella or casserole that you need a specific pan or dish for, bring it with you
• Pack essentials such as toilet paper, dishwasher tabs/soap, foil, clingfilm and garbage bags, just in case these are not provided.
• Don’t plan on barbecuing the first night, or have a standby option, in case the BBQ fails to work or is out of gas.
• Read the property manual as soon as you have arrived and get settled. There’s usually a lot of useful information that you will need to enjoy your stay.
• Read the guest book – there’s often a wealth of information on local attractions and places to go with candid testimonials and recommendations from previous renters