In the unlikely event that you have cause for complaint about the property or its contents the procedure below must be followed:
Step 1 - The issue must be reported immediately to the property manager while you are still in the property so that action can be taken at the time to rectify the problem.
Step 2 - If the property manager is unable to resolve the issue within a reasonable timescale and you are still unhappy about the situation you must contact the Cyprus Lettings Group by email while you are still in the property.
Step 3 - If after contacting the Cyprus Lettings Group you are still unhappy about the situation you must email the Cyprus Lettings Group within 28 days of returning from your holiday and the Cyprus Lettings Group will investigate the matter and arbitrate.
Please note that if you did not follow Steps 1 - 3 above, and therefore did not allow the property manager and the Cyprus Lettings Group to resolve the issue locally whilst you were in the property, neither the Cyprus Lettings Group nor the owner of the property will have any liability and will not investigate your complaint further. All refunds are at the discretion of the owner and the Cyprus Lettings Group is not authorised to make any refunds without the owner's agreement.
Below are instructions that are generally used as the industry guidelines:
Dealing with Complaints and Refund Requests
There are no official industry guidelines on when a holiday rental guest is due to receive a refund. This means a lot of owners are anxious about complaints and requests for refunds. The subject is ambiguous; so many owners worry that a guest might try to get money back by "looking for something to complain about". Similarly refusing to refund or compensate a guest who has been let down, may lead to damaging feelings of animosity or actions. Every refund request has to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and below are some basic guidelines, to help you make a fair and informed decision.
The 24-hour rule
One of the first rules of managing a holiday rental is that as soon as a guest reports a problem, the owner/property manager should do everything within their power to fix it as soon as possible. There should be a 24-hour rule. This means both parties agree that the owner must resolve a problem within a reasonable amount of time. If the problem remains unresolved, the guest may be due a partial refund. Acknowledge that if you solve the problem within the said time (say 24 hours) they are not due a refund. If the owner/property manager does not solve the problem they are entitled to an appropriate refund.
When a refund is due
Minor refunds
The owner/property manager should do everything within their power to fix any problems as soon as possible. If they are unable to solve the problem in a reasonable amount of time, then partial compensation should be considered, based on how severely the guest’s holiday experience was affected. If the owner/property manager is unable to resolve any of the following problems, giving a partial refund as a gesture of goodwill is an option.
Extra expenses occur
If a guest has to pay extra because of a problem with your holiday home, reimbursing these expenses is a good customer service practice. This will usually be something minor. For example, if the electricity is cut off, and the guests have to pay for a takeaway because they can’t cook, then offer to pay for it. However, if the guests went out to a Michelin-star restaurant when they were planning to eat in, only pay the value of a takeaway.
An essential piece of equipment is broken
When a guest books, they are paying for the quality of the equipment and facilities advertised. If an essential “deal breaker” item isn’t working, for example, your TV system is broken, and the owner/property manager can’t get a repair person to come in due course, a small refund would be an act of goodwill.
Cleaning problems
If guests arrive at the scheduled time, and the property has not been cleaned, then the refund should be the cost of the cleaning fee as compensation. If the guests arrive before the scheduled time, then the owner is not at fault.
Full refunds
Most disputes can be resolved easily if the owner acts quickly, or compensates the guest a small portion of the holiday rental fee. However, there are a few extreme examples whereby your guests should be entitled to a full refund if it is not possible to resolve the problem.
The holiday home must be vacated
If the property has to be closed for major repairs, or a serious maintenance problem occurs due to major neglect on the owner's part and guests have to leave the property, guests are entitled to a full refund.
When the owner should stay firm
Most problems that occur when owners rent holiday homes are relatively minor and can be resolved quite quickly. However if:
a) The owner/property manager was not told about, or given a chance to rectify the problem
b) The issue can be classed as an “Act of God” then it should be acceptable not to refund or compensate your guests, under most circumstances.
Complaints received after departure time
If your guests complain after they depart their holiday rental then you are not obliged to give them any compensation. First of all, there is no way of proving when the problem occurred. Secondly, they did not give you a chance to rectify the problem.
The guests choose to leave
Whilst you should always do your best to ensure your guests have a comfortable, enjoyable stay, if the guests choose to leave over a subjective issue they must take responsibility for their decision. For example, complaining that the beds aren’t comfortable enough is a subjective opinion, because a magical bed that is going to keep everyone happy simply doesn’t exist.
