As my three kids continue to grow, my family of five is finding that condo rentals provide more comfortable accommodations than standard hotel rooms. We had so much space in our beachfront condo rental last summer, and the extra space really made a difference in our vacation enjoyment.
I know that some folks don’t like private home rentals on vacation because you lose a bit of pampering that hotels provide. Most vacation rentals don’t come with daily housekeeping service, room service and on-site restaurants. Staying in a vacation rental sometimes equates to washing your own towels and cooking dinner in the kitchen.
I am totally fine with light laundry and cooking meals to save money and to make it convenient to choose a vacation rental over a hotel. However, I am not fine with heavy cleaning, and that is where I draw the line on what I will and will not do on vacation.
New Zealand Bach Customs
My family is currently in the process of finalizing the details of our trip to Australia and New Zealand next summer. If I’m keeping it real, it is mostly me that is doing the work and my husband is nodding yay or nay at our plans.
I have been scouring home rental sites like Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and Bookabach to find the perfect spot to use as a home base to explore New Zealand. The biggest surprise I’ve encountered is the cleaning policy/custom for New Zealand vacation homes (bachs).
Many properties that meet our requirements do not provide any cleaning services, even for an extra charge. Renters must clean the entire house upon departure. Here is an example from and Airbnb listing:
I’ve run into similar wording across all of the rental sites.
Furthermore, as I’m reading reviews of rental properties, some of the reviews state that the rental is not clean upon arrival. The owner’s response is typically that the level of cleanliness is the fault of the previous renter. So it would seem with these rentals that we could enter a clean house or a dirty house, and it’s all dependent upon the last renters.
Thankfully, some rentals do have the option to pay extra for cleaning, so we will just choose one that does not require hands-on cleaning.
Why I Don’t Want to Clean on Vacation
Do I sound like a privileged American for not wanting to clean on vacation? Maybe.
But as a part-time-stay-at-home mom, cleaning is my least favorite duty at our house. With three kids and two dogs and a husband that travels for work, my house is never clean. Keeping it somewhat decluttered after my kids come home with a barrage of papers from school is a constant battle. And, one of the reasons I go on vacation is to get away from that.
Of course, my family won’t trash any rental house on vacation. But by the time we leave, the kitchen, bathroom and floors will need to be cleaned. I don’t want to do it, and I don’t want to make it a family activity before departure. I can just imagine the whining and moaning that would ensue if I tried to force my kids to help.
Where Do You Draw the Line?
For me, cooking a few meals in the condo is not a big deal. I choose meals that are quick and easy.
I also don’t mind doing a few loads of laundry on vacation. Doing laundry while on vacation doesn’t require much time or effort.
But mopping the floors on vacation? Cleaning toilets? Nope, I’m out.
What about you? Are you ok with cooking, cleaning or doing laundry while on vacation? What factors go into your decision?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
No cleaning for me. We are a small family of three and, maybe because I work with a lot of immigrants that do hotel cleaning and I know there’s nasty stories, especially when families come on weekends (can you believe it?) I don’t like leaving hotels messy, I make sure all the trash is in the bins and towels in the bathtub but that doesn’t mean I’ll vacuum, sweep or mop. I rented part of our house through airbnb full time for a couple of years and nobody ever left dirty dishes, which I truly appreciated because that would stink the whole place but nobody vacuumed, swept or scrubbed toilets, and that was totally fine with me.
Oh my gosh yes! We rented a house in Colorado when we had an 18 month old and I was 6 months pregnant. We also had my 80 year old mom with us. Our hot water heater in our attic at home busted and flooded our master suite and my husband had to fly home to take care of it leaving me alone with mom and tot.
I don’t think I knew the cleaning requirements when I rented it so when it came time to leave i was beside myself. I was taking care of 2 other humans and I was very pregnant and the altitude was taking its toll on me. I cleaned for HOURS and swore I would never put myself in that position again.
It was the last time we ever traveled with mom so the memories are precious but I’m actually getting tired just remembering that exit sequence.
@Lindy That sounds very stressful! I’m glad you at least got some precious memories with your mom.
I’m with you! We stay at my in-laws cabin a couple times a year. We eat ok most days and do laundry but we pay $100 to have the place cleaned after we leave. Getting packed and out on time is stressful enough without trying to leave it clean… And children running around needing everything up as you go makes it horrible. Maybe you could contact owners and ask if paying extra for a cleaning service is an option. They might have a local contact.
Actually! If you stay right in Taupo I can probably get you the name and number of the cleaner we use!
@Talchinsky I should have thought of you! We picked one place that has cleaning, it’s between Taupo and Rotorua. We are still browsing our options for the last two nights of our trip.
I don’t mind some light cooking, dishes and laundry while on vacation, but cleaning is out of the question. We’re not messy by any means, but it would be too stressful if I had to clean as well as get everyone packed.
@Stephanie Yep, cleaning would be stressful for me! My kids are kinda messy.
Totally agree with you. I’m not just doing the same thing with a better view!
@Kacie Yep, cleaning with a good view is still cleaning in my book.
I completely understand. For us, when we had a rental in Marco Island, FL (highly recommended, btw) outside of maybe cereal in the morning or packing lunches for the beach, we didn’t cook at all. I see vacations as a break from EVERYTHING. Then again, if our trips weren’t payed for by the banks I might be singing a different tune.
Honestly though if I were in your shoes, I could see myself booking the rental anyway through my rose colored vacation glasses… and then while deep cleaning the last day of our trip, I would swear to never agree to similar rental terms again LOL.
So what happens if the people before you don’t clean? Are you stuck cleaning up their mess?
@projectx I think if the people before us don’t clean, we’re just stuck with a messy house. Yuck! But, I still found plenty of rentals to choose from where we can pay extra for cleaning. I guess I’m just looking in some remote places where it’s impractical to hire someone to clean. The websites don’t seem to have a way to filter out the ones that require self-cleaning, so it’s a slow process to read the details of each one.
I see… that’s too bad you can’t filter. It’s hard enough finding the right rental for the right price. That must be a frustrating process!