How to Be a Good Guest

It’s Day 9 of my Whole30 and I’m finally starting to feel like a person again. It’s amazing how rough the first few days can be. They say there’s a direct relationship between your pre-Whole30 diet and how sucky the “hangover” period is. I’m still dealing with some fatigue and headaches around dinner time, but other than that I’m just grumpy that I can’t have chocolate covered Oreos. 

On the happier note, my sleep is improving already. I wear a Fitbit that tracks my sleep, and I noticed the other morning that I’m having fewer restless moments throughout the night. Yay! Now I just have to get to bed earlier.

I’m also starting to feel a little extra energy bubbling up. More light! More warmth! Spring fever! It makes yesterday’s spring forward bearable. 

You know what else is coming? Travel high-season. (Not my best segue, I know.) So what I really wanted to write about today is importance of being a good guest.

I’ve written quite a bit about how nerve-wracking renting an apartment can be. You have to do a lot of research, ask questions, read reviews, and, eventually, trust your gut. But it’s just as important to be a good guest as it is to find the right place. 

Communicate Your Needs

I often read through reviews and see people complaining about rentals lacking certain amenities or not having elevators. While I think the owner or manager should put that information out there up-front, it’s also our responsibility as renters to communicate what our specific needs are before we sign the contract and hand over our money. 

When we booked our honeymoon apartment, for example, I noticed that there was no mention of air conditioning and the video showed a fan running in the bedroom. We are willing to go without A/C for a week. Some people would see that as a deal-breaker. But parking? We needed parking.

Communication is going to be the best tool you have to evaluate each rental’s fit. It’s also going to be the best tool for the owner or manager to make sure provide you with what you need. 

Check Your Expectations

You can have a lot of things on your “wants/needs” list, but you probably can’t have them all. Prioritize, communicate, and, then, get a little flexible. Sometimes you show up and the place isn’t quite what you expected, even when you thought you covered all of your bases. At a certain point, you have to roll with it. You also have to accept that staying in a rental is not like staying in a hotel. Renting often means more work, like taking out the trash and doing your own laundry. 

What you gain—privacy, cost savings, comfort, etc—all make it worth it to me. But you have to know where and when you can and can’t be flexible. Just watch that your expectations are in line with what can be delivered. 

Be Respectful and Clean

I can’t stress how important it is to be respectful of your rental. No one is going to clean up after you or change your sheets daily (most likely). It’s common sense, but based on conversations I’ve had with owners and managers, not everyone does this. 

Frankly, bad the seeds will ruin the most beautiful apartments for the rest of us. My family and I stayed in an incredible apartment in Lourmarin in Provence. The owner lovingly decorated it with antiques and the most wonderful buttery French linen sheets. It was gorgeous. But it ended up being too difficult for her to deal with disrespectful visitors, so she took it off the market. 

It’s incredibly simple: Follow the house rules. Put things back where they belong. Learn how to use the appliances correctly. Turn off the lights and don't waste water. Be mindful of your neighbors. Clean up after yourself. Call the landlord when you need help.  

We always budget in time on our last day to a fairly thorough cleaning of the apartment. You might be thinking “But, Erin, aren’t we paying for a final cleaning?” Yes, but that doesn’t mean you should leave the place a mess. The turnover time between renters is often tight and there simply isn’t enough time for whoever is cleaning the place to deep clean a tornado of crumbs and dirt. 

At the end of the day, you’re being trusted to take care of a home away from home.  

Write Reviews

Whether you have the trip of your lifetime or not, leaving honest reviews when you get home is helpful to your fellow traveler and to the owners/agencies. It lets anyone interested in staying there get a better idea of what the rental and area is really like. It also lets the owners know where they can improve or if they’re doing a great job.

Be sure to throw in some details and show your personality a bit. Did the church bells ring every hour of the night and drive you nuts? Did you find a wonderful bakery that you walked to every morning? Was the rental just like the pictures? Paint a picture of your experience. 

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As you can see from the length of this post, being good guest is really important to me. I mentioned how helpful it is to write reviews after your trip, but you might also be subject to a review. When we rented through AirBnB in Paris, for example, the owner of our apartment left a review about us. 

“Très bon hôte charmant et très propre!! Je vous les recommande.”

Which translates roughly to: "Very good, charming guests and very clean!! I recommend them." You bet your sweet bippy I was happy to see that! I want my hosts to think I'm a great guest and I want a good reputation to precede me. We should strive toward that as travelers. We are the visitors, after all. Sometimes we're like mini ambassadors. What we do and how we do it says a lot.  

When we communicate, ask questions, and are respectful, we make travel just a little bit more enjoyable for ourselves and everyone else. 

Friday 5: Tips for Choosing a Vacation Rental

Choosing a vacation rental is a lot of fun, but it can often be time-consuming and a little nerve-wracking. I tend to be pretty picky about rentals. Frankly, if I’m choosing a rental over a hotel, I want to be sure it’s somewhere I'm excited to come home to every night. That means it needs to be welcoming and well cared for. I have to trust that my money will be handled safely and that the owner or manager is responsive and professional.

Todays Friday 5 shows you my process for narrowing down rentals.  

La Maisonette in Baynac-et-Cazenac, France. One of my favorite rentals. (Summer 2010) 

1.  Scrutinize the pictures

The more photos a rental has, the better! If you find a place you like that doesn’t have a ton of photos, don’t be afraid to ask the owner or manager if they have a few more, especially if you want to see something specific.

While the overall aesthetic of a place is nice to look at, be sure to check the details. For example: 

• What about the bedding? Does it look old or does it look clean and cozy?
• How neat and tidy does the space seem-- especially the kitchen and bathroom?
• Are all of the amenities you need there? Air conditioning? Washer/dryer? Coffee maker?
• Are there enough places to sit?
• What's the view like? 

Sunset from La Maisonette. Staying here was like living in a fairytale for awhile.

2.  Read reviews 

If you're not going with a tried and true agency, reviews are a great chance for you to get a better sense of what your stay might be like. The more reviews you can read the better. Look for clues about what it’s like to stay there. Is it quiet or noisy?  Is it near shops, sites, restaurants, etc? Is there an elevator? 

Be wary of places that don’t have any reviews. I skip them. Yes, someone has to be the first guest to stay at a rental, but I’m not that person. 

Be wary of places that only have reviews entered by the owner. It’s not that I don’t trust them, but reviews entered by owners may be cherry-picked. I always wonder if only the best of the best end up online? 

Remember to leave reviews after your trips, too!  

Another favourite rental in Lourmarin, France (2009). It was so lovingly decorated and had incredible linen sheets. Unfortunately, it's not longer available to rent. 

3.  Read the fine print

Take a look at the rental contract and house rules. Make sure you understand everything and are comfortable with the agreement. Some of the questions I often ask when reading through the rental agreement and rules include: 

• How do you pay for the apartment? How much are you paying up front? Are comfortable with that form of payment? I won’t do wire transfers, for example. Once the money from a wire transfer is out of your account, there’s no way to get it back if something goes wrong. A credit card, on the other hand may offer better buyer protection. 
• Do you have any protection as the renter? AirBnB, for example, doesn’t release the balance of funds to the manager/owner until 24 hours after your arrival. This gives you a chance to make sure everything is as you expected it to be.
• What is the cancellation policy? Would you lose your deposit?
• Are there any hidden or extra costs like cleaning or parking? 
• Do you need to have a damage deposit when you arrive? Again, are you comfortable with the form of payment?  
• When do you need to check in and out? How do you get access to the rental?

A bright, clean, and perfectly appointed Parisian kitchen (2013)

4.  Talk to the owners/manager

It’s always a good idea to have a conversation with the owner or manager before you book the property. Ask questions about the rental and the area. Do they seem knowledgeable and passionate about their area? Will they be there when you arrive? Or will someone else give you the keys? What happens if something goes wrong or you need some help with something?  It will give you a good idea of their responsiveness and professionalism. 

A quiet sunny morning and the town pup from the balcony of our rental in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France (2012)

5.  Trust your gut

When it comes down to it, the most important part is to trust your gut. If you feel like something is off or seems strange, then move on. There are thousands of rentals out there, and there’s no reason to settle for something you're not comfortable with. 

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Everyone’s standards will be different. I’ll admit that I’m probably more fussy than most people. The point is that it has to look nice and be functional based on your preferences. By all means, be flexible, but prioritize what is most important for you and don’t bend too much on those things.

That's all for this week! Happy weekend!

Friday 10: Fall Books and Nooks

A couple of weeks ago I updated my reading list and started thinking about how great it is to read a book set in the place you're visiting.

This week's Friday 10 is about just that: five autumn-worthy books paired with five dreamy nooks to read them in.

Rebecca & Cornwall

Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca is an atmospheric, suspenseful, gothic tale of love and fear. The narrator, the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter, is newly married when her widower husband takes her to his grand estate, Manderlay, on the Cornish coast. She is young, timid, and quickly becomes overwhelmed by the house. She is also haunted by the spectre of Rebecca, Maxim's first wife. I won't give much more away, but it is one of those books that sucked me from the first line: "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderlay again." And it didn't let me go for weeks after I finished reading it. 

Polridmouth Cottage | via Menabilly Holidays

There is no other place to stay when reading Rebecca than Polridmouth cottage on the Menabilly Estate. It's tucked away between the south coast of Cornwall, a freshwater lake, and private woodland.

Menabilly was one of Du Maurier's favorite places. She lived there with her family from 1943 to 1969. Although Milton Hall was the model for Manderlay, Menabilly was the inspiration for the estate's setting.

The Thirteenth Tale & Yorkshire

We're staying in England for our second pairing. Diane Setterfield's novel The Thirteenth Tale is about a young biographer, Margaret Lea, who is chosen to write the biography of ailing reclusive novelist, Vida Winter. Lea is confused as to why she was chosen, especially since she has never read Winter's work before. Since her father owns an antique book shop, she is able to get her hands on a rare copy of Winter's Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. When Lea realizes there are only twelve tales in the book, she become increasingly interested in unraveling the mysteries surrounding Winter's life. 

Bramblewick | via Unique Home Stays

The Thirteenth Tale takes place on the Yorkshire moors, so I thought Unique Home Stay's Bramblewick would be the perfect place to get cozy with the book. It has just about everything I could ask for in an English cottage: stunning views, a wood fireplace, numerous comfy places to hunker down with a book, and lots of walking trails from the house through the North York Moors National Park or around the Robin Hood's Bay (to fish and chips!). 

Imagine spending an afternoon walking the beautiful, wild moors and coming back to a hot tea, a view of the sea, and a gothic tale.

The Shadow of the Wind & Barcelona

We're off to post-war Barcelona now with Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind. The book begins with Daniel and his father walking through the streets of Barcelona's Gothic Quarter to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Daniel's father owns shop full of used and rare books. He is also one of the few people in the city who knows about and cares for the labyrinthine Cemetery of Forgotten Books, which keeps out of print books from being lost forever. Tradition dictates that when someone visits the cemetery for the first time, they must choose one book to keep and watch over. Daniel chooses (or does the book choose him?) a novel entitled The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. As soon as he starts reading it, he becomes enthralled with the story and wants to find more from the author. 

Soon afterward, Daniel learns that all of Carax's books have been destroyed except for his copy, but someone is bound and determined to destroy it, too. While trying to protect the book, Daniel stirs up--and puts himself in the middle--of an old, dangerous unsolved mystery. 

via Mercer Barcelona

The city itself is like a character in The Shadow on the Wind. My copy of the book even includes a walking tour of the important spots, which you can also find here. So the place I chose is a luxurious boutique hotel in the Barri Gòtic/Gothic Quarter called the Mercer Barcelona. I didn't go with a rental here because they tended to be very modern inside. I wanted something that seemed rooted in the past while still feeling luxe. It looks like the Mercer does that beautifully with its stone walls and exposed beams. It's also located within a short 10 minute walk to most of the major spots in the book. You'd be right in the middle of it all, but have easy access to the rest of the city. 

The Lantern & Provence

Deborah Lawrenson's The Lantern is a lush, modern gothic tale reminiscent of Du Maurier's Rebecca. It's the story of couple, Eve and Dom, who have a whirlwind romance and then fall in love with a dilapidated house with a beautiful garden in Provence called Les Genévriers. As the seasons turn and the relationship cools, Eve becomes suspicious of Dom's past. Meanwhile, Les Genévriers begins to reveal that it has its own mysteries. The book switches back and forth between two time periods, slowly revealing secrets and unraveling the stories along the way.

Le Mas de Belleroche | via Only Provence

I chose Le Mas de Belleroche for where I'd want to stay while reading The Lantern. It's a private, sprawling farmhouse perched on a rocky hill within walking distance village of Les Baux de Provence. It's also a short drive to the beautiful St. Rémy de Provence. The house has a gorgeous garden, plentiful outdoor spaces, an inviting pool, and lots of typically Provençal rooms. I can imagine spending hours relaxing and reading about Les Genévriers here after touring around Provence for the day. Add in some wine, some fresh melon, and charcuterie platter. . .well, I don't think I'd ever want to leave.

Neverwhere & London

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is something a little different from the rest of the books I chose. It tells the story of Richard Mayhew, your average, everyday good guy businessman living in London. His life changes in an instant when he stops to help a peculiar young girl who has been injured. Suddenly, Richard is part of the strange, magical subterranean world of London Below.

I downloaded the audiobook version of Neverwhere for the Audible free trial a few months ago. I've only listened to a bit, so I can't tell you how I feel about the whole thing, yet. I've loved every moment of it so far, though. The story is unique, magical and makes me feel like I'm listening to a fairytale for adults. I usually hate audio books but Gaiman does the reading and he has a way of making everything come alive. I only wish I had picked up the book before our trip to London last year. I think it would have been fun to imagine it coming alive around (and below) me. 

Naturally, I had to choose an interesting London flat for Neverwhere. When I stumbled across the Salisbury on London Perfect, I knew I'd found one! It's located in Kensington, close to the Tube and within walking distance to Museum Row and lots of shopping. The furnishings are opulent and modern--oh how I wish I could lazily read on that red leather couch right now--and there's a lovely little terrace overlooking a garden.  

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That's it for this week! I hope these ideas stir up some fall reading and travel inspiration for you. It was fun to put together! I might have to do more of these. 

Do you have any book recommendations? I'm always open to ideas!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.