What do you do to minimize the risks when you rent a space to tourists – wanted to know the owner of a cabin who described nightmare experiences. Some advice was appreciated and reinforced, others sparked outrage.
Romanians who fully rent cabins to hang out with a group of friends sometimes leave a disaster behind, says an owner of such a space. He asked, on a group on a social network, the opinion of those in the same situation, to find out if there are solutions so as to avoid inconveniences.
The cabin owner described not pleasant experiences, reporting that he has a recently opened cabin, which he rents out in full, with the guests being able to stay alone.
“At check-in I am present at most accommodations, at check-out I don’t always arrive (the reason being – I notify the guests that if they want to leave earlier/later I need to know an hour before but not all of them notify me). Even when I’m present at check-out I don’t dare to check in detail after each one, I have a reservation, I ask and go on trust. After departure, the fun begins!”, the owner pointed.
There were rare situations in which he did not find broken things, he reported, and that meant more damage from broken cups/glasses.
“Broken sink faucet, broken toilet lid, broken trash can, hot pot in cupboard with bottom completely melted (they put it on the grill), bed sheets with holes or cracks (like they were cut with a blade), blankets burned with cigarettes (as smoking is prohibited inside), a group left with decorations under the tree, kitchen chopper burned by the grill, trays broken and melted on the grill (they air with them on the embers), plus many others that escape me now, but they are damages done through carelessness and mockery, by no means by inadvertence”stated the owner, anonymously.
When booking, most tourists forget to mention that they have children with them, he added, even though the price paid is for adults only. “Then the children are left to their own devices. I found gum stuck to the corner, the paneling, drawn walls and sticky doors. In this case, how do you proceed? The kitchen is equipped with everything needed for a grill/disc/kettle (I let them know from the beginning), when they get to the cottage, I ask for a pot for dumpling soup if the children want it (we have some larger pots there for steak, but he wants a smaller one), I explain that I have no way to they arrive, to use what we have, but they insist, they don’t give up until they go to the store, buy and send me the receipt and wait for a bank transfer with the money in the pot. Is this normal?”the Internet community member wants to know.
Before offering solutions, Internet users want to know, first of all, if the unit is classified or if it is rented “on the black”, because this is where the answers can come from.
Others discouraged him from the start regarding the outcome of a possible legal action: “You won’t be able to do anything to them. If you go to the police they will say you have to sue them it’s none of their business, the prosecutor’s office will say the same, if you ask a lawyer friend or who wants to help you they will tell you that the damage is too small to be worth a lawsuit and at trial you need clear evidence with witnesses and evidence that cannot be disputed: how it was before they came and how you found it after they left. Plus their lawyer will say that everything was ok and you destroyed it on purpose to “make” them money. Advice from someone who rents: everything is destroyed, so you assume and do not put expensive or valuable things, who does not want to look for and cause damage to others. You see that some booking sites have a score for tourists as well as rented locations, you can confirm the reservation only with people who have a good score offered by other owners and who are not on the first lease”.
Another one emerged from many other comments: “Raise the price and then the customers automatically filter out as well. Or ask for a warranty. If they’re civilized people, they shouldn’t mind the warranty.”
A deposit like on AIRBNB, for example 50 euros per night, was another suggestion.
Other commenters explained that they only rent by invoice, with all data recorded and with the warning that destruction will be reported to the police.
“Well, it doesn’t really suit the owners, they would like not to pay any kind of tax. If they don’t have legal documents they can’t do anything, even if some idiots destroy the cottage they rented”, another possible reason why such events are more likely to happen has also been pointed out.
“For 80% of the guests, the rule applies: everything is due to the customers, nothing is imputed to them. A successful holiday is the one in which I feel that they came out on top, but that the owner comes out on the minus”another commenter noted.
“Clear rules don’t drive away good customers, they only drive away those who don’t respect anything”
Other people have explained how they do it, too: “And we are at the beginning, at the reception we are also present, but when leaving, the key is left in a box with a code that we communicate. We also found enough, but no one will be willing to pay extra for damages. It is assumed that the rental money is paid for that too”.
Others indicated solutions with concrete numbers: “Ask for a deposit of 25/30% of the price of the accommodation.”; “Ask for a guarantee for damages! There are many countries where the owners of apartments or villas ask for €100-200. If everything is ok when you leave, you give them the money back. If not, let them be healthy, the money will never be seen again; “The solutions that work best are: mandatory guarantee, written regulations accepted before accommodation and verification at check-out (or pictures immediately after departure). Children must declare when booking, and parents are responsible for damages. Extra requests or purchases made without consent are not refunded. Most guests are ok, but those who are not can cause serious damage, they only drive away those who do not respect anything.”
Another owner, triggered by the mention of the request to pay for a pot bought by a tourist, reported that he was also asked to change Teflon pots and pans because Teflon is toxic, recommending ceramic products.
“Do you believe me that they left with the quilt?! Others tore the bed apart and told me – it’s not a good bed to support two overweight people!”: “I installed the case with a key to the thermostat. They are 23 degrees. They have a poster not to walk on the thermostat (I see it on the app). Immediately after I installed that case, I look at the app, it was set to 25 degrees. I asked how they managed to get to the buttons, because you don’t really have anywhere, they told me they used tweezers”; “That’s what happens to me, I hand over the location to them for a month, with all the complete inventory, and when I go to clean, I find broken cups, broken blinds, cigarettes inside, etc. I start to replace what’s broken, clean, hand over to other clients and start over. For a while I’ve been thinking about not renting out the location”; Unfortunately the peasants destroy you if you don’t stay there permanently. They are no longer the tourists they once were”, there were other comments.
One of the comments, however, caused an uproar. Someone recommended that the ad state that it is for adults only. “Then, if you can, rent only to foreigners (you can leave them with children too, they are more educated). I left Romania when I was 18, I have worked in tourism for 20 years in Italy, Spain, Switzerland. It is a true saying “there is no Romanian like any other”, I have never seen such a nation before!”, continued the comment. “Here with foreigners I can contradict you. After a few drinks over the limit (as northerners usually do) you’re likely to burn up in your hotel room, as happened to me in Malta.” came a quick reply. “Talk nonsense, we Romanians are also civilized, wherever we went we left cleaner than we found. You have the impression that if you have left the country for a long time, you are someone. Think more when you comment,” the comment has been charged.
Other owners explained that surveillance cameras have worked wonders for them in certain areas where they usually recorded damage, such as the barbecue area, explaining that when they know tourists can be watched they are more careful.
“Every time I tell them the only rule is this: not to destroy anything at all”
However, positive experiences were also reported. “I’m sorry that I can’t help you with an advice. I rent the same as you in full but for 5 years this has never happened to me. Apart from broken cups/glasses, which is somewhat normal, it can happen, I haven’t had any situations of broken, burned, destroyed things. I am very polite and kind to those who come, I have groups that have come back for the seventh time. Every time I tell them that the only rule is this: do not destroy anything at all. They have no kind of restrictions, for example, they do whatever they want. I don’t necessarily care that they pay, it costs me time and I don’t want something like that. Maybe it matters that I make my presence felt, I do what I need to do at the switchboard and I leave. Maybe it matters distance”.
“I haven’t been renting for a very long time, about 3 months, but so far I think more than 20 groups (2/4/6 people) have crossed our threshold. At first I had this fear, that they wouldn’t spoil it, but I can say that I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of people who crossed our threshold, maybe we were lucky.” the owners also wrote.
More than 23,000 Romanians have rented apartments under the hotel regime
A year ago, the Ministry of Finance announced that anti-fraud inspectors had discovered approximately 23,000 natural persons who obtained money from tourists after renting out the house as a hotel, sometimes the collected and undeclared income was over 100,000 lei.
Towards the end of 2024, ANAF inspectors announced that they checked 436 natural persons who rented their home for tourist purposes, but did not declare their income. For these cases alone, the Tax Office discovered illegal receipts of over 92 million lei.
According to official data, the number of apartments and rooms rented as hotels by both individuals and legal entities exceeds 14,000 classified tourist units. But, in addition to these, there are several thousand others undeclared, most of them being on the coast, in tourist areas and in big cities.
According to a European directive, rental platforms will be required to report the income recorded by users. In parallel, ads with apartments that are not officially registered could be banned.
“Platforms have stars for classified ones and squares for unclassified ones. (…) We always choose the locations that have stars next to the name, not squares or circles or any other geometric shape. (…) The tourist must ask for a tax receipt or invoice. (…) He must ask what classification they have. It’s one thing to go to a one-star hotel and another to go to a three-star hotel. A star means you can stay with the owner in the house, already at three stars you are alone – you have your own place where you can unfold”recommends Dan Anghelescu, tourism specialist.
It is also recommended to check the homes on the situr.gov.ro platform, where complaints can also be submitted online. Since the beginning of the year, around 1,700 accommodation units have been checked, and 14% were operating without classification, so fines in the amount of approximately 360,000 lei were applied.
Renting a house without legal forms is risky for both the owner and the tourist, says Dan Anghelescu.
“If a tourist destroys his location or doesn’t want to leave that location anymore, legally he can’t do anything to him. (…) On the other hand, the tourist doesn’t have the security of comfort because the owners don’t always offer the minimum necessary. (…) When you get there, you find something completely different, you can’t do anything at all”he explained.
