The owner sent us a note after our stay to inform us that we lost our damage deposit because we had two extra people stay at the house, as our two young granddaughters (ages 3 and 5) slept on sleeping bags on the floor.
In our very first note to the owner on January 16th, we stated that we were bringing multiple grandkids and they never mentioned that it would be an issue. If we had known, we could have easily booked another place in January, as our intent was not to fool or bypass the rules.
They stated that the cleaning crew had to do extra work but that frankly isn't true. We washed, folded and put away the four blue spa towels, only used about half the other towels, emptied the trash in the kitchen and both the bathrooms, wiped the counter tops, swept the kitchen floor and my husband also repaired the two wobbly bar stools in the front room. We make an effort to be good houseguests and I am at a loss as to what the extra cleaning effort might have been.
They also said there were a few scuff marks on the walls and I requested photos of them and of the extra work for the cleaning crew but they never sent them.
The other main issue we had (besides the electricity going out twice for extended periods) was that the house got very warm in the afternoon and evening. The outside temperature got up to 85 on three days and it was warm in the front of the house, especially after running the stove. We were instructed to not open the windows more than a crack due to bears in the neighborhood, so the bedrooms were also fairly hot until around 11 pm. There are no ceiling fans in any bedrooms and no screen on the front door, but there was one portable fan you could move around that helped a little.
To summarize:
(1). We lost our damage deposit for a house that was left in excellent condition.
(2). Told the owners before the booking that we were bringing multiple grandkids, but were never informed that this might be an issue or of any strict occupancy rules.
(3). The house was too hot in the afternoon without air conditioning. I did notice that they only listed heat on their amenities, so I want to warn others in case they don't notice it.
We have used HomeAway multiple times in the past with very positive stays. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for this time.