Arrival and Departure
We’re ready to go. How do we find the property?
We mail you detailed directions
and a map. 
How do we get into the property? Do you send us the keys?
No. A real person greets you
and lets you in. That person shows you how everything
works and gives you keys.
What are our duties upon arrival?
Together with the owner, read the utilities meters (if utilities are extra), and read the phone meter, if there is one.
Find out where the plastic garbage bags are kept and where garbage should be left.
Ask the owner where the circuit breakers in case of current overload or other electrical interruptions. Also, find out where candles/flashlight are kept.
Go over the operation of appliances
like the washing machine and dishwasher.
How does the person who is to greet us know when we’re going to arrive?
In the case of country estates or city apartment buildings where there are several different accommodations for rent, there will often be someone there automatically to greet you during the window of time allotted for arrivals. If you intend to arrive outside the specific hours (generally 4-6pm), you must tell Vacanza Bella before your departure from the US so that we in turn can advise the owner.
In the case of most bookings,
we will discuss your arrival time during our final conversations
prior to your departure and inform the owner of your
intentions so as to be certain someone is there to greet
you when you arrive.
What time can we arrive at the property?
Between 4 and 6 pm. Why so late?
Because the property will very often have been rented
until the very morning of your arrival, with the prior
guests departing (theoretically) at 10am. It takes time
to prepare the property properly for you. We have been
in this business for nearly 20 years. If we have learned
anything at all, it is this: The moment of arrival is
crucial. If that moment goes wrong for whatever reason,
there is mutual resentment and hell to pay for the entire
rest of the time. If you arrive early, the housekeeping
will be done in a rushed way and won’t be done
right. The owner/greeter will be flustered; you will
be annoyed. Please respect the arrival time so that
you and everyone else involved will be happy.
But our flight arrives at 8am. What are we supposed to do til 4pm?
IF the property wasn’t occupied the night before your arrival, then of course we will arrange for you to go straight to the place and be let in. No reason not to accommodate you.
If the place was indeed occupied before your arrival, then there is no solution. You must simply wait and find a way to occupy your time until the accommodation is ready for occupancy. We have ourselves had to do this on many occasions when we rented – in London, in Paris, in Italy – and it’s a big pain, especially when all we want to do when we get someplace after a long flight is (a) sleep; and (b) shower.
Sometimes it may be possible for you to leave your luggage at the place early. This cannot be guaranteed, so don’t ask us to guarantee it. If consent is granted for this, you must do simply that: leave your bags and then disappear until the housecleaning has been completed. In the case of a large villa with many beds to change, this will be 4pm at the earliest.
If you are arriving very early
in the day and you feel you must get into your
accommodation right away, you can do what we ourselves
have done on several occasions in the past: Plan your
arrival flight for the morning after your rental
officially begins. You only lose one evening, and you
are guaranteed to have immediate access to your rental
when you arrive. Alternatively, plan your flight itinerary
such that your arrival occurs later in the day.
Checkout time is 10am, and please do not delay. There must be sufficient time left to prepare the place for the next renter. If there is no next renter – something which may not be known until the relative last minute – we will be happy to discuss a later checkout time.
Please tell the caretaker
or owner if you intend to leave earlier than planned,
or at an ungodly early hour, or at a time different
from the “normal” 10am check-out time. That
way, you can arrange with the owner or caretaker to
settle up on your “extras”, if any –
phone, housekeeping charges, etc. If you’re checking
out at dawn, this should happen the evening before.