Important Cooperation Updates

For Eos Villas, it is crucial that the Owner fulfils, maintains and ensures, to the fullest extent possible, throughout their clients' stay, the necessary hygiene rules, as provided or, from time to time, imposed by applicable legislation (see Covid-19).

The same applies to safety in all areas of the property (interior and exterior), the facilities offered (swimming pool, BBQ, playgrounds, etc.), electrical appliances, furnishings and any other object visitors provide.

Insuring the property (at least with Public Liability/Fire Insurance) is a recommendation from Eos Villas and a smart business move for the smooth operation of any tourist property. It is increasingly apparent that insurance coverage in all aspects of the tourism process will soon become an essential competitive practice.

Eos Villas regularly visits its partner properties to check compliance with or completion of the prerequisites mentioned above (Insurance, Hygiene) and will continue to prioritize this process, sending the Owner the relevant inspection result and our advice for action.

It is reasonable and intelligent to provide some necessities (whatever each owner prefers) upon the arrival of guests, especially during delayed or midnight arrivals. In such cases, customers are unable to purchase the essentials themselves.

In situations where the customer has been travelling since the previous night or has small children, they are faced with the fact that they must wait until the shops open the following day to buy some water or a couple of coffee-tea sachets.

Thus, upon arrival, there is a wrong initial impression, which ultimately leads to a negative review.

Today, it is an undisputed fact - even for the most spartan accommodations/hotels - that customers expect to find two bottles of water, some coffee or tea sachets, juice for the kids, or some fruit from the garden upon arrival (this is true for all properties in Crete and many in Cyprus).

In addition to the psychological predisposition of the customer, providing at least a few bottles of water upon arrival and - additionally - whatever each owner can or chooses to offer is the minimum that a customer expects upon arrival. We believe this is compatible with the spirit of hospitality that we often advertise and take pride in.

Eos Villas recommends the following welcome package:

• Two or more bottles of water
  
• Coffee, tea
• Sugar, salt, oil
• Juice, milk
• A box of crackers or bread
• A packaged set of cheese and ham slices
• Small packages of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, etc.
• Two rolls of toilet paper for each bathroom.
• Slippers, sewing kit
• Seasonal fruits

Necessary: Please inform us what is already offered and what you suggest so that we can finalize our list.

Due to Covid, the opinion of removing specific amenities from properties upon guests' arrival, such as 1-2 doses of dishwashing or laundry detergent, sponges, dish soap, kitchen towels, complete equipment of cooking and dining items, hand soap, etc., had prevailed among the majority of Owners.

This communication aims to shed light on the fact that this policy can only be described as misguided, erroneous, and highly detrimental to the quality of services offered by the property. Considering internationally applicable standards imposed by the existing tremendous competition, this practice undoubtedly creates a particularly negative impression of the property's quality. It reduces its ability to attract repeat customers.

Moreover, even in the most spartan accommodations worldwide, providing at least one set of bathroom amenities per room (shampoo, shower gel), hand soap, a sewing kit, etc., is a standard provision that ultimately does not incur high costs. (On the internet, they are offered for mass purchase at low prices).

Adopting the above proposal - a necessary practice is not simply a request or urging from our side but an earnest recommendation for upgrading your property, which has been proven to yield corresponding economic benefits soon.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that installing a children's swing in the garden, a few plastic toys in the front yard, two lifebuoys in the pool, and an additional sun lounger in a secluded corner would also be a way to upgrade any property. These small, inexpensive, and easy things have been proven to gain tremendous value in the end and prevent any potential complaining customers from expressing negative feedback!

Recently, it has become customary for property owners of all types of accommodations to provide specific facilities for children free of charge to make their property more competitive and appealing for extended stays by families with young children.

For this reason, they have taken care to provide free or low-cost but still handy items that a customer would not be able to bring with them for their vacation, such as a baby changing table, baby relax chair, stroller, plastic and other toys (for the pool), plastic baby bath, children's sheets and pillows, small items that one can easily buy from large toy supermarkets.

Having carefully examined the importance and effectiveness of these provisions, we strongly recommend adopting this practice, confident that it will attract more customers to the property and increase its visibility in the search results on various platforms with corresponding positive results.

It is an integral part of the agreement between Eos Villas and the owner that the latter is obliged to provide, when and if needed, a baby crib, a high chair or an extra bed (sofa or folding bed). Unfortunately, several owners disregarded this non-negotiable agreement last year and requested the company provide them at the last minute.

It is now clarified that Eos Villas will discontinue this service for specific and severe reasons (a large number of properties, time-consuming process, and need for additional staff) and kindly requests the owners/partners to ensure the immediate procurement of the above, implementing the relevant term of their agreement.

It should be noted that the company will gladly provide a second (extra) child seat, crib or folding bed if agreed upon for the specific customer reservation, and this will be without any charge.

In any other case, and if the owner is unable to provide the above-agreed items, Eos Villas will provide them to the property for the corresponding reservation and charge the owner as follows:

• Child's cot = 8.00Euros per day
• Child's high chair = 5.00Euros per day
• Foldable bed = 10.00Euros per day

The total amount for each booking will be deducted from the next payment.

A. Damaged - Compensation to the Owner

During the validation of our cooperation agreement - there is also a relevant clause in the contract - Eos Villas has agreed to cover "specific damages" that may be caused to the property by the wrongful use of visitors at the time.

As owners sometimes misinterpret this promise, it is necessary to clarify some serious details here to avoid future disappointments and misunderstandings.

First of all: No damage can be accepted if the Owner informs the Company the next day or days after the departure of the client (delayed damage report), which is for obvious ethical and legal reasons.

Therefore, the Owner or the cleaning Company must check the property early in the morning of departure and report any damages so that the Eos Villas team can claim the corresponding compensation supported by evidence of the incident.

The process regarding this matter is specific, and the Owner is obligated not only to check and report any unfortunate event to the Company but also to take a picture of the damaged items with their mobile phone (preferably), send them immediately to the appropriate department of the office, and receive a unique damage number, which they will use later to issue the corresponding invoice.

Specifically, we need the following:

• A close-up photo
• A photo showing the broader point of the damage
• A final photo showing as much of the room as possible.
• Optionally, a video.

During this process, it is also essential for the Owner to inform the relevant department of the cost of repairing the damage so that it can be claimed by the customer or the platform through which they paid for their vacation.

It is therefore made clear that any bypassing of a department or the entire above process automatically deprives us of the right to request compensation from the customer. It also relieves us of any liability for repairing the damage. 

Following the above, we consider it necessary to refer to the types of damages that may potentially appear on a property, having experienced unreasonable requests for restoration, such as for a light bulb in the kitchen hood or for a 10-year-old sunbed whose fabric had rotted and rusted from the sun and use.

It is, therefore, clearly stated herein that damages that may reasonably arise due to external factors (electricity, water supply, municipal works, telecommunications, weather conditions, etc.), which in no case will be accepted as the customer's liability and will not be compensated.

The same applies to unfortunate incidents due to prolonged use of an object, loss of material durability, or wear and tear.

Finally, in the rare case of vandalism, only the Owner has the role of calling the police and the Company to the property so that together they can take the necessary actions for complete compensation and remove customers from the property.

For any further clarification or questions, the Eos Villas team remains at your disposal so that any problem of this specific type can be addressed.

B - Compensation to Guests from Property Owners

Taking into serious consideration the new international standards from all parties involved in tourism and the facilitations - assurances that are greedily and foolishly offered to attract more clientele, we must draw the utmost attention of our partners to the following:

Any provision or item that follows the advertisement of a property, such as a microwave, television, internet connection, washing machine - dishwasher, toaster, dishes, glasses, BBQ, air conditioning, etc., is beyond discussion the responsibility of the Owner to provide upon each arrival. This means that even if something is damaged during the use of previous guests, it must be immediately replaced so that it is not missing from the property upon the new arrival or not repaired for the rest of the client's holiday.

Unfortunately, for those involved in providing tourist services, including Owners, the current legislation is in favour of the weak member (the customer) to whom all parties involved <<must provide>> what they have promised!

Any omission or failure to comply with the above will automatically deduct from us and, thus, a corresponding amount from the reservation payment from the property owner.

With this in mind, it is also important to note – and warn that the time required to rectify any damage that was likely to occur – even the responsibility of customers – on a property is a significant issue.

The fact that there has been a power outage due to the Public Power Corporation or telecommunications problems in the area can be temporarily dealt with. However, the fact that the Water Company can carry out work and there is no water is an unfortunately unresolvable problem due to its health-related nature and given that the Owner was supposed to have foreseen an alternative solution (with a tank).

Of course, these specific issues concern significant matters, but – regarding this reference – it is unfortunate that "the same applies" to any other object or amenity included in advertising a property that the customer is deprived of.

The Eos team remains vigilant 24 hours a day, and any reported problem will be immediately notified to the Owner. Their immediate and decisive response in resolving the issue will not only be a psychological relief but – above all – a guarantee of the reliability of his property and services.   

Unfortunately, it has been established that customers are frequently locked out of the properties by mistake, resulting in a considerable frenzy about who, when and how to access the property to open it. This is an odd and problematic reality, as unpredictable, annoying, and challenging for both the owner and the Eos Villas team at hours - usually - inappropriate and often prohibitive for any resolution reaction.

(The office is closed, the owners are out of the area, the hours are past midnight, there is no spare key, etc.)

Of course, there is always the alternative solution of calling a locksmith. However, this also presents the same peculiarities and difficulties besides the relative cost (regardless of whether the customer will ultimately bear it), and it is not always feasible.

Taking all the above into consideration and being strongly concerned about the inconvenience we all suffer, we recommend the following:

It would be extremely sensible and helpful if every property owner made sure to have a spare key hidden somewhere outside the property or in a second key-safe box with a different combination and away from the main entrance or at a nearby relative's house so that when such an incident occurs, the customer can be informed, find the key and the owner or responsible person of the property does not have to rush in the middle of the night to open it.

Alternatively, as a more straightforward solution to the problem, it is suggested to change the lock of the main entrance of the property with another one that cannot be closed without using the key. (The cost is the same for a standard lock).

These proposals, which are not costly, have proved to be "lifesaving", relieving all of us from a problem we cannot prevent or ignore.

Adopting this idea by property owners is of utmost necessity to avoid future customer dissatisfaction and inconvenience.