Wednesday, 20 August 2008 09:56 am

Booking Deposit

Insist on a booking deposit - normally of 20-25% of the full rental fee.  The remainder should be payable six to eight weeks prior to the date of the holiday.  If anyone backs out, this gives you time to re-rent.  For bookings made less than two months before the date of occupancy, ask for full payment immediately.  If a potential client objects - treat that as a warning bell.  This is probably not the kind of person you want anyway.  Never confirm a booking until the deposit is in the bank....however genuine the prospective customer seems to be.  You may lose the chance of a back-up booking.  Make sure cheques have cleared before sending out the keys, exact address etc.  You need to beware of that rare but dangerous breed of holidaymaker who pays his deposit but not the remainder.  Insist on receiving the full amount before keys are handed over...after all, people expect to pay the full amount up front when they book a vacation through a travel agent.

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