

True friends will understand and respect your rule that only paying renters may stay at your vacation home. While you may feel bad about charging friends and family for staying at your vacation property, setting this boundary is a sure-fire way to stave off any vacation home moochers. Consider Charging Everyone – including friends and family If they refuse or don’t follow through, cut your losses and take it as a sign to re-evaluate your friendship. Alternatively, if you don’t trust their cleaning abilities, ask them to pay for the cost of cleaners for after their stay.Įxpressing your expectations early is key to ensuring your property is taken care of and you’re getting something out of the deal. For example, you may ask them to wash the bedding, take out the trash, mow the lawn, water the plants, vacuum, etc. Email them a friendly list of expectations about what you would like them to help with.

You’re doing them a favor, so they should be happy to do something for you in return. If your friend is coming to stay in your vacation home for free, don’t be afraid to ask them to pull their weight while they’re there. If they don’t respect your timeline and this basic request, they are not a real friend – they’re a freeloader. If this is the case, give yourself a buffer of a couple of days between the friend’s deadline and the renters check-in day to ensure the space is ready. If you rent out your vacation home, you may mention that you have upcoming renters who have booked and paid for their stay. The next time a friend asks to stay at your vacation home, be clear about your expectations for how long they’ll be there. Because a vacation home moocher doesn’t care about your time or money, an open-ended invitation can easily turn into a few months-long stay. While some people may think it’s rude to give a friend a deadline when staying at your vacation home, it’s a mature way to ensure you’re not going to be taken advantage of by a freeloader. The benefit of deadlines is that both parties know where they stand. Establish and Enforce Deadlinesĭeadlines are something we all have to deal with, especially with work. Below are our top tips for dealing with freeloaders the next time they ask to stay at your vacation home. So, when they come into your life, make sure to handle them with grace and patience, but don’t be afraid to put your foot down and enforce your boundaries, or ultimately cut them out. Unlike a friendly houseguest, freeloaders often only care about their own comfort and are eager to take what they can from you.įreeloaders like to take advantage of your kindness. A freeloader is characterized by their lack of care for you or what you have going on in your life. There’s a big difference between vacation home freeloaders and friends or family members who ask to stay for a couple of days.
