Hello, all. I'm looking into renting a cottage in Mayo for a week. Some I'm considering are listed with sites like Hogan's Cottages (http://www.hogansirishcottages.com/) and holidaylettings.co.uk. Both sites require a deposit, with the balance to be paid six to eight weeks before your trip. And there are no refunds. I'd expect the deposit, but is the rest standard practice? Of course trip insurance will help if we needed to cancel, but it just makes me a little nervous to have paid if the place is unsatisfactory or there's a problem. Thanks for the feedback. Tara
Posted by
Kingsville, Ontario
165 posts
Tara, we rented a cottage in Donegal this past summer without paying anything up front. The cottage only took cash and a money transfer was too costly. They wanted to let, we to rent, and the deal done. Instead of going through an agency, try contacting the owners direct. Times are tough in Ireland, you might find cottage owners flexible.
The only down side was, we didnt really know that they'd hold it for us, and for them that we'd show. Some times you just have to trust strangers.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
141 posts
Tara, We have rented a couple of different times in Europe and the conditions varied by propterty owner. We are renting again next spring in Paris and I am finding that most want the balance paid about 4 weeks before the trip. Because of that, we only looked at properties that accept credit card. If the accommodations are not acceptable, I can try fighting it with my credit card company. With vrbo.com, it displays on the search screen those properties that will accept credit cards.