Getting once-off B&B guest to pay - advice needed

mikehn

Hopefully someone may be able to advise me on a situation than may arise tomorrow.
We do bed and breakfast once a year for the week of listowel races, its kind of a normal thing in the town if anyone has a spare room to register with the accomodation office. Its been grand for the last couple of years, we dont make a lot but it puts oil in the tank for the heating and we meet some really interesting people. this year for the first time I have a worry about a guy that booked in for four nights, both my wife and I were talking about it tonight and we would not be surprised if he was going to do a runner without paying. Would anyone have any suggestions as to what we can or cant do if he was to attempt to drive away. This year has been a rough one one financially, lost job 18 months ago, daughter starting 3rd level so every euro is really needed and cant afford to take this possible hit if it happens.
Any advice as to what we can legitimally do would be really appreciated.
Thanks

biko

Perhaps you could say that you have some bills coming in and could he please pay in advance?

This isn't really Motors related so I'm moving it to Accommodation forum.

wmpdd3

A friend does B&B and she gets the guest to fill out a 'booking in card' with their name address car reg number etc.

This information may not be much good unless he has bolted but just the fact that he knows you have this may be enough for him to reconsider.

Also she has a friendly chat with them

I would have asked for one night's charge as a deposit but this is hard to do with out a CC machine.

mikehn

Thanks Guys but my difficulty is that he has been here 3 nights already, our concerns have grown over the last day from a couple of comments that he passed that we reckon are untrue. We of course have his reg. no. but dont want to have to go down the road of chasing him if things do go pear shaped.
.

foggy_lad

mikehn wrote: »

Thanks Guys but my difficulty is that he has been here 3 nights already, our concerns have grown over the last day from a couple of comments that he passed that we reckon are untrue. We of course have his reg. no. but dont want to have to go down the road of chasing him if things do go pear shaped.
.

Maybe he is just a spoofer Talking sh1te and saying stuff that is not true which has got ye worried but in reality that is all he is and has every intention of paying his bill?

hfallada

OP the gardas track people down for doing a runner on €20 worth of petrol. I imagine they will track him down for you, if he doesnt pay

biko

mikehn wrote: »

Thanks Guys but my difficulty is that he has been here 3 nights already

It doesn't matter, you can still ask him to pay in advance for "a sudden expenditure", he doesn't need to know what it is.
Worst case scenario, it's "rude" of you to ask and he won't be back.

But tbh you need to man up. If he does a runner and you suspected it (but did nothing about it) then it's more embarrassing than approaching him now.

The gardai any other suggestion might work but you would have to chase him down after the fact. Better imo to be pre-emptive and be paid upfront.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Citizenpain

can you block your drive "accidentially" so he cannot do a runner in the morning?

Santa Cruz

Citizenpain wrote: »

can you block your drive "accidentially" so he cannot do a runner in the morning?

That's the job. Show a bit of initiative. A couple of CCTV signs around the place would be no harm either.

MarriedButBi

Citizenpain wrote: »

can you block your drive "accidentially" so he cannot do a runner in the morning?

Great idea...if he's parked in the driveway.

I would pass some remark about how I like his car, tell him you took a few pictures of it as you are looking for something similar, just so he knows you have his reg.

Or you can pray he has a winner or two, in which case he'll be flush

Trish56

Can you present him with his bill tonight and ask him to settle it there and then as you are going to be very busy in the morning as you have a lot of new guests arriving.

Good idea about blocking in the car maybe get a neighbour to do it and you can't locate the neighbour until you have the cash in your pocket.
Best of luck

Victor

In future, for something like this, ask for the money up front.

L1011

MarriedButBi wrote: »

I would pass some remark about how I like his car, tell him you took a few pictures of it as you are looking for something similar, just so he knows you have his reg.

This would sound horrendously suspicious.

djimi

In the age of camera phones I wouldnt have thought that it would be too difficult to take a few pictures of someones car without them knowing about it...!

miss no stars

Trish56 wrote: »

Can you present him with his bill tonight and ask him to settle it there and then as you are going to be very busy in the morning as you have a lot of new guests arriving.

Good idea about blocking in the car maybe get a neighbour to do it and you can't locate the neighbour until you have the cash in your pocket.
Best of luck

This. Just say to him that you'd like to settle up now and that leaves him free to come and go as he pleases tomorrow and neither of you have to worry about running into each other. If he says he has no cash then say "well okay but you will need to settle up by breakfast tomorrow anyway...". Don't let him think "ah these eejits are too embarrassed to ask!"

crackcrack30

Well........ is he gone?

lukesmom

Did you get paid???

Idbatterim

Id agree about asking for it upfront, if you reckon someone could be dody. just says its policy as you have had people up and leave before (it doesnt have to be true)...

mikehn

Not gone, Breakfast finished about an hour ago, silence from room,waiting with interest to see what happens next, when I got the papers this morning I just happened to leave the car in front of the gate, so until thats moved nobody is going anywhere. Oh the joys of doing the occassional B&B.

UDP

mikehn wrote: »

Not gone, Breakfast finished about an hour ago, silence from room,waiting with interest to see what happens next, when I got the papers this morning I just happened to leave the car in front of the gate, so until thats moved nobody is going anywhere. Oh the joys of doing the occassional B&B.

Its either car in front of gate or payment up front.

emo72

I hope you get paid. Not a nice situation to be in.

manonboard

Thats a very good idea with the car in front of the gate. It's subtle, socially accepted, 'accidentally' likely, and a great bargaining chip.

If he causes hassle, "I'll have the local gardai down here in a matter of minutes to sort it out".

Hope it goes well for you OP

Swamp3

Hmmm maybe he's a Boardsie and he's having a great laugh up in the room, reading this thread!
Asking for payment upfront is the only way to go. You shouldn't have to go through all this stress for a few quid.

MisterKipling

i feel i'm back waiting to see what was in the safe again.....Suspence

foggy_lad

Is he gone yet? Did he pay up? or have you invited him to stay for dinner op?

Grandpa Hassan

foggy_lad wrote: »

Is he gone yet? Did he pay up? or have you invited him to stay for dinner op?

I stumbled on this thread, and I'm following it purely to find out how this finishes....

SirDelboy18

Was it a case of him losing money or something that he can't pay or do you think that he never had any intention to?

Anyways I wanna see how this plays out.

foggy_lad

Just waiting for "The Guest" to post

"I booked into a nice B&B for the races down in Listowel the other evening but I am worried now that it is more like Bates Motel! The owner has been staring me out of it every time we see each other and has now blocked my car into the drive so I cant get to the bank machine to withdraw cash to pay my bill I felt quite uneasy over breakfast and don't know if I will get out of here wit my body or sanity intact:D Should I bite the bullet and ask if there is a problem?"

TommiesTank

Any update on this, OP?

jaxdasher

We need more threads like this. Riveting stuff.

emo72

Well it's the middle of the afternoon now. He either paid or bailed. The OP is off celebrating or weeping miserably in the shed.

lukesmom

Ah come on I can't go anywhere today until I've found out if he paid it or not. Will you be so kind as to update on the situation op?????

stirwell

lukesmom wrote: »

Ah come on I can't go anywhere today until I've found out if he paid it or not. Will you be so kind as to update on the situation op?????

I had planned on going to the flicks but think ill stay in, this is riveting stuff

handlemaster

OP gone quiet maybe someone should call the guards

stirwell

Maybe trying to repair the big dent in the side of the car.

Frank Grimes

I'm half expecting to see reports emerging of a hostage situation in Kerry any time soon :pac:

odds_on

stirwell wrote: »

I had planned on going to the flicks but think ill stay in, this is riveting stuff

And not interupted by commercials.

Mam of 4

Grandpa Hassan wrote: »

I stumbled on this thread, and I'm following it purely to find out how this finishes....

Same here need to know how this ends!!

stirwell

odds_on wrote: »

And not interupted by commercials.

Or little s41ts in the back row trying to get the shift.

mikehn

Half past flippin two and finally have a result. I have been paid and can move the car from the gate, He was talking to one of the other people at breakfast and told them that he was ahead about €300 over the 4 days. I am sure that he was trying to wait us out but one of the other peole asked me if I was going to the course and I said load enuf for my hero to hear that I wasnt stirring from the house all day as i had loads to do.
He had brought his stuff to the car before he had breakfast so I was on high alert. Pity this happened as I will be listening to my wife for the foreseeable future about what should and should not be done next year.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys but I was on the back foot from the start as we never insisted on getting paid in advance from anybody.
Thanks again

foggy_lad

handlemaster wrote: »

OP gone quiet maybe someone should call the guards

They might be there already:eek:

Frank Grimes wrote: »

I'm half expecting to see reports emerging of a hostage situation in Kerry any time soon :pac:

Fawlty towers is on later:D will that do?

Ted_YNWA

This is up there with the Safe thread a few months ago.

Could this guest have hired the car that has been barricaded in & done a runner on that bill as well ?

stirwell

mikehn wrote: »

Half past flippin two and finally have a result. I have been paid and can move the car from the gate, He was talking to one of the other people at breakfast and told them that he was ahead about €300 over the 4 days. I am sure that he was trying to wait us out but one of the other peole asked me if I was going to the course and I said load enuf for my hero to hear that I wasnt stirring from the house all day as i had loads to do.
He had brought his stuff to the car before he had breakfast so I was on high alert. Pity this happened as I will be listening to my wife for the foreseeable future about what should and should not be done next year.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys but I was on the back foot from the start as we never insisted on getting paid in advance from anybody.
Thanks again

Well played mike. Happy for ya. You can enjoy a cold one now.

Muahahaha

mikehn wrote: »

Half past flippin two and finally have a result. I have been paid and can move the car from the gate, He was talking to one of the other people at breakfast and told them that he was ahead about €300 over the 4 days. I am sure that he was trying to wait us out but one of the other peole asked me if I was going to the course and I said load enuf for my hero to hear that I wasnt stirring from the house all day as i had loads to do.
He had brought his stuff to the car before he had breakfast so I was on high alert. Pity this happened as I will be listening to my wife for the foreseeable future about what should and should not be done next year.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys but I was on the back foot from the start as we never insisted on getting paid in advance from anybody.
Thanks again

Glad it worked out for you Mike.

For next year there is an Irish company called https://stripe.com/ie which might be handy for a one off card payment. Or you could also set up a Paypal account.
Most people are decent and will always pay up. Sadly though there are one or two who wont and there is a higher chance you'll find this type of 'character' whereever horse racing is going on so be wary in future during race weeks

manonboard

Op, After all out long waiting. I'd love to hear a blow by blow of the event. You think he moved his stuff in before breakfast and seen the car? Decided to hide out in the room... anxiously looking out the window for you to move the car?

Praying that you'd head out and he would be away?

He must of being stewing thinking of handing over all his winnings for the trip to pay for the 4 nights..

Did he try anything near the end? After he paid, did u immediately move that car with an ole "Ah sure if your heading off, I better move that car from the way *wink*".

foggy_lad

Joking aside OP I am glad you didn't get shafted as the B&B business is difficult enough without people climbing out windows in the dead of night to avoid paying. maybe in future suggest taking credit card details or taking a cash deposit at the booking in time if you only take cash.

Swamp3

Result!
So OP...will you be declaring the cash as taxable earnings?
:-) cruel but I just wanted to make you sweat some more.
Great to hear your persistence was rewarded.
At least you are clear in your mind how to deal with people next year.

Did he enquire about booking for next year???????

Ted_YNWA

Swamp3 wrote: »

Result!
So OP...will you be declaring the cash as taxable earnings?
:-) cruel but I just wanted to make you sweat some more.
Great to hear your persistence was rewarded.
At least you are clear in your mind how to deal with people next year.

Did he enquire about booking for next year???????

this income can be exempt from tax if the OP is getting less than €10,000.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/owning_a_home/home_owners/rent_a_room_scheme.html

spurious

Get paid in advance in future.
I would never have any problem paying a B&B in advance. I don't think most genuine people would have a problem either.

thesandeman

As a matter of interest what did he say to make you suspicious that he might be thinking of doing a runner?
The poor guy might have been the most honest man in Kerry but we will never know.

crackcrack30

note to self.........rule 8. - Out by noon on final day.