Yosemite Region Resorts Property Management & Vacation Rentals

Review: We rented a house with this property management company. The amenities were not as advertised (I have a copy of the ad). Management was extremely rude

We are disputing the charges on our account because the services that we got were substandard, customer service non-existent, and the conditions of the premises were not as advertised.

Air conditioning:

Upon our arrival to Pine Mountain Lake property on Sunday July 6, 2013, shortly after 3 p.m., the temperature in the house was 86 F. Air conditioning was not working both on Sunday and the following day. I literally had to spend 2 days on the phone with the property manager trying to resolve the situation. It took time away from my family - my small kids and my husband. We live in Daly City where average temperature year round is 63 degrees Farenheit. My 3 kids, ages 6 (at the time), 3.5, and 22 months could not sleep. They were crying and complaining about how hot it was. At night, because the house is located in the middle of nowhere - where there can potentially be wildlife (we saw deer in our backyard there, for example), I had to shut the windows close out of safety concerns. It made it even hotter, even though it cooled down a bit at night outside.

Property Manager [redacted], having waited for a while, finally sent in someone to check on the AC. The person told me the reason AC was not working was because I failed to turn it on. I know how to turn on the air conditioning. Not true.

It was not until late Monday, when the second (real) Technician (AC specialist) came, and told me the AC was not working. Moreover, the AC specialist said it could not have possibly worked because one of the motors was broken, and the other one would start to work, and then shut off to prevent overheating, and not start back on its own. And we, of course, would have no access to the AC controllers, located outside the house. Also, he said, AC was full of debris, and all clogged up. My husband and developed a flu, so we could not even breathe in that house - it was that hot. We had to suffer Sunday and Monday - until the AC was fixed. The second technician had to come in more than once - I think he came in 3 times. The first time he didn't have the parts. Then he had to drive somewhere and buy the parts. In the meanwhile, I was on the phone with Manager [redacted] - and his staff begging them to have AC fixed as we didn't know what to do there because of the heat. We could not have quality family time with the kids - we had someone banging on the AC outside the house - walking into the house, calling us, having me call the office - it was extremely disruptive. Both my husband and I got sick with a flu - and of course, could not drive home - which is a 4 hour drive without traffic on a good day.

Manager still did not believe me that the AC was not working when I got there. He kept on telling me it was fine before I got there - we were only the second renters of that house - and the previous ones that stayed before us for a few days did not complain. What I do know is that AC did not work, it was awful, it was hot, and the manager basically called me a liar repeatedly.

There were other houses available to rent - and one of the reasons we chose this one was because it had AC. It was advertised as having central air conditioning.

In the midst of it the Manager offered me to go home - which is a 4 hour drive with no traffic, when he very well knew we took time off work - both my husband and I and made arrangements with daycares for kids. I inquired about another house- and he was not willing to do anything for me. He knew we had 3 small kids and planned this family vacation.

We ordered linen service. Upon arrival, linens were not provided. Housekeeping arrived later with linens. Linens were old, they looked like they have been around the block a few times. The bed was not made for us. Price - additional $25. Also the housekeeper inconvenienced us by staying too long and chatting on the phone with the manager. When I asked her to use her cell phone outside the house and give us privacy, she would not do that. She gave me major attitude instead.

Desired Settlement: No air hockey

House was advertised as having air hockey. There was no air hockey in the house.

Steamer Pot

The steamer pot was burnt to the ground, no replacement steamer was provided.

Coffee Maker

There was no tea kettle. When I called, they promised to bring a tea kettle. Had to call in 5 times. Spoke to the manager. He accused me of lying and said no one told me they would bring a tea kettle. The staff, [redacted] ([redacted]?) hang up on me more than once when I tried to reach out. He would not get a manager on the phone and suggested I go and buy my own tea kettle. The house had a coffeemaker. I tried to use it a few times - and every time it would make me half a cup of tepid water. I informed the manager about that - he promised to send someone the next morning - around Thursday to take care of this - but no one showed up. I could not make tea or coffee while in the house for a week.

Internet

One of the reasons we chose this particular house, even though it was pricier than some others - (we could have rented for $130-150 a night) is that it was advertised as having wireless broadband DSL. My husband and I both have jobs that require communication while on vacation. My husband does IT work in San Francisco, and I am an attorney running my one practice. There was NO internet in the house at all. Not high speed, not low speed. NONE. When I brought it up with the manager, he brushed me off at first and suggested we try to use the code that they gave us. It didn't work. He then acknowledged that there was no internet in the house. What they were hoping to do is have us connect to the house across the street, owned by the same property owner, and use that house's internet that way. That didn't work. Manager eventually came to our house - a few days later - probably Wednesday - another disruption from having time with our family - and brought in his own laptop to try and see if he could connect. The only way he was able to connect was sitting outside the house - as close as possible to the house across the street. My husband was able to replicate that a few times - only at night - sitting outside the house - almost on a sidewalk - somewhat freaky at night - when the person who lived in the second house was not using the internet, which he was most of the time. I was not able to get any work done, and missed important meetings, and deadlines. I had a trial on Monday and I was not prepared because I could not get access to my online database.

TVs/Cable

The house was advertised as having 3 TVs and cable. There was no cable when we checked in on Sunday. A day before our arrival, when everything was packed and plans made, I got a voicemail from Manager [redacted] who informed me that there was no cable and that Comcast equivalent will need to come in on MONDAY! (next day upon our arrival) and spend about 4 hours digging holes and wiring the house for cable. I called back - there was answering service - and told them that I am coming with 3 small children - who also take naps - and love to watch TV - so it would greatly inconvenience us if they had to come in and spend 4 hours in the house making noises, and mess. Plus we need the cable. I got the call back the next day - when everything was already packed for 5 people 1 week travel and it is a lot of stuff. [redacted] suggested I stay home - having taken a week off. It was too late for me to change plans at that time. I requested that they take care of it on Sunday, before we arrive. They failed to do that.

We had no cable service when we arrived, and it was difficult with the kids, as I had nothing for them to do. I was planning on having them watch TV while I cook, etc.

Eventually, they hooked up a small old TV in the kitchen, and we had some channels there.They promised to bring Comcast equivalent Monday. They never came. They only came I think on Wednesday. I specifically instructed the office NOT to have anyone come between the hours of 1 and 4, as my kids nap. The workers came at 1:15 p.m. T

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

Re: Case #XXXXXXXX, [redacted]

We are professionals here at Yosemite Region Resorts and we take our relationships with our clients very seriously. Not without sufficient care or consideration, do I speak these harsh words: [redacted] was/is the most disrespectful, rude and disruptive guest we have ever had in over 20 years in the Property Management industry. Upon the very first call that we received from Ms. [redacted], the initial inquiry call, she voiced expectations and demands that were inappropriate; for example, she wanted our staff to guarantee there would be no pets in the home prior to her arrival, by any previous guests...when the house she wanted to rent (but had not committed to at that point) was a pet-friendly home and she was well aware of this fact. More than one staff member encouraged her to consider renting another home, a pet-free home (we gave her 2 options of pet-free homes to choose from that were available for her dates). She also wanted all new sheets and comforters to be purchased and provided for her stay to ensure no pet hair. I personally spoke to her at least 3 times over the phone regarding her demands for new sheets & comforters and told her we could not meet this expectation. When she finally gave up the sheet/comforter demand, she moved onto why the linen service would not make up the beds, but rather would only deliver the sheet bundles and the she would make up the beds. I fully explained how the linen service works, more than once, including the fact that the linens would be delivered on her day of arrival, but that "when" would depend on how many orders the linen service had that day. After a number of phone calls from her, at one point, we felt it necessary to very bluntly tell her that we didn't feel we were a good match and would prefer that she not book with our company. We had multiple staff voice their concerns about renting to Ms. [redacted], as she was difficult at best and would keep a staff member on the phone for an hour at a time, several times per day, just going over and over the same items each time, trying to get a different answer out of us.

Ms. [redacted], to our disappointment, reserved one of our vacation rentals, for a one week stay. I will not be addressing her given complaints point-by-point, as we have already exhausted these items while she was our in-house guest. This guest was a red-flag prior to her reservation being made, clear through her entire stay and thereafter...and months later, she is still consuming our time. This is a party that we would never do business with again and quite frankly, knew before she ever arrived that she would be a nightmare. Ms. [redacted] kept our office staff, field staff and sub-contractors hopping from start to finish of her stay. Much of those 7 days were completely devoted to taking care of this one guests constant and steady demands and issues. But, I will touch on a few items, to give an idea of the complications:

Upon check-in Ms. [redacted] immediately began calling our office with false complaints. We had multiple calls from her, up to 1am, on the first night. We had approximately 20 calls to the emergency line (after-hours line) on night one. The first day/night complaints:

- No pots & pans in the house

- The house was filthy

- Where are the linens

- Linens are not on the beds

- The A/C is not working

When the guest called to complain that there were no pots and pans, whatsoever and that the house was "filthy", we dispatched housekeeping to check on these items. Housekeeping had been to the house prior to the guests arrival to ensure a positive check-in and touchup any items necessary. As the house was brand new to our program (Ms. [redacted] was the second guest to stay), so it was possible that a non-sufficient amount of cooking items could have gone unnoticed. However, the housekeeper went through the cupboards and found a full set at a glance (they were brand new) and could not understand why the guest did not find them on her own. When housekeeping asked what was "filthy", the guest had nothing to say and indicated nothing was out order. At the same time housekeeping checked on the A/C. Housekeeping reported that the house felt cool, the A/C was on and still blowing cold air, (housekeeping turned the A/C on prior to the guests arrival to ensure the home was comfortable when the guest checked in, they reported cold air blowing). Linens were delivered as scheduled; bundles were left for the guest to make up the beds, just as we had discussed/prepared the guest of this procedure, prior to her reservation ever being made. She continued to call about the A/C not working. So we sent our handyman out to take a look. The handyman reported that the guest admitted turning the A/C off prior to his arrival, as he found only the fan blowing. He turned the A/C back on and cold air was blowing. Again, the guest called about the A/C. So we placed 3 calls into local A/C repair companies. No one was available until the following morning. This guest had presented a pattern of being difficult, thus though we addressed all her complaints, we weren't sure that the A/C was really on the fritz. The A/C repair found that one of the two motors was not working properly, causing the A/C to only partially cool. The A/C was repaired that day; day two of her stay. She reported on two occasions that the garbage disposal wasn't working. We sent a service provider out both times, only to receive a report that the garbage disposal worked just fine, but he found that the guest had shoved cereal down the non-disposal side of the sink that was required to be dug out & removed.

Our staff were always professional with Ms. [redacted], challenging though it was. Ms. [redacted] was rude to our staff, service providers and to our answering service. During her stay, our office received 5-15 calls per day, for 7 days, with her unfounded demands and complaints. She called day and night. She was fully aware of our office hours, but each night without fail, we would receive 1-3 emergency calls from her, late into the night, atop of the 5-15 calls during business hours. Every office staff member, field staff member and sub-contractor knew Ms. [redacted]'s name. Even the answering service owner mentioned that all her staff knew Ms. [redacted] by name and they have never received so many calls from one person before, and very rude at that. One of the answering service staff members called my husbands cellphone after hours, crying, because Ms. [redacted] called incessantly and was so disrespectful each time. Even the answering service staff became weary of her rudeness and many calls. This guest made more calls to our emergency line (after hours line) than all other guests combined, all year.

Ms. [redacted] was charged a cleaning fee that covers a full clean upon departure. She left the house in such bad shape upon departure, that housekeeping had to re-organize their schedule, call in other housekeepers to help and charged an excessive cleaning fee (which happens only 1-2 times per year, when a really disrespectful party leaves a home in disarray).

Ms. [redacted] filed a credit card dispute last month, disputing fees that she agreed to prior to her arrival, thus consuming more of our time. We will no longer respond to her coorespondences. We've had just about enough.

Sincerely,

[redacted] & [redacted]

Property Managers

Final Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

You can see for yourself - that the owners and managers acknowledge that they knew me by name and thus did not take any of my requests seriously. You can further see that they failed to respond to my concerns - because they have developed a negative attitude towards me. You can see how hostile and angry the management is and how little they cared about my stay.

In addition, the management have not responded to the issues with the internet - neither my husband nor I could work there because there was no internet service available - and I have copies of the email detailing all the amenities in the house - and it was supposed to have included high speed internet.

You can review my original complaint and it will have all the details about my stay, including the fact that the first phone call was not from me but it was from them to inform me that they

In terms of the cleaning - I stayed in the house with my husband and 3 kids. Knowing this company and their hostile attitude towards me by the end of my one week stay, we made sure to meticulously clean the house, including taking out all the trash. I have taken pictures of every single room upon my departure to avoid having any issues with this management company.

The company has never offered me a replacement property. I have never asked them for confirmation whether there were pets - I simply asked them details about this house. It was a very lovely house on the picture.

Please also take into consideration the fact that I came for a vacation with my family and had the situation not been that blatantly awful I would have never taken time away from my kids to make these calls - and I told them this.

Please go ahead and review my original complaint. The management response does not address most of the things I have complained about. I would like to get a refund of the monies I paid to them. With their lack of the promised amenities, negative attitude, hostility and failure to timely, if at all, take care of the problems, the management ruined my vacation - one week with my family that my little ones anticipated so eagerly.