I think that they just don't know any better. Just because someone can cobble together money to rent something doesn't mean that they have ever lived with quality furniture and they really don't understand how to care for furniture.
Perhaps, they've grown up with throw away pieces and don't think about coasters. It's sad.

While it is sad that damage has been done, if you do some math - let's say the house has been rented half time for the past 5 years - that is 125 rentals - and if there are 10 people per rental that is well over 1000 people who have been legal tenants in the house - plus any guests entertained. Cup rings, furnture and floor scratches I believe would not be unexpected with that many people. Can't figure out about the media room. While not likely the case with your group of 13 women, large amounts of alcohol and partying were likely involved in some of the rental. Perhaps the owner collected something in security deposit from those that did damage and is not planning on restoring house until it is not used as a rental.

Not offering an excuse for people mistreating proparty, just an explanation.

I have to agree with Gail. When I rent a vacation place, I make sure to leave it in great shape, often better than I find it. That being said, a recent experience gave me this perspective.

We have a small house with no eat-in kitchen or family room, so the dining room and living room are the main living areas. It is just right for a couple or small family, but not for two families. Since we are retired, it is furnished for DH & me. Last year, we bought black laquered dining furniture and had other things redone. After a year, it all still looked brand new.

This past Spring, our DD and her family (with toddler) had an emergency situation and they moved in with us for nearly five months. The amount of wear on our new furniture is just unbelievable. It is more than DH and our four cats would put on it in years. Bringing their stuff (luggage, toys, boxes, briefcases, purses, totes, musical intstruments, etc.) in and out made more wear and scuff marks than you would think possible. More people constantly walking in and out, from front to back, all day long took a toll on the new rugs. I just about cried to see it happening - we can't afford to replace it. I finally put the chairs in storage and dragged out some old ones.

The rental house may have a lot of bedrooms, but it still has only a few common areas, and when you have 13 people using the common areas of a place, be it hotel lobby or family room, that is a lot of use.

The wear and tear doesn't happen per person as you might think. It is more expoential. There are just more bodies brushing by each other, moving chairs about, etc. Even all the suitcases and luggage being shuffled in and out creates a lot of wear and tear that a family living there would not have.

Hotels specify commercial furniture and floor covering when they furnish a room. They know that ordinary house furniture can not withstand constant knocks and dings. Likewise household floor covering is no match for sand and heavy duty vacuums.

If you treat a house like a hotel you either have to decorate it is as one of replace stuff constantly.

But, yes, people can be pigs.

This is an interesting question with very thoughtful answers.

1. Yes, people can be pigs. Internet photos show astonishing numbers of people using hotel beds as trampolines. I think it is the "I paid for it, and I can do whatever I want" entitlement thing. It explains why beds are often so uncomfortable.

2. A relative was quietly scornful of our housekeeping and the tired look (we would say "comfy") of some of our furniture. Until she borrowed the house (it's in Nantucket) to entertain friends for a week. When we next saw her, she said, "I had no idea it was so much work to keep people fed and clean up after them. The wear and tear is amazing." Yes.

3. At the same time, we just got back from a stay in a 500 year old villa in Italy (see my recent trip reports) that was in absolutely pristine condition because (1) the kind of person who will rent a house like that is generally not a pig (we were guests, not the renters) and (2) the furnishings were incredibly sturdy and had rustic surfaces that could handle wet glasses and so forth, not polished wood. The walls were roughish plaster, the doorframes were stone, and the doors were antique or made of rough wood, all materials that age kindly.

People who are used to lodging in hotels and B&B s have no clue how much work is involved in keeping up a property while cooking meals and doing dishes. They often don't read their rental contract and expect the owner to clean out the frig, scrub the stove, do toilets, tubs, showers, vacuum, wash sheets and towels, etc., which is the expectation when you rent a house unless you pay extra to have the place cleaned when you leave.

This is the reason that when I go on vacation I do not to rent a cottage or house. I do enough of that stuff at home.

I have friends who own an oceanfront home. They move out in summer and rent it for $10000 a week. It's huge.

Last year they got a call from their neighbor. The renters were carrying their leather sofa out onto the beach. Unbelievable.

I agree people can be pigs. I think another factor is that as the price for weekly rentals has reached absurd amounts, many families are joining together in one house so they can afford to be on the beach. I know 2 people from work who annually pack in almost double the allowable # of people - otherwise they could only afford to stay blocks from the beach. Certainly accelerates the wear and tear issue.

To me that has more to do with the owners not doing the upkeep. If they charge a security against damage, they have made even more money--and not used it to maintain.
We have a beach place we share with a group of friends. Admittedly we have a vested interest, but if we don't leave it properly for the cleaning woman, it is noted. It is in use every week by X number of people for the past 15 years. Looks like new.
The person who did the math has it right. It is up to the owners to maintain.
Sue, if that were my house, I'd be there in a heartbeat with the sheriff and they would be gone!

I agree with Gretchen that the problem isn't with the guests, it's with the owners. I bet they've continued to raise the price of their rental, yet the place is in worse condition.

I've rented many houses and some year after year. They will decline without significant upkeep by owners, especially if they haven't considered the sturdiness of furnishings.
That said, many renters are cavalier about rentals and have no manners!

Gretchen, oh believe me, they went straight over there. The AC in that big house freezes up all the time, since the renters leave it on full blast and open up all the doors and windows at the same time. The house is still beautiful and in great condition. They keep it that way, but it's not easy. They go over every Saturday between renters, check for items left behind and mail them, sandblast the grill, and replace stolen kitchen items.

I have other friends who own a place at Kitty Hawk but they live elsewhere, so maintenance for them is tougher. They got a report from their rental agent this summer that the renters had brought a bunch of dogs, which was against the rental agreement. They called the renters and told them to leave or take the dogs elsewhere.

I have another friend who owns at Nags Head. She had a potential renter actually ask her to join the Y so they could go while renting. Huh?

It could be a combination of what palmettoprincess and Ackislander had to say.

They furnished it like a real home and didn't take into consideration how hard people can be on a home. Plus, much of the new furniture out there is poorly made. I wonder if people don't really know how to shop for furniture?

we had a renter who thought they were doing us a favor by painting the kitchen cabinets!

I would suggest 2 things -

A lot of damage was done by kids that parents werenlt watching'

Some of the damage done by "adults" is by those that treat their own homes the same way

We own rental property. It is amazing to me how disrespectful some renters are - allowing their children to use bookcases as ladders, jumping on furniture and chairs, putting hot pots on counters, taking bed blankets to the beach, using kitchen utensils to dig in the sand, allowing fireplace sparks to burn the rug - I could go on and on. I guess some folks just have a sense of entitlement and no respect for anyone else. Owning rental property is not for sissies. It's unfortunate that in today's world, an owner has to "expect" that some people really are pigs.

We just went to Pensacola for a party with friends. The house was GORGEOUS, beautifully furnished. In looking around, it was obvious that it was "well used" but well kept. There is never a question in my mind when we rent it will be left pristine. And our kids will treat it just like they would at home--or in our beach house we own with others and respect.
I am totally amazed at some of the stories here!! I think the painting takes the cake!!

I think a big part of it is lack of respect for other people's property.

Phew...I'm reading this and sighing with relief. We bought a condo in St Pete this year. DH really wanted one we could rent out while not there, but what we fell in love with requires a minimum of a year rental. Reading all this I am thanking my lucky stars!!!! I had had reservations about doing something that could be a rental, but wow...this stuff is AWFUL! Sofa going to the beach???? Painted cabinets!!! Phew...someone was looking over us when we made our choice!!

Neighborss here in Nantucket loaned -- as in free of charge -- their house to some friends from Philadelphia.

When they came home, the "friends" had rearranged all the furniture, leaving a note to say they "thought you would like it better this way."

"Some of the damage done by "adults" is by those that treat their own homes the same way"

I hate to admit it, but that's true. I've been very surprised at how friends and SOs of friends treat furnishings. I've gone downstairs when to see pillows all over the floor and wet towels left on beds after they've gone out for the day. I stood there while a mom let her little girl lie on the back of a couch like it was a cushy pillow. I finally asked the girl to get down - and her mother looked at me with surprise. She had no idea what was wrong. A former BIL would bring a dog after we specifially told "no dogs this weekend" (because of this dog) - and watched the dog walk in and hike his leg on an upholstered chair. Their reaction was "oops!". No offer to clean the stain. This same (very passive aggressive) man would take a used glass into the kitchen and put it on the table - steps away from the sink - instead of putting it in the sink as requested. The wife seemed oblivious to it. I guess over the years she has stopped noticing.

I've come to the conclusion that the majority of the time they see no problems because they ARE acting like they are at home.

I am a retired real estate broker and have heard many of these stories. Tennants and landlords can share the blame, but I would have to say that it is the tennants that cause most of the problems and their pets. I have a former real estate associate friend who was interviewing a tennant and in the process of the interview she asked if they had a vaccum and then asked them if they used it. She had been burnt before. Yes, there are some real pigs in this world.

"Owning rental property is not for sissies." So true!

We had a ski area rental condo for 8 years, which I managed by default. It was a nightmare. People brought a dog, left him inside all day, and he ate one entire window of wooden blinds. Others stole everything imaginable, including a shower curtain, trash cans, coffee maker, kitchen utensils, etc. We were constantly buying the basics to replenish the place.

Stupid renters above our unit turned OFF the heat during the dead of winter, so their pipes burst and water leaked down on our unit, from the bathroom ceiling fan-- this was on Christmas Eve.

Not to mention they crank up every single thermostat, then leave for the day.

No respect whatsoever. Thankfully, I finally convinced the family to sell the place. It was not worth the brain damage! With condo fees and utilities, it barely broke even each year. Whew-- so glad it's gone.

We own a small rental home in the city, which rents unfurnished and tenants care for the lawn, etc. That's a much easier deal. People who are moving in and staying for a year or two, are generally much more accountable.

Although one idiot did paint the entry walls purple, and the front cement a glossy red. He literally painted around a piece of furniture in the entry.

Then there were the tenants who abandoned the place to their nephew, who burned up the lawns, left motorcycle parts littering all over the yards, antagonized the neighbors, trashed the place, until we were able to get him out. What pigs.

Why should people act any differently in a rental home than anywhere else? Have you taken a walk through the mall lately, or down Main street? Try to find a person under the age of 40 with any manners. I clock them at about 10%.

DS and husband have a house at Lake Tahoe, and for a while rented it through a property mgt company. The toll on the house was great, and the fees the mgt co. charged made it hardly worth it.

Now they only rent to friends or friends of friends. Even so, my very good friend's daughter stayed there and had 25 people sleeping in the place!! (It sleeps 12 max, and that is tight.) It was a mess! These were 40 year old people, not young partiers.

And the friend overstayed the rental period and assumed it was OK, without calling to ask. It happened someone else was using it right afterward, and arrived only to find friend ensconced in the house! I was amazed and embarrassed that she did that!

charnees, that is shocking. To think that your very good friend's daughter would do that...

I think that the large houses may get a lot of unauthorized big crowds. A house that contractually holds 13 probably gets many many more people.

Staying in a house with 13 (or 25) people would be my definition of hell, I don't care how freely the margaritas are flowing

Twina, I have been renting houses on the OBX for years and here is what I think perhaps you might also ask?

Why would someone rent out a house with furnishings that don't stand UP to the harshest of treatments? (Believe me, this "acting like a pig when you rent" is NOT some sort of new bahavior...ask ANY of the people who own these houses and they'll tell you).

Why would a landlord not keep things looking brand new?

Why would a landlord not update those pretty pictures on their rental agency websites?

And do you really think those pigs don;t act the same way whether they are renting or not?

In response to Dukey and others - I agree that this house (http://www.joelambjr.com/rental/house.html?ID=391) doesn't seem to have been designed with the wear and tear of large groups in mind. It is beautiful - as I mentioned, hardwood floors, granite contertops, etc., and looks as if a designer had full rein, which made for a lovely home but not conducive to years of up to 14 people each week. Since we had toured it when it was brand new, we were able to notice the changes. It may also be a case that since we were there in the fall, the full-scale cleaning and upgrades hadn't taken place.

We put a deposit on another house for next year, because we decided we wanted one that didn't have at least one set of duo-bunks. With our group of women, no one wanted to be the pair that had to sleep in beds that had a thinner mattress, not to mention being a little difficult to climb out of the lower bunk for some of my friends/relatives.

As far as being in a house with 12 other women, we have a blast! For some of the group, it's the only vacation they have, plus we all get along very well and have fun. We play cards, dominoes, and seem to laugh more this week than the rest of the year combined. For our friends that know about our annual get-together (a week at the beach with no husbands, no kids), we always have friends who say they would love to be a part of it.

I looked at the pictures, and I think you're right, twina.....it's gorgeous, but wasn't designed for renters.

tenthumbs - I hope the owner anticipated the repairs that are going to be necessary on the house, otherwise she is going to be very upset! And I'm not saying that the house was a dump - far from it, but it needed some extra TLC to get it back to its original glory.

It sounds as though the landlord isn't giving the place the maintenance it needs. We are constantly fixing up this and that in our home even though we take care to keep the need for repair, cleaning, fixing, etc. at the minimum. If there is a "pig" here, it may be the landlord who wants to milk the house for all he can get without spending what is necessary on upkeep.

HTTY

HTTY may be right. I was talking to a painter recently who returns to a home with 3 boys on a regular basis to "touch up". The regular basis = about every three months. The mom wants the place to look nice so she makes painting touchups a priority.

If someone is just renting and renting and renting and not doing much maintaining, the wear and tear will show up badly.