Or at least some of it. You probably won't get it all back no matter what you do, but you can at least avoid being charged extra with a little preparation.
Like spring break, a summer trip is expensive. There's no use making it more expensive than it has to be.
Damage deposits are a good way for property owners to cash in on reckless college kids using their beach houses for spring break. They can get pretty steep, so I’m going to give you guys some tips that might help you see some of that green make it back to your wallet.
I’ll start by saying that if you intend to do a summer trip properly, you should not expect to see any of your deposit after you fork it over. Getting your deposit back in full is a sign of a pretty lame spring break if you ask me. If at least one door doesn’t come off its hinges or something breakable doesn’t shatter into a million pieces, you weren’t partying hard enough.
That being said, saving money is always a good thing. Some damage is inevitable, but no one wants to take a financial hit if it can be avoided. Spilled drinks will happen. Vomit will happen. Trash will happen. Sand everywhere will happen. Questionable stains on the beds will happen. There’s nothing anyone can do about those kinds of things.
But there are some things that can be done to “party-proof” the venue, at least to a degree.
1. Anything glass must go. This is a simple one. Pick a closet that will house all the breakables and start making a pile. But remember to take pictures first so you know where to put everything before you leave. Speaking of pictures, you should document the initial state of the place before anything in case you have to prove something for the landlord.
2. Remove the doorknobs. If you have a really good reason to lock a room in your house on spring break, then I hope the reason is worth a kicked in door and another hit to your bank account. You’re likely on spring break with your close friends, so there’s no reason to be shy. Your typical drunk summer trip pal will bust down a locked door on principle alone. A summer trip is about breaking down barriers, but not in the literal sense.
3. Any table that you aren’t positive will hold a couple hundred pounds of dancing girls needs to be taken care of. Girls love their elevated surfaces, and no surface is off limits. Either take it apart and hide it or make sure it’s used for what a table is actually meant to be used for.
4. Hide all the little knick-knacks, decorations and other small things somewhere. They will get lost, destroyed, stolen, pitched in the pool, flushed down the toilet or something. No one is there to appreciate the interior design. Everyone is there to abandon all inhibition, be reckless, and party like rock stars. So lose the Martha Stewart stuff.
5. The fifth and final tip may be the most important one. Do your part at the end and try to bring the place back to life. If you did your summer rental right, your house should be thoroughly messed up at the end of the week. Just packing up and leaving the mess for the landlord is begging to be charged extra.
With all these things in mind, remember that you should expect to break stuff. A lot of stuff. So don’t sweat it by being a buzz kill and trying to micromanage everyone. Let the people party, have a killer time and accept the inevitable. You’ll appreciate the memories far more than you’ll appreciate the hundred bucks for your deposit.