Coming out of semi-blogger retirement on here because there is so much Kauai blog content that would otherwise steer you the wrong way if not updated.
In our recent trip to Kauai, we stayed in our oft-recommended Nohonani property as managed by Na Pali Properties. This was our fourth time to stay there; the first being in 2004 and the most recent in 2006.
Upon arriving, we found that the rental had not been cleaned — dirty sheets and towels were left behind and every single surface was dirty. There had obviously been a cleaning snafu. Thankfully, it was 3:30pm on a Friday and the Na Pali Properties office was still open, so we gave them a call. It took two hours for them to make cleaners available, but not before attempting to play on our sympathy for people having to be late to their second jobs in order to come clean the rental. Having paid for a 10-day stay that was arranged over 10-months ago, I had little sympathy. We finally had the place to ourselves five hours after check-in time.
Even after its cleaning, we found the rental house to be in a general state of disrepair. Windows were filthy, light bulbs were out, fan blades were warped and hosting mud-dobber nests, etc. Basically, there is evidence to suggest that the property is not being very well managed. The property that you see on the website (and the one we remember) is not the property you get.
Na Pali Properties said they would make things right, but conveniently never followed through with a phone call. We dropped by the office to see what their consideration was going to be. They offered us half-off of our cleaning fee ($65 from $130) for our five hours of inconvenience. When I disagreed with their offer, they were incredulous that such a fair offer would be declined. So they suggested they would try to get more from the cleaners. I finally got all the cleaning fee waived and a check written on the spot so that our agreement wasn’t forgotten once we were off-island.
It stuck in my craw that they were prepared to throw the cleaners under the bus for missing their assignment and somehow tie them into our settlement. Yes, they missed their assignment, but the property management company failed to ensure the cleaning was done. They should have checks and balances to assure things get done. Failure to do so isn’t on the cleaners (though the cleaners definitely were the biggest point of failure).
After we settled up, I told the owner that the property was in disrepair and needed some work and a deep cleaning. She suggested that I provide them a list of things that needed to be done and bring it by the office. Huh?! I suggested that they walk the property themselves. I’ve never run such a company, but it seems like you would be obligated to keep tabs on the state of your inventory. You owe it to your renters. They obviously do not visit their properties regularly.
This blog post may sound like a rant, but my intent here is to balance out the positive reviews on this website for this property and this property management company with a recent experience. In short, I don’t want anyone to book this house without knowing these details as well.
This property aside, it is really a good idea to check recent user reviews and request recent pictures. Do your due diligence. In this case, we did not. Its also important to note that properties are ever aging. What you remember, may not be what you get. This goes double in environments where property aging is accelerated.
Hope this helps someone.
