Please review the terms and conditions in regards to reservations for all our vacation homes.

Age Requirements

Guests must be at least 21 years of age to reserve and check in to our vacation homes.

Maximum Occupancy

Please take note of the maximum number of guests allowed in the home before making a reservation. The maximum occupancy, equal to the number of people the home sleeps, is the maximum number of people (including children & infants) that are allowed at the property at all times. This policy is stated on the rental agreement and is strictly enforced. In the event the maximum occupancy is exceeded, Russian River Vacation Homes reserves the right to charge an additional amount and/or terminate the reservation immediately without any refunds. In general, two additional day guests maybe allowed at no extra cost, as long as Russian River Vacation Homes has given guest prior written approval (excludes certain homes).

No campers, RV’s, tents, or trailers are allowed on premises of vacation homes.

Gatherings

Our properties are located in residential areas and are rented for personal vacation use only. Parties and other large gatherings that exceed the maximum occupancy are not allowed. Violators risk eviction with loss of rental fees, forfeiture of their security deposit, and their credit card will be charged for any damages.

Fees

Cleaning and Linens fee, amount varies per home
9% Sonoma County transient tax is due on all reservations less than 30-days
2% Sonoma County Area Improvement Fee is due on all reservations
$20.00  non-refundable booking fee will be added to each reservation.
Optional Travel Insurance
A refundable security deposit is required (varies per home, see below).

Security Deposit & Damage

A refundable security deposit is required. The amount varies per home. Release of the security deposit shall be subject to inspection of the rental property and will be returned within 14 days of departure provided all rules have been met, there are no damages, missing items, excessive cleaning or additional charges. Guest shall be responsible for damage costs exceeding the security deposit, including collection costs and attorney’s fees. Documentation detailing damages and charges will be provided to the guest.

Breakdown and Terms of payment:

For reservations made more than 30 days in advance, one half of the total amount is due. The balance is due 30-days prior to your arrival date. Personal checks are preferred for reservations made 30 days or more in advance. If you are paying by check, we must receive a check within 7 calendar days of making a reservation and a valid credit card number is required to hold your reservation. If we have not received a check within 7 days, we will charge your credit card for the amount due. Once payment has been charged on your credit card, payment by check is no longer an option.

For reservations made less than 30 days prior to your arrival date, the entire amount is due at the time of your reservation. Payment by credit card is required for any bookings made less than 30 days from arrival date.

We accept MASTERCARD, VISA, AMERICAN EXPRESS and personal check.

Note: If mailing a check, use our PO Box not our street address:
Russian River Vacation Homes
PO BOX 418
Guerneville, CA 95446

Cancellations & Refunds

All reservations are final. If you have no choice but to cancel, refunds can only be made if the cancelled period is re-rented and confirmed. We cannot guarantee refunds, but will always make an effort to re-rent cancelled reservations. If the cancelled period does not re-rent, no monies will be refunded. The booking fee is non-refundable in any event. A refund, minus the $20 booking fee and $40 a cancellation fee, can be made if and only if the property is re-rented. All notices of cancellation must be in writing (via fax or email).

Refunds will not be given for any occurrence out of Russian River Vacation Homes’ control including, but not limited to, power outages, interruption of water service, inclement weather, maintenance issues, or loss of Internet or Phone Service.

Changing the Reservation to a Different Date

Changing dates is generally allowed for most homes, provided that the request to change dates is for the same home, is received in writing by our office at least 2 weeks before the arrival date, the guest agrees to pay a non-refundable $40 change date fee, and the date the reservation is changed to is within one year of the original arrival date. If the reservation is moved to dates that fall within a time period that rents at a lower rate, no refunds will be given. All high-season rates, holiday rates and night minimums will apply to any changed dates, and special offers and discounts are only transferable to dates that fall within the valid time frame.

Switching Homes

After making a reservation, the guest cannot switch to a different home.

If the original home booked becomes unavailable or uninhabitable, Russian River Vacation Homes reserves the right to relocate the guest to comparable accommodations as determined by the rental agency. If comparable accommodations are not available, the guest will receive a full refund.

Minimum Night Stays

Minimum stay of 2 nights year round, unless noted on the home’s web page. Some basic exceptions are listed below:

• Minimum stay of 3 nights for Labor Day weekend, Memorial Day weekend, and the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights of the holiday weekend rent at a 10% increase.
• Minimum stay of 3 nights over Christmas week.
• Minimum stay of 3 nights New Years Eve time period with a 10% increase for the three main nights.
• Minimum stay of 4 nights for Thanksgiving week.
• Most homes, including all riverfront homes, are weekly only for July & August, with a specified Summer Rotation Day.
• Some homes have a four night minimum in July & August. Visit the Summer Rotation Day page for a list of these homes.
• One week minimum for all homes for the first week in July and the first week in August. For summer 2010, the week requirement for both the first week on July and the first week of August is waived for homes with a summer 4 night minimum.

If you have reserved dates contrary to the above night minimums, your reservation may not be acceptable. If there is a problem with your reservation, you will be contacted by a member of our office.

Reservation Packet (includes vacation home's address and information)

Upon receipt of your reservation and after the first payment has been processed, your Reservation Packet will be e-mailed to you. Enclosed will be the address & directions to the home, helpful information about the home, directions for key pick up and drop off, and credit card receipt(s) and a two page Vacation Home Rental Service Contract to be signed & returned to our office. All contracts and credit card receipts must be signed and received by our office before the arrival date, no exceptions. Please contact our office if you would like your Reservation Packet faxed or mailed (if time permits).

Home Equipment (Linens, Phones, Maintenance)

All homes are privately owned and equipped for basic vacation needs. The homes are furnished at the minimum with sheets, blankets, pillows, bathing towels, basic cooking utensils, and charcoal or propane grills (see below for more information on BBQ grills). Starter supplies of soap (bar soap, laundry soap and dish soap) and paper products (toilet paper and paper towels) are made available for all homes. You will need to bring and/or purchase additional supplies. No linens or bbq grills are available for Summerhome Park Cabins. Most homes that have a wood burning strove or fireplace do not provide firewood.

Most of our homes have telephones (except Summerhome Park Cabins). Check the home’s web page, under the amenities tab. If it states local call only, you will need a calling card and/or credit card to make long distance calls. If it states unlimited calls in US, the home’s phone has free nationwide long distance.

All guests should inspect the rental property shortly after their arrival and report any problems to the office of Russian River Vacation Homes within 2 hours of check-in.

Maintenance problems in the home will be handled in a timely and professional manner. Generally, the rental rate will not be adjusted due to any malfunction of equipment, which includes TV’s, VCR’s, DVD’s, Internet Access, phone service, air conditioning units, hot water heaters, stoves, refrigerators, door locks, etc. In no event would we issue a refund for a problem we had no opportunity to resolve.

Although each property is completely equipped for rental purposes, we cannot accept responsibility for aesthetic conflicts. When guests are unable to preview vacation home, guests accept such property as described and hold the agency harmless for any discrepancies upon taking occupancy.

BBQ Grills

All our homes, excluding the Summerhome Park Cabins, come equipped with either a charcoal or propane BBQ grill.

For charcoal grills, charcoal is not provided. You may either bring charcoal with you or purchase it at the store (Guerneville has a 24 hour Safeway).

For propane grills, the previous guest is responsible for leaving the tank full. If you use the grill during your stay, refill the tank before your departure and make sure that the tank is completely turned off to the grill. If you do not fill the tank and shut the tank valve, the following guest may find the BBQ out of propane. Conversely, please check the propane tank when you arrive to see if it needs to be filled. Tanks can be filled at either Action Rents (15950 River Rd., 707-869-9045) in Guerneville (payment in cash required) or Casini Ranch (22855 Moscow Rd., 707-865-2255) in Duncan’s Mills. If you fill the propane tank during your stay and would like to be reimbursed, turn the receipt into our office on or before your departure.

Check-In / Check-Out
Check-In time is 4:00 pm.
Early Check-In: May be possible Oct 1st – April 30th, provided there is no guest leaving the same day of your arrival. Early check-ins can only be confirmed 24 hours before arrival. Please contact our office to request an early check in.
After-hours arrival: Keys will be left in our secure office lock box for guests who arrive after business hours.

Check-Out time is 12:00 noon (for most homes) or 11:00 am (for larger homes)
Guest and Guest's entire party must vacate the property and return the keys to the office not later than the specified Check-Out time. Late Check-Out: May be possible Oct 1st & April 30th for an additional fee. Please call our office at least 24 hours in advance to arrange a late check out.

Vacating the Home

Upon vacating the premises, guests agree to leave the vacation home in good condition. When vacating, guests are responsible for the following:

• Remove all trash & recycling from home, place in appropriate outside cans/bins.
• Do all dishes including dishes in the dishwasher and put them away.
• Clean up any messes, spills that may have occurred
• Pick up after yourself (check for any left items)
• Start a load of towels in the washer (if washer is provided in home).
• Put all furniture and items back in place (if we cannot locate a particular item you maybe charged for it).
• Return the keys to the office no later than the specified Check-Out time. Guests who fail to return all keys will be charged for the cost of re-keying all the locks at the home.

Left Items

Russian River Vacation Homes will not be responsible for any items left behind in homes, so please double check for personal items before you leave. If items left behind are recovered, they will be returned to Russian River Vacation Homes office. If you have left something in the vacation rental, please call our office and we will do our best to locate the item and mail it back to you. There is a $20 return-item fee, plus the cost of postage, for any item mailed back. We hold items at our office for one month from the day they were turned in. After a month, any items not claimed will be donated to charity.

No Smoking

All homes are Non-Smoking! No exceptions. If you accidentally smoke in any of our homes there is a minimum $100 fine and will be placed on our “do not rent” list.

Pet Policy

Many of our homes are dog friendly. If you plan on bringing a dog, please make sure you have chosen one of our dog friendly homes. If the home’s web page states no pets allowed and there is a dog at the property anytime during your stay, you will be fined at least $500, plus additional cleaning fees as deemed necessary.

Rules for Dogs

We ask that guests notify us if anyone in their party will be bringing a dog to the home.

The following rules apply to our dog-friendly homes: Dogs are not allowed on the furniture or in the hot tub, spa or pool, dogs cannot be left unattended in the vacation rental without being properly crated, dogs need to be on-leash when appropriate (in public places where leash laws apply or on shared or non-enclosed property), guests must clean up after their dogs. For any excessive pet-related cleaning (including picking up dog poop and cleaning excessive amounts of pet hair), guest will be charged a minimum of $100. Guests are responsible for any damages caused by their dogs. 

Cleaning

Guest agrees to maintain the cleanliness of the premises during the occupancy and to leave the premises in good condition upon departure. The cleaning and linen fee that is charged for each reservation is used to cover the cost of laundering the linens, changing the beds, sweeping, dusting, mopping, sanitizing, etc…Any “excessive” cleaning will be charged to the guest at rate of $25 per hour. Excessive cleaning includes, but is not limited to, picking up trash, doing dirty dishes (including dirty dishes in the dishwasher), cleaning up blatant or difficult messes and spills, stain removal from carpets, fabrics, etc…, cleaning after pets, and re-arranging furniture.  

River Docks & Boats

Almost all docks and beaches are seasonal only and available from Mid June to Mid September providing the summer dams are in. Canoes, kayaks, paddleboats and rowboats that are provided in some of our homes are also available from mid-June to mid-September only. The river is usually too swift for boating in the winter and many docks and beaches are under water until late spring.

Hot Tubs/ Spas/ Pools

All hot tubs, spas and pools are routinely serviced. All efforts are made to insure that hot tubs, spas and pools are in good working order at all times. However, we cannot guarantee the function of a hot tub/spa and/or pool and no refunds will be given for spa, hot tub or pool failures. At anytime during your stay if extra spa/pool service is needed, guests agree to pay the additional costs. In the event that the water is found to be contaminated for any reason after your stay, your deposit is subject to withholding to cover the cost of draining and cleaning the spa and/or restoring the pool to usable condition. Guests will not hold the owners or Russian River Vacation Homes responsible for any accidents or medical conditions that may occur from using the hot tub/spa and/or pool.

Pools are seasonal and generally heated May through September.

If you have any questions about our policies, terms and conditions,
please feel free to call or e-mail us.


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