FAQs
I got my confirmation email but now what do I do?
FIRST OFF, CONGRATS ON GETTING YOUR BEACH TRIP ORGANIZED!
Read ALL documents. We cannot stress this enough. All the info. You need to know it is in your online portal, and the documents are attached to the confirmation email. Including payment due dates, responsibility form, and what you are agreeing to. Double-check that all information is correct - number of guests, property, price, dates, refundable damage/cleaning fee, etc. Follow all instructions. We often hear, "No one told me this or that." It is all in your confirmation email and online portal. Take a few minutes and go over it all with your group. You will be glad you did.
What does it mean that I am a Group Leader?
Besides that, You are AMAZING because you got your group of friends organized for a Beach Trip, which means you are in charge of the trip. Duties include:
- Getting your group informed and registered.
- Payments in on time.
- Documents in on time.
- Understanding the refundable damage/cleaning fee.
- All things relevant to the trip.
Anyone can contact us with a question. Our text is 843-353-6262 with a question. Email admin@myrtlebeachtours.com is preferred for larger questions. Due to the age of our clientele, we do not maintain a phone bank for questions at this time. (students rarely use the phone for voice calls)
Does my whole group really have to register online?
Yes. We have to know who is in our houses and each house has a maximum occupancy according to the Fire Marshal. Also, on busier weeks, we only issue wristbands to registered guests. On these weeks, you must have a wristband to be on the property.
Someone in my group wants to drop out of the trip; what do i do?
This happens from time to time, and we get it. However, we CANNOT lower the group size from the original reservation. We have contracted with the owners, and they are expecting all spots to be paid for. Money is not refunded to the member dropping out. The group must find someone to buy out the person's spot, which means the new person pays the person leaving the group the amount already paid and then makes future payments. Amounts paid by the departing member remain in the account. If a new member is not found, the group must pass the hat and kick in to pay for the empty spot. To drop a person from the group, the Group Leader texts us at 843-353-6262 with the person to remove. We will delete the member in the database, and then you (the group leader) can add the new person. Only the Group Leader is authorized to make changes to the reservation.
So now our whole group wants to cancel; what do we do now?
See our Rental Terms Cancellation Policy:
Why do i have to submit a parent-signed and notarized Responsibility Form within 10 days of booking my reservation?
The NOTARIZED Responsibility Form allows you to check in without a parent. Parents are required to do this for all High School Beach Week Reservations. College Groups can have someone 21 or older who is coming on the trip fill out the form, but if no one is 21 staying in the house, a parent must sign. Forms must be complete, notarized by a notary, and uploaded to the group dashboard along with a copy of the ID of the person who signed. Use PDF for the document/ small jpg for the ID. The document can be downloaded from the group dashboard.
Can more than one parent sign the responsibility form?
Yes! We allow multiple people to sign the responsibility to share responsibility. Make copies and have each person sign their page independently. Collect all the documents and upload them with their ID to the group dashboard.
What is a notary?
A notary is a person authorized to perform certain legal formalities, especially to draw up or certify contracts, deeds, and other documents for use in different jurisdictions. Your bank would have one.
What is a Cashiers Check? Why can't I pay the damage cleaning fee with a card or personal check?
The funds must be cleared. This means the payment is final at the check-in and cannot be reversed due to insufficient funds or credit card reversals. Cash is not accepted, it is unsafe to travel with cash. We now accept Venmo. See instructions under the Venmo Tab. Please send the entire refundable damage cleaning fee in one payment.
I get to the house. Why does the furniture not match the images?
Some groups come and have a little too much fun at our properties, and we have to replace furniture. All photos were current as of Summer 2022 but we cannot guarantee the beds and furniture will be exact. We CAN guarantee the number of sleeping spots and a GREAT time with friends in North Myrtle Beach!
Are linens and towels included with my reservation?
No! All linens, towels, and paper products you must bring with you. You MUST bring sheets and pillowcases. Please do so to avoid high laundry charges. A linen rental option is available and must be purchased through the Myrtle Beach Tours Shore Store when logged in to your account. $25 per bed. Each Linen pack includes sheets, a pillowcase, 2 bath towels, and 2 hand towels.
So what is the deal with wristbands? Why do we have to wear them?
Yes. Wristbands are important for two reasons:
They let us know who are paying guests and who are not. Our staff and our customers need to know who is around them for safety and security. Moreover, the wristbands are good for discounts. https://www.myrtlebeachtours.com/features/wristband-discount
What does it mean in the rental agreement where it says the unit has to be cleaned by our group and made ready and acceptable for the next guest?
Cleaning is not included in your price in most cases. If you don't see a line item saying cleaning fee included, it's not included. This means, "the unit has to be cleaned by our group and made ready and acceptable for the next guest." The house or unit has to be cleaned, scrubbed, and made ready for the next guest without needing any services from a cleaning company. So here are the scenarios:
1. Your group cleans and does a good job. We come and inspect and we do not need to call in the cleaning company. We tolerate a couple of loose ends. Full refund is issued in this case. Yay!
2. Your group cleans, tries very hard, but can't get it finished. After the inspection, we have to call in a cleaning crew and do a cleanup to finish the job to be "made ready and acceptable for the next guest." We deduct the costs of the cleaning crew from the deposit and return the difference.
3. The group picks up the cans and puts them in a garbage can then heads home. They think they did some cleaning so technically they are covered. Sorry-No refund.
4. The group gets up and walks out and goes home. Sorry - No refund.
5. Cleaning costs- Please note that student group cleaning companies are expensive. Cleaning up after students is a different level above residential and commercial cleaning. The post COVID cleaning resources are limited and very expensive.
6. Expectations: Keep in mind that cleaning costs are an everyday occurrence for us since we are in the student business. Having to clean up after the student groups in no way reflects upon the customer. Some groups like to clean up and some groups consider it the cost of coming to the beach as a student beach trip, It makes no difference to us.
7. Please remind your group to bring sheets and pillow cases. Failure to use sheets will result in high laundry charges as it is very time consuming to clean pillows and mattresses. (They can be rented online in your portal in Shore Store)
What if we show up to the property and notice some scratches or minor damage?
We have you covered each group receives a pre inspection report. They have 2 hours from the time they check-in to list all damage they see and email it to us.
Why do we have to submit a self-addressed envelope?
For two reasons:
1. Students are rarely at the same address a month or two into the summer when we issue refund checks. We do not like our checks disappearing into campus mailroom oblivion. If we have to reissue a check, we charge the bank fee to do a stop payment on the lost check. This is billed to the customer.
2. Often, the students wake up on check out morning and look around and know there will be no refund of the deposit. The mess is too horrendous. They also don't want a full report with pictures being mailed home to mom and dad. This is when you pull the "What happens at the beach, stays at the beach" option. Do not bring the envelope to the office.
What is the right philosophy for refundable damage/cleaning fees?
Very often, parents get fixated on the damage/cleaning fee return as win/lose. This is wrong. The damage/cleaning fee is simply a cleaning kitty that picks up where the student group's efforts or concerns leave off. It's there to make sure that in the end, we can transition the house over to the next group.
Cleaning and repair vendors have 30 days to submit their bills. At that point we process the week. The fee is returned in the self-addressed and stamped envelope provided at check-in. If your group leader has not received your group's deposit after a month, have the group leader email us to follow up.
What is the Greek Clause?
This applies if you are a Greek Organization in college. We require the President to sign all documents. We want the President to sign all documents so that the top person knows the deal and the rules.
A fraternity can now apply for their damage cleaning fee equal to their final billing from the last visit. If you get a substantial or full refund, we can adjust your damage cleaning fee on the next visit to a lower amount. It's an incentive to keep a lid on the rowdy ones.
What is crisis management?
Out of 650 groups a season, 10-20 groups create malicious damage and filth. We occasionally get situations that bring our teams to their knees. In these cases, cleaning crews have to be supported with additional help and maintenance people. We charge $100 an hour for impromptu managers under these circumstances. Our goal is to get the unit ready for occupancy for the next guest as quick as possible. These costs will be the responsibility of the person(s) who signed the responsibility agreement.
Situations involving the police and videotape research also count under crisis management.
I heard the City of North Myrtle Beach has some new rules; what are they? Click Here
Why is the key return such a big deal? Don't you have extras?
It's a big deal because in the recent past, we had a nice group of students who had been shopping all week and had all of their items stolen. They returned to their house and found a key in the door lock (not their key). The only way this could have happened is that the group had lost a key in the yard before, and a local picked it up and then waited for the right moment. Rekeying the locks is $300 charged to the guest.
To help, we have altered most of our units to combination locks and we recode them for each guest.