Whilst we have been on a series of overseas tours (I sense all your sympathy) we have let our family home as an up-market holiday let, located in a NAtional Park. It is professional cleaned on each turn around and it is furnished with antiques and high quality fittings. There have been very few problems. Family groups seem to respect it and generally leave the house clean and tidy. Echoing others here, the only time we had a complaint from guests (about the Aga, of all things) they left the place like a tip - bags of rubbish in the garden, mud tramped through the house etc. Basically, most guests leave the house as they find it. However, as mentioned earlier, we've had civilian friends visit who were genuinely intrigued that we would bother to clean the hiring when we left. Even though we point out that we are required to, they still seem perplexed. I suppose it down to your own standards.
As we are about to leave our hiring, we are working hard to make it clean and presentable (there's no option here for a quarter cleaning service) yet I will be in trepidation when the DIO chap turns up, along with a Federal Housing Ministry representative, in a few days' time.
I will be interested to see what our new SFA in the UK will be like - I visited a month or so back and it had been vacant for about a year and there was bird poo all down the front door and over the door step from a nest in the porch. It was dusty inside, with loads of cobwebs, and the garden was overgrown. I've been assured that both house and garden will be sorted out before we march in. The carpets are an interesting bright blue colour, whilst the kitchen flooring is a fetching grey. What was wrong with BMW as the decoration code? At least it was inoffensive and most furnishings would blend in. But blue?
We've also gone for MOD furniture because of the relatively short time we are back in tHe UK (I'm on a course) so it will be interesting to see what is delivered from the Corporate Dressing-up box. I'll keep you posted.