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    Exterior and garden of a stone-built holiday cottage in The Cotswolds

    Summer Holiday Lettings

    Discover a new way to earn extra cash next summer and make money from your best asset.

    Are you a property owner with a coastal cottage in a rural area surrounded by idyllic countryside or close to the heart of a famous tourist city like York or Bath? Have you thought about taking advantage of your biggest asset, your home, without having to sell it? Why not rent it to visitors over the peak summer season? Moving out of the family home can seem daunting, but the rental potential from the peak 6 – 8 week summer period could be the financial boost you need to afford life’s little luxuries for the rest of the year.

    With good quality three-bedroom properties in the right location attracting rentals above £1,000 a week during July and August – it’s got to be worth considering.

    Many agencies have developed a complete package for owners to simplify renting their property during the peak summer period, from website design to booking management. Once you have your website sorted, you can rent your house anytime, go skiing for a few weeks and let the rent pay for your trip!

    The first time you do this, it’s worth considering an agency. Then, once you have got the hang of things, market your property yourself and save on an Agency’s 15-20% commission fee.

    Don’t forget, though, if you are letting your house out. At the same time, you take a long holiday, whether you are managing things yourself or through an agency - ensure you have a good housekeeper and cleaning team in place to handle changeovers and deal with any issues that may arise during a guest’s stay.

     

    Things to Think About

    If you decide to market your cottage, you will need a website. These days, there are several online businesses with template sites specially designed for advertising holiday cottages. They are very inexpensive and easy to use. You should be fine if you know how to copy and paste. Try ‘Promote My Place’ or ‘Wix’.

    You’ll also need to find sites on which to advertise your cottage. Some sites can be very complicated and costly to use for a short period. Be prepared to invest 10% of your estimated income in marketing your property. They also charge guests a booking fee of 10% in addition to the rental price while charging you a commission at the same time.

    Other popular sites, such as My Favourite Holiday Cottages, Independent Cottages and Country Cottages Online, offer a straightforward advertising service with no additional charges. My Favourite Holiday Cottages is particularly popular because adverts include links to your website within your advert. Weblinks help, as you’re four times more likely to convert enquiries through your website to bookings than those coming from an advert, so it’s got to be worth considering.

    The first time you rent, you’ll only really notice what needs doing as you get everything ready, suddenly realising that you only have four decent wine glasses in a house that sleeps 6, for example, or that a carpet needs a wet clean to remove the wine stains from one of the wine glasses broken last Christmas! Moving out of your property a week before the first guests arrive would be best. You’ll need the time because you’ll need to do quite a lot of work making your property guest-ready.

    Make notes as you go so that you can prepare well in advance and with much less fuss next year.

    Agencies or sites such as My Favourite Holiday Cottages will advise you on things to do, from some essential decorating or replacing a manky kettle to removing all ‘personal’ items from rooms. Nobody wants to stay somewhere surrounded by your family photographs, as lovely as they might be!

     

    Need More Advice?

    Tips and advice are also part of our service. We are holiday property owners themselves and are full of helpful information. We’ll tell you if your property will likely attract bookings and advise on prices. We’ll also advise on anything from how to put together a welcome pack to what to include in an inventory, necessary insurance, tax implications, essential decorating and cleaning schedules.

    Call Rick Bond on 01598 710631 to find out if your property has holiday-letting potential during the peak season and what is involved in letting it out.

    Somewhere Different for New Year: Bideford, Devon

    Somewhere Different for New Year: Bideford, Devon

    Thousands of revellers throng the quayside in Bideford, North Devon, from early evening onwards as they gather in fancy dress to celebrate the end of the old year and the coming of the new. Young and old enjoy family street entertainment and mingle and dance in the streets to live music and local DJs. All the pubs are packed to the rafters. As midnight approaches, everyone gathers near the medieval Long Bridge, waiting for the church bells to ring in the New Year.

    Holiday Cottage Specialists My Favourite Holiday Cottages have a choice of accommodation nearby. Groups can stay at South Clay, a luxurious 5-star holiday home sleeping 10 – 12, complete with its own log burner to warm up after your evening out. (A week over New Year costs £2400). Or stay at North Hill Holiday Cottages: Eight 3-star rated, self-catering cottages, complete with their own pool, sleeping 2-6 people (prices from £495). Some may enjoy the sea views at Oak Lodge at Forest Lakes, which sleeps ten

    My Favourite Holiday Cottages offers speedy access to hundreds of inspiring properties via their stylish website. Contrary to most holiday rental sites, My Favourite Holiday Cottages offers direct access to an owner’s website upfront. There are no booking fees or commission charges payable when you use the site to book a holiday cottage.

    “An owner’s website is more personal and will reveal the cottage's character_,” advises MD Rick Bond. “We know from experience how we book holidays; therefore, My Favourite Holiday Cottages only include properties with their own website.”

    For more information, please contact:

    Rick Bond E: info@mfhc.co.uk