The Holiday Homefront: April 2021

Welcome to the April 2021 Issue of The Holiday Homefront.

For further information on the articles featured click on the title or the Read More button.

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Why you shouldn’t trust some Covid-safe badge schemes 

For those owners relying on self-accrediting badge schemes to prove This report from Which Magazine makes for a very interesting read.

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And while on this COVID Cleaning subject - another option...

‘We’re Good To Go’ participants get global ‘Safe Travels’ stamp

Visit England and Visit Britain are delighted to announce that businesses in the UK registered to the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry-standard scheme are now automatically eligible for the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) international ‘Safe Travels’ stamp.

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How property managers can drive direct bookings from repeat guests

One of the outcomes of the pandemic is that repeat bookings seem to have taken a dive. To rebuild or expand your portfolio of regular visitors, it’s time to work a little harder. This article f7rom Rental Scale-Up provides some helpful common-sense tips.  Advertising sites that actively encourage direct content between bookers and owners right from the start and doesn't apply booking fees and commission charges is one way to get new guests returning. Goof to know MFHC has got that one right! 

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9 reasons to take a UK mini-break

Saga Magazine writes for its huge golden-oldie audience on the joys of a mini-break in the UK. This is a market that isn't tied to school holidays and regularly books out of season holidays. Is your holiday property in alignment with its recommendations?

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Fully refundable cancellation policies see booking demand at almost the same levels as pre-pandemic

Rental Scale-Up reports on how the adoption of fully refundable booking policies has impacted sales success. For those owners offering cancellation policies unthinkable just a year ago, this is a largely reassuring read.

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How to Avoid and Manage Chargebacks

Do you enable your guests to use a credit or debit card to pay for their accommodation? There’s always a chance that they can dispute a charge and file a chargeback claim by simply pressing a few buttons on their banking app.

Holiday cottage businesses should therefore be proactive when it comes to preventing and disputing chargebacks.

A chargeback happens when the bank agrees to reverse the payment and refund to the cardholder after they have disputed a transaction.

Read this typically excellent article from Schofield's Insurance to learn how to mitigate this situation.

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News for Owners Advertising their properties on My Favourite Holiday Cottages.

Help us to help you get more eyes on your adverts

If you've got some lovely photos or videos of your properties, we could use them to attract more visitors to your advert. You just have to send them to us.

Photos Wanted!

We are creating and promoting videos on YouTube and Instagram = and boy, are they proving popular! 

To create a slide-show video, all we need are 6-10 good quality images of your property. Send these to us by a free file sharing app such as DropBox or WeTransfer.com

We are also looking for photos to display on our social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Flickr and Pinterest. That's an awful lot of coverage for you - but you do need to send us your best images to earn it!

Send us a folder of images and we'll see if we can create something appealing to our many cottage-booking followers. 

Again, send via Dropbox or WeTransfer.com

Themes: As well as property photos, send ones that will be good for any of the following social media promotions:

• Wildflower walk locations near your property: bluebells, primroses, cowslips, purple loosestrife, buttercups and even cow parsley!
• Sunsets take from your cottage garden, bedroom window, nearby beach or viewpoint.
• Pub and tea room gardens for eating out between now and late June)
• Dogs having a good time on holiday
• Holiday cottage gardens in full summer glory
• Wild swimming locations
• Gorgeous welcome packs

Please note:

• In sending us images to display, you agree to give us permission to use them and also confirm that you have the right to grant that permission.
• If sending images for more than one property, please put them into one folder per property - then we'll get the attribution right!

Finally, having got your cottage spruced up beautifully for the Glorious 12th (April). Do likewise with your advert to get the best results for the rest of this year - and the next.

1. Upload:
   • 2022 price guidelines
   • Recent Guest testimonials
2. Update your availability calendar (or change your advert to display the calendar on your website.

Remember: If you have any queries about your advert, or can't remember how to log in, then we'll be happy to assist if you get in touch.

Right - get cracking!

See you in May.

Rick Bond

My Favourite Holiday Cottages