10 Top Holiday Letting Tips from the Local Experts

Fill out our owner form here for your free owner pack!

 

Our top 10 tips…

 

1.  Think about your target audience:

When beginning your holiday letting journey, it is vital to consider what type of guests your cottage will attract. Is your property suited for a couple looking for a cosy romantic escape? Or perhaps it is best suited for a family looking to explore to coast?

Couples tend to like being near a village or town centre, with a variety of food and drink options.

Families will enjoy having garden space, and may not mind driving to the beach for a day on the coast.

Adult groups of friends will want to have a large living space – such as an open plan dining/ living area, so they can all get together and play games and chat as a group.

Remember – all of the guests may also be dog owners looking to also bring their furry friend along for the holiday.

Consider your audience when buying, decorating and kitting out your holiday let.

 

2. Ensuring bookings:

If you’d like a filled calendar then it is a good idea to choose a local holiday let agency to market your property and boost your bookings.

With Yorkshire Coastal Cottages, you can enjoy the best of both worlds. Local office and property experts in addition to the national marketing support of Sykes Cottages.

Our marketing team also partners with over 500 booking partners such as Expedia, Airbnb and booking.com. This ensures good visibility for your property which will lead to bookings.

 

3.  The Interiors:

The decor and interiors are finishing touches that make a holiday home stand out. Guests look for high quality furnishings and want the ‘wow factor’ when on holiday.

Consider splurging on high quality furniture – particularly if your property will be pet friendly. By purchasing high end furniture this will be a good investment and may be able to tolerate more guests for a longer period of time.

 

4. The outdoor space:

Our guests enjoy the outdoors whether that be walking along the beach or sat relaxing in the garden. Outdoor garden furniture, table and chairs is a must for your property even in a courtyard setting. If your property has a balcony then make sure to offer a seat if there is enough space.  The outdoor space is potentially another ‘room’ for your guests to enjoy.

You can consider installing a barbeque or hot tub also for guests. If your property is pet friendly, it should definitely feature a grass area for dogs.

 

5. Hot Tubs:

Lots of guests will search for properties with hot tubs due to them adding an extra ‘luxury’ feeling. They offer the ultimate indulgence and give guests a great way to spend an evening at the cottage.

If you invest in a hot tub this will bring in more bookings by up to 35% in Winter and 25% in Summer.*

 

6. Pet Friendly: 

In the past few years we’ve seen a large increase in pet friendly bookings. People are now wanting to bring their four legged friend on holiday with them and many see this as a huge benefit to UK holidays.

By making your property pet friendly you could increase your bookings as over 60%* of guests are now searching for pet friendly holidays.  Join over 100 of our cottages who allow dogs or pets in obtaining healthy bookings all year round.

 

7. Short Breaks:

Short breaks is an excellent way to increase your income in addition to filling any small gaps in your booking calendar.

When partnered with our Income Maximisation tool, short breaks are a great option to increase your earnings and get you on your way to a highly successful holiday let. Please get in touch if you would like us to explain this more!

 

8. The Finishing Touches:

Hampers: Welcome hampers make guests feel right at home straight away, and ensures the holiday has a great start. The hampers are a great first impression and ensure the guests feel special.

Tea & Coffee:  A supply of tea and coffee for when your guests arrive is always appreciated, perhaps with a pint of milk in the fridge from the local milkman.

Basic cooking ingredients:  Salt and pepper, herbs and some oil can be kept in the cupboard for general use.

Umbrellas and torches:  A nice touch is to leave a couple of these in the hallway area for guests to use (and ask to leave behind for other guests!)

Books & Maps:  A few local walks, books and visitor attraction information is always useful. However ensure your cleaning team tidy this away after each stay ready for the next guests.

Throws and cushions: These are great for snuggling in and getting cosy. Perhaps some could be used for outdoor and garden too, but ask guests to keep them in the house in the rain.

Dog treats: If your property is pet friendly – don’t forget about the pooch! A nice touch would be to leave some dog treats as a welcome gift for the guests, but be sure to leave the treats in their original packaging in case the dog has any allergies and the owner needs to check

 

9. Managing the property:

At first it can feel daunting – but rest assured when you partner with Yorkshire Coastal Cottages you can be you can be as hands-on or hands-off as you like. If you’d prefer us to look after your property for you, and the property is local to Whitby, then you can opt into our fully managed service. Included in this service are things such as organising a dedicated cleaner for your property, carrying out and helping with any maintenance work, and doing periodical inspections to check all is OK in your property.

Our Owner Portal and App will help:  All our property owners will benefit from their own, personal online portal. Here you can access all the important details about your holiday let including your bookings, financial statements, guest feedback and pricing. You can also find useful tips on the portal about things such as health and safety guides, information on short breaks and any current updates and helpful advice we feel you need to know about.

 

10. Our local team:

As a Yorkshire Coastal Cottages owner you can rest assured that our friendly local team are always on hand to answer your queries as quickly as possible.

You can reach us by phone and email, or visit our local office located in Whitby where we have local staff who know the area inside out.  We’re also here to speak to your guests whenever they need us – our out of hours helpline ensures 24/7 support for emergencies, so you don’t have to worry about being disturbed.

 

The Next Steps:

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are thinking of setting up a holiday let or already in the process. You can email us at info@yorkshirecoastalcottages.com or phone us on 01947820949, or you can fill out our form here. We look forward to hearing from you!