Holiday lets are increasingly popular, with more people looking to let each year. Those wanting to enter into the letting industry need to make many preparations for their property. This article outlines the main starting points in Holiday Letting.
PREPARING YOUR PROPERTY FOR LETTING
Preparing your property for holiday letting can be an extremely enjoyable and rewarding experience and is, in my opinion, one of the best parts of setting up a holiday let business. However there are a certain number of things which you will need to know in order to make sure that your preparation is suitable for the purpose it is intended.
Most people indulge their own passions and tastes when it comes to preparing their property and, although in moderation this is good, in theory you need to be a little more “detached” from the property. Remember you are not decorating and furnishing your own home and it often pays to choose modest furniture and furnishings which will appeal to a wide market. Bold colour and extravagant furnishings may be your own choice and a gold and burgundy “tented” bedroom ceiling may well indulge all your own passions but, apart from the fact that this will not appeal to everyone, it is also a very impractical choice in a holiday home!
To ensure that you target the widest possible market and secure plenty of bookings your property needs to be:
- Clean
- Comfortable
- Bright and airy
- Well furnished
- Well equipped
Start by thinking what you personally would expect from a holiday home you had booked. Apart from the important things such as making sure that the property’s description is accurate in any advertising you do, you will need to concentrate on how you can make sure that your guests are comfortable and that their needs are catered for. Always remember that a happy holiday maker is much more likely to come back to your property again and also tell other people about their experience.
Although it is very easy to spend a fortune on furniture and go over the top on fancy furnishings this is neither necessary nor practical in a holiday home. Bear in mind that people who are holidaying in your property for a week will not be wishing to clean up and vacuum the carpet, therefore spending thousands of pounds on wool carpets, which will not be cared for as you would yourself, is a complete waste of money. The carpets will get dirty and worn just as quickly as cheaper ones especially if you accept dogs and children into your property. This does not however mean that you can get away with carpeting your property in cheap off cuts or keep any existing poor quality fitted carpets. Holiday lets are often advertised on the internet with visual tours and internal photographs and therefore the days of orange shag pile carpets and candle wick bedspreads are well and truly over! Holiday makers now expect much more from a holiday property and, if you consider that they may well be paying in excess of £500 per week in peak season, they have the right to expect a decent standard of accommodation.
You have three main options when deciding how to furnish your holiday let property:
1. Option one – cheaply whilst purchasing brand new – this means sourcing beds and other furniture from discount stores and accessories from markets or from discontinued lines in large department stores. Although this will save you money initially you should expect to have to replace things more often as cheaper items will wear more quickly. It is not advisable to purchase beds and furniture second hand as you can not be certain that such items meet current fire safety regulations. Holiday makers will know if you furnish your property in this way and you will be unable to command top rental fees.
2. Option two – middle of the road- this means purchasing goods from popular stores such as Marks & Spencer, Next and Debenhams. These items will cost a little more than buying from markets but generally speaking they will wear better and last longer.
3. Option three – expensive – this means that you have your kitchen handmade and opt for china crockery. Period furniture and antiques will add to the overall quality of the property. This is a very extravagant way of furnishing a holiday home and will not ensure that the property is looked after by guests any better than in one furnished in any other way. If you can afford to furnish your property in this way then do so but only if you have a suitably striking property which can withstand this type of furniture and of course if you can command rental fees to cover the cost.
Of these three options, most people will go for option two. This is by far the most sensible route to take and there is nothing to stop you from adding one or two more expensive items offset by a couple of cheap things to bring up the balance.
This article has been put together by the distance learning organisation Start Learning who are experts in home study. If you want to find out more about Holiday Let Businesses or many other distance learning courses please browse their website: http://www.start-learning.co.uk
A good way to start your own Holiday Let Business is to sign up for a distance learning course on the subject. By studying in your free time and pace, you can gain the necessary knowledge while tailoring it to suit your schedule.
Kerrana McAvoy
Academic Director – Start Learning
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