I’m not a web designer. Nor would I describe myself as a techy person, but I can build a holiday let website. I can make it functional and make it look professional.   Also, I can troubleshoot the smaller problems myself and make necessary changes to my website When I first started out I had no clue. I started with a Wix website – very easy to set up, good choice of templates yet very limiting.  But I wanted more than a brochure site. I trialled Lodgify – good support desk but it didn’t give me the freedom I needed. Because I’m a keen learner and if I need to improve my knowled ..read more

Be honest, are you totally happy with your holiday rental business? Are there parts of your business that you want to change?  Things you want to do differently? Have you evolved but your business model remains as it did when you first started out? Are you a new holiday home owner and want to get it right from the start? Don’t go any further! You need to be in love with your business to truly grow it and not begrudge the time you spend in it and on it. This of course means different things to each of us but I’d be bold enough to say for most it means making as much money as we possibly c ..read more

Your holiday homes bookings are down as a result of the corona virus? Whether it’s media hype or a genuine health concern, an extremely rare event, such as the corona virus impacts massively on any tourism business.   It impacts on guests delaying making a booking until the situation “improves” so the booking cycle becomes shorter, or on a guest’s actual holiday time with us. Even if your holiday home’s area is not badly affected/infected by the virus, geographically guests aren’t that smart. They hear ‘the south west’ mentioned in the news for example and assume the whole of that region is o ..read more

Every year I do this to myself as we head into September.  It happens the same time – every year! It’s my annual panic week when I have a wobble.  A wobble that is “Pants! My booking calendar is almost empty”. It happens when I go from the busy busyness of summer into the quieter period.  When I have time to step back and look forward. And that sinking feeling of not having many bookings coming up (when I’m used to being full). If it’s happening to you – I’m with you. I get what you’re feeling.  Even me sat here as a holiday home coach; I know what you should be doing and I know what I should ..read more

A guide to buying a holiday home abroad So, you’ve decided to invest in a holiday home overseas. Perhaps to take advantage of low prices and high returns, or for somewhere you can escape the English winter and then make pay for itself in summer. But how do you actually go about turning that dream into reality? My experience is in buying in the UK so I spoke to Christopher Nye, Editor at overseas buying experts Property Guides to find out more. Here is his to-do list for buying a holiday home abroad Whenever soon-to-be property buyers start thinking about the steps they need to take to buy a ho ..read more

At last it’s ready! Your holiday let is ready to taking paying guests. How exciting and well done for making it this far. But now what? You need to know how to rent out a holiday cottage when it’s all new to you Don’t panic, you can do this! Here are some key questions to ask yourself: who is my niche? how much will I charge? do I opt for an agency vs listing site vs direct bookings? how hands on do I want to be? Here’s some help to make these decisions which will form the basis of you bringing your holiday let to the market. Your niche This is the group of guests you are going to market to. Y ..read more

Playing it safe means doing the same things over and over again in your holiday rental business. It means not trying anything new because you keep telling yourself: you’re not techie enough you don’t have time it might not work! Mmm it’s very easy to put objections in our way isn’t it? But just think how playing safe can also keep you stuck. How it can stop you building the business you dream of. How it can hold you back from reaching your potential. What if … … that new thing you wanted to introduce into your business, such as Instagram, doesn’t turn out to be as techie as you first thought ..read more

Your guest’s holiday experience matters. I always recommend you go the extra mile; to help your guests to immerse themselves in local experiences; to get more out of their precious holiday time. An ethos that Tobooka , a guest experience booking company, fully shares. Here’s a guest blog from Brodie Farrow of Tobooka.  She shares three top tips on how to improve your guest’s holiday experience before they even leave home. Let’s face it, everyone’s top priority is securing a booking. The second priority is then to make sure your guest has a great time whilst they are staying with you. Very oft ..read more

I was first introduced to the holiday let industry when I worked for a holiday letting agency. Twelve years ago I got a job in a holiday letting agency. I was looking for a part-time job to fit around two small children and school hours. Little did I know how this experience would underpin my values as a holiday home owner. And Spring Cottage (my own holiday let) was just a pipe dream at that time.  An idea that hubby and I had for spending quality weekends with the kids in the country, out of the city. Little did I know how much I’d love the industry and how my knowledge gained here, would le ..read more

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