Let your holiday home achieve results you’ll love
Marketing your property with the leading luxury self-catering agency www.bluechipowners.co.uk
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0845 680 9437
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
Stoke House, Salcombe & South Hams - Cover image: At The Beach, Salcombe & South Hams.
“You look after your owners very well. You answer all my questions quickly, and basically your staff work very hard.”
Introduction • Largest luxury self-catering agency in the South West of England • Broad range of accommodation across six counties and expanding • Prestigious portfolio Here at Blue Chip Holidays, we are proud to be the largest luxury self-catering agency in the South West of England. We represent the owners of a broad range of accommodation across several counties - from period cottages to sleek apartments, elegant town houses to modern barn conversions – with the shared theme of quality. If you would like your luxury holiday home to join the prestigious portfolio it deserves, we would love to hear from you. We understand how much your holiday home means to you, but we also understand that you are reading this because you want it to be profitable.
We work in partnership with our owners to ensure that their properties are beautifully and professionally presented so as to attract discerning and appreciative customers and maximise potential bookings. We care about the performance of each and every property we represent. Our dedicated and enthusiastic team of marketeers and customer service professionals strive to ensure that, in joining Blue Chip Holidays, you can be confident that your guests will receive a level of service you can be proud of.
“Excellent communication. Fast response to queries. Customer service is outstanding. Staff always willing to assist.�
Weymouth, Dorset
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
Who are Blue Chip Holidays? • Founded in Brixham, Devon in 2000 • Experienced team consisting of Marketing, PR, Website Development, Sales and Customer Service Blue Chip Holidays was founded in Brixham in 2000 by Ron and Sylvia Cutting who spotted an opportunity when a new development was built on the harbour-side. They were joined in 2004 by their son-in-law, Liam Gavin, who has spent the last seven years building a team of experienced professionals to transform the business. Alan Taylor was recruited from the City in 2006, becoming Managing Director in 2009 when Liam took the role of Company Chairman. Ron and Sylvia have since retired, but still attend social events. We recruit people as carefully as we source properties and we are proud of the team we have established. Our origins as a family business are important to us, but Liam’s determination
to find exceptional staff means that we now employ around 40 people, all of whom have been chosen for excellence in their field. Today, Blue Chip Holidays is a professional organisation that is profoundly customer focused and extremely capable. We are now firmly established as a quality self-catering agency in the South West. We will continue to develop in this region and we are expanding into new areas and market places. During 2010 we extended our reach into South Wales and the Isle of Wight. Our focus in the coming years will be to build up our portfolio in these locations as well as the New Forest, the Cotswolds and beyond.
“Timely and thorough information. We like the way the bookings are set out for us each month and the speedy contact you have with us for any possible bookings.�
Bryher, Watergate Bay & Mawgan Porth
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
Why let your property with us? • High quality portfolio • 24/7 online booking service • Over one million annual visits to bluechipholidays.co.uk and increasing • In-house website development team Anyone who has ever bought property knows the importance of location. It is the same with advertising holiday homes. Not only does your home have to be in the right place, it also has to be positioned within the right portfolio and the most appropriate brand to attract the right customers. If your property is highend, we offer you that great positioning. There is a strong set of values attached to the Blue Chip brand and our guests are discerning people, with high expectations, seeking the assurance that those values deliver. We know who our customers are and this understanding allows us to develop the right strategies for growing our already large customer-base further.
A trusted brand Our customers know that they can count on us. Whether they want to spend Christmas in a character cottage or the summer in an apartment overlooking a beach, they know they can rely on Blue Chip Holidays to provide the same level of quality and service.
A helping hand We are here to help in whatever way we can. Our Portfolio Development Managers are happy to provide advice on any aspect of fitting out or furnishing your holiday home. If you are unable to welcome guests or handle changeovers yourself, we will help you find a responsible person or agency that can help. We will ensure that you understand all the statutory requirements and we will advise you on the best way to insure
your property. We will even make suggestions as to any little extras you could provide to make your guests’ stays memorable, encouraging repeat bookings.
A true partnership We want to work together. You will be welcomed and guided into the business by our Portfolio Development Managers and, once your property is on our website, we will provide individual liaison contacts in Marketing, Bookings and Finance so you can talk directly to the person best qualified to answer your questions. We understand that it is your holiday home and that you may want to use it. Our standard contract allows you to use your property for six weeks of the year, including a week during the summer holidays, and we are happy to discuss your individual requirements.
Protecting your home We understand that renting your home out to strangers can be unsettling. That is why we do everything we can to ensure that the people who use your home will care for it. With over ten years experience in the business, handling tens of thousands of customers, we have established excellent systems to minimise the potential risks to your property. On the rare occasions when accidents happen, we will administer the collection of any compensation and liaise with the customer on your behalf (in over ten years there has only been a handful of such cases).
“The overall impression of a quality organisation, from brochures to website, email responses etc is what attracted me to Blue Chip Holidays.�
Horizons, Newquay
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
How will we market your property? • Social networking and blogs • Online targeted advertising • Search engine optimisation ensures high search results • Affiliate scheme – smaller websites drive users to our website • Email marketing campaigns Quite simply, we will market your property in the most effective way we can. We employ a large marketing team whose expertise ranges from traditional print advertising to the most up-to-date social media techniques. Our marketing department is divided into Online and Offline, although they sit in the same office and work closely to provide a consistent and effective message.
Our brand Our most valuable asset is our brand. We have worked hard over the past year to gain a greater understanding of our owners and customers and have honed our brand to reflect the high-quality portfolio we represent. Our consumer strapline “enjoy the indoors as much as the outdoors” summarises our proposition; we represent properties in beautiful locations whose luxury interiors are as important as the view. It is this strong brand identity that allows us to communicate persuasively and with clarity to our customers who we know choose self-catering for flexibility not economy. This understanding allows us to develop a strong relationship with our guests who, as a result, remain loyal to us.
Website Our website is by far our most powerful marketing tool. The site enables us to offer a secure 24/7 booking service and is a valuable source of information, both about areas and individual properties, which are showcased using beautiful professional photography. Bluechipholidays.co.uk is a busy and successful site. It received over a million visitors last year and that number is increasing rapidly thanks to the hard work of our online team. We employ an in-house web development team so that we are in complete control and can implement ideas quickly. The site is constantly being reviewed and updated to ensure that it is attractive, informative and easy to use.
Online marketing Our online marketing team work hard to ensure that people visit our website and that we appear on the first page for all relevant search terms. This is done through a combination of search engine optimisation (SEO) - to ensure that Google, Yahoo and other browsers like our site - and pay-per-click (PPC), where we pay to ensure that we appear at the top of the page for the most popular and competitive search terms. Our online team also manages our online advertising. They remain up-to-date with market trends and technologies so that we are able to quickly take advantage of changes and advances. We have an award-winning affiliate scheme (South Devon Excellence Awards 2009: Best Marketing Campaign). Small niche sites often find it easier to rank well on search engines for specific terms. For example, if you are looking for a golfing holiday in Newquay, and search for those words, you will probably find a small local website will appear above any large site like ours. We work in partnership with these smaller websites who are able to drive people to the Blue Chip Holidays bookings page. We use blogs to chat with our customers and develop a relationship. Blogs are an excellent way to tell stories, give ideas about holiday activities and encourage our guests to think of us as more than just an accommodation provider. We have a large and growing database of customers with whom we communicate regularly through email campaigns. This is an extremely cost-effective marketing technique. We use regular emails as a means of promoting offers and competitions as well as making suggestions that our customers find useful in planning their holidays and short breaks.
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
Rose Weston bay, Sidmouth
“Initial meeting with our Portfolio Development Manager was very good. Came across as very enthusiastic and positive.�
Offline marketing
Design
We are often complimented on the quality of our brochure. It is produced annually and sent out on request. Our brochure features each of our properties using carefully chosen photographs to highlight unique and special features.
We understand how important design is to communicating a quality organisation and brand. We have an in-house designer so that everything we do is professionally put together. We also work with a leading design agency to develop large campaigns and to ensure that we never go stale. Every one of our properties is professionally photographed, so you can be confident that your property will stand out visually wherever it appears.
We also produce a regular magazine, Indoors & Outdoors, which is sent out to our entire database. This is a dynamic publication, which allows us to promote specific areas and properties as well as reviewing attractions and suggesting holiday activities. We want our magazine to be a genuinely good read, not junk mail, so we commission articles by leading journalists from newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times. Other direct mail, including postcards and leaflets, are sent out regularly promoting specific offers and competitions. We advertise in a number of key consumer publications and continually monitor the response rate and return on investment as part of our campaign planning. We want to offer your guests the best holiday experience possible, which includes being able to make suggestions and provide discounts on local attractions and restaurants. Blue Chip Holidays is in a unique position to develop partnerships with local businesses and our partnership scheme works through an exchange of benefits. We are able to promote local businesses on our website, in return for which they provide discount vouchers that your guests can use whilst on holiday.
PR Many people browse newspapers and magazines for holiday ideas, so we employ a full-time PR professional to make sure that we are there to inspire them. We regularly appear in newspapers including The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Mail on Sunday, as well as in glossy magazines such as Coast, GQ and Country Living, with competitions and news stories focusing on events close to our properties. We nurture relationships with key industry journalists to ensure that we appear in special features such as The Sunday Times Top 50 Self-Catering Properties.
Analysis We spend a huge amount on marketing, but we spend it wisely. Our analysis team makes sure we understand the effect of every penny we spend. We are constantly learning and improving what we do. We also analyse the performance of our portfolio monthly so we are aware of which properties may need a little extra help to achieve a greater level of bookings.
• Annual brochure listing all properties • Magazine regularly sent out to our database • Advertising in key consumer publications • Special offers with key partnerships • Full-time PR professional • In-house designer
“The staff are always extremely polite, helpful and efficient.”
Lesceave, Pensance
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
Sales and Customer Service • Friendly and professional service 7 days a week • Out-of-hours emergency telephone service • Team undertake all the administration relating to bookings Our contact centre is staffed by our Sales and Customer Service Team. They take pleasure in representing a high-quality product and understand what our discerning customers expect. Many of the team have been with us for a number of years and they are all incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to our portfolio. Most of all, they enjoy what they do, which shows in the excellent customer service they provide.
Bookings Whilst our website provides enough information for many of our customers who are happy to book online, there will always be guests who prefer to talk to someone. Our Sales and Customer Service Team provide a friendly and professional service seven days a week: 8am-9pm Monday to Friday; 9am-8pm on Saturday; and 10am-6pm on Sunday. During these hours they communicate with customers by telephone, email and Live Chat to take bookings and answer queries.
Customer service The Sales team also provide customer service and support guests during their stay. With a high-quality portfolio, we are fortunate not to have to deal with many unhappy customers. However there are times when, unavoidably, things go wrong and we will be there to represent you when they do. You can rest assured that your guests will never be left in limbo. We operate an out-of-hours emergency telephone service so that we are always available to ensure that your guests receive the level of service they deserve.
Administration Our Sales and Customer Service team undertake all the administration relating to your bookings, from sending out confirmations to liaising with your property manager and collecting deposits and payments. Unless you are welcoming guests yourself, all you have to do is read your monthly statement that details your earnings and any forward bookings.
“Blue Chip Holidays understand that it is our property. Working with them is refreshingly easy.�
Beach House, Paignton
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
Your property • Location • Close to local facilities • Easy access • Parking is desirable • Little extras to maximise bookings • Pet-friendly Thinking of buying a holiday home?
Do you own a holiday home?
If you want to buy a holiday home that will achieve great bookings and an impressive weekly rental, there are a few things you should consider.
Here are a few ideas to maximise your income, give great customer satisfaction and encourage repeat bookings.
Location is obviously important. Ask yourself the obvious question – would I like to go on holiday here? Great views will sell a property and look appealing in our brochure or online. Close proximity to local facilities will enhance your guests’ holiday experience making repeat bookings more likely. There are guests who are prepared to walk up steep steps or navigate narrow streets to get to that special location, but you will maximise bookings if your property is easily accessible, making it attractive to those with small children or limited mobility. Quaint fishermen’s cottages do not often come with off-street parking. Parking is desirable, but if it is not possible at the property you are considering buying, think about whether you could provide a permit for a nearby car park. Many tourist areas are very busy in high season and it is off-putting to guests if they have to park some distance from the property. Old character properties book well and appeal to those seeking an escape from busy lives. New developments may have less emotional appeal but are easily maintained and are built to the latest standards and lend themselves to luxury modern interiors.
Did you know that more than half the customers booking out of season travel with their pets? Welcoming four-legged friends increases your chance of attracting bookings during those quieter months. We charge guests a small fee for pets so that we can give you a little extra to cover the cost of any additional cleaning. Families are a huge market. Anything you provide, such as highchairs and cots, means they have to put less in their cars and therefore is a sound investment. Discerning customers expect dishwashers, washer-dryers and fridge-freezers. Gone are the days when a well-stocked bookshelf was considered adequate entertainment for luxury self-caterers. Flat screen TVs, DVD and CD players are no longer optional. Nor is it unusual to find owners providing games consoles, high-speed internet connections and Sky TV.
“Blue Chip Holidays get everything right. The photography is particularly good, they make it easy to get started. Great, friendly customer service.�
The Ruby, Holsworthy
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
How will we work together? • Portfolio Development Managers offer advice • Professional photography • Dedicated property marketing team • Owner bookings taken 7 days a week The first person you will meet is one of our Portfolio Development Managers. They each cover their own area and understand which properties do well and how to price them for maximum return. They are happy to come along and meet you, without obligation, whether you own a holiday property, are considering buying one or even if you are planning to build from scratch! They have been known to accompany prospective buyers on property viewings to offer their expert opinion from a business perspective.
If you decide to join the Blue Chip Holidays portfolio, our Portfolio Development Managers will explain the contract and introduce you to the business before putting you in contact with our Property Marketing Team.
Our Portfolio Development Managers will offer honest advice about fit-out and decor. They will discuss pricing and can provide forecasts of potential income. They will also outline the statutory requirements for any holiday property owner. If you need to find someone to welcome your guests and handle cleaning and changeovers, they can advise you of local suppliers who will be happy to help.
As soon as you are on the website, we can start taking bookings. If you employ a property manager, we will liaise with them for you. We will manage all communications with your guests too from sending directions to collecting feedback after their visit.
It is the Property Marketing Team who will organise the professional photography of your property and get you onto our website. They will work with you to ensure that your property is described accurately and gives potential guests as much information as possible.
Each month you will receive a statement, outlining all future bookings and detailing your earnings. If you would like to use your property yourself, simply call or email our Sales and Customer Service Team who will be happy to book those dates for you.
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
3 Coastguards, Salcombe & South Hams
“Phenomenal service standards when responding to initial enquiries.�
Frequently asked questions How much does it cost to join Blue Chip Holidays? It costs nothing to join. We do not charge a joining fee and we will pay for a professional photographer to shoot your property. We are happy to provide support and advice free of charge to help you achieve a four or five star rating.
What regulations do I need to adhere to? There are a few, but not too many. The rules are there to provide legal and financial protection for you and to ensure your guests are safe during their stay. Legally, you are required to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment and take steps to minimise any risks identified. We require you to carry out an Access Statement informing potential guests of the services and facilities available. This will be displayed on our website and enables guests to determine whether your property will meet their access needs. Neither assessment is onerous and both are easy to undertake. If you would prefer, there are people who will carry them out for you for a small fee. We can help you to find reliable companies who are happy to help. Annually, you also need to organise PAT testing (small electrical appliances) and a gas test (if relevant). These can be easily arranged with a local electrician and plumber. You are also required to hold public liability insurance. This is very straight forward and is a simple add-on to your buildings insurance. For further information, please have a look at our website: www.bluechipowners.co.uk/regulations
What information will you give my guests? Six weeks before they are due to arrive, guests will receive an email with information about the area where they are going to stay, what the local attractions are and any restaurants in the area. We like to provide as much information as we can and so invite you to share your own recommendations and ideas for things we can include. Closer to their stay, we send out directions and details of how to get in touch with the person who is going to welcome them to the property. Ideally, guests should be met at the door and you
can employ a professional property manager if you are unable to do this yourself. Occasionally, owners will leave keys in a keysafe (in the case of late arrival for example). In this case, guests would be contacted by the property owner or caretaker with the combination, or details can be put in arrival documents.
What do Blue Chip Holidays customers expect my property to be like? Our guests expect your property to be spotlessly clean, with quality bed linen and bath towels. All appliances should be in working order and instructions supplied where appropriate. Guests expect to be able to set the temperature of the property to their own comfort levels so should have access to heating controls. All utilities are included in the price, so coin-operated electricity meters are not permitted in Blue Chip Holidays properties, nor any other means of charging extra for utilities. Generally, your property should feel like a welcoming homefrom-home. Providing a warm and relaxing stay means you are likely to benefit from repeat bookings and recommendations.
Is there anything else I need to do? A completed web page for your property, together with professional photography, will be online within four weeks of the contract being signed, assuming the property is ready. That is not to say we cannot start taking bookings earlier though. We will create a holding page with preliminary details very quickly. If you can give us a few photos whilst we wait for the weather and the professional photography, that will make your holding page more appealing. The more information you are able to give us the better as this allows online visitors to choose your property with confidence. Once we have created the permanent listing, we ask that you check it over to make sure we are not mis-selling in any way. It is also important that you let us know of any changes within the property (for better or worse) so that our marketing is always accurate. We do not want your guests to have any nasty surprises when they arrive, so we ask you to let us know if you are aware of anything (such as building work next door) that might spoil their stay and lead to a complaint. ď ˝
“Great website and brochure. Liaison with property manager and owners is exceptional. Pro-active in attracting clients. Very professional.�
Whitsunday House, St. Ives
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
FAQs continued...
What happens if a guest cancels their holiday?
Do you accept short breaks? Yes we do. Outside the peak months, many guests are looking for short breaks and so it is good business to provide them. We understand that some of your costs are fixed, irrespective of the length of stay, and to protect your margins we do not charge on a pro-rata nightly basis. Our short stay rates are detailed below: Number of nights
Cost as a percentage of the weekly rental rate.
3
70%
4
77.5%
5
85%
6
92.5%
7
100%
We want to maximise your income, so we only accept full-week bookings in July and August when demand is high, unless it is very last minute. This means that during peak months you would have a set changeover day. The standard changeover day is Saturday, although we can work with you if you would prefer it to be different.
Can I use the property myself? Of course you can. We understand it is one of the attractions of owning a holiday home. Our standard contract allows you to use the property for up to six weeks each year. In order to attain the maximum return for the property, we request that only one week is taken during July and August. To book an owner’s stay/break, simply contact our Sales and Customer Service Team who will reserve the dates for you as long as they have not already been booked. The availability on our website is live so you can always check first. To ensure that there are no mistakes, we ask you to confirm your requested dates in writing (an email is fine) and we will do the same back.
Sometimes cancellations are unavoidable. We operate a Holiday Cancellation Protection Scheme (HCPS) which is incorporated into the price that the customer pays. This allows us to refund monies to guests if they have genuine reason to cancel, such as death or injury of a party member, whilst still paying you any money due. We know that customers are put off by hidden extras, which is why this 2.5% fee, as well as our booking fee, is incorporated in the rental price that the customer sees. As a result, the customer list price and the owner list price varies by these charges and it is the latter, lower amount upon which your commission to us will be calculated. If a guest cancels for reasons that are not covered you will still receive your money, but they are not entitled to a refund.
What happens if my property gets damaged by guests? Most of our guests take good care of the properties they stay in. We have to be realistic however and damages do sometimes occur. On those rare occasions our Customer Service Team will represent you in seeking compensation from the guests. It is important that you (or your property manager) let us know about any damages as soon as possible and provide a written invoice within seven days of the guests’ departure. If things are reported later than this it becomes difficult to prove responsibility. It is useful if you are able to provide dated photographs of the damage, which we can then include as evidence in any correspondence with the guests.
What happens if a guest makes a complaint? Owing to the quality of our portfolio, complaints are rare rather than the norm. We advise guests to raise any issues during their stay giving the owner or property manager an opportunity to rectify things as quickly as possible. If a complaint is received we will act as arbitrators between you and the guests to reach an amicable solution. We will respond to a complaint within 24 hours and inform you of the details, along with our thoughts on the best way to proceed. This may include our suggestion of compensation if applicable. We request a response from you within five days and we will then go back to the guests with the resolution. If we have not heard from you, we will resolve the matter with the guests as per our suggestion.
“Well basically, I flipped a coin between Blue Chip Holidays and another company and Blue Chip Holidays won... Best coin flip I ever made!�
Barn Cottage Watergate Bay & Mawgan Porth
- Quote from owner survey July 2010.
What next... How do I arrange a free and no-obligation visit or preliminary call?
Have you met with one of our Portfolio Development Managers?
If you have received this guide at an event we have attended, by request or downloaded it from the website and would now like to arrange a free and no-obligation visit or call from one of our Portfolio Development Managers, we would be delighted to hear from you.
If you have received this guide from one of our Portfolio Development Managers, then they will send you a more detailed income illustration and further information on any queries you may have had during our no-obligation meeting.
At this first meeting we will bring along examples of our marketing activities and talk through the statutory requirements involved in holiday letting. We can also give you advice on meeting accommodation grading criteria. Ideally this will be at your holiday home, however if you are still considering a purchase we can arrange to meet at a mutually convenient location with you or liaise with the estate agent and view the property with you. To arrange a visit or call, please telephone 0845 680 9437 or email owner@bluechipholidays.co.uk or alternatively you can visit www.bluechipowners.co.uk and fill in our enquiry sheet and we will be in touch.
Once the contract is signed and received, we will start promoting your property on our website and in our marketing activities. We will also be in touch to arrange professional photography. If you have any further questions before joining us, you can email or call the Portfolio Development Manager direct or email owner@bluechipholidays.co.uk mentioning which Portfolio Development Manager you had a meeting with. Our owner website www.bluechipowners.co.uk is also a great source of information.
Tel: 0845 680 9437 Email: owner@bluechipholidays.co.uk Web: www.bluechipowners.co.uk
Exeter Blue Chip Holidays Ltd Matford Business Centre Matford Park Road Exeter Devon EX2 8ED
Brixham (Registered office) Blue Chip Holidays Ltd Brixham Enterprise Estate Rea Barn Road Brixham Devon TQ5 9DF
Š 2011 Copyright Blue Chip Holidays. All Rights Reserved. Self-catering Holidays in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset, Wales and the Isle of Wight.