A-Z of Holiday Letting

THE A TO Z OF HOLIDAY LETTING

Fern Bank

Before you even invest in a potential holiday let, there are many things to think about and organise. Check out our A-Z of Holiday Letting.

A- Audience When starting out with holiday letting, an important thing to consider is what audience you’d like to attract. Countryside cottages will be popular with walkers, town centre homes would be ideal for families, and lakeside apartments are more likely to appeal to couples. Consider your audience when buying and decorating your holiday let.

B – Bookings If you want to get maximum bookings for your Lake District holiday let, let us help! Lakes Cottage Holidays are the local experts in holiday letting and have the national marketing support of Sykes Cottages behind us. We work with over 500 partner sites such as Airbnb, Expedia & Booking.com to ensure your property is in front of all the right people, and our website allows bookings to be taken 24/7, 7 days a week, 365 a year.

C – Child-friendly cottages If your holiday let will be aimed at families, make sure you follow some simple child-friendly guidelines. From having lockable cupboards to providing cots and highchairs, you can find our full list of child-friendly tips here. D – Decor Carefully consider how you decorate you holiday let to ensure it is both suitable and durable enough for regular use. Choose paint colours that are easy to buy in case you need to top up your paintwork. Also think about buying good quality furniture, especially in pet-friendly homes where it’s likely to see more wear and tear. If your decoration is quirky or unusual, we can potentially feature it on our social media channels.

E – Eco-Friendly In today’s changing climate, anything we can do to help the planet is important, especially for our beloved Lake District. If you’d like to try eco-friendly holiday letting, check out our guide on some steps you can take towards a greener holiday home. Ideas include energy saving light bulbs, providing natural cleaning products, and recycling bins.

F – Fire Safety Fire safety is extremely important in holiday letting, not only for your guests but also to protect you as an owner. Ensure you have a thorough fire risk assessment carried out on your property and put into place the relevant measures, including smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and appropriate fire exits. It’s important to keep this up to date, alongside gas safety certificates and holiday let insurance. Check our full list of holiday let regulations here.

G – Garden Space If your holiday let has a garden, make sure you get the most of of this space so guests can enjoy it. Consider providing garden furniture, outdoor games & BBQ’s to encourage guests to spend time outdoors. Brighten up your border with flowers and plants, and you could even install a hot tub if you want to offer a slice of luxury!

H – Hot Tub: Many of our guests search for properties with Hot Tubs for the ultimate indulgence. We work with credited suppliers if you are interested in looking into this, and we can help with the maintenance and upkeep.

I – Income Maximisation Income Maximisation is a clever tool that involves us closely monitoring market trends & using responsive systems to adjust your rental price, according to customer demand. This helps us to maximise your booking levels & increase your income at every opportunity. There are three different levels of income maximisation – read more about them here and see which one would be best for you.

J – Just perfect! The more you can do to make the most of your holiday home the more guests will enjoy and you’ll be more likely to earn favourable reviews, which in turn, increases booking rates. K – Key Collection Our local offices in Windermere & Keswick can facilitate key collection for your guests, in the case that you can’t have a key safe outside your property.

L – Location Location is key when it comes to holiday letting. If you’re buying a property, find out where the popular, honeypot areas for tourists are, or the best locations to be for your chosen audience. Families want to be in the heart of the action, hikers want to be near the mountains, and couples usually want to be somewhere quiet and romantic. Take a look at the best places to buy a holiday let in the Lake District for some ideas.

M – Managed Services When you let your property with Lakes Cottage Holidays, you can be as hands-on or hands-off as you like. If you’d prefer us to look after your property for you, 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 maintenance work, and doing periodical inspections to check all is OK in your property.

N – New Opportunities If you’re looking to diversify your land then holiday letting could be the perfect answer. Convert your outbuildings, or erect new ones, and open up new opportunities to generate some extra income. Take a look here at more benefits of farm diversification.

Hot tub at High Rigg Shepherd’s Sunset

O – Owner Portal 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 and feedback. You can also find useful tips on the portal about things such as health and safety guides and information on short breaks & income maximisation.

P – Pet-Friendly A sure-fire way to attract more guests is to allow pets in your property. People love to holiday with their furry friends, and we’ve seen that pet-friendly properties can increase your income by around 11%. We’ve put together a handy list of ways to prepare for pet-friendly holiday letting, to get you off on the right paw!

Q – Quick Response As a Lakes Cottage Holidays owner you can rest assured that our friendly team are always on hand to answer your queries as quickly as possible. You can reach us by phone & email, or visit our local offices located in Windermere & Keswick. 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.

R – Referral Scheme If you know a friend or family member who’s thinking of holiday letting, refer them to Lakes Cottage Holidays and if they bring their property on board with us, you’ll both get £250 cash! There’s no limit to how many people you can refer, so get spreading the word!

S – Short Breaks Accepting short breaks in your property is an excellent way to increase your income as well as filling up any unwanted gaps in your calendar. At Lakes Cottage Holidays we offer: Winter, Off-season, Peak, Christmas & New Year, Last minute.

When partnered with our Income Maximisation tool, short breaks are a great way to increase your earnings and get you on your way to a highly successful holiday let. T - Tea and Coffee A simple touch, but very much appreciated. An initial supply of tea and coffee for when your guests arrive is always appreciated. Perhaps include other basics such as Salt & Pepper and basic cooking help. We do offer to organise a Welcome Pack for you, just contact us for more details.

U- Umbrellas Well, we are in the Lakes! Another nice touch to leave a couple of umbrellas in the hallway area for guests to use should the heavens open.

V- Vase Our guests are often celebrating a birthday, anniversary or other special event. Adding a vase into the cupboard space would be appreciated for those flowers they may well bring with them, or order for delivery.

W- Walks Guests will be looking for some advice on walks from the front door, or a short drive away. Why not leave them your top 3 walks perhaps with a cafe or pub at the end, for them to explore. Walking Magazines, maps and books always go down very well too.

X- Excellent! This is the score you are looking for from your happy guests! If you take the time to think everything through to enhance your guests experience, you are well on the way to scoring ‘Excellent’

Y- Your peace of mind When you join us at Lakes Cottage Holidays you are also investing in your own peace of mind. Your pride and joy will be carefully managed by our teams, whilst you can sit back and watch the bookings rolling in.

Z- zzzzzzz And as a result, you can enjoy a Good Night’s Sleep! Safe in the knowledge that your investment is ticking over nicely and bringing you income.

Crooklands Cottage

Hollywood Windermere | 6 Bedrooms | 6 Bathrooms | Sleeps 11

Resting in the heart of the Lake District National Park, Hollywood is an ideal base for couples or a large family wishing to explore the area around Lake Windermere. You’ll have plenty of options for dining out, including a wide range of pubs, restaurants, and cafés, as well as grocery stores where you can stock up on supplies to prepare meals in the privacy of Hollywood.