H O L I DAY H O M E O W N E R S H I P | TA L K I N G B U S I N E S S
Staycation, Staycation, Staycation! It’s a cliche but I really can’t believe that it’s
we welcomed guests back and went to full
time to write again for the Christmas edition,
capacity overnight. The challenge now was
my life really is on fast forward.
Before
the logistics of delivering more holidays than
continuing we must remember that times
we ever had before and all of our systems
remain uncertain – last year the situation
were stretched to breaking point- cleaning,
changed radically between writing and going
linen, maintenance, even purchasing.
to press so let’s see how it goes this year. How wrong can I be? Christmas and New Year 2020 was a
We approached the peak weeks with
bumper one, so we got ahead of everything
U-turn about schools reopening after
confidence and waited for the tide of
with trees, decorations and hampers placed
February half term resulted in such a spike
applications to work with us. Some hospitality
in nearly 100 properties well in advance.
in bookings that it literally went off every
was still closed, some would never return
Boris was determined that families would be
chart that I use.
so there would be an army of skilled and
able to get together but the virus had other
motivated staff to choose from. In addition
ideas. Right at the last minute we were shut
Now of course in our business you have a finite
there was a massive group of people on
again and into reverse – sending money
resource – once a property is sold out you
furlough collecting 80% of their income and
back to customers is not a good business
can’t sell it again or order up 10 more so how
able to go out and do another job – the penny
model and taking down unused trees and
is it that the UK holiday industry could deliver
and the bun! Over the years I’ve got a taste
decorations is a really thankless task. Still all
more capacity? Glamping sites sprung up
for humble pie and along with my words
those hampers helped us to get through the
around the country, sales of caravans and
and my hat I ate a lot of it this year. What
months of lockdown that followed.
campers boomed and many second home
transpired, of course, is that the opposite was
EVERYTH I N G F O R T H E H O L I D AYtrue, HO ME OWNER owners who don’t rent their properties out most businesses suffered from severe I N S A N D B A N K S & S U R R O U N D I N G AREAS had a change of heart. In our case the perfect Like my junior education by nuns I’ve blanked staff shortages and the season was a big this second lockdown out of my mind. I
storm ofonlow rates, proximity to Digital blur ofMarketing crisis management Shopfront theinterest Peninsula | Sophisticated
and somehow
London and remote working meant a boom remember the first one – zoom parties, quiz Linen getting|things done each weekend. Cleaning, & Changeovers | Maintenance & Renovations Concierge Services in second homeCallout purchases Sandbanks on Owner Bookings nights and takeaways but the second time 24 Hour Emergency | NoinRestrictions
round it really wasn’t funny. I have a house and a steady stream of new owners. So what is to come for the next 12 months? Let us take care of all the work so you can enjoy your holiday home andwe take advantage with a garden, plenty of space and grown Surely will be open this Christmas – by of the significant tax benefits of running it as a furnished holiday let business. up children but solitary confinement really There was an offset to all this good news – the time you are reading this you’ll know and doesn’t suit me. It’s safe to say I won’t be
we were still closed! We got into a routine of
joining the work from home revolution.
cancelling bookings 3-4 weeks in advance
I’m now trying to forecast and plan for 2022.
so as the bookings rolled in we were also
As I said last year, there are probably two
January and February are traditionally when
sending money back. This wasn’t much of
types of forecast, lucky or wrong and given
many people book their summer holiday
an issue until Easter when refunds started
the almost unimaginable events ot the
and give a good indication of performance
to approach new income and we stared
last 2 years it’s not really valid to use the
for the year ahead.
nervously at May half term which would
The media built up
be L theEfirst big F blow, the staycation boom story S and a ED Eto R use VIC TS R OJune M would R U be M really SEY
data for projections. What I can say is that advance bookings next O F SA N D BforAthe NK S 12 months
painful, July a catastrophe and I don’t even are higher than at this point last year (or any The perfect solution for temporary accommodation from a weekend to 5 months want to think about August. other year). All the indications are that we’ll No minimum period rentals | Broadband and maintenance included and embarrassing truth – the worse things have another strong season for UK holidays Regular cleaning and linen change services available | Fully furnished and equipped technical term, things went bananas. This
is when I have to admit an uncomfortable
Fortunately self catering was one of the first get the better it is for us, particularly when and maybe there has been a permanent ofcategories Sandbanks will tailorup theand experience to suit your exact needs so you can get on to open just after Easter expectations are raised then dashed. Rumsey The shift in preferences. with the rest of your life and we can turn an awkward stop gap into a great and memorable experience.
www.rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk EVERYTHING FOR THE HOLIDAY HOME OWNER 01202 707357 IN SANDBANKS & SURROUNDING AREAS w w w. r u m s eyo f s a noffice@rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk d b a n k s . c o . u k | 0 1 2 0 2 70 7 3 5 7
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