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Here in the UK, the holiday letting market is flourishing, so you need to make sure your property is reaping the benefits!
With a handful of changes, you could see your income increase considerably, with happy guests telling their friends and setting you up with recommendations and repeat bookings for years to come.
We asked our expert property managers for their top suggestions for increasing your revenue. They meet owners across the country on a daily basis, so when it comes to holiday lets, they've seen it all.
1. Inspiring photography
The role which marketing photos play in people's decision-making process can’t be emphasised enough. You’ve probably experienced it yourself when booking a holiday – you scroll through property after property, discounting those with uninspiring photos.
That’s why we use ehouse professional photography to create images that are as desirable as possible to prospective guests. No filters are used, they simply utilise basic adjustment techniques to ensure the images are clear, sharp and colourful. We want your images to be bright and fresh throughout, and therefore some might need specific areas brushed over and adjusted, perhaps increasing the exposure as a whole or increasing the dark or mid-tones.
Before a shoot, you might want to think about redecorating or refurbishing to make the photos more attractive (see Ensure your property has universal appeal at bullet point 3).
2. Invest in the essentials
Make someone’s holiday memorable from the moment they arrive and you will be rewarded. A few surprise items in their welcome basket are a great way to exceed expectations. Essentials in the fridge, a handmade cake or a few carefully selected local delicacies will be most welcome. It is likely your guests have travelled a fair distance to your property, so make them feel at home and you're more likely to receive positive feedback - a key indicator you’ve been a great host.
Added extras such as hot tubs and home cinemas are indeed eye-catching to guests but investing in the essentials can also reap financial rewards through increased bookings. Things such as extra blankets and pillows, spare remote control batteries and dimmer switches for mood lighting can really make a difference for your guests. Information about the surrounding area, or central heating and oven instructions could also be a lifesaver. In fact, one of our owners saw revenue increase by 49% by simply following our recommendations and upgrading the kitchen.
Read our guide to the essentials below.
Guide to the essentials
3. Ensure your property has universal appeal
When the time comes to redecorating or updating furniture, always aim for subtle colour schemes and styles. You can still give rooms character with a piece of statement furniture, or a signature colour, but make sure that you don’t alienate potential bookers with red velvet wallpaper all around, or wood panelling as far as the eye can see! Just because it appeals to you, it doesn’t mean it will appeal to all.
Remove family photographs and other personal bits and pieces, as guests don’t like to feel that they’re staying in someone else’s home.
Offer options that will ensure you cast your net as wide as possible. For example, if you want to appeal to families, offer zip-and-link beds for flexible sleeping arrangements; if appealing to couples, offer a late check-out so that their departure is more relaxed or provide a romantic welcome package; if you want to attract groups of friends, ensure you have super-fast Wi-Fi, smart gadgets and multi-socket charger & USB enabled sockets near beds and communal areas.
Check out our decorating guide for more advice:
Decorating your holiday cottage
4. Luxurious extras
Consider investing in some features that guests may not have in their own home, which will add to your property’s appeal. Hot tubs, swimming pools, saunas, games rooms or outside play equipment are likely to help you tick more peoples’ boxes.
If you want to increase your revenue, it’s time to differentiate your holiday home from your competitors. Something like a hot tub is a perfect way to do this. We have often found that with customer enquiries, one of the most frequent questions is ‘Does the property have a hot tub?’
Of course, they require a bit of investment, so you need to weigh up the pros and cons. But ultimately, adding in luxurious extras is very likely going to result in happy guests. And happy guests will tell friends and colleagues about your property, they’ll leave you good reviews and will, most likely, book with you again. Our property advisers can help you if you’re thinking about investing in an opulent feature, giving you booking projections and revenue estimates to help you plan your property improvements.
Considering a hot tub? Click below.
Hot tub deliberations
5. Price your property accordingly
Price is one of the key deciding factors for potential guests. It may be obvious, but if a property is too expensive, or even too cheap, it won’t attract bookings. People are looking for a fair exchange for their money and will compare your property with others on offer in the area to decide which is the best value.
Like all goods and services, the market dictates the price someone is willing to pay to stay in your property at a certain time of the year. Getting this right is key to maximising your return. Set the price too high and your property will sit empty, set the price too low and your peak weeks will be snapped up quickly, leaving you to wonder how much more could you have earned.
There are so many criteria to take into account when it comes to pricing, including location, the size of the property and its assets, and the time of year. We have expert analysts who work with our Property team, ensuring that pricing is optimised based on all these criteria.
With 24/7 booking, you can see demand almost instantaneously and change your prices to react accordingly. This doesn’t just mean putting prices down or offering deals to fill voids, it can mean increasing prices too if you start to see a spike in enquiries – it’s all about hitting that sweet spot!
Want to maximise your revenue? Click below.
Money matters
6. Appeal to dog owners
Dog owners are an important group to consider, as many will take UK holidays so that they can bring their pet along too. There are an estimated 8.5 million dogs in the UK and according to statistics, a third of their owners will only stay in dog-friendly properties, with many of them enjoying off-peak breaks.
The cost of leaving a dog in a kennel (let alone multiple dogs) plus the guilt of doing so, often couples up with people’s longing to take their dog away with them. This means that holidaymakers are content to pay that little bit extra for dog-friendly accommodation. This will then offset any wear and tear and extra cleaning that might be needed.
If you like the sound of the extra income but you’re still unsure, why not experiment with a compromise. For example, no dogs upstairs, in bedrooms or on furniture, or dogs mustn’t be left alone in the house at any time.
Simply by accepting dogs, you could open yourself up to a huge number of potential bookings. If you’re considering welcoming dogs to your property, click below.
Making your property dog friendly
7. Listen to your guests
They’ve experienced it first-hand and formed opinions, so pay close attention to your guests’ feedback! Take constructive comments into account – often any niggles they have will be simple to resolve and can be prevented from featuring in future reviews.
The difference between hotels and holiday lets is the level of customer service and the empathy of the owners and letting agent towards the guests. Guests will often realise this and may even appreciate that often, any niggles they find will be through no fault of you or us. Quick responses and resolutions are paramount to not only ensuring your guests enjoy their stay, but also to mitigating any chance of refund claims.
Remember that reviews are one of the ways guests decide between the options on their shortlists, so do all you can to encourage glowing comments. Even if something goes wrong, how you respond to that problem can easily turn a negative into a positive.
How to get good reviews
8. Drive customers to your property
With more and more bookings being secured online, a user-friendly website is essential. But that is only half the battle, you also need to break through the noise and be seen above the competition, by the right audience, at the right time. You can have the most intuitive website, but for conversions to happen you need to drive the right traffic to it - if people don’t know about your property, your booking sheet will be blank.
It’s very hard to achieve a good level of exposure without using a letting agent. Here at holidaycottages.co.uk, we have an expert Marketing team and an award-winning website, offering you the very best chance to showcase your property to potential guests.
Investing in PPC (pay-per-click) is a sure way to target the right customers and bring in new website visitors. However, by producing valuable content and marketing it effectively there is still ample opportunity to rank organically too. Our approach is to do both and to do it well.
For a free appraisal and to find out more about working with us, please get in touch with our friendly team today.
Get in touch
9. Hassle-free online owner accounts
At holidaycottages.co.uk, we work closely with our owners to make sure their ownership is simple and hassle-free. Every owner has access to an online account which enables them to easily review the financial performance of their property, manage their booking calendar and even access exclusive discounts we have negotiated with suppliers. From marketing your property to managing the entire booking process, our system takes care of your needs and can even automatically inform your caretaker and cleaner of each arrival, so you don’t have to.
Our property owners also benefit from our industry knowledge: we know what’s trending and when to capitalise on it. As an example, short breaks are an increasingly popular holiday choice and so, because of this, we are focused on ensuring our owners are informed and can take the necessary actions to secure bookings.
Let with us
We’re always on the search for new owners to let their properties, whatever the style and appeal.
With an exceptional team who are dedicated to showcasing your property to help maximise its true potential, you get a simple, stress-free and successful letting experience that delivers you a healthy return.
If you are considering letting your holiday home, then we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch and let us help you on your journey. Call 01237 459991 or send us a message.
You can also download a free letting guide.
Let with us