With a growing number of holidaymakers choosing to take self-catering breaks, the holiday letting sector is a rapidly expanding business area.
The experts at HomeAway.co.uk have the following tips and tricks for owners looking to rent out their holiday home:
- Don’t price yourself out of the market
Make sure you research the rental price of comparable properties and alternative accommodation in the area.
- Don’t furnish for you
Your property is a business, so keep furnishings simple, avoid clutter and remove personal items. Ensure the property meets health and safety requirements, and consider what practical items guests can expect.
- Don’t leave bookings to chance
Having your own website is great, but the competition can be tough. Using a reputable holiday rental website, like HomeAway.co.uk, can be a cost-effective way to get exposure to millions of travellers and manage booking enquiries. Great photos and truthful descriptions are vital, as is correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Selling the dream is important and photos are a great away of doing this.
- Don’t scrimp - have a local representative
If you don’t live nearby, invest in having someone on hand locally who can ‘meet and greet’ your guests. Having someone to deal with problems immediately, such as a cleaner and handyman, can be invaluable.
- Don’t forget to cover yourself
Firstly, ensure you are allowed to let your property on a short-term basis and that you understand applicable taxation laws, as you must declare income earned from holiday lets. You also need holiday rental liability insurance and ideally a booking contract to confirm details of the reservation, deposit/refund/cancellation policies and terms and conditions of tenancy.
For more information about renting out your holiday home, visit the HomeAway.co.uk owner resources page.
Comments:
| Comment | Date | User |
| I agree with using a reputable website like home away. Has anyone else had a bad experience of Spain rentals by owner? I signed up and paid for 2 years listing 2 months ago and have not heard a thing since despite emailing them several times- very disappointing!
| 5/5/2014 8:39:07 PM | Lyndie |
| I paid last November and nothing happened till the 1st January, and the web page photos and write up needed tweeking you have to do a lot of work yourself on the write up and guide to the area take more photo's than you need and check others pricing in the area. Lots of promotions as it can go quiet with no or few enquiries so also consider other advertising . | 5/11/2014 9:18:56 AM | poldark |
| I've rented many different places over the years and mileage obviously does vary. I rented twice with Interhome and to be honest, I wasn't too impressed at the service. Once I had to go to Benidorm to pick up the keys, which is a long way out for me, only to discover the office was closed despite me having clearly stated the time I would be there in several different mails and hearing nothing to the contrary. I waited there for ages and nobody turned up and finally phoned and they sent somebody along and all was fine after that. The appartments themselves were good. I later switched to renting from a local agency, Exclusive Rentals in Campello. They were really great. They took the time to show us the apprtment, gave us a bottle of wine as a welcome, and on one occasion when a kitchen item broke we phoned them and they brought us a replacement within the half hour. They were also always totally straight with us in their descriptions of the properties and also talking to us and if something was less than excellent they were honest about it up front rather than trying to exaggerate everything and make it seem greater than it was. I no longer rent now as I have a property of my own, but definitely recommend these guys. | 6/12/2015 11:16:04 AM | amogles |