If you run your own holiday let in Edinburgh or are thinking of converting your flat into a holiday let, or even your spare room into a short stay option then please read on! I have been running my own holiday lets for a number of years, and last year, went professional with it, managing the turnarounds of 14 festival lets as well as working with my business partner to manage the bookings and enquiries for 10 of them. We thought we would pull a list together of top tips and things to avoid to ensure your holiday/festival let is profitable and not just a drain on time and enthusiasm!
- Understand your costs (both time and money): You can do your own cleaning and laundry and it will save you money, but it will eat away at your time. Even taking your laundry to the cleaners will eat away at your time. Understand these costs and work out the best way you can minimise your time investment while keeping your spending under control.
- Presentation is everything: Having a good finish to your cleaning and linen is important. Guests will make a snap decision, and the initial presentation is key. We do suggest that linen is ironed, rather than just washed and dried. It is so obvious and can reduce the impact of a well presented room.
- Welcome pack – don’t waste money on it. Making sure there is tea, coffee, sugar and milk is good, but there is no need to spend on anything else for the flat. Guests know they are coming to self-catering, so they expect to ‘self-cater’ don’t waste money second guessing what they want.
- Minimum nights – We suggest a 3-night minimum stay, however there are occasions when we will open up for one or 2-night stays. If you do this, you must factor in the cost of your time and service. This is about the bottom line, so one night stays should cost significantly more than a 2 or 3 night stay.
- Stick to your guns – don’t be tempted to squeeze another guest in on a blow up bed, or to run around sorting out special requests. If you have said yes to a request on booking, the guest doesn’t know you are going out of your way, and if, what you provide, is below standard (ie blow up bed, rather than actual bed) you will be penalised in the review.
- Meet & Greet – try to meet and greet your guests if you can, although this is time consuming, you have the opportunity to make them feel welcome and offer the insiders knowledge to the wonderful city. Also, you can spot any rather unfortunate circumstances before they arise! However this can also be a time-sapping element to the holiday let business. Try to keep in regular contact with your guests at arrival time to prevent hours of waiting around!
- Preparation – before the season starts, make sure your property is well maintained. Get the showers and baths re-sealed, replace the light bulbs, clear out your clutter, and make the space look like it can be the guests when they arrive.
- Power team – have a team around you that you can call on when needed. You have no idea what the cleaners are going to find when they come in at the turnaround, so have a handy man and spare linen ready to be used.
- Safety and compliance – while the legislation is a little vague for holiday lets, best practice would suggest that your holiday let has at least the standards of a long term let in terms of safety compliance. This includes annual gas safety checks, appropriate heat, smoke and CO alarms, PAT and Electrical installation checks, fire safety precautions and first aid kits. Keeping your property properly maintained and repairing those quirky loose fixtures is also advisable.
- Property guide – to reduce those phone calls and messages, we recommend a property guide with clear instructions on how to work the heating, TV, the wifi code, where you put the rubbish, the nearest bus stop, good takeaways, nearest supermarket, where to park etc etc, the list goes on, but it really helps to reduce call outs if you provide good clear instructions to the guests so they can get on with having a thoroughly great and comfortable time in your property!
If you run your own holiday let or are thinking of setting up, and you would like some help or cover when you are away on holiday or feeling overwhelmed with juggling all your other commitments please do give us a call. We can provide a range of services, or support to help you benefit financially from your property all year around, or just over the busy summer months. Happy Hosting!
