Holiday cottage owners - things I would like pls!

[EinsteinaGogo]

Hi everyone,

There have been a few posts from holiday cottage owners recently (which makes sense, due to situation).

I'm browsing holiday cottages / lodges in Suffolk for between Christmas and New Year, and I'm pondering my 'must haves'.

Obviously, everyone has their own 'must haves'. In our case, we only go out for a few hours a day. the rest of the time we spend In the cottage.
so my must haves are:

Excellent wifi
Good sized Smart TV with Netflix at a minimum, ideally Amazon and ability to have other apps
King sized bed

There are so few places that have smart TVs -
I'm actually thinking about bringing one! And so many places only have a double bed. My DH is 6'4". Double beds mean rubbish sleep for us.

Renters: what are your must haves?
And owners - can you get me smart tv and massive bed pls?!

I won't book anywhere with a 10:00am check out, I'll happily arrive @16:00 to allow for the cleaning. 11:00 is perfectly acceptable, 12:00 is my preference.

@Playingchesswithpigeons

I won't book anywhere with a 10:00am check out, I'll happily arrive *@16*:00 to allow for the cleaning. 11:00 is perfectly acceptable, 12:00 is my preference.

We've just had our times changed for holiday cottage booked for next month.

From 4pm/10am to 5pm/9am. It's only an hour either side but 9am is a pain.

Must be immaculate.
Minimum of King-size bed, but ideally Super King.
Top quality mattresses, pillows and bedding.
Good quality towels and plenty of them.
A few decent cleaning products, plenty of dishwasher tablets and new dishcloths.
Plenty of good quality cutlery, especially teaspoons, and ideally a decent cafetiere.

We are going off later in the year and I have finally tracked down (bit of an amateur site) that we can get in at 3pm and don't have to leave until 10am.

Now I am panicking a bit, it's a large house with lots of bedrooms because it was all we could get at the end of September that looked fairly decent.

I wouldn't have expected to be able to get in at 3 at any time but during this pandemic I was sure it would be 7. I didn't really mind that as we aren't going that far but how on earth will be it be properly cleaned in that short time.

It's booked the week before as well so there will definitely be somebody in there before us and possibly as many as 10 people.

We've already paid in full.

Kitchen inventory so I know what I have to bring.

Sharp kitchen knives (although this seems to be an impossible ask!).

King size bed with a good mattress
At least one sharp knife
Good range of pans and baking trays.
Comfy seating, enough for all guests
( amazing how many places don’t have this)
Outside space of some kind
Info about local area
WiFi

A showerhead you can lift off the cradle to rinse your bits.
A shelf/ledge/basket so toiletries are within easy reach.

@Springcatkin

Finally finished it here Any comments on how the make it more appealing / anything we need to add? Have got 12 plates, cutlery etc, pans plus large wok and frying pan, loads of mugs in various sizes, casserole dishes and storage boxes.

Not sure why you have included a picture of the ceiling lights but not of the third bedroom?

Kitchen and bathroom looks lovely

Pictures will make or break your listing. I had a professional photographer come and take them for my holiday rental and he got some great shots from angles I wouldn’t have considered. Consider joining the laymyhat forum for tips and advice

• large bed, king or super king
• no pets
• synthetic bedding
• matress covers
• dishwasher
• cleaning service
• proper hot water that doesn't need an engineering degree to get going

Ooh I have one to add (and it's not one of the 'must have a salad spinner' types either):
If you don't allow children under a certain age, please consider saying WHY in the listing.

We've booked two cottages in the past that said no children, but when we called the agent/owner, they said it was no babies or no toddlers as there wasn't an enclosed garden/steep steps etc.

Then I found the perfect cottage last year - but no under 8's allowed - no budging on this, and no explanation. There was nothing in the listing to suggest why - no obvious dangers, and frankly, the response to my polite enquiry as to whether DD was banned responsible enough to not wreck their cottage, was fucking terse. No idea why a child of 8 years is allowed but one of seven years and eleven months would be verboten. Is there a magic change that happens on one's eighth birthday?

Since it appears to sometimes be much more of an advisory, I will always ask unless you explain WHY you have placed a restriction.

@HereBeFuckery

Ooh I have one to add (and it's not one of the 'must have a salad spinner' types either): If you don't allow children under a certain age, please consider saying WHY in the listing.

We've booked two cottages in the past that said no children, but when we called the agent/owner, they said it was no babies or no toddlers as there wasn't an enclosed garden/steep steps etc.

Then I found the perfect cottage last year - but no under 8's allowed - no budging on this, and no explanation. There was nothing in the listing to suggest why - no obvious dangers, and frankly, the response to my polite enquiry as to whether DD was banned responsible enough to not wreck their cottage, was fucking terse. No idea why a child of 8 years is allowed but one of seven years and eleven months would be verboten. Is there a magic change that happens on one's eighth birthday?

Since it appears to sometimes be much more of an advisory, I will always ask unless you explain WHY you have placed a restriction.

Maybe because they just don’t want to. It’s generally pretty pointless saying why as the parent will then argue that it shouldn’t apply to their child because ....... (insert reason). They end up in a pointless dialogue and both sides feel aggrieved.

My heart sinks if we get a family with under 8s as I know we’ll have to allocate extra time for repairs or extra cleaning. Sanding red felt pen out of the coffee table and refinishing is not part of the usual changeover routine. Sometimes that extra time isn’t needed. Usually it is.

Freezer! 🍦 and ice cubes 🧊 a must!

Fucking pint glasses!
In the summer I want a pint of water to drink, not 3 trips to the kitchen with a thimble full of water.
Also more than one dishwasher tablet for the week and toilet rolls. If I’m going to steal 3p worth of dishwashing tablets you have more to worry about.

Having just come back from a cottage rental......

Bottom sheet that actually fits the bed and doesn’t need sorting out every day. Fitted sheets were invented for a reason

*We are going off later in the year and I have finally tracked down (bit of an amateur site) that we can get in at 3pm and don't have to leave until 10am.

Now I am panicking a bit, it's a large house with lots of bedrooms because it was all we could get at the end of September that looked fairly decent.

I wouldn't have expected to be able to get in at 3 at any time but during this pandemic I was sure it would be 7. I didn't really mind that as we aren't going that far but how on earth will be it be properly cleaned in that short time*

I look after a 4 bed, 3 bathroom property. My student DS helps me: we have from 10am - 4pm and it takes us 8-9 hours between us. I imagine a house that size will have a team of people - don't worry! All cleaning guidelines have been updated to reflect Covid requirements.

@MuseumOfYou

*We are going off later in the year and I have finally tracked down (bit of an amateur site) that we can get in at 3pm and don't have to leave until 10am.

Now I am panicking a bit, it's a large house with lots of bedrooms because it was all we could get at the end of September that looked fairly decent.

I wouldn't have expected to be able to get in at 3 at any time but during this pandemic I was sure it would be 7. I didn't really mind that as we aren't going that far but how on earth will be it be properly cleaned in that short time*

I look after a 4 bed, 3 bathroom property. My student DS helps me: we have from 10am - 4pm and it takes us 8-9 hours between us. I imagine a house that size will have a team of people - don't worry! All cleaning guidelines have been updated to reflect Covid requirements.

Ask them.

I couldn't do a turnaround in that time even without Covid. It leaves no margin for the previous guests leaving the place filthy and extra basic cleaning to be done.

it may be that they are leaving 3 days between bookings in which case the cleaning doesn't have to be anything more than usual.

Fast wifi.
Well stocked bookcase and interesting, recent magazines.
Really nice wine and mixer glasses for evenings.
Decent, plain, cotton bedding.
An area inside the door for muddy boots, coats and umbrellas.
Dishwasher and a supply of dishwasher tablets.
Easy parking.
And, if I’m being really picky, under floor heating in the bathroom.

A big enough dining table and enough chairs to accommodate the maximum number of occupants!
We were looking at larger places to accommodate 2 families and grandparents- so 11 of us.

Could find places with enough bedrooms/bathrooms but all had a table and chairs to accommodate no more than 8, the other 3 were expected to sit at the breakfast bar!

@BeeTrees

Fucking pint glasses! In the summer I want a pint of water to drink, not 3 trips to the kitchen with a thimble full of water. Also more than one dishwasher tablet for the week and toilet rolls. If I’m going to steal 3p worth of dishwashing tablets you have more to worry about.

Yes, this!

So many of mine have been mentioned numerous times. One I'd like to particularly mention though is a duvet suitable for the season I'm staying in. I don't want to bake to death under a 13.5 tog duvet in the summer, thanks all the same. It's grim. Surely it can't cost that much to have suitable duvets on each bed (and if you can't afford it, I'd say you're in the wrong business)?

A tumble dryer or at least a heated airer, esp.if it’s a family place near the sea.

A king size bed - I won’t book anywhere without - and I don’t understand owners who are too stingy to provide them if there’s room.

A choice of duvets - I.e. summer and winter weights, not just one ancient old all-purpose, please.

Proper bedside lights for reading in bed, one each side of a double or king size - and not those things fixed to the wall that you can’t angle, and that don’t always work independently.

Enough space in bathrooms for toiletries. It’s amazing how many places have so little.

Oh and proper mugs! Not tea cups or those mug-cups you get in supermarket cafes.

Ironing board and Iron for me! Sounds dull but I really hate crumpled clothes from my suitcase when I want to go out to a restaurant/nice day out. I also really appreciate washing machine and airers because I like to do a wash at the end of the week so I don't bring home bags full of dirty clothes.

Weird one most people seem to miss out is a dish drying rack. So many places we go on holiday and there's no where to leave plates to dry!

(My holidays don't centre around cleaning, I promise!)

One for the hosts. Have a google for Touch Stay. And online guest book. I'm bloody loving it. You can add al of these details that come up here - house contents, recycling details, links to local butchers shops etc. All in a pretty online mobile friendly tool. Not personally invested at all. Just set my own up and I'm loving it.

Yes - I'm loving TouchStay too.

We've been using it since July and it's great for telling our guests the latest on which pubs and restaurants are doing Covid takeaways as well as reminding them of the local Welsh covid rules ( which are different from England).

King size bed,
Dishwasher
Washer/Dryer.

Having said that...

Our last holiday was on a farm that didn't have any of the above, and it was bloody brilliant!

No TV reception, limited wind turbine electricity, just booze, bored games and an open fire. And the kids were off feeding the livestock each evening, it was awesome!