What would you expect to find/love to find in a holiday let?

[lifesabitchandthenyoudie]

We want to set up a small cottage quite near a beach, about mid-range. We want to make it friendly and homely, a nice space to 'get away from it all'. What are your essentials in a holiday let? What would you like to see more of? What small extra things would give you that 'special' feeling? Thanks!

We stayed near the beach in a cottage and loved the fact they had an outdoor shower to wash off sand, a washing pjs to hang wet things and a shed with some body boards for the sea and buckets/spades and sun umbrella - v handy!

Oh god last year went for a quiet girls weekend away, wanting to hole up somewhere cosy and watch our favourite shows.

Chose a place that not only advertised free wifi, but also a 'cinema room' with a projector.

Well we never got the projector to work. Connections were missing. The wifi signal was weak and when we contacted the host and he told us to reset the router we ended up with no internet for hours.

When it was finally connected and plugged in the chromecast to get watching, the TV had a separate audio system that was on the Fritz and the TV screen was going all wobbly.

When I messaged the host again to say that we'd planned on a relaxing weekend watching TV and movies, he said 'there are DVDs downstairs'. That was a 'super host' as well.

Don't be that host.

I misread that as "Would you expect to find love in a holiday let" 😀

Actually something that I always think would be more useful but rarely supplied - a few shelves in the bedroom and in the bathroom to hold things. So often you have a wardrobe and a chest of drawers in the bedroom but don’t actually need to unpack loads of stuff, but you do need surface space for lotions and potions, handbag, books etc

Similarly, I absolutely hate taking a wash bag in to the bathroom then there being nowhere to put it so you end up putting it on the floor or balanced on the cistern or behind the taps.

A bathroom shelf or two would be much appreciated (but possibly falls in to my own niche group itself)

OP no to cds and dvds, they’re utterly obsolete. Radio-meh, most people would just use Spotify. Bikes-obviously not, they’d be an insurance nightmare. Board games-only ones that you wouldn’t need to constantly replacing missing pieces.

As a nice-to-have I appreciate a travel cot and highchair - I can bring my own but it's convenient not to have to.

For me at the moment with young children, I only rent cottages with a washing machine - that might be less important later though.

Iron and ironing board.

Hooks on doors! Yes, absolutely.

A shelf or basket in the shower! So many places have nowhere to put your bottle of shampoo, shower gel, sponge, etc., in the shower cubicle.

And a big yes to hooks on the back of bathroom and bedroom doors for robes etc, plus hooks by the outside door for outside coats/jackets.

Some kind of tray just inside the outside doors so you've somewhere to put your muddy shoes/wellies, which makes the owner's cleaning easier too without mud trailed all over the floor. (Encourages you to change when you come in).

Love it..... I have a gîte and the list of things that may be expected here is astonishing.

One champagne glass per guest
Salad spinner

I have both a cafetière and a Nespresso machine and someone still wanted a filter coffee machine.

Loo roll
100% cotton bed linen & towels (viz. countless threads in here)

Perhaps all these marked please use & leave remainders for the next guest: Olive oil; Salt & pepper; Basic range of herbs

Twice the number of plates etc than people the house accommodates; ditto cutlery, glasses etc. There's nothing worse than having only 4 mugs for 4 people IYSWIM

Given the massive price hikes charged by holiday home owners in the past few years, it's really not surprising that guests have higher expectations these days. No such thing as a free lunch! It's a business, and the business owner has to make decisions as to how far they are willing to go to attract and keep their customers.

It's no surprise at all, that when we've looked on holiday home listing websites, the ones with most availability are the ones that look to be with the fewer facilities, fewer pictures, less detailed listings, dowdy looking furniture, less professional appearance, etc. It's people power in action.

Holiday home owners are in competition with each other, they can compete on price, facilities, quality, etc., - that's their choice. Repeat custom (and recommendations) is more important than ever now, due to the competition from both within the UK and now foreign holidays are back on the agenda) - it's far easier to keep an existing customer by providing a good service than getting a new customer, as happy repeat customers tend not to look at the competition (basic business economics 101).

You need an alcohol licence to leave wine. In practice I'm pretty sure not many are prosecuted but the letter of the law requires it.

I have two cottages in my garden and what people love is having a nice welcome pack- nearly all my reviews mention it. It doesnt have to be extravagant, just something that makes people feel welcome.

Do bear in mind that there is a huge over supply of holiday lets at the moment and decreased demand. In my village ( honey pot tourist destination) prices are being slashed to unbelievable levels.

Just keep in mind that you will never please every one of your guests! I stayed in a static caravan last month and felt it was brilliantly equipped - crockery, pans, cutlery, serving spoons, kettle, loo roll, towels, pillows etc etc. But someone on the review page criticised them for not having an air fryer ! I think that provided you detail exactly what is provided then guests can judge for themselves.

Agree with this. Whilst there are definitely different price points/ quality people look for, you are in competition with other holiday lets and with foreign holidays. Expectations are high and small/ inexpensive things can let you down. A lot of what is listed on this thread will help. Repeat customers and word of mouth takes time to build.

Your starting point before buying should definitely however be a well thought out budget. As well as the logistics as to how you are actually going to run it and make sure expectations are met.

After staying at an expensive, family sized U.K. seaside one that had no such thing, I’d say some means of drying beach towels - at the very least a large heated airer, if not a tumble dryer.

A salad spinner and one champaign glass per person is hardly asking too much is it? Both are pretty cheap. Neither would matter to me as I don't drink champagne and happy to wash salad under the tap.

Coffee machines are very personal. I'm not interested as I'm happy with a spoon of Nescafe or Kenco, and basically ignore any kind of coffee maker. But if it was important to me, it would influence my choice of holiday home. At the very least, I'd want to know what kind(s) of coffee machine was provided, so I could bring my own pods/packets, assuming you'd not be providing any. Although we have stayed in some holiday homes with coffee machines who have provided a small starter supply of pods, along with the normal provision of sachets of normal coffee, teabags, sugar, etc.

But providing a cafetiere is pretty simple and standard (and cheap to buy), akin with providing a tea pot really - I'd be surprised if a holiday home didn't come with a cafetiere and tea pot as basics. Pretty sure I've seen a cafetiere in most of the places we've stayed, even though we've never used one - it's just one of the many "normal" things in a kitchen that most people don't use, but are essentials to some, like garlic crushers, etc.

If you're going to promote your place for celebrations and holidays then flutes or coupes isn't unreasonable.

Sounds like a Hallmark movie.

Actually Netflix did one called 'Falling Inn Love' 😂

A bathroom shelf or two would be much appreciated (but possibly falls in to my own niche group itself)

Excellent point! I actually left that in my feedback of an Airbnb. Small shower with no shelves so I'd have to open the door to give me room to bend down to the shower floor to retrieve my things. Even if it's a big shower, I'm tall and don't want to be repeatedly bending down in the shower

I'd want it to be dog-free.

A smoothie-maker would be nice.

i have also been to places where there is no surface to slice a roll because coffee machine and juicer and whatever are provided and take up all the space. That’s more annoying !

I ran a holiday let. If you want ratings from the tourist board they have quite an extensive list of what you need to provide (egg cups, toast rack)!
I want: matching dinnerware that is not chipped.
Good quality silverware - not the lightweight stuff you get at a school cafeteria!
Enough pots and pans to make a meal - plus good knives, peeler, grater etc.
Washing up liquid and sponges.
If you have a dishwasher/washing machine enough powder to do a couple washes.
The basics: salt, pepper, sugar, tea. Cooking oil wood be nice.
Good quality bed linen (and mattress covers and pillow protectors).
A decent shower.
Furniture that is not out of an old people's home (you know what I mean).
Good quality mattress.
TV - not just terrestrial but Sky (or similar).
Internet with the password clear - do not ask me to find the router.
A few board games.
A few brochures/map of the area.
I would want to know any peculiarities- last one I stayed in had a low beam right across the kitchen, if I'd known I would not have booked.
Extras: flowers, homemade cake or similar on arrival.
And lastly, LEAVE ME ALONE!!

Clean/newish pillows. I've stayed in several places that have lovely clean cotton bedlinen but the pillows are clearly ancient.

Pillows are washable and not expensive to replace. Old ones are grim.

Currently staying in a self catering cottage and there are the current bug bears of mine:

• beds - if the room has the space, get the biggest bed you can, with no footboard. My husband is 6’4” and I’m 7 months pregnant. The bed is advertised as king but is definitely no more than a double. We’re sleeping terribly as we have a super king at home. I’ve stayed in so many places that have decent size bedrooms but beds that are too small.
• bedding - ideally 100% cotton. I get that it’s more of a faff to clean etc but polycotton just feels quite cheap
• if you have more bedrooms than guests, make up all the beds. If you’re travelling with young children, you often end up playing musical beds or if one of you isn’t feeling well/snoring etc at least you can go into another room.
• towels - make sure if you’re providing towels, they’re soft. The ones at our place are so scratchy.
• knives - decent, sharp kitchen knives.
• tv - instructions how to access the tv/Netflix etc.
• spotless bathroom- so many places I e stayed have been clean, but the grout/sealant has been mouldy. If it’s the case, get it replaced.
• small children - ideally a highchair (the ikea ones can be stored to not take up too much room); if providing a travel cot, specify if it’s a full size cot or a smaller travel one; plastic cutlery/plates/cups.
• inventory - provide a full list of what is/isn’t included in advance. Basics like salt/pepper (in grinders, not the powdery stuff), cleaning products for the stay (it’s always a bit cheap if you only provide a couple of dishwasher tablets and a tiny amount of fairy liquid).