To ask you how you go about choosing a holiday cottage?

[Movinghouseatlast]

My disclaimer is that I am setting one up! It is an annexe attached to my house.

There seems to be so much choice of area I don't know how anyone makes a decision!

So do you pick a general area, or a specific place? Eg Cornwall, or a specific village.

In terms of cottage companies, do you stick with one and look at every suitable property? Or look at loads of companies?

Is price most important? Or a view? Or the interior?

Mine is very high end (luxury dare I say) inside, big log burner, massive furnished terrace but we don't have a sea view. Next door has a sea view, but is very basic (but lovely) inside. We are more expensive as I have compared our house with nearby ones with similar interiors and facilities.

Is it important to you to be able to walk to a village/pub/beach? You can from ours, but some of the most popular cottages in my area are a drive from anywhere at all. Yet they are expensive and booked all year round- and don't have additional facilities to mine.

I am.just trying to get my head round it all. I want to get my pricing right and give people a fab experience.

Thanks.

In order of importance - for a couple looking for a high end cottage (rather than family)

WiFi
Size of bed - must be a large double
Bath as well as shower
Privacy - a welcome from the owner is nice, but we don't want daily visits!
Walking distance of a pub with food
Easy parking

Must be scrupulously clean, though that's hard to tell at time of choice. Agree with others, I expect to leave the cottage tidy, but not clean it before leaving - this is a holiday!

Views are nice, but so long as it's in a good area we can go out to find them.
Little surprises that make you feel special are nice too - biscuits or flowers.

For me the first thing is access, so no stairs and close parking, a reserved space or drive is best.

A dishwasher is useful, most people have enough clothes for a holiday but everyone has washing up.

Close to a pub or restaurant is ideal but not a deal breaker.

Wifi is something I want but again not a deal breaker.

I like to have some information eg local take away menu although this is not necessary if you have wi fi. Local knowledge is priceless eg which cafe has high chairs, which pub has accessible toilets/good food/ or is the local biker bar. And definitely the local non supermarket shops.

Salt, pepper and vinegar, they can be a hassle to bring from home.

More than one plate / glass / mug / cutlery per person.

I Google it.

Lòok for:
Wi-Fi
Lots of pictures.
Bath shower
Beds
Lounge nice seating

Not overlooked
Safe parking
Nice secluded spot but don't worry it's just a such and such walk/car to ur nearest pub and good shop
lovely restaurant is such and such...away
Nice walk are ...
Beach is....
Plenty to do for kids list(be on hand or leave brochures)
Hamper on arrival for ur first cup of tea and toast.
Additional food bought for arrival if requested is lovely extra.
Tv.dvd
Do u include bedding towels.
Mention log burner.

Everyone is different.

Essentials for us are: parking, good WIFI throughout ALL rooms, dishwasher, washing machine, close to good roads, close to a fairly large town for restaurants/shopping, close to attractions/amenities, at least 2 bath/shower rooms, at least 2 bedrooms (no bunk beds). Well fitted kitchen (decent spec appliances, toaster, kettle, plenty of decent crockery & cutlery). Pets NOT allowed. Clean, simple, modern furniture and fittings. NOT your old stuff, your grandma's china, your aunty's sideboard, mismatched crockery etc. We look for a "hotel" style experience so quality, clean and simple is our aim.

Quality photos of ALL rooms essential as is a full description of the property and its contents. We don't want to "guess" at what is provided nor have to email back and forth asking questions.

As for how we find them, we just do lots of googling, we search for privately advertised ones, and also use the main directories/listings such as cottages4u, holiday rental sites, etc. Not keen on Air BNB and only look there as a last resort if we can't find anything else (bad past experiences). We prefer to book and pay online, so an online availability calendar and book/pay options on your website are essential for us. We'll only phone/email as a last resort if we can't find anywhere else.

Finally, sorry, but we'd be put off by being in an annex to your home. We have, in the past, been close to the owner, such as in a converted barn next to a farmhouse, or a semi-detached house where the owner lives next door, and had bad experiences of "pushy" owners being far too interfering and friendly for our likes. If we want to become part of your family, we'd just stay in a family B&B - we want our own property and prefer to just pick up the keys from an agent, or even better, from a combination lock key box outside the property.

Oh and kingsize beds for couples! Preferably superking. Best is where you have 2 singles that can link together, and are given a choice between having them made up as twins or as a superking.

Standard doubles (or the dreaded "small double" are just not nearly as good. DP and I are both a bit podgy (not obese by any means, in fact about average for the porky UK population these days) and need space.

Similarly I would appreciate bedding choices - thinner duvet, thicker duvet, blanket - so I don't end up too hot or too cold. Surprisingly few places do this.

If I can't sleep comfortably then I wouldn't come back.

Oh and has to be clean.like stupidly so I'm afraid.

Forgot to answer your question about being able to walk to pubs etc. My absolutely ideal cottage would have this, but other things are more important.

I do find some of the cottages that make their bedrooms etc look like hotel rooms are over priced. Yes they look a bit smarter, but it is not important enough to pay a lot more for. Far more important is hotel levels of cleanliness.

Also you mention your massive furnished terrace looking over fields. This is not somewhere where I would be spending masses of time. Last cottage I booked last year had a garden overlooking the sea. It was an added extra. After being out for the day walking or exploring, I would sit out there with a glass of wine. But very few people are going to want to spend all day on a terrace looking at some fields in Britain. So don't over rate the importance of this to guests.

Also I choose a specific area. I doubt few people care about a specific village unless there is something very special about that village. Most people will be out exploring, not spending the whole week in the village. It is very different to living somewhere.

Agree that parking is crucial and I do like decent wi-fi.

We have been looking at holiday cottages and so many are to be honest totally shit. I don't want to pay over the odds to stay in a place which has been furnished with dead grandmothers furniture from 80's, with nasty looking duvets on a double bed. I don't get how anything "nice/normal" is considered luxury. Decent places want a fortune for just having clean decoration and furniture. Accommodation is a rip off I this country, hence why I gave up looking.

Given that your location is fixed, I'm guessing you want to know how people choose their cottage based on the advertising.

We will happily book through local cottage websites as well as the big names, and in fact are more likely to book through regional sites that cover just one or 2 counties, if thats the area we've decided we fancy. If we like the look of somewhere on one of the holiday cottage sites, I always then look to see if the cottage has it's own website that may give more or different information. I will book through either site.

The critical things for us are number of bedrooms, parking, wifi, dishwasher, washing machine. Then we look at distance from town/village/beach etc. If any of these are walkable it's good. We don't mind driving, but as kids are now teenagers it's good if they can get out and about on their own if they want to. When kids were younger, a play area on site was essential, even if just swings, a slide, a small climbing frame. We like towels to be provided, electricity/gas to be included (so no unexpected costs). We like LOTS of photos of the place we'd be staying, and any areas we are able to use. We like there to be books/games/jigsaws etc, for all the times we are in the cottage and just wanting to relax. This sort of thing is good to get the kids involved too so is appreciated.

We also like times/distances to nearby places of interest - so give ideas of what activities/attractions (major and minor) people could visit or do while they are there. Include things like the local sports centre as well as tourist attractions. If there are good walks/cycle routes accessible from the cottage, tell us about them, again with times/distances. Great if these vary from easy 1-2 mile strolls, to more long distance, strenuous efforts. Make sure you also tell us about the local town/village. Is there a nice tea room/bookshop/viewpoint/whatever(!)? Is it walkable? Basically the more information the better, as it gives us more confidence when booking that if we didn't fancy driving one day, for instance, that we could amble around locally and have something that we could aim for and not be bored.

Hope this all helps!

Decent sized bed. We have a superking at home, and so many cottages just have a double. We know we wouldn't be comfortable and wouldn't sleep, so we just don't book those ones.

Comfy living room furniture - not single armchairs that look stiff and straight backed.

Parking.

Location - near sea/good walking country/historic town or village. Good places to eat. Quiet location. Clean & comfortable (not bothered about thread count or high end furniture), efficient heating. Would do shopping beforehand so no need to be near supermarket etc. Would do price comparison with other cottages in the area which also fulfilled the criteria.

We have a holiday let. Its also annexed to our home.

We let via own website and booking.com. I think Most people book via booking.com as its easy to just type in area, requirements and then a selection comes up for you. We find first time guests predominately book via their, and then returning guests book direct. Booking.com takes up to 20% of fee.

But yes, just highlight what you do have. Ie we do have a view, so thats our push. But we don't have an en suite so that isn't.

Ours is also 'luxury' type I guess. Its a 2 bedroom place, but around 80% who stay only use 1. Main guests are couples, couple with small baby in cot, or a single person looking to stay and work at the same time (they are the best as book longer stays and just require peace and wifi)

General area. Whether it accepts dogs. Whether it has a properly secure garden. Whether it has silly rules about dogs only in the kitchen.

Once we've established that our entire family will be welcome, our only real requirements are a shower, a washing machine and a place that looks generally clean and cosy. A walkable pub with vegetarian options is a bonus, as is a corner shop to grab basics, but we can live without either as long as we can take our dog!

For us it's wifi, king size bed, bath (not just shower), walking distance to places to eat out. We're not bothered about parking, washing machine or dishwasher as we take our washing home and never cook on holiday.

When booking we look firstly for...

Location - we usually pick a particular town where we want to visit first and base our search on this.
Sleeping arrangements - We're a couple with a teenage DS so need two separate bedrooms (not a sofa bed)
Wifi - Teenage DS, need I say more!
Parking - The property having its own space is great but happy to go with free permit parking or plentiful (free) street parking if its a central location.
Proximity to pubs, shops - not so essential for DH and me but DS likes to do his own thing.

Bonus points go for a sea view!

Thanks all!

It seems us living next door might be off putting to some! I certainly don't plan to chum up with people, and will leave them.alone unless they need something. It is hard to get that across though in our listing.

It's interesting that so few people have mentioned a sea view as important.

Most other things you all mention we have, including a shed load of plates!

I am doing Air BnB. But am considering a cottage company instead.

Oh, and wi-fi. We stayed in a cottage without wi-fi in North Wales, thought 'lovely - get away from all that crap', and then found ourselves struggling to look up opening times, places to eat etc. and having to drive miles to get a data connection on my phone.

Sorry, forgot to mention price. We will (and have) pay reasonably more for exactly what we want. If there are 2 properties on our short list, one a hundred or two more expensive than the other, but their website showing better pictures giving us confidence as to standards of furnishings & cleanliness, mentioning a washing machine, promising bigger beds, easier online booking, etc., then I'd go for the higher priced one. I'm not so price sensitive to go for the cheapest and risk not getting what I want or the booking booking being a hassle.

But yes, prices are ridiculously varied and sometimes seems no more than a "finger in the air" guess by the owner. I think you'll find there are two broad categories of people - those who just want the cheapest and aren't fussy about what they get, and those who are fussy and willing to pay a premium. Which will be more successful for you depends on your location, local competition, property size, etc. I think you just have to start off in the middle ground and see how it works out - if you get a lot of bookings you're probably too cheap, if you don't get many, probably too expensive.

Hooks on doors for coats, dressing gowns etc.
Plenty of hangers in wardrobes.
A well equipped kitchen that means you don't have to wash up every time you need a cup of tea.
Pint glasses and decent sized wine glasses.
And if you expect me to bring loo roll, hand soap, kitchen cloths, washing up liquid and dishwasher tabs I don't mind in the slightest but PLEASE TELL ME!

Strawberrytraveller, do you think the annexe thing is ok then? I assume so.

Do you have any tips for privacy? Try as I might (and despite a huge 7 foot fence between the 2) they will sometimes see us, as the gardens are terraced.

I find all the cottages that fit our requirements as to number/configuration of bedrooms, general location, and vicinity to tourist attractions that we might like, all within our budget.

Then I might have a short list of several that would be suitable.
I narrow this down by the photos. I like a more modern look, the more luxurious for the price, the better. So now I might have a clear favourite or there might be a couple that I like.

I then look at the reviews to confirm my favorite or choose between my top two or three. Nice touches like leaving a bottle of wine or flowers always make a review more pleasing, as does clean and lived up to expectations. A few negatives/ niggles isn't a problem as long as the review also says that the owner did their best to rectify them.

Tbh though it's the photos that sell a particular place to me - as long as it fits my requirements in my budget.

I understand a cottage is a cottage and not a hotel, but look for a nice atmosphere and attention to detail regarding comfort. I don't care about pictures or nicknacks and would rather not see clutter. Off road parking would be essential.

The last property we rented had the owners living next door and they got on with their lives, were very discreet and we had no impression they were watching us. We are organised and research the area beforehand, look at tripadvisor and always bring our own bedding so yours will be put away in a cupboard.

We decide on the area we want to stay in, and then look for a cottage that has:

Parking
WiFi
TV/DVD player
Log burner
Dishwasher
Washing machine
Two bedrooms
Preferably centrally located
Towels provided
No stupid rules about cleaning - obviously, we expect to empty the bins, ensure reasonable levels of tidiness etc, but we're on holiday and it's hard enough to vacate by 10 am without the prospect of a white glove test.

If all of these are met, the next consideration would probably be price (although we know you have to pay for what you get!). Your being next door wouldn't necessarily put us off, but in a tie-breaker situation I'd probably go for the one where the owners didn't live next door, in all fairness.

OP if you are advertising through air bnb you need to be cheaper than comparable cottages with companies. People who book through companies pay a premium for the assurance that the company are there to sort out any issues that arise. People booking direct through air bnb are looking for a bargain.

For us:

Off street parking
Dog friendly, dogs allowed and secure outside space for them
Safe scenic walks from doorstep, be that countryside or beach/ seaside
Pub within 10 min safe walk, ditto village and village shop
View not compulsory but nice to have
On a bus route to further afield again a nice to have
Wi-fi