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.

Waris, difficult as I live there!

Our annex is really totally separate, more like a semi detached cottage. So I think maybe I shouldn't use the word annex, as it conjures up something that it isn't in peoples minds!

I'd also be put off by being in an annex, but there's nothing you can do about that! However, if you can make it clear in your advertising somehow that guests will have complete privacy, that should help. Things like having a lock box for the keys so they don't have to pick them up from you, for example, will reinforce the idea of no interference from the owner!

After having a very bad experience through owners direct, I now only book through high end well established holiday lettings agents with a great reputation. I look for a clean, luxurious and hotel feel. Not full of clutter. I do like a view as, after a long morning walk and pub lunch I like to spend afternoons reading with a glass of wine and looking at a nice view.

A local pub with good food is important, and information about local walks and attractions are very welcome. I stayed in a place last year with a mud room/utility room by the front door and it was soooo handy coming in from long hikes with the dog! It meant we could really easily keep the rest of the house nice and clean.

Location is important to us
Then size
We’ll first look at previously used holiday letting companies if had good experience in past. If had poor / unprofessional experience I never go back to them
If a new company then high quality website and photos important
Parking
WiFi
King size beds for adults
Fairly high end, I want to stay somewhere as nice or nicer than my own home
Towels and linen provided
If staying 2 weeks they should offer a clean plus change of towels and bed linen after 1 week
No chintz or personal possessions on display
No giant throws covering sofas (looks like student home)
Modern kitchen and bathroom with ample new equipment
Enough seating, looks comfortable
None of this do your own cleaning nonsense

Books, games are nice but not essential

And if you're providing them, make sure they're complete/working. Nothing worse than setting up a game/jigsaw to find missing pieces. Very disappointing for a young kid to see a games console but then find there are no suitable games to play. Same with a DVD player and only having adult films or a book-shelf with only romantic novels! Yes, these are small/irrelevant things, but all part of the overall experience, and helps to secure long term repeat business.

Yes, I know I go on about small detail and repeat business, but it's the repeat customers that any business needs - a repeat customer is easier to attract as you're already one step ahead of competition and can also charge more (as repeat customers won't be randomly searching out other alternatives). We go back to the same properties regularly, both here and abroad (we use holiday homes approx 4/5 times per year and usually 1 or 2 of those will be back to one we've used previously).

Agree with no throws covering sofas and it amazes me the amount of otherwise decent cottages that have conservatory style furniture in the lounge, or very basic table with stools in the dining room. I want proper sofas and a proper table with chairs. These things are not that expensive.

Adjoining with private outdoor space is fine.

I also check the type of heating. We stayed in one a couple of years ago with solid fuel and it was a nuisance. The owner who lived next door wanted to keep coming in to check it/ put things on it.

Our annex is really totally separate, more like a semi detached cottage. So I think maybe I shouldn't use the word annex, as it conjures up something that it isn't in peoples minds!

If it looks completely separate (and feels separate if you're in it), then don't mention it as an annex. In fact, don't even mention you live next door. The suggestion above about a keybox for key collection/drop off, is also good to give the impression of not living so close. If you can set it up so that you don't need "personal" contact and the occupants don't know the owners live next door, then all the better. Obviously, I'm not saying to lie about it, but keeping a little anonymity and distance isn't a bad thing until you actually need to make an appearance.

Talk to some of the agencies that do holiday let's. Look at their brochures. Some are more upmarket than others. They will advise you in the hope you use them to advertise and maybe manage your property for a fee.

The annexe would put me off - is it attached to your property?

I go away each year with a group of friends. We look for
Clean
Parking
WiFi
A good layout of bedrooms
Enough glasses and bin bags.
Dishwasher
Not fussed about kitchen stuff- I don't go on holiday to cook!

I think you need to advertise to the right people. You don't suit everybody, so choose who you want to attract and appeal to them

Dog friendly - secure garden
Children friendly - high chairs/cots/twin rooms
Adults break - luxury/log burner/board games/big king size beds

Welcome basket of tea/coffee/homemade local cakes is a nice touch
Wi-Fi
Parking
If it's pet-friendly then a secure gate/fence
A book for guests to leave tips for other guests
Local information - bus routes, taxi companies, walks, pubs
A space to leave muddy boots, bikes etc/clean muddy dogs

Oh and our annexed 'cottage', we don't advertise it as a cottage. Its listed as a 2 storey apartment. That way there's no confusion over the fact its attached.

Oh and I don't even look at air bnb. I don't agree with the way they do their fees and extras such as £60 cleaning and they certainly don't scream out luxury. I would google country cottage to sleep 8 in Dorset for example.

A non annex/ shared property would be a must. Sorry.

Then location( best place within the area to access everything we want).

Character.

I wouldn’t even want to share a garden.

Tobykins

I've stayed in several places with stair gates.

Second whoever just mentioned kitchen cupboards with no room left to put your own food. This is so common!

Sadly, also common are cupboards/drawers filled with previous occupants' partially used packets of food, or tins which are often out of date, they've been there so long. Really, no one is ever going to finish off a half empty packet of corn flakes or spaghetti, drink from an opened bottle of milk or orange juice in the fridge, or open a tin of prunes with a 2009 sell by date (yes, these are real experiences!).

Yes, to providing/leaving jars of coffee, tea, sugar, salt and vinegar

Agree air bnb is for bargains, not luxury.

We always start with the general area we've decided we want to be (Pembrokeshire, Cornwall, etc. rather than specific village) - although we search nationally when we're looking for extended family of 14. Other than that, it's changed as the kids have got older. Used to be:

• access to something fun e.g. pool/beach/pool table/hot tub/table tennis/trampoline
• sensible triple room for the kids
• not too ugly inside

Now the priorities are:

• dogs allowed
• enclosed, not-too-small garden for dog
• wifi
• easy access to variety of dog walks and activities we want to try (e.g. coasteering, rafting)
• enough interior space generally so we're not all on top of each other

Think about your target customer, couples only, families with kids or grown up kids, groups of friends, single or in pairs. Are there stairs?
Do you provide linen, towels, tea towels, beach towels, be clear. Is mobile reception ok?

I like a nice comfy squishy sofa :)

My big bugbear? Places that advertise they're for X number of people, but have kitchen/dining room table that can only fit fewer than X seats.

Prefer no dogs or smoking unless vrery vigilant with cleaning, hate air fresheners and damp. Comfortable bed.

Essentials we supplied were Teabags, coffee, sugar and Local bakery Bread.
Pantry -Salt & pepper, vinegar and oil.
Fridge -Butter and local cheese and milk
Bootroom/ultility - Washing tablets
Kitchen - Washing up liquid, sponge and dishcloth, Kitchen roll, dishwasher tabs and binbags for kitchen bin and refuge bin.
Bathrooms/shower room - Liquid handsoap, eco toliet cleaner ( AND loo brushes ) and toliet tolls. Bathmat and shower mat.

Handtowel and bath towels for each guest.
Plates and cutlery for 8 people ( cottage slept 6 ).

Appliance instructions are useful.
Supplying things like wash liquid , wash tabs , toilet roll .
Washing Machine
Parking off road
No changes in floor level ( no step between dining and kitchen area , I hate raised levels )
Things work
Clean
Quiet
WiFi
Location
Reasonable deposit ( I I had one through trip advisor that was double the rental cost and was refunded later )