What do you look for in a holiday cottage

[tabitha]

I'm not sure whether this is the 'right' place to post but here goes.
I've recently inherited a share of house in a popular holiday resort (UK). The deceased person was keen that the property be kept on for family members to use for holidays and to allow this, we're thinking if renting it out at other times. We're not looking to make a fortune but hope to get enough money to pay for maintenance and repairs with maybe a little left over. We'll probably use a holiday lettings company to manage it for us.
Although the house is in a good condition, we'll probably have to do a bit of redecorating etc before we let it out. I'm looking for some pointers on what people look for in a holiday let e.g decor, facilities etc.
Any assistance / comments would be really appreciated.

When we book a cottage we always look for top end ones because we want a fully stocked kitchen as I don't want the bare minimum, dishwasher and good quality bedding/ towels. You could Google Gold star/ 5 star cottages to get an idea.

Thanks DameDiazepam. That's helpful. I'm not sure it would ever be classed as 'gold star' but I certainly take your point about having a dishwasher (there currently isn't one). Who wants to do dishes on holiday? And definitely good quality bedding (white linen?) and towels

A parking space is the top priority for us. Hate having to fight for parking in a crowded holiday resort.

Top spec is nice for us, but a dishwasher isn't essential as we eat out most of the time. Last year we stayed somewhere that hadn't been fully renovated i.e still had woodchip on some the walls but the views from the windows were so amazing we didn't care. Otherwise, it would have to be decorated to quite a good standard.

Dishwasher, washer dryer, wifi, private garden, off street parking if it's a busy place, towels supplied, no bunk beds, cot and high chair available, no obvious child safety hazards, not full of decorative child-level tat that might get broken, no extra costs for fuel, at least reasonably attractive looking inside in the photos, easy walking distance to pub/shops. As we're usually looking for a fairly specific location, that leaves us with a few to choose from and we'd go for the one that looks the nicest or has bonus stuff like a downstairs toilet.

Parking spaces we can do :-) - there are two of them.
Decor is one thing we will need to sort out. Sitting room is fine but the hall / bedrooms are a bit 'tired'. I've actually been looking at cottages for us (at Christmas) and a few of the houses I've discounted simply because I of the way they're decorated. I'm assuming neutral is best.

Soloman, would the lack of a tumble drier put families off do you think? There is a washing machine and space to dry in the back garden

I have a holiday let.

Please don't leave tired furniture. You need to be able to market successfully and you cannot market a tired old fashioned look. So you need to look at flooring, furniture, tv, wi fi, dishwasher (most people expect one), window treatments, kitchen equipment, decent matching crockery and cutlery. If the kitchen is old, think about a refit. Ditto bathroom. Any chipped sanitary ware is horrid and people like showers. If you offer a low spec house, you run the risk of low spec guests who will not look after your property. It is best to a high but it costs. Lots of agents offer a linen package. Look at the specs of other properties in the area o gauge the standard. Don't expect to make a fortune. You will have costs that mount up.

Needs to have a reasonably well stocked kitchen (a sharp knife) and basics included washing up liquid, toilet rolls.
Comfy sofa! When we used to go away with DD when she was tiny we were stuck in at night and a comfy seat and a DVD player was necessary

Lots of photos on the website where it's advertised! And not of wine bottles or the herbs in the garden. Just clean uncluttered rooms, a decent couch, a standard kitchen with a dishwasher & somewhere to sit outside.

I look for: parking, dishwasher,wi-fi,decor-can't bear spending a week somewhere thats 30 shades of brown with uncomfortable chairs. Also if by the sea I like if beach stuff like chairs/wonderland/spades etc is available to borrow to save on packing. And please have decent kitchen equipment.

Spotlessly clean, good quality bedding, towels etc, well equipped, pkenty of storage everywhere for our stuff (bedrooms for clothes, kitchen for food, hall or similar fir coats, shoes, outdoor stuff. I don't mind not having a dishwasher but need a washing machine.

I like a homely feel, not cluttered, but books, DVDs, boardgames, a few decorative items here and there, minimalist places are not very relaxing. One exception is beds - plain white bedlinen please and no runners and cushions on them as they look cluttered and are totally unecessary so end up on the floor or taking up valuable wardrobe space all week. They are probably grubby from other people doing the same too.

Sofa bed in living room is handy - an extra if a friend stays over during our stay or kids overrun bed! Dishwasher for sure. Enough seating for the amount of people (dinning table/chairs and sofas/comfy seats). Sharp knives (and knife sharpener).
For us allowing dogs (with additional cleaning fee) but understand not everyone will like that.
Neural decor. Travel cot and highchair (to save space in the car)

Not sure where wonderland came from! I typed 'windbreaks'

Wifi. Comfy sofa and bed.Decent tv. Decent kettle ,proper mugs.

Not fussed about washing machines,tumble dryers or dishwasher.

Proper wine glasses not the stupid little round IKEA ones.
Plenty of coat hangers, not wire ones.
I wouldn't stay anywhere which doesn't have what my home has.. Dishwasher, washer/dryer. They are basics for me.

OP try a search as there was an identical thread last week with a lot of responses. There's also a useful owners forum called laymyhat. What I would say is figure out if it's worth it. We are booked up Easter to end of Sep and usually get an October half term. Winter is dead. Therefore, depending how many shares there are and how many peak weeks you want, it may not be worth the hassle.

A toilet with a reliable flush.
No broken washing machines in the garden.
Garden trimmed and tidy.
Working wifi.
Working ignition on the hob so I don't have to go out for matches.
A sensible amount of cooking utensils/crockery/cutlery. 3 fish slices and no corkscrew doesn't make sense.
Being in a fabulous location doesn't really make up for the above...yes, that was at half term!

I insist on a dishwasher. And although I'm not over fussy about boutique decor it has to look clean in the photos. So ditch anything that looks like it will attract dust, go for low-fuss window treatments, avoid brown in your decor and fabrics, and if the kitchen or bathroom are looking a bit old and tired then you may need to redo them. 99% of good holiday lets furnish all their crockery and kitchen utensils from IKEA, with good reason.

There's no substitute for looking at lots of other cottage adverts online for comparison and also getting an unbiased mate (or Mumsnet) to critique your photos from a browser's perspective.

Also, just to add, these threads make it appear like you need to go high end. You don't necessarily. A friend of ours rents out a near identical house to us in terms of size/ location but his is v basic/ dated. He just markets to a different demographic. Profit wise he probably does better because he's more 'on it' whereas we're in a similar situation to you- it's our house but we currently live overseas.

Wheelchair access.

I know it's a bit of a niche market but if it has 1 downstairs bedroom/bathroom (the rest can be upstairs) and is accessible downstairs ( level entrance, not too cluttered etc) then it would be just what I've been looking for and tend to pay a premium for.

I agree you don't have to go high end. Plenty of people look for affordable basic holiday cottages.

Not everyone can afford luxury. Some holiday cottage prices are eye watering.

I rent out a holiday property. Buy plenty of towels and sheets all in white because guests sometimes will get make up and food on everything and you need to be able to hottest wash everything. As a renter the most important thing is cleanliness so try to have your house easy to keep spotless.

It doesn't need to be high end but it does need to be modern and crisp and clean. Cheap IKEA furniture, crockery and linen is fine. I love it when there is a vase of flowers sitting on the table. Inexpensive but a lovely touch. Even better if there is a bottle of wine set out with a couple of wine glasses.

Sharp knife and a large cooking pot if it sleeps quite a few.

right that's the thing. It only needs to be one of those things (clean). It certainly doesn't needs flowers. You would want that ( fair enough, so would I) but we're not the whole market. A lot of holiday cottages don't provide towels. Done don't provide linen. So long as your price point is right, you can make money.

I think you probably make more money if you are not providing bottles of wine , fresh flowers and fancy bed linen.

An affordable clean cottage does for me and I expect loads of other people.