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.

It's the places that are in the middle of nowhere or up on a cliff too far to walk to the sea which need the added value.

I do have cushions on the beds and I have large lamps on bedside tables. We have a washer dryer and it was expensive and it works! I insist on great photos. I live 4 hours drive away so there are no flowers at check in provided by the agent! Each bathroom has loo rolls though.

I don't want extra people staying so no sofa bed! They can be uncomfortable anyway. If you need more bedrooms, rent a bigger place! My agent will provide a high chair and m, if you want it, a cot. I would be very surprised if a cat turned up but we are open plan so hopefully not! We are no pets.

Be careful about a dining room being a bedroom. Possibly Ok if it is accessed off the hall but if there is no loo downstairs it looks a bit like you are trying to shove people in. Our agents work on the very reasonable lines that if you have six bed spaces, you provide settee space for six, (i.e. Two) a dining table for six etc. You need to give six people space. Can you fit six into the lounge? You could make the dining room a snug with a sofa bed possibly.

My house is very pale grey but it suits the house and the location! It makes it light and airy which is good!

We don't go on our hols to be less comfortable than at home. So good modern bathrooms and plenty of them, king sized bed or larger, lots of pillows, properly equipped kitchen (dishwasher/microwave/good sized wine glasses etc), definitely NO carpet in downstairs rooms or bathrooms, washer and dryer. Also we don't want to find twee knick knacks, tired furnishings, scuffed paintwork.
Decent wifi, lots of info on good places to eat/shop locally.

Loads of good advice on here but the one thing that can be a killer is the cleaner. You need the pace to be spotless with everything is good working order. After a great 5 years my sister had a nightmare season with a new cleaner which led to lousy reviews, broken/ worn stuff not being fixed/ replaced (because the new cleaner didn't notify her when there were problems (which she was meant to do) so visitor after visitor wrote the same things in the visitor book (which doesn't look good, let alone the fact the maintenance was not being done) and the online reviews nosedived. It took two whole seasons to recover from the damage (and the cleaner was being paid a very good rate as well and had plenty of time to do the job, all wood floors and lino and a wet room - she wasn't expected to do a 20 minute turn around like you get in many caravan parks)

Decent knives, pots and pans in the kitchen. Condiments are good too as it's annoying to have to buy basics like salt, pepper and cooking oil for a week.

Good quality beds, bedding and pillows - we stayed in a place which was lovely but had awful flat lumpy pillows and mattresses.

A list of the closest supermarkets and restaurants with their opening hours.

A dishwasher and access to washing machine and dryer.

Oh, and if you supply stuff like condiments, towels etc, say so on your website so people know not to bring them.

When we look for holiday cottages, the main things we look for:
Car parking (doesn't necessarily need to be reserved parking, street parking is fine if there's always space available),
wi-fi,
dishwasher,
towels and bed linen inclusive,
outside seating area with furniture,
photographs of all the rooms,
good standard of decoration; with a relaxing feel to it,
a friendly approach to the description (i.e. not a long list of rules),
information about decent eating places nearby (from fish and chips all the way up to gourmet restaurants; it's all useful information).

Not essential, but desirable is a hot tub. Tumble dryer is also a useful item to have, it can be in an outbuilding if necessary. Make sure you leave instructions as to how the filters are cleaned though, as they ca be a fire hazard if not kept up to.

From previous experience, just having wifi, a hot tub, and car parking would put you streets ahead of most holiday cottages out there!

We go to self catering cottages once or twice a year.
Minimum requirements are:
Washing machine
Dishwasher
Enclosed garden (we have a toddler)
Cot
Highchair
Parking

Ideal:
Coffee machine
Sky tv
Toys
Plenty of good sized towels
Walking distance to places to eat out

Please make sure you provide decent cookware and knives.

My essentials would be comfortable mattress, white bedlinen (just looks so much nicer imo), towels provided, well stocked kitchen with at least a couple of decent knives, wifi, washing machine, somewhere to dry (airer or line with pegs), a fee basic cleaning supplies, children's high chair, cot and stair gate available.

Nice to have would be a few family dvds, children's books, a few children's toys (maybe in a box in a cupboard or under a bed, beach stuff if close to the beach, decent curtains with blackout lining.

Things I dislike in a holiday rental are lots of personal family photos and knick knacks. I hate having to go round removing all the breakable ornaments out of my child's reach and having to remember where everything goes back after.

We use holiday cottages all the time. We look for wifi, comfortable bed (get a mattress topper if the mattress is a bit hard) proper size bath towels that will wrap around an adult, a good shower, enough seats in the living area for the number of guests (stayed in one that said it sleeps six but there was only a two seater sofa in the lounge) decent non stick frying pan. It's also handy if there are a few basics like salt/pepper/sauce sachets/washing up liquid/more than one loo roll supplied.

My house is very pale grey but it suits the house and the location!

My family room is also painted a pale gray, and I love it. But gray everything is becoming the big decorating cliche of the decade on both sides of the pond. I have noticed it in particular lately in holiday accommodations especially.

Style, nicer than home . In the winter I always look for a log burner or open fire for cosy nights in. I like it to feel like a treat and I am really fussy. I use this company a lot just because most of their properties are of a standard and style. However it does depend on where you are and the type of market you are looking for. Link is www crabtreeandcrabtree.co.uk - take a look for ideas.

I would assume the log burner would extend your season . Might be worth the investment .

Some of the nicest holiday cottages we've had have been simple, but spotlessly clean. I'd say good comfy sofas and beds are top of the list to get right, followed by decent towels and bedding. Any sign of IKEA furniture is a no from me. A dishwasher is a must with the tablets to go in it, good sized fridge freezer and a washing machine and use of a line. Enough crockery/cutlery to use even when dishwasher is on (we stayed in a lovely cottage with a pool once, but there was only 6 of everything for 6 guests and we spent the whole week washing up mugs/glasses....would never go back for that reason). And room in the kitchen to put food away instead of stuffing the cupboards with baking stuff that never gets used!

Wifi!
Last place we stayed had milk, tea, coffee and a homemade cake waiting for us. We'd definitely go back there!

If you are aiming for families then I'd avoid white/cream dining chairs, sofas and carpets. I've seen beautiful looking places that say 'ideal for families' but I don't think they'd survive my two.

I look for a dishwasher, minimum king size bed and wifi. If I can't tell the size of the bed then I won't book it. I won't book somewhere that allows pets.

Don't care about tumble drier as long as there's something to dry clothes on.
Could live without welcome package but it was a lovely touch

The thing I look for is black out curtains/blinds/shutters. I don't want the kids (or me) waking up at stupid o'clock on my holidays. I've discounted a lot of cottages due to flimsy looking pale curtains.

I find that the better holiday cottages we have stayed in are obviously used by the owners for some of the time. They seem better stocked and looked after. Our most recent stay was terrible and was part of a group of five lets which were obviously let for pure profit.
My suggestions would be
If upgrading your bathroom, try to keep a bath, shower over would be fine, but if you are trying to appeal to families a bath is handy.
Although others have said no to a welcome pack, a pint of milk, a pack of biscuits, tea bags etc don't cost a lot and are welcoming. I also think it's nice if you have. Couple of cloths, washing up brush, hand soap by all sinks, tea towels, toilet rolls, kitchen paper towel, some foil and sandwich bags, six or so dishwasher tablets and maybe a couple of sachets of washing liquid or powder?
I look for somewhere with parking, a washing machine (I would happily use an airer if no tumble dryer) and a dishwasher. The latter because it is usually means dishes will be properly clean, as I've seen some questionable washing up in a few dishwasher less places!!

Staying in a holiday cottage at the moment and whilst it's mostly good there's no drawers in the bedrooms beyond a small bedside table so can't unpack suitcases and no shelves in the bathroom so nowhere to put toothbrushes etc. The appliances in the kitchen seem to be a bit quirky to operate and there's only huge bowls and no way of drying washing outside. Other bug bears for me include complex heating systems, windows that don't open, not enough keys, tiny towels and bunk beds (I have small children so this may change!)

We look for - at least a king size bed, parking, wifi. If you don't tell us you have these things we won't book. I like to be within walking distance of at least one decent place to eat out, but you can't do much about that one! I wouldn't normally bother about laundry facilities, but with a beach location they're more of a requirement, especially if you can provide somewhere to rinse out and dry wetsuits.

Decor-wise, I like it to suit the house and the locale. A bit cosy if it's a country cottage, light and airy for the seaside - but the former needs to be clean and fresh, and the latter not too stark. I've turned down places that meet our basic criteria because they don't look clean in the photos, or because they look like a cheaply decorated estate house on the inside.

Definitely enough comfy seats for the number of people staying. We've seen places that fail that rule and we're only a family of three! Beds that don't look like someone's tired spare room in the photos.

Booking online is a must as well, whether it's your own site or a third party, it's got to be scrupulously up to date and accurate. I hate making phone calls, and don't have much time to do it, so if I can't tell really easily that somewhere is available I'm not interested.

All my stuff is what you need to have, and to tell me you have, in order for me to book. I don't return, and I don't write reviews, so from an owner's point of view it doesn't really matter if I hate the place once I'm there! But the quirky appliance comment has reminded me - get a nice simple cooker. Or write up and laminate some lovely simple instructions. The amount of time I've spent figuring out how to heat up a pizza in some eccentric oven or other ...

The house has got a lot going for it, imo: nice location near the beach, town centre, station etc and I think that with a little bit of effort and money we shou be able to get it into a marketable condition.

I'd look at similar nearby and aim for the best of them. Some of the demands on here ("So good modern bathrooms and plenty of them,") are not going to be doable for you.

Linen provided so don't have to carry own.

Cafetière.

Washing machine.

Freezer or freezer compartment for cool bag (and fridge of course).

Parking.

Pref additional bathroom or at least downstairs wc.

Wifi.

Generally clean!

What I look for in a holiday cottage is a clean, tidy, cottage in a location I want to visit, which is reasonalby priced.

What I expect when I get there is basics for everyday living. It doesn't"
Have to be luxurious, but functional.

Ie. Cutlery, sharp knife, potato peeler, bread knife, tin opener,
Cups, plates, glasses, wine glassesetc - enough for each person staying.

Kitchen storage - I hate it when you go somewhere, and have to rearrange the kitchen cupboards to out your food in
Fridge and freezer
Washing machine useful, but not essential, tumble drier not essential
Dishwater preferential, not essential
Bed linen etc if stated, should be clean
Decor, tidy, not shabby or worn, appropriate look,to,age of house. Ie. Period looking or modern
Parking
Iron
Clothes airer
Hoover

Didn't know I was so fussy