Holiday cottage company that has been helpful?

[drspouse]

We are staying in a National Trust cottage and all through lockdown they were good about cancelling and offering refunds or rebooking.
We want to try and find a cottage near my mum for Christmas (she can't fit us all in).
We are reluctant to book through AirBnB or anyone who just works for owners in case the owner decides not to offer a refund if we have another national lockdown.
Are there any companies that have been good about refunds? We would have taken a rebooking with National Trust because we'd stay with them again but again, a small owner we might not want to rebook with them.
(Mum is in the Midlands, not a really big holiday area but there is some lovely countryside, it's not a big city).

Particularly interested in hearing about cottages.com - there are some available but DH says they have had lots of flak for not giving refunds.

I have an AirBnB and they automatically refunded everyone due to lockdown, it wasn't the choice of the owner. We had decided to refund anyway but felt it was good that AirBnB did it automatically to avoid unscrupulous owners taking the mick.

Oh, that is reassuring then. I did hear some bad stories. We are also a bit worried about our DCs (one of whom has SEN and can be impulsive) in what is essentially someone else's house but I know not all Airbnb are.

You can filter out the options I think so you can select self catering single properties which might help. Good luck anyway!

"COVID-19-related circumstances not covered include: transport disruptions and cancellations; travel advisories and restrictions; health advisories and quarantines; changes to applicable law; and other government mandates such as evacuation orders, border closures, prohibitions on short-term rentals, and lockdown requirements. The host’s cancellation policy will apply as usual."
The full refund policy was only if you booked before 14th March. Not convinced!

Would NOT recommend Suffolk Cottage Holidays or their parent company Original Cottage Holidays.

Blatantly tried to break our contract and tried to threaten and bully me with lawyers, when my own lawyer said I was entitled to a refund.

Disgusting bullying company.

Can I update you on cottages.com we booked a late availabilty yesterday I phoned them this morning to confirm, just had a phone call from the owner we are the fourth person to book the cottage through them she was in tears she hadn't had a contract with them for a number of years! On hold to the credit card company at present raising a dispute

John Bray if you're interested in Cornwall are excellent.

We did cottages.com for our summer one and it did go ahead and they sent us an extra 10% back even though we booked last minute knowing restrictions. I do think it depends on owner though so could be risky.

AirBNB's we've stayed at have been whole properties - that's an option so you avoid the owners though best to check as sometimes they are just next door. Sounds like there isn't a blanket coverage anymore but you can check individual policies and see if there's refundable ones.

We also book via Booking.com, again it depends on owner but Booking.com help chase owner. You would ideally book one which said free cancellation, no prepayment if there's anything available. You then pay on arrival or at end. After that would select free cancellation. Sometimes there's free cancellation until a month before or so - that may still be worth booking but check closer to date and cancel if it looks non-viable.

Other thing I did was book last minute for this summer when position was much clearer so only a couple of weeks in advance. That reduces the risk a lot. If its not likely to get booked up and you can't find free cancellation maybe wait to book as close to date as viable.

A lot of places are just saying get insurance but that's another minefield with lots of get out clauses and excesses and chase the owner first.

For our cottages.com I contacted the owner directly first - they had their own website. It is worth asking owners directly - I could tell ours was super nice and would help if needed, second one I knew they were just after/needed as much money as possible and would keep it but it was 2 nights booked with 2 weeks notice so I knew would go ahead.

If you book with Hoseasons they will refund if government policy means you can’t travel though not if you personally are self isolating.

Try the Headland Hotel cottages in Newquay - they were amazing at allowing us to move our booking from June and have a good Covid cancellation policy for new bookings now.

We have stayed before in November and it’s so nice to have a cottage but be able to swim and go to the spa at the hotel.

We have a holiday let with a big company who have been pulled up for dubious behaviour over lockdown.
I've moved completely to Airbnb now who were fantastic at automatically refunding guests. I've also changed out personal guarantee to full refunds up until the day before. I certainly don't want anyone travelling who feels unwell but can't cancel on a financial basis.

Plus I'm at liberty to now block two nights out between each guest to allow for super safe and through cleaning.

Narrow your Airbnb search to "entire house" and short notice refunds.

I use the websites like cottages.com as research then find the owner (most have their direct website as well) and book direct.

If at all possible avoid cottages.com. I may be unfairly judging them because my dealings with them were right at the beginning of lockdown - they were all but impossible to get through to and were not that helpful when I finally did.
They are currently holding on to a four figure sum of mine for a booking eventually transferred to next year after a lot of haggling and I’ve got my fingers firmly crossed that they don’t go bust in the meantime.

It's the Midlands, not Cornwall, but thanks for the tips.

Home away were good.