New holiday cottage - WWYD?

[ladyshale]

We're renovating what was the tiny old gardener's cottage to rent out as a small holiday home from mid-October and need some advice from seasoned UK holidaymakers.

It has one large bedroom (would take king size bed plus cot), and a large open plan living room/ dining area/ kitchen.

For context there is a fantastic pub and a farm shop less than 5 minutes walk away. The south coast is 15 minutes drive away.

Would you prefer:

Beds: twin (maybe that could be zipped together) or king or superking?

Kitchen: Is washer/dryer essential or
(Will have full size dishwasher, fridge/freezer, microwave)

Bathroom: we're thinking either bath with shower over and glass shower screen or shower room with attached sauna.

Any other things that make you keen to rent somewhere?

We run holiday lets, and have done for many decades as a family business. My advice to you would be to ensure you have very good insurance (we use A1 in Bristol) to cover damages/ claims from guests. Please look into setting yourself up as a ltd company. While it is extra paperwork, it gives you certain legal protection against claims from tenants. Things can and do go wrong in the letting business, and you should not be in a position where your personal assets are at risk if someone makes a legal claim against you in respect of some part of their holiday (for example, personal injury).

I would also recommend that you don't fill your cottage with too many extras...ornaments etc...more things to clean, more things to get damaged. You would be amazed what tenants take home with them...we have had so much stuff go missing over the years. If you are going to have lots of appliances in your accommodation, make sure you source a reliable local plumber and electrician...you can expect things to break down or be damaged. You should leave basic operating instructions for every appliance in the kitchen so they don't have to dive into technical manuals (many won't, will twiddle with various buttons and hope for the best). You should also include a guest pack that gives details of local services like the hospital, or local supermarkets/ attractions. Give thought to a sofa bed downstairs to open up your market to small family groups. However, I spent last week smashing up a futon in one of our rentals after a bunch of teenagers bounced all over it...and broke the slats beyond repair. Buy furnishings that are bomb-proof...you will find some of your guests are less than respectful. I also spent last week steam cleaning newly installed carpets in the lounge of one of our rentals. A guest had locked their dog in the building unattended all week (against our rules) and it had used the lounge floor as a toilet...only white vinegar and a good steam cleaner will sort out that. Finally, never accept payment for a holiday using paypal. It is very easy for guests to attempt post-occupation chargeback. It is much better to accept bank transfer, or credit card payments as you can fight chargebacks if you have a booking form etc. Good luck!

Is the accommodation on one level? If so a walk in shower rather than a bath would open up the disabled Market.
Zip and link bed was ideal when I was a single parent with one child.
How about a sofa bed in lounge?
Parking is useful.
Good self-catering kitchen equipment - we have food allergies so self catering is ideal but many properties don't even have enough equipment to make a two course meal.
Definitely a washer dryer.

Forgot to say (someone mentioned feather bedding, which reminded me): has to be synthetic pillows and duvet because of allergies. I always make sure of this when booking.

IMO you need to decide your target market and go for them. If you want it to be accessible to anyone, then no pets, no feather bedding.

Zip link beds are a good idea , however you'll need loads of bedding , as you'll have single and king size beds to make up , and where will you store it all ?
I wouldn't use a sauna , and don't even know if you're allowed to in Covid times
Books , dvd even board games aren't allowed at the moment either , and most people leave the stuff in the welcome basket , so don't worry about that
Supply some teabags ( the ones in envelopes ) instant coffee sachets etc , and just check they've got some milk with them when they arrive
Since most people probably won't stay more than 2 or 3 nights , I wouldn't bother with a washing machine
Nice quality cotton bedding ( that's been ironed ) and a supply of big towels
Personally , the only thing I cook on holiday is toast , so a list of local pubs , takeaways would be helpful ( laminate this , so you can sanitise it )

I don’t want to do laundry on holiday
I’d like a basket of goodies for breakfast
A beautiful double bath with luxury bath products

Thing is you can be a rental that is trying to be something for everyone

Or decide to be really excellent for say couples or solo travellers

I’d rather a fabulous double bath & fluffy towels than a sauna. 500 thread sheets, luxury tea & coffee, herbal tea

@EasilyDeleted

Yes to hand held shower and preferably no to the big rain ones, they're really annoying.

Definitely agree with this!

I always look for a minimum of king size bed, so I would say always the biggest bed you can fit in the room. If you do zip and link, make it two full size singles that turn into a superking.

Dishwasher over washing machine, always. I don’t want to do dishes on holiday and definitely not wash clothes on holiday.

I love a good shower, never have a bath so would at least want a shower with good pressure.

My biggest air bnb peeve is lack of towels. I like a large and medium towel to dry my hair and DP uses 2 towels too but we have never been left more than 1 each. Extra towels too if you have a hot tub.

We love a hot tub and have it on our ‘must have’ list for a holiday cottage. However if you think the cottage will get booked without one I wouldn’t bother- they are a lot of work to maintain and clean out between customers and you will get people wanting some money back if they arrive expecting a weekend in a hot tub and it breaks.

High chair and travel cot (with a decent mattress and mattress sheet) if you are allowing kids. Some plastic cups, plates and kids cutlery also a bonus.

Things like cheese graters, food processors, tuppaware etc are often not there.

Unless people are only staying short term or you are offering a separate laundry service I would say you really need to provide a washing machine.

The duvets and white linen should be professional quality (we stayed in a £££ place with one of those £10 lumpy Heavy supermarket duvets... yuks).

Agree, don’t put knick knacks around. A bomb proof sofa, a large picture, lamp and coffee table is sufficient.

I think a washer-dryer is essential - probably just a washer (with a drying horse thing in a cupboard) is fine if it’s a one bed.

I like twin zip links and have never found them uncomfortable. The best places get a very good thick super king mattress topper that conceals the join.

A narrow dishwasher is fine. But there should be a dishwasher.

Keep the kitchen well stocked but with basic level items (as PP said: they get nicked). Cafetière, tea pot, grater, wooden spoons, mixing bowl, different sized sauce pans etc. The Joseph Joseph all in one stacking bowl is a space saver and often discounted in tk maxx and the such like.

King size bed which unzips to twin beds would be preferable.

Definitely needs a washing machine.

Not bothered about a sauna.

Shower over bath is fine and probably has broader appeal than shower only, but if you do this PLEASE have a non-fixed shower head. I don't want to get my hair wet every time I shower and it's so annoying when the showers are fixed overhead. Also if you choose a large monsoon style shower head please make sure you have the water pressure to support it!

Oven gloves. We stayed in a beautiful cottage, that had everything. But no oven gloves. Which was quite awkward as we did a lot of cooking.

If a washing machine then somewhere/thing to hand washing would also be good. An easy to put up air dryer. Otherwise tenants are forced to drape washing over radiators and furniture.

Another vote for allowing dogs. Beach and walk means you could well attract people with this.
The twin lock sounds like a good idea to widen client base too (although personally I prefer a king bed it wouldn’t put me off).
My dsis will look for luxuries like a jacuzzi outside (again wouldn’t put me off but wouldn’t be a need for me)
Sofa bed also a really good idea and a book shelf with some chilled out reads (cheap to do but such a nice touch)

So would suit 1-4, but most likely appeal to 2+ persons.

I would prefer the twins that can zip together, then you can advertise it as either 1 or 2 beds potentially.

large open plan living room/ dining area/ kitchen.

could have a fold out sofa, to create enough bed space for total= 3-4 sleeping adults, maybe using space on floor or a sofa bed big enough for 2 persons.

For context there is a fantastic pub and a farm shop less than 5 minutes walk away. The south coast is 15 minutes drive away.

I never care about pub proximity, lol. They are noisy nuisances at best. But maybe you think to cater to child-free couples?

We had dishwasher & washing machines not used at all in last 2 holiday cottages - it was easier/faster to wash by hand. Drying line or rack is useful.

Microwave & hob are essential for us, but maybe could manage without hob.

I'd prefer bath over sauna but only really need a shower... again, is this meant for a family or for a child-free couple/s? Sauna might appeal to exercise freaks. I'll take a jacuzzi jets bath if possible!

Will you allow dogs? Is there an outside space/shed that would store bicycles? Anywhere nice to sit outside with cuppa in the morning?

Something I wondered about our recent holiday lets... if welcome basket includes full bottles of shower gel, washing up liquid or hand lotion -- in covid times, do these just get binned at the end of our stay if we leave them behind? I imagine putting them in a cupboard for 7 days & then reuse as all germs will be dead, but I wondered if lots of holiday let owners just binned them in COVID times. Seems like terrible waste.

Hair dryer and coffee press are musts for me. Holiday let's never have enough toilet paper.

I never book anywhere without a dishwasher, but I don't use a washing machine whilst I'm away, so I'm not bothered about that. Enough dishwasher tablets to run it every day is good, I've stayed at places where they've only left a couple and had to go and buy a whole box.

A shower over the bath is fine, but I hate those rainfall showers - if it's one of those there has to be a wall mounted removable head as well.

Plenty of mugs and glasses - if you're running the dishwasher once a day, you need enough for everyone to have at least three brews in a clean cup each time.

Please make sure the loo roll holder is easy to access whilst sitting on the loo - I've seen some shockers, e.g. right behind you, or too far away to reach.

Make sure there are enough surfaces in the bedroom, one place I stayed there was only one tiny ledge.

Leave basic instructions for appliances, not just the instruction brochures - I don't want to spend half an hour trying to work out how the heating works, just a quick resume of the salient points.

A hand towel and a bath sheet is great - bath towels are far too small for me to enjoy using them.

If so a walk in shower rather than a bath would open up the disabled Market.

That depends! We have a disabled DD and only look for a bath! We would not stay in a cottage, which only has a shower!

Thing is you can be a rental that is trying to be something for everyone

Well yeah, choose who you want. Obviously there are mixed views on dogs, no dogs, allergies, better bedding, freestanding shower, shower over bath.
To be fair lots of rentals allow dogs, lots dont.
Lots of cottages are luxury, lots are very much basic.
The difference I think is repeat bookings.
So whatever you go for make damn sure you will get repeat visits and make it a home from home.
I can live with a shower on holiday, I wont visit again though even if that cottage has something lovely about it. I love a bath when I've got the time.
I can live without a washer/dryer, but again I wont go there again. I like to not go home with loads of washing and I have dogs that get wet, muddy sandy. To take enough towels for that alone I'd fill the car.
I can live without a dishwasher, I dont have one at home. But I wont visit again. I hate washing up anyway.
A sauna doesn't interest me, I have a condition that means i cant use them or hot tubs.

I have now been to my favourite cottage ever 5 times, 5 years running and I'm there again soon.
It's not the finest ever cottage but it really is well equipped, it's in a lovely place, it has everything i need.
UF you can replicate that you will make it.

When we rented a barn it was lovely but there were no sensible instructions for the tv. It took a ridiculous amount of time to work out plus had to be done every single time and I couldn't remember it. Previous holiday makers wrote in the guest book about it, the owners replied saying should have come and asked. I though why reply, they've gone and they weren't easy to find anyway.

Can you get to your cottage by public transport? If so, advertise where the nearest train / bus stop are.

For our family, being able to get somewhere is pretty essential! After that, washing machine way more important than dishwasher (want to travel light on the bus). Also very useful to know what is and isn't provided, so we can arrange a supermarket delivery.

I like the idea of the twin beds that zip to make a king size

I think a washer / dryer is useful . Is it's in the UK the drying element is crucial though . No point in being able to wash your clothes if it's raining outside and you can't dry them .

Personally I would prefer a bath with shower over .

Possibly have one of the sofas being a sofa bed ?

@CurtainsforRonnie

I wish I could wash, dry & put away dishes in 5 mins I hate it.

I would also not enjoy doing my laundry & hanging it all up to dry on holiday, I just do it when I get home.

I am lazy, and miserable

That's why the washing machine needs to be the washer / dryer option .

OP has already said there will be a dishwasher

Make sure that the person cleaning between lets checks that the saucepans are fully clean !