Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / Farm Diversification: Make Holiday Lets Work

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Farm Diversification: Make Holiday Lets Work · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

0:00
Welcome to Holiday Let Insider, the podcast that takes you
0:03
behind the scenes of the holiday letting industry.
0:06
Brought to you by Host Planet and Sykes Holiday Cottages, this
0:09
show is packed with expert insights, real world strategies,
0:13
and actionable advice to help you succeed as a holiday let
0:16
host. I'm James Farley, the founder of
0:18
Host Planet, and in each episode we'll dive into key topics like
0:22
property management, guest experience and revenue growth,
0:26
and we'll be joined by industry experts who know what it takes
0:29
to thrive in in this sector. In today's episode, we'll be
0:32
discussing diversification for farmers into holiday letting
0:35
with Katie Williams, Sites Marketing and Events Manager.
0:39
Are you looking to take the hassle out of holiday letting
0:41
while setting yourself up for success with Sites Holiday
0:44
Cottages, you benefit from working with a team of real
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people with fast experience and knowledge, all providing a
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unique service to support you every step of the way.
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Eleven time consecutive winners of the Best Large Company for UK
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holiday home rentals at the British Travel Awards.
1:01
Sykes uses industry leading pricing systems, dedicated
1:04
account management and a network of more than 700 booking
1:08
partners to help get the most out of your investment.
1:11
Sykes aims to combine trusted experience with local expertise
1:15
to help make your holiday let's a success.
1:17
Get in touch today to find out more.
1:19
Head to sykescottages.co.uk/letyour
1:23
Cottage for further details. Hello and welcome to Holiday
1:31
Let's Insider. Today's special guest is Katie
1:34
Williams, the marketing and events manager at Sykes Holiday
1:37
Cottages. And today we're going to discuss
1:39
diversification through holiday letting.
1:42
So, Katie, if you're a farmer, why is diversification through
1:46
holiday letting a good idea? Thanks, James.
1:50
Thanks everybody for listening. So if you're a farmer and you're
1:54
thinking of diversifying, it's probably a really wise idea at
1:57
the moment. As we all know, farming is in a
2:00
massive period of transition and it's always wise to look for
2:04
that additional income stream and that's where holiday letting
2:06
comes in. It's a natural fit for farmers.
2:10
Rural tourism is still booming. People want to go on that
2:14
countryside retreat. It's still really, really
2:16
popular with our consumer base. You've already got the land, you
2:20
might have some barns that you've not used in years and you
2:24
think, oh, it's just sat there not doing anything.
2:26
Well, why not make a little bit of money from it?
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Our farm stays, you know, there are top earners still.
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So you're making about 29,000 per property per year.
2:35
So that's actually quite a good income to make as an extra.
2:41
And actually farming, it's really about that local farming
2:44
community. And you've got to remember for
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every £1000 spent on a holiday, like 300 lbs is spent within
2:51
that local economy. So you're supporting that local
2:55
countryside, you know, village and hamlet, whatever, whatever
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it is. So let's break it down a little
3:02
bit then. What are the advantages to
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holiday letting as opposed to other forms of property
3:07
investment? So you know, as I mentioned, you
3:11
repurpose that existing farm asset.
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So again, it could be a land, it could be an outbuilding.
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We've even actually got a property recently come on our
3:20
books, which is a silo. So they've basically taken all
3:24
the grain out and repurposed it and they've made it into this
3:28
two Storey holiday lap, which is fantastic because it's really,
3:32
really unique. And that's what our customer
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wants. They want something a little bit
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unique. So as I've said, repurpose your
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existing farm assets. You only use land.
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What are the advantages? You're going to get a higher
3:46
income than you would if you've got a property, maybe a spare
3:49
property that you might have a long term let.
3:51
You're going to see a bit of a higher income potential through
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holiday letting. There's a lot less wear and
3:57
tear. So guests are typically staying
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two to three nights a week, so a lot shorter periods.
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So that's where your wear and tear comes in.
4:08
And one top tip would figure out who's cleaning the property
4:12
sooner rather than later. It's really, really important.
4:15
As you've seen in other podcasts where I think Rachel Brennan
4:19
brought it up, it's really important to have a clean
4:21
property. That's one of the top things
4:24
that our customers want. And that I think a lot can be
4:26
forgiven if the property is really clean, if something gets
4:30
a little bit awry, a little bit wrong, they'll forgive you if
4:32
that property's really keen and a comfy bet.
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I also feel like you have more control.
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So you kind of can, you can screen your guests, set some,
4:42
set some rules and manage your bookings actively.
4:46
And finally, it's it's great for personal use.
4:48
If you've got family coming to stay, Christmas, Easter,
4:52
whatever, they can use the property as well.
4:55
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4:59
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5:01
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5:20
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5:31
You've mentioned there that there's various different types
5:35
of property that you can develop.
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What should farmers potentially be looking at?
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Like a cabin, a lodge, a barn, conversion?
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Which are the ones that work best with your target audience?
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I think it completely depends on your circumstance.
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Obviously glamping with your cabins, your lodges, your yurts,
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super, super popular, great for the current market because we
6:01
are still leaning towards that kind of that micro tripping.
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So 2 long weekends, it's you two or three days.
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We've actually seen about 34% UK holiday makers are selecting
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that shorter stay. So that kind of the cabin, the
6:17
pod lends itself nicely to that. If you've got a beautiful, you
6:23
know, stables or you've got an unused barn, then make it
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certainly do a barn conversion. Super important to kind of take
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a step back from from the farm, from the land and kind of go,
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what is my unique selling point here and kind of go down that
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route. That's how that's the best
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advice I could give. And when it comes to the
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location and specifically the amenities and we might be
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thinking here being pet friendly, hot tubs, EV chargers,
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stuff like that, what are guests really looking for right now
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when they go and stay at a farm type property?
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Well, I think guests are looking for, you know, again like you
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just mentioned, James, they want it pet friendly.
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They want a hot tub, they want an EV charging point.
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I think the question is kind of why are we still?
7:19
Why are the travellers still opting for that countryside
7:21
experience? It's less crowded for one.
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I love the countryside. I would not go in, go to the
7:27
city for a break, especially have a stressful job.
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You want to get away, you want to relax.
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They're more affordable as well and the the flexibilities on the
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accommodation too. And they're eco friendly, which
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is super, super important to our consumer base.
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They also have the amenities in terms of the top three.
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So when our customer comes to us, they might be looking for
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walking countryside, pubs, cycling routes and that's what
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the countryside is. That lends itself up to that
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perfectly when we talk about amenities.
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So let's talk about pet friendly.
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So first of all, you're going to see about a 9% more bookings if
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you make your property pet friendly, which I know can be a
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bit of a sore subject when it comes to farmers and land owners
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due to sheep worrying dogs off leads.
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It's a real, real sore subject with some.
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So what we would recommend is if you're going to make it pet
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friendly, make sure you know, take lots of pictures of what
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exactly what the garden looks like.
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If you're going to put up fencing, make sure it's nice
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high fencing. Really seal that in and just be
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super, super strict when it comes to your rules and your
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welcome pack. If you don't want a dog to go on
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certain areas of the farm or the property, you need to say that.
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And you also need to tell them to keep keep customer to keep
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their dog on the lead at all times as well.
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Something else, another amenity would be your hot tubs.
8:59
Everybody wants a hot tub. Everyone loves a hot tub.
9:03
Again, everybody kind of searches for hot tub for the
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glamping pod. That's what everybody wants.
9:08
That kind of that mini moon, that romantic escape.
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A hot tub is perfect for that. EV chargers is something that
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that is kind of coming in more and more.
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We're seeing more and more of our consumer base asking for EV
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chargers or asking where the nearest EV charging point is.
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So we would recommend getting one for your property.
9:32
And finally, and this is, I think for me, this is one of
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something that we sometimes overlook Wi-Fi.
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So I personally, if I'm going to go away, I want to watch, you
9:42
know, what's new on Netflix. I want to have a look my look at
9:47
some emails or something, which is a little bit naughty of me,
9:49
but check my emails when I'm, I'm on my holiday.
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So it's kind of the workcation is super, super important.
9:57
So good Wi-Fi, make sure you've got good steady Wi-Fi.
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It's a priority for actually 72% of of our customer base.
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So really, really important and you can get some.
10:11
I know in the past with the countryside it's been quite
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difficult to get good Wi-Fi, but there are some really, really
10:17
good networks out there now that are working to get Wi-Fi to
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those more reclusive places. Yeah, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi and
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photography, those are the things that we probably talk
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about more than just about anything else.
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And, and hot tubs as well. Yeah.
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I mean, actually we we stayed as a family at a little log cabin
10:37
at the weekend and there was a hot tub there.
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And when we arrived, I said, you're not getting me in there
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because it's absolutely freezing.
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No way. And then on the first night, my
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wife was like, come on, let's let's go in the hot tub.
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And of course all the kids wanted to go in as well.
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I said it wasn't particularly romantic because there was two
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of us and three kids. But yeah, it was, it was very
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nice, even if we're already in there for about half an hour.
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So you can see why. And again, I guess it's
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everything revolves around trying to stand out a little bit
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and like the more of those extra amenities you can tick, the more
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people you're going to appeal to, right?
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And the more guess you're going to get.
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It's a home. You basically want home from
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home. You want to be in comfort, you
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want luxury. You don't want to go somewhere
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and find actually, oh, they've not, they've not got any good
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Wi-Fi. I can't watch that programme.
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We can't catch up on on, you know, the Guinness episodes on
11:27
Netflix this weekend because there's no Wi-Fi.
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The Wi-Fi is not good enough. Oh, hang on.
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It says it's pet friendly, but actually it's not.
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It's a real, it's a real fine balance.
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Yeah, and I think with the Wi-Fi as well, I was pleasantly
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surprised I got there with the Wi-Fi and I thought, oh, this is
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quite quick and I've tested it on fast.com.
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I was like, because this is nearly as quick as what I've got
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at home. Brilliant, right?
11:48
Fantastic. This this place gets five stars.
11:50
It gets it gets a tick. So I mean, thinking about like
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it maybe a case study that you might be able to share then.
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Is there a recent example of an owner who's diversified into
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holiday, letting you know what they did, what the pitfalls
12:03
might have been and kind of where they are after the first
12:05
12 months? So our main owner base are
12:09
farmers and land owners. They make the majority of our
12:12
owner base. So I've got loads and loads of
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case studies. We've been working with a few
12:16
farmers for for many years. But one I want to pull from,
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part of my role as Sykes is I go up and down the country going to
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different events, talking to new owners, people that are looking
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to get into holiday letting. And one I remember it was a
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lovely young couple called Alwyn and and Leah.
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They are from Mid Wales on the Snowdonia estate and they came
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to us at the Farm Business Innovation show in 2023 I
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believe and they were looking to to diversify.
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Alwyn has a beef and sheep farm, but unfortunately it was not
13:00
financially stable enough to sign to kind of supplement him
13:03
and his dad. So Alan was having to contract
13:05
himself out, go on the tractors to various other farms, which is
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obviously, you know, his dad's getting older.
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He wants to stay at the farm. He wants to kind of make the
13:15
business his own. But it just was not financially
13:18
stable for them. So they had some land and they
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said, well, what are we going to do?
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Let's let's try and diversify. So they came to us with this
13:28
amazing idea. They wanted to put in what you
13:32
would call them Hobbit huts, but actually can't call them Hobbit
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huts because Tolkien has the the trademark on them.
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So we call them underground pods.
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So they came to us with this idea and said we want to put
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these pods on. What do you think?
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Do you think it's viable? Do you think people want to come
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and stay? Well, of course you are.
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Of course you're going to want to stay.
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And I think that's one thing with farmers and land owners,
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because you've lived there all your life, I think you forget
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the beauty of the place that you live in.
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If you've lived in the centre of Birmingham all your life, if you
14:02
come out to somewhere like on the Snowdonia estate in Mid
14:05
Wales, it's idyllic. So you have to be really, really
14:08
confident in being in being able to kind of sell your property
14:13
and sell the location that it's in.
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It is beautiful. You just might not be able to
14:17
see it because you've lived there for years.
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Anyway, that's the case study. So we went out to see the
14:24
property. I actually went because I first
14:26
stopped, join Sykes, went out and saw the property and they
14:30
were just putting in the infrastructures, the road, you
14:34
know, the plumbing, et cetera, and had a chat with Alvin's dad,
14:41
who was very, very apprehensive. You know, this is brand new to
14:45
him. He's been a farmer all his life.
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He is not a natural person in hospitality.
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That's not his strength. That's not, that's not his key,
14:53
his key points. But they did have this vision
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and hopefully we'll be able to share on a link that some
15:03
pictures of the property because it is outstanding.
15:05
So they've got these two beautiful Hobbit houses that now
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because they've got that and it's supplementing them and you
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know, they're getting that extra bit of income, that extra stream
15:15
of income. Alvin, can I stay on the farm
15:17
with his dad, which is really, really nice story.
15:22
And I think it's just great. And it's a really it's kind of
15:25
really heart warming actually. And I'm really proud to say that
15:29
we've helped them and they're really happy and they've got
15:32
loads of bookings. They've even got a third pod,
15:36
which Leia, who is Alvin's partner, she is a beauty
15:40
therapist. So she actually has little spa
15:44
that she does massages from. They've got lovely hot tubs,
15:48
they've got a little sauna. So they see lots of people, lots
15:53
of local people using the spa. But actually when I last spoke
15:57
to them, about 70% of their Sykes customers were actually
16:02
paying extra on the day to use the spa facilities.
16:06
So that's great. And that's all about your
16:08
experience and that's where you move into kind of the discussion
16:11
of differential holidays. And you know, how do I, how do I
16:16
make my property and my holiday? Let's stand out from everybody
16:20
else because you have to remember it's really important.
16:23
Yes, as an owner, you want lots and lots of bookings, but
16:27
actually that one booking could be that person's only holiday
16:30
that year. So how do you make it extra
16:32
special for them? So special that they'll rebook?
16:36
Yeah, I mean, providing a great guest experience, but also that
16:40
upselling revenue as well. And you know, I go back to where
16:43
we stayed at the Log Cabin the other week.
16:45
It's right next to a kids theme park and of course we're there
16:48
for a couple of days. So we're spending money all the
16:51
time in in the soft play because we're, you know, buying drinks,
16:53
we're buying food. And you think of all that extra
16:56
revenue. If if you saw that, the amount
16:58
you were going to spend at the start, you'd probably think, oh
17:00
gosh, no, I'm not going to go there.
17:02
But you know, when you're there and you need all that stuff and,
17:04
and you want to do things like massaging and beauty treatments
17:07
and all the rest of it to, to enhance your experience.
17:10
Yeah, brilliant, brilliant way to, to build the business.
17:14
So I mean in, in terms of, you know, setting up, you know, when
17:16
a company or you know, like families come to you, what do
17:20
you kind of advise them to concentrate on at the start?
17:26
So something to consider when you're setting up, firstly is
17:30
kind of what have you got in front of you?
17:32
What are you going to do? How are you going to make this
17:35
really, really special? Look at your infrastructure,
17:39
consider your planning, speak to planning consultants.
17:42
They might be able to help you with grants and schemes.
17:45
So that's kind of what I would describe personally as the
17:49
boring bit, the important bit. It's really important.
17:51
It's a bit boring now. The nicety is the stuff that I
17:55
like stuff to, you know, consider as your photos.
17:59
It's really important that you make that strong visual
18:02
impression straight away. So what we know from our
18:05
customer base is actually they will choose a property based on
18:08
the first three photos. So we need to make sure that
18:11
they are really impressive and they drag and draw people into
18:15
your property. We also want them to be
18:18
realistic and authentic as possible so there's no surprise
18:22
when that customer comes on holiday with you.
18:24
Something else to consider as your pricing.
18:27
It needs to be clear, it needs to be competitive, but also
18:30
needs to be flexible. Again, something the team here,
18:35
pricing team here at sites can assist you with if you so wish.
18:40
And something else that I would maybe consider is how are you
18:42
going to promote that new business?
18:44
So social media is great. If you're going to post on
18:49
social media, make your own account, make sure the content
18:51
is, you know, really important. It's on point.
18:55
Make sure it's a regular post you're putting up.
18:58
If you can get in contact with, you know, a little bit of a
19:01
content creator, maybe offer them, you know, half price to
19:05
come and stay at the property in return for a little bit of free
19:09
content doesn't go amiss. The more people that are seeing
19:13
your property, the better. The more like you're going to
19:16
get more visibility from that. But most of all, for me, I think
19:22
when you're setting up, it's look at taking a step back from
19:25
whether it be your farm, your land and going, what is my
19:29
unique selling point here and how can I make this really
19:32
special? So if I've got a massive
19:34
farmhouse in front of me, I would think, right, large
19:37
parties, perfect for, you know, family get togethers, stags,
19:42
Hindus, getaways, that type of thing.
19:46
That's perfect. I've got some land over here.
19:48
OK, I can maybe put one or two pods on that.
19:54
What what would that sell to? Well, that's your mini moon
19:56
market, your, you know, your romantic retreats, getaways,
20:03
stuff like that. So it's looking at that and then
20:07
thinking, right, so I've got I've got this in front of me.
20:10
Now I know what my new selling point is.
20:12
How do I make it extra special? So for me to make it extra
20:18
special, it's about that experience.
20:20
And that's where Alwyn and Leia. Really, really have hit hit, hit
20:24
the note there because they've got that experience of that spa.
20:28
Well, you can do all sorts, you know, the farmer community.
20:31
If nothing is imaginative, you could do, you know, bottle
20:35
feeding of lambs. You could do llama walks, goat
20:39
yoga, which personally I've not done myself, but I would
20:43
definitely give it a go. It's just something that makes
20:45
that, you know, makes it extra special and makes people want to
20:48
rebook with you. And then finally, not to get too
20:52
political because I don't want to go down that route.
20:53
However, this now is your perfect opportunity as you know,
20:58
land owners, farmers, to educate the public on exactly what you
21:03
do in your day-to-day life. So if you're on a working farm,
21:06
you know, give them a little talk show them you milking the
21:10
cows. Tell them exactly where their
21:12
food is coming from and how much work you put in it to put that
21:16
food on on the general public's plate.
21:18
This is your perfect opportunity to grab it with both hands.
21:23
Absolutely. Yeah, Great, great tips there.
21:26
And if you're a farmer as well, you know, that's that might work
21:28
well for a welcome hamper or like upselling selling goods as
21:31
well if you've got produce to sell.
21:33
We've got lots of farmers actually that have farm shops on
21:35
site and we've got one in Shropshire called the Tractor
21:38
Shed and they've got a butchery so you can actually make your
21:41
own sausages, bacon for your breakfast in the morning.
21:44
It's just those little bits of experience that people just
21:47
love. Yeah, fantastic.
21:50
I know we mentioned these are kind of the boring bits, but
21:53
when it comes to planning permission regulation, I'm sure
21:55
you get these questions. What's your advice to people in
21:59
this area? So, you know, if you're
22:01
converting your residential property into a full time
22:05
holiday alert, you're you're going to need a change of use.
22:08
So con contact your local council.
22:11
Lots of people think with glamping one of the the the you
22:16
know, so most questions I get are, oh, we don't need planning
22:19
for that. You do.
22:21
If you put in infrastructure, you need planning.
22:24
So, you know, if it's a conversion you build pod yet
22:30
whatever, you are going to have to get some planning.
22:33
So it is recommended that you that you do get that planning
22:36
permission. Top tips from me when it comes
22:40
to planning, speak to your local planning authority, but also
22:44
speak to you like your land managers.
22:47
They will be able to put you in touch with people, specialist
22:50
planners that will know what that that local planning agency
22:53
want and be aware of like upcoming like regulations and
23:00
stuff. Obviously in Scotland and Wales
23:03
they they do things slightly differently to us and England,
23:06
but just be aware of that and just do your research.
23:09
Speak to the experts and do your research 100%.
23:13
Finally, then, how can Sykes help you?
23:15
And if there are people out there thinking, do you know
23:17
what, I want to give this a go and I want to speak to Katie,
23:20
where do they go to find out more information?
23:22
So you can visit our website if you go on
23:25
sykescottages.co.uk/letyourcottage give us a call.
23:30
Come to events. We're going to an event called
23:34
the Farm Business Innovation Show.
23:36
It's on the 5th and 6th of November at the NEC Birmingham.
23:40
We are right at the front of the hall.
23:42
So come and have a chat with me or one of the, you know,
23:45
property experts that'll be on the stand.
23:49
No idea is a bad idea, I always say, and there are workarounds
23:53
for everything. So come and have a chat with us,
23:57
give us your ideas. You know, we can send out a
23:59
property consultant to come and have a look at a piece of land
24:03
to tell you if it's viable or not.
24:07
And then from there, you know, we can take the photography, we
24:11
can help you with, you know, if you want to do a bit of
24:14
planning, we can help you put together mortgage applications,
24:19
all sorts of things. We can give you all those tools
24:22
to help you succeed in holiday letting, take your bookings, do
24:26
all your marketing. You spend about £35 million per
24:30
year on on marketing. So we are the marketing experts
24:35
and we can just give you M10 support really.
24:38
So come and just just come and speak to us.
24:42
Reach out to me on LinkedIn. Yeah.
24:46
Fantastic, and we'll put all those details in the show notes.
24:50
Head along to see Katie at the NEC.
24:52
That was the 5th and 6th. 6th of November, yeah.
24:56
Superb and we've also got our free event which is the 11th of
25:00
November in Chester at Sykes HQ, which is holiday let's success.
25:05
So if you're in the Chester Northwest region and you want to
25:08
have a chat to Katie and come and see the rest of the host
25:11
planet team, then please do come along.
25:13
Looking forward to the event, Katie.
25:14
Not long now. Yes, not long now.
25:18
All right, superb. OK.
25:19
Well, Katie, thanks so much for joining us on Holiday Let
25:22
Insider. Thank you so much, James.
25:24
Great to chat to Katie Williams there from Sykes Holiday
25:26
Cottages. If you're a farmer with land and
25:29
looking to diversify your business, get in touch with
25:32
Katie and the team. All right, that's it for today's
25:34
episode. If you're keen to work with
25:35
Sykes Holiday Cottages, head to sykescottages.co.uk/letyour
25:40
Cottage. And for more free education tips
25:43
and trends from the STR industry, visit Houseplanet dot
25:47
where you can sign up for our newsletter, listen to our
25:49
podcasts and download a suite of ebooks for hosts and property
25:53
managers. That's it for today's edition of
25:55
Holiday Let's Insider. Until next time, happy hosting.