Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / The Hands-Off Holiday Let Model That Works in 2026

Transcript

The Hands-Off Holiday Let Model That Works in 2026 · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

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  Welcome to Holiday Let's Insider, the podcast that takes
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  you behind the scenes of the holiday letting industry.
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  Brought to you by host Planner and Sykes Holiday Cottages.
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  This show is packed with expert insight, real world strategies,
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  and actionable advice to help you succeed as a holiday let
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  host. I'm James Varley, the founder of
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  House Planet, and in each episode we'll dive into key
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  topics like property management, guest experience and revenue
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  growth, and we'll be joined by industry experts who know what
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  it takes to thrive in this section.
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  In today's episode, we'll be talking to Rodri Taylor about
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  hands off holiday letting. Are you looking to take the
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  hassle out of holiday letting while setting yourself up for
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  success? With Sykes Holiday Cottages, you
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  benefit from working with a team of real people with fast
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  experience and knowledge, or providing a unique service to
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  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.
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  Sykes users industry leading pricing systems, dedicated
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  account management and a network of more than 700 booking
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  partners to help get the most out of your investment.
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  Sykes aims to combine trusted experience with local expertise
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  to help make your holiday let a success.
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  Get in touch today to find out more.
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  Head to sykescottages.co.uk/letyour
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  Cottage for further details. Hello and welcome to Holiday
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  Let's Insider. Today's special guest is Rodri
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  Taylor, a short term rental owner who's going to discuss
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  hands off holiday letting courtesy of Sykes Holiday
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  Cottages. How's it going, Rodri?
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  I'm very well, James, How are you today on this bright,
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  glorious day? Hi, I'm great.
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  Thank you. Excited to chat about holiday
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  letting with you. Let's let's start with your
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  rental then. So what kind of property is it
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  and where is it located? So we have Loewen Lodge and that
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  is a park home and that's on a holiday site in Saint Marion, in
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  Padstow in Cornwall. Excellent, So what convinced you
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  to invest in a holiday let in Cornwall?
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  So I've been working with Sykes for a good few years and
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  obviously understanding the industry and seeing lots of
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  owners having success with their furnished holiday.
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  Let's we decided that that looked like a good strategy to
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  add to the portfolio. Fantastic.
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  So for you then just explain kind of the type of investment
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  for you. It's you're not necessarily
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  looking to scale to loads of properties.
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  This is perhaps something that you can use yourself and and
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  it's going to be something that generates a bit of income for
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  you. Yes, that's right.
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  Essentially it's a lifestyle investment really because as
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  you've already alluded to, we're not going to scale the furnished
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  holiday let side of the business.
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  But it's nice to have obviously a great lodge in a lovely
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  location in the country. And having obviously the hands
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  off investment, which is what we're keen on, ensures that we
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  can still make use of that lodge as and when we want to.
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  But ultimately, as long as we're not losing, then we're in a good
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  position. How important is it for you that
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  it is a hands off investment and that you're not involved
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  day-to-day replying to guests and involved in cleaning and all
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  that kind of thing? Oh, really important James
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  because I feel obviously with any sort of service
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  accommodation furnished holiday let accommodation the the
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  changeovers and the frequency of those change what overs if if we
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  were managing it ourselves then indeed it would be very time
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  consuming. But obviously having agencies
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  like Sykes and obviously they will then direct us to the right
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  changeover team or the management teams and all the
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  value added services that they offer.
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  It really can become a hands off investment in time, obviously
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  apart from the initial stages. So you're working with Cornish
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  Cottage Holidays, which is part of Sykes Cottages now.
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  People talk a lot about hands off holiday letting, but how
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  hands off is it for you? Well, I'm based in the Midlands
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  James, so I'm obviously the property is a good 4 1/2 hours
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  away, so it requires total hands off input from from myself.
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  So how hands off? It is very hands off.
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  I have a good relationship now with the the changeover company
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  or who does the cleaning and the changeovers.
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  But ultimately we have a great relationship with Cornish
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  Cottage Holidays as well. So if there are any issues, if
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  anything's required, then they can just reach out.
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  But ultimately the the agency and and the teams that they have
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  recommended generally look after the investment.
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  So when I spoke to you before, you said that before buying
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  you'd done some quite extensive research covering compliance
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  regulations and set up. If you were talking to somebody
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  who was thinking about investing in a holiday, let what are the
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  things that they have to get right from day one in terms of
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  that research? Well, I would, I would say
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  there's many people that have done this before you and if
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  you're just starting out, I would always use an agency to
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  ensure that you are compliant and your heart you are meeting
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  all the legislative requirements.
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  So if I remember when we got first in touch with Cornish
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  Cottage Holidays, they sent out a full list of everything that
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  was required where the fire safety, obviously the, the
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  boiler checks, etcetera, or the, you know, the requirement that
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  was required for that. So all the legislation and
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  everything that was required, it was a very simple list that they
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  provided for you. And on the app as well, it
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  actually shows when you've uploaded that document.
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  So it's all in one place. So really, as long as you just
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  use an agency and follow those guidelines, you're not going to
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  go far wrong. Really try to find out all
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  yourself. Obviously there's a people say
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  different things. I mean, I remember we had a
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  conversation around it was locks at one stage, but obviously just
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  checking it to make sure we have the right sort of locks in
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  place. And yeah, it's just good to have
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  somebody knowing the industry far better than anybody just
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  joining the industry and having, you know, that that guideline.
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  It's almost like a dummies guide really, which makes the process
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  and the setup so much easier. How tricky do you think it would
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  have been if you were just doing it by yourself?
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  Well, really tricky, James, to be honest, I don't think that we
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  would have had the success that we have had to date had it not
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  been for having somebody showing us or, you know, giving us the,
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  the framework to be able to operate successfully.
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  So yeah, it would have been really, really tricky because
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  there's so unfortunately on the Internet you find out so many
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  different opinions of what what is right, what isn't right.
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  But we just, I just like to operate black and white and say
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  right, you need this certificate, so let's get that
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  done. You need the fire risks
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  assessments to get that done. Yeah, it's easy to go down
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  rabbit holes. I think on on the Internet in
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  particular, I think a lot of people rely on Facebook groups
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  for a lot of advice. This was something I saw a few
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  years ago before setting up host planet.
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  And, and you'd see people asking the same questions over and over
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  again and quite often they're getting different answers.
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  And I guess that's the value of of working with the experts in
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  the space. You actually know exactly what
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  you need to do to be compliant. Yeah, I totally agree with you
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  there, James. I mean, when I was doing a
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  little bit of research, Facebook was obviously a platform that we
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  used and indeed there was conflicting messages across the
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  board. So once you've got the lodge,
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  then let's talk about kind of getting it set up and ready to
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  welcome your first guest. So how did you approach
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  furnishing and decorating? So again, we just requested
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  advice from Cornish Cottage Holidays, what would be required
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  and obviously the the agent that came out at the time, he was
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  very, very thorough actually in in what was required.
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  And we even looked online at a few different furniture set ups
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  to see what would suit the space that we had.
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  So again, it was following guidance from those that are in
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  the industry. And tell us kind of how did you
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  set up the lodge? What were the key things that
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  you had to get right at the start?
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  What did you have to buy? And did you think about kind of
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  who your target guests are going to be?
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  So initially we from again having the advice from an
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  agency, we knew that having pets was a real benefit to anybody
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  that's going to operate a furnished holiday, holiday LED.
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  So one of the first things that we had to do was of ensure that
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  the garden was safe and enclosed.
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  So that was advised. And again, obviously we went to
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  local contractors again on recommendations and who we could
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  use to put the fence up. And then internally all the
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  furnitures and the fixings we we painted, we redecorated
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  everything, obviously ensuring that the furniture was up to
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  date. Beds are key.
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  We get great feedback on how comfortable the beds are and,
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  and little things such as, you know, we have welcome baskets
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  that have obviously certain elements that they're going to
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  need and items that they'll need for this age just to make, you
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  know, a nice little set. So again, it was just looking at
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  what others are doing within Cornwall and which properties
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  seem to be rented out frequently and mimicking essentially what
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  the type of furniture and the layout that they have.
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  Yeah, learning from others. Yeah, very important.
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  You mentioned the the pet friendly route there, which
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  which is quite a big decision for a lot of owners at the
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  start. A lot of people kind of juggle
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  whether they should be pet friendly or not.
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  So I mean, what drove that choice and and how was it paid
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  off in terms of bookings? Do you find you get a lot of
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  guests who are bringing their pets along?
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  So the majority of our guests do bring pets and ultimately James.
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  Again, looking at the data from sites, we found that you get far
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  more bookings if you're able to offer the ability with pets.
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  And, and essentially we just looked at the data and the
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  forecast of having pets and not having pets.
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  And we decided well for, you know, a little bit of investment
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  to ensure that we enclosed the garden, made everything right
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  for the pets and just as comfortable for the pets as as
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  the the guests, then that's indeed what we did.
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  And in terms of getting the rates right as well, was that a
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  case of kind of relying on the technology that Sykes have to
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  make sure that you're charging the, the correct amount?
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  And did you, did you have any input there?
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  And and I guess you know, are you happy with the returns so
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  far? Yeah, definitely happy with the
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  returns and obviously sites are very data intensive.
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  So they are looking at the market all the time.
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  They know when obviously occupancy is high, when that
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  area is taking a lot of interest, then obviously they
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  can change the pricing. So I have essentially given full
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  authority for Sykes to change the pricing.
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  So, and the reason I've done that is knowing that from their
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  history and knowing how good they are out marketing the
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  property and indeed ensuring that you get plenty of bookings.
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  I'll just leave it to the experts.
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  I mean, if I was to, to say, Oh well, I want this much per per
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  night, I don't think I've got the, the ability to do that and
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  or indeed the data set to be able to give the, you know, that
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  to understand really what the pricing should be.
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  So again, I've just left everything in their hands.
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  They do offer a few options where you can control it, but
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  essentially I've just left it full management to to those guys
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  which you know have been very successful and they know what
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  they're doing. I.
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  Suppose there'll be people out there thinking, well, I I want
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  to invest in a holiday let, but I'm thinking of running it
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  myself because I might not want to be charged a management fee
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  and that kind of thing. Why do you think that might be?
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  A false economy, I guess. Essentially, James, I think if
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  you're trying to do all yourself, you're going to wait.
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  There's going to be a lot of time invested in in ensuring
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  you're getting it right. If you're doing it by yourself,
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  there'll be a lot of trial and error on your own part.
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  That could be quite costly, especially if you haven't got
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  the, you know, the right certificates in place or
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  something, God forbid does happen with with a guest on
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  site. So I feel that having an agency
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  to fully manage your property let takes away a lot of the
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  headaches. A lot of the time,
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  understandably, there's a management fee associated with
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  it, but it's always a way up, isn't it?
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  And the fact that I am not even, you know, 4, I'm 4 hours away
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  from the property. So if anything does happen or if
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  I need to change a light bulb, it's, you know, it's a long way
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  to go to change a light bulb and when obviously you've got
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  everything set up in place with the right organisations around
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  you. And just tell us about the owner
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  experience as well. You mentioned the app there, you
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  know what information is in the app and I guess like how often
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  do you check in and kind of see how things are going?
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  So I'll check the app quite regularly to be honest, just
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  obviously to see the bookings, who's there, the feedback is on
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  there. There's a lot of value added
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  suppliers that you can make use of which I urge any finish
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  holiday let loan if they are using an agency to see what
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  value added services are available because ultimately
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  they bring everybody to you on that app.
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  But you can manage your bookings, you can have
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  conversation, you know, you can reply direct to to the owners
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  via feedback. So really it just gives you your
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  online it's almost like your management system of the
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  property really and obviously you get the statements for
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  accounting purposes etcetera. So everything is is within
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  there. And yeah, some great
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  information, great webinars that are that are hosted and a lot of
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  information of all areas of furnished holiday letting that I
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  would recommend everybody. It's worth having the app just
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  to understand the industry, let alone book in your property to
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  be honest. Yeah, very much so.
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  I'm sure there are people out there as well thinking, well,
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  I've got a property, but I use it myself a lot and I want to
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  use it whenever I like. What's, what's the situation
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  there? Can you use the property
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  whenever you like? Because there are some property
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  management companies who will say, oh, look, yes, we'll manage
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  your property, but you can't use it in the peak of summer.
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  You can't use it over Christmas and New Year, that kind of
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  thing. Yeah.
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  I mean, obviously there's going to be different packages I
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  suppose for management that you have.
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  So for us, we're we have the ability.
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  I've got a feeling 21 days throughout the year, which is
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  more than enough for what our requirements.
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  But again, it's just personal. I mean, if you're somebody that
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  wants to use it six months of the year or whatever it may be,
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  then obviously just speak to whomever is going to manage that
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  and just have that conversation. And I'm sure they'll come up
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  with a package that will suit your needs.
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  And but for us, it works really well because, yeah, when we do
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  go down there, obviously it's just, again, you just make note
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  on the app, you say that it's going to be an owner's booking
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  and you're you're down there. And then that's obviously
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  blocked out for guests. So really simple to manage to be
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  honest, James. Excellent.
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  And looking back now, is there anything you would have done
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  differently if you were starting again today?
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  I suppose if anything that I could have done different.
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  I like it really because I've been very close with sites.
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  I had sort of a an inside of you from the industry before we
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  actually let into this investment strategy.
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  So had I not had that, my advice would be to speak to as many
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  management agencies as you possibly can understand.
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  Speak to other owners as well because we spoke to a lot of
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  owners on the site to see how is the site, what you know, et
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  cetera, just to get a feel of where you're going to go.
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  And obviously visit the place that that obviously helps
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  because you know what, people may ask why 4 hours away?
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  Well, again, going back to the data with Sykes, we knew that
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  Cornwall was a real busy area, high occupancy all year round.
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  And it just fits our strategy really.
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  So my advice would be speak to people in the industry.
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  They're all there to help and to guide and to ensure that your
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  investment property does become successful.
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  Yeah, you've mentioned it a few times, haven't you know,
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  speaking to people who've been there and done it.
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  And yeah, do do do your research.
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  You've mentioned a few times though that you kind of, you've
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  got a relationship with Sykes and that's because you work with
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  Zeal Tax of course, who are partners of Sykes and also
• 16:57
  partners of us here at Host Planet.
• 16:59
  We've spoken to Matt, Matt, Jeffrey a lot about the the
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  capital allowances. So just give us the lowdown on
• 17:05
  Zeal and capital allowances and where people can find out more
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  information. Yeah, definitely.
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  So obviously capital allowances are a tax relief for furnish
• 17:14
  holding let owners now legislation changed of late and
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  there's only a short window now to ensure that you're not going
• 17:22
  to miss out on any capital allowances.
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  So we have a team of surveyors, charter tax advisors that help
• 17:28
  owners claim all the tax relief within their building.
• 17:32
  So my advice would be just again, one of the value added
• 17:35
  services that sites offer, reach out to the team and just ensure
• 17:40
  that you make your claim before it's too late.
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  And indeed, you're eligible for, for the, you know, the, the
• 17:48
  relief that's available. So please just make contact with
• 17:51
  Zeal just to make sure you're in the right position. 100% yet,
• 17:56
  and we'll put all the details for Sykes and for Zeal in the
• 17:59
  show notes. If you're not sure whether you
• 18:00
  can make a claim, just give them a call because it might save you
• 18:03
  thousands of pounds in the long run.
• 18:06
  Rodri, it's been a real pleasure.
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  Thanks for sharing your journey and for joining us on Holiday
• 18:10
  Let Insider. Thank you, James.
• 18:12
  Thanks ever so much and thank you for all the great work that
• 18:15
  you're doing for the industry. Great chatter, Rodri Taylor
• 18:18
  there, I hope you found that episode useful.
• 18:21
  All right, that's it for today's show.
• 18:22
  If you're keen to work with Sykes Holiday Cottages, head to
• 18:25
  sykescottages.co.uk/letyour Cottage.
• 18:29
  And for more free education tips and trends from the short term
• 18:32
  rental industry, visit Houseplanner dot club where you
• 18:35
  can sign up for our newsletter, listen to our podcasts and
• 18:39
  download a suite of ebooks for hosts and property managers.
• 18:42
  That's it for today's edition of Holiday Let Insider.
• 18:45
  Until next time.