Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / Thinking of Buying a Holiday Let? Listen to This First

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Thinking of Buying a Holiday Let? Listen to This First · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

0:00
Welcome to Holiday Let's Insider, the podcast that takes
0:03
you behind the scenes of the holiday letting industry.
0:06
Brought to you by House Planet and Sykes Holiday Cottages, this
0:10
show is packed with expert insights, real world strategies,
0:14
and actionable advice to help you succeed as a holiday let
0:17
host. I'm James Farley, the founder of
0:20
House Planet, and in each episode we'll dive into key
0:23
topics like property management, guest experience and revenue
0:27
growth, and we'll be joined by industry experts who know what
0:30
it takes to thrive in this sector.
0:33
In today's episode, Rachel Brennan, the Sales and
0:36
Operations Manager at Sykes, shares what every aspiring
0:40
holiday let owner needs to know. From location and finance to
0:44
amenities and guest experience, Rachel walks us through the key
0:48
considerations that can make or break your short term rental
0:52
investment. Are you looking to take the
0:54
hassle out of holiday letting while setting yourself up for
0:58
success? With Sykes Holiday Cottages you
1:00
benefit from working with a team of real people with vast
1:03
experience and knowledge, all providing a unique service to
1:07
support you every step of the way.
1:10
Eleven time consecutive winners of the best large company for UK
1:13
holiday home rentals at the British Travel Awards.
1:16
Sykes users industry leading pricing systems, dedicated
1:20
account management and a network of more than 700 booking
1:23
partners to help get the most out of your investment.
1:26
Sykes aims to combine trusted experience with local expertise
1:31
to help make your holiday let's a success.
1:33
Get in touch today to find out more at the
1:36
sykescottages.co.uk/letyour Cottage for further details.
1:47
Hello and welcome to the third episode of Holiday Let's
1:49
Insider. Today's special guest is Rachel
1:52
Brennan, sales and operations Manager at Sykes Holiday
1:55
Cottages. How's it going, Rachel?
1:58
Really. Well, thank you and thank you so
1:59
much for having me on. It's a real pleasure.
2:01
All right then straight into it. So why are holiday let's a good
2:05
investment? So property for many, many years
2:09
have been you know a traditional sound investment.
2:13
When you are keeping hold of that property and keeping hold
2:15
of a sort of ownership of that property for using using years,
2:19
you're seeing that property appreciation value going up and
2:21
up and up. But when you look at the demand
2:24
in holiday letting. So if I can rewind a little bit
2:28
and go back to when we just get out of the pandemic, there was a
2:30
surge in bookings and borders were closed.
2:35
We were all tired of our four walls that we were confined to.
2:40
What it meant was that everyone got out in the UK and actually
2:43
explored, you know, the natural beauties that are just on their
2:46
doorstep. And we fell in love with the UK
2:49
all over again. And we actually fell in love
2:51
with the UK staycations as well. Just the ease of it, the less
2:55
stress, the convenience, but also that it was a cheaper
2:59
option than going, you know, abroad.
3:01
And there's, there's no, you know, sort of covering up that
3:05
we are in a cost of living crisis at the moment.
3:07
And, you know, people are choosing to spend their pennies
3:10
more wisely. But from what our research shows
3:13
and what our booking levels show is that holidays are one of the
3:16
last thing that people are with willing to give up.
3:19
And you know, I know it from just a personal perspective.
3:22
You know, there's there's so much stress of everyday life.
3:24
You need those holidays to sort of relax, rest, reset quality
3:28
time together with friends and family.
3:31
So they are the last thing to go.
3:33
We have seen, you know, people sort of down grading from the
3:36
sort of foreign overseas holidays to the more local UK
3:39
staycations, but also seeing them sort of down grading from
3:43
board types as well. So instead of going for bed and
3:46
breakfast or dinner bread and breakfast, they're going for
3:48
self catering, which means they still get to go on holiday but
3:51
can then spend more wisely whilst they're there too.
3:54
Things like down grading sort of tick ratings, you know, or star
3:58
ratings as you will is another one.
3:59
So if they'd have previously gone for five, they might
4:02
consider 4 this time around. But also down grading the length
4:05
of stays is something that we've seen too.
4:08
So we've seen people sort of taking more free frequent
4:11
holidays, but actually shorter stays.
4:13
So this staycation snacking is absolutely on the rise.
4:16
So where we've seen so many people taking around 3 is the
4:20
sort of average sort of UK breaks, but much shorter breaks.
4:23
So we've seen these short breaks on the rise.
4:25
So what does that look like in terms of bookings?
4:28
Well, 77% of Brits are planning to take a UK staycation this
4:33
year, which is, you know, a whopping number.
4:37
But when we look back at bookings just last year, so 2024
4:40
was our biggest ever booking year ever.
4:42
So even though that sort of demand, you know, and shift sort
4:45
of post pandemic, you know, is changing, that demand is still
4:48
there. So we're riding that.
4:50
You know, that was a 2% increase on the previous year as well.
4:53
So the demand is strong, it's consistent.
4:57
So it really is a good time to be getting into to purchasing a
5:01
property but also purchasing a property with with a holiday let
5:04
in mind. Yeah, that's a great overview
5:06
really of where we are as an industry.
5:08
And it's interesting, I was speaking to a few people in the
5:10
data space and they were saying that when there is a cost of
5:14
living crisis, one thing that tends to do pretty well is self
5:17
catering property in the UK because you've got more people
5:21
looking inward than than going abroad.
5:24
And so I mean, that's that's one of the great reasons.
5:26
So I guess now is it a good time to buy because on the one hand
5:29
you've you've got the demand, but on the other we do have
5:32
regulation, we've got tax changes.
5:34
There are other things to consider.
5:35
So is now a good time? So we've seen some real positive
5:39
changes when it comes to mortgages.
5:42
So we've seen interest rates that are starting to decrease,
5:46
which is which is great news. But we've also seen the loan to
5:49
value. So this is the percentage that
5:52
lenders are willing to lend to you and then the percentage of
5:57
deposit that you would have to do.
5:58
So typically that's always that around 25% deposit with a 75%
6:03
loan to value in terms of mortgages.
6:08
But we have seen that increasing which is towards sort of 8085%,
6:12
which just means that new owners are sort of entering the market
6:16
within a 20, maybe even a 15% deposit.
6:19
So it's making it easier and easier to get to.
6:21
And you touched on it there that there is lots of changes, you
6:25
know, in this space at the moment when it comes to
6:27
regulations, license schemes, they're up in Scotland when it
6:30
comes to some of the tax relief as well that's available.
6:33
So it has caused a little bit of a step particularly around
6:37
people who have been let in for some time and maybe they are
6:40
thinking of selling up. It's really caused them to
6:43
potentially look to sell that little bit earlier.
6:46
But that has mean that it's just changed the shift in demand and
6:49
supply, which means that there is more supply with people
6:52
selling and less demand in terms of people buying.
6:55
So we've seen some house prices decreasing, which again is great
6:58
news for for new buyers there too.
7:02
And when we look at those, you only have to to look at our
7:06
holiday homes for sale page. So if you look on there, we've
7:09
partnered with the likes of Zoopla.
7:11
We've identified thousands and thousands of properties that are
7:13
available now, which we've identified as potential good
7:18
holiday let's, but we've also got our own holiday homes for
7:21
sale. So these are existing, you know,
7:23
owners of ours who have already got prepackaged pre made holiday
7:27
homes that are successful, have got bookings in, you know, have
7:30
got past bookings and history, but also future bookings.
7:33
And when we look at those, it's not many, you know, in terms of
7:36
our whole stock number, we're talking about a nought .6% of
7:40
our owners that are looking to sell.
7:41
So it's not many, but there's still some out there.
7:44
So it is a good time to to to look to getting into to buying
7:48
now. Yeah.
7:49
The common consensus really is that there are going to be
7:52
challenges over the next year or two with regulation and
7:55
obviously the tax changes. But if you can hang in there,
7:59
the demand for local holidays in this country is so strong that
8:03
if you have a good guest experience, you're going to do
8:06
really well out of this. Exactly.
8:08
And it's just having the expertise to know, to be able to
8:12
digest all of these changes and actually, you know, sort of put
8:15
it into into a sort of language that you're going to understand,
8:18
lay terms dilute that information to go, how is it
8:22
affecting me and how can I overcome those?
8:25
And then that's where just having the right agency can come
8:28
in. So in terms of investing, there
8:31
will be people out there thinking maybe I want to go down
8:34
the buy to let route, so longer term rentals or the short term
8:38
rental route with a holiday let. Just explain to us the
8:41
difference and maybe why you should be considering a holiday
8:45
let rather than a buy to let. Yeah.
8:48
And when you look at a long term let you know people can see that
8:51
as it's a regular income and you know there's not as much risk
8:55
involved there. You know, they get a tenant in
8:57
and then they don't have to do much in terms of effort, but the
9:00
sort of the the pros can certainly, you know, outweigh
9:03
those sort of negatives. So some of it being there is
9:06
that we've just spoken about the investment of a property and the
9:10
investment being that appreciation in the property
9:13
value with a holiday let you are protecting that investment that
9:17
bit more because it's getting cleaned on a regular basis.
9:20
There's less wear and tear on the property.
9:21
If you can imagine somebody on holiday versus somebody living
9:24
there, you know, they are treating that property in a in a
9:27
different manner. Half the time they're out and
9:28
exploring, you know, the sort of the local area rather than being
9:32
in the actual property itself. But also there's regular
9:35
maintenance, you know, that's happening at that property.
9:38
And I've spoken to lots of landlords that have had years
9:41
and years where they've never even stepped foot in their own
9:45
property. Well, they've had a sort of
9:47
tenant in there and don't know the state of what that property
9:50
is going to be and when that when that's come back.
9:52
So there's no hidden or nasty surprises in that.
9:55
And all customers and holiday makers are bound by the the
9:59
booking policies in conditions as well.
10:01
So they've got to go by those, those, those rules.
10:05
And I have met people, you know, that have come over from long
10:08
term letting to holiday letting purely because they've had nasty
10:13
sort of, you know, experiences with disputes with tenants and
10:17
that that sort of put them off. That's not something that you
10:20
would necessarily have with a holiday maker when they're
10:23
staying with you for a relatively short period of time,
10:26
maybe a couple of days up to a week.
10:28
You know, maximum from a short term rental point of view of 28
10:31
nights is the absolute maximum they'd be staying with you.
10:34
And other bits that are are in there as well is that you get to
10:37
actually have a home away from home.
10:39
You get to go there yourself. So you have a holiday home that
10:43
you can go to. Even if it is a pure investment,
10:46
you still might want to go there for just a week or two a year,
10:49
which is great. Even if it's to go and do a
10:50
really good deep clean or a bit of a repaint or anything like
10:54
that. And and, and, and sort of do it
10:55
yourself and other bits is really around the price points.
10:59
So we spoke there about long term, let's this regular sort of
11:04
almost steady income coming in. But what you will find is that
11:07
the price and the sort of the potential from a holiday like is
11:11
significantly higher versus that long term monthly rental that
11:16
you would be you would be achieving, particularly when you
11:18
look at the peak periods. You could look at taking, you
11:21
know, that monthly rental in just one week, you know, there
11:25
and, and, and that is where it becomes extremely lucrative.
11:30
The other side is your flexibility with pricing as
11:32
well. So again, you've got fantastic
11:35
tenant in your property. There is rising costs, you know,
11:39
with with with everything. You know, if you look at that,
11:41
you've just remortgaged, those interest rates have now gone up.
11:44
If you've got a great tenant, a lot of the time owners are
11:46
scared to actually do those price changes that are in
11:50
relation to inflation. And because they're worried that
11:53
it's going to take that good tenant away from them, that
11:55
they're going to move away. And sometimes that then cuts
11:58
into their profit, you know, massively.
12:01
So whereas with a holiday let you can you've got that
12:04
flexibility on price changes. So you can have a price change
12:07
that's really linked to the demand in the area.
12:12
So if you look at our income maximization options where we
12:16
can decrease ever so slightly to a maximum of say 10 or 20% from
12:19
an agreed rate, but we can increase by an unlimited rate.
12:22
So let's say last year, you know, we had some bank holidays,
12:25
you know, announced what happens, the demand, the trends,
12:28
the customer behaviour changes. You then change your price in
12:31
accordance to that. There's fantastic weather, the
12:34
sun shines out, you then can change because your price,
12:38
because there's been customer changes in behaviour too.
12:41
So there's some of the key reasons why holiday letting can
12:44
be much more lucrative than a long term let.
12:48
Yeah, it can definitely be more lucrative.
12:49
I mean thinking in my experience you're probably looking at about
12:53
three times the revenue from a holiday let than you would from
12:56
a regular long term let. And also, I think a challenge
12:59
now for people who are doing, doing long term, let's is, you
13:03
know, legislation is changing. It's going to get more and more
13:06
difficult to to get a tenant out if you need to.
13:09
But you don't have that issue with with short term rentals
13:11
because people are coming and going for a few days or maybe a
13:14
few weeks at a time. So just thinking about how
13:18
people find the right property. Rachel, what are your top tips
13:23
for making sure that you get the right rental?
13:26
So you've got to start with location.
13:28
So who is managing the property? Are you going to manage it?
13:32
So when we're talking about management, we're talking about
13:34
maintenance. If there's ever a customer issue
13:36
whilst they are staying with you, and we're talking about the
13:38
change over the cleans, putting those welcome packs in those
13:41
properties. If you're doing it, you need to
13:43
be drawing yourself in the middle of the map and maybe an
13:46
hour maximum radius around you because you're not going to
13:50
travel more than that. When we look at our research, we
13:53
know that about 44% of all of our owners are around 10 miles
13:57
from their property when they're managing it themselves.
14:00
Now, if you want to employ somebody to manage it, so for
14:03
example, we offer in house services or a network of
14:06
preferred suppliers, then yes, you can pick anywhere, you know,
14:10
in the, in the country and know that that's gonna, that's gonna
14:14
all be sort of maintained and we can build that package to sort
14:17
of suit your needs. But also you need to think about
14:20
that. If you're purchasing something
14:22
that does have a lot of renovations, do you really want
14:24
to be miles and miles away from when those renovations is
14:27
happening? And a lot of the time I've
14:29
spoken with owners that have said they've seen the property
14:31
at the start and they see it at the end and they've found that
14:34
things have cost them more that maybe jobs haven't been done to
14:37
the standard or, or, you know, to the extent that they were
14:39
expecting. So it's just making sure that
14:42
you are available and that there's a flexibility that you
14:45
can see the property. So location is, is, is
14:48
everything, but there really isn't a sort of bad, you know,
14:51
sort of location that you can purchase, you know, in at the
14:54
moment. We have demand across the whole
14:57
of the UK, you know, an island. And then when you are actually
15:00
sort of getting to the property, I almost do it as a bit of a
15:03
walk through a bit of a, a bit of a tour.
15:05
So we start outside the property, think about your local
15:08
amenities or think about local transport links and think about
15:13
things that people can do in the area.
15:16
So as we're approaching the property now, we've got that
15:18
kerb appeal of the property. So which of those properties
15:21
that you're viewing has the most kerb appeal?
15:23
And it might be maybe a rendered sort of paint job, or it could
15:27
be that we're going to put some new potted plants in there.
15:30
But which one's going to have the best kerb appeal?
15:32
We know an external shot, you know, does wonders for your
15:35
listing being the first image. So which one's going to, you
15:37
know, going to photograph really well.
15:40
Think about parking. So what is the best parking
15:43
solution? So off road parking ideally, but
15:45
of course in some real sort of honey pot tourist areas,
15:49
particularly in the centre, that can be difficult.
15:52
But think about solutions to that because a customer likes an
15:56
inclusive rate. So think about is there a public
15:59
or private car park that's nearby that you could maybe get
16:02
an annual pass for? You can include customers can
16:05
then purchase, you know, sort of collect those or even purchase
16:09
and then sort of take their cars off and maybe there's a loading
16:12
Bay or something like that nearby.
16:14
And then as we get into the property property, so we walk
16:17
into the front door, if you're particularly in an area where
16:20
there's lots of walking, have you got a nice boot room,
16:23
particularly if you're wanting to take some fairy friends, you
16:25
know, is could there be a dog wash station?
16:27
I've seen in some of our properties, which is a great
16:29
addition and again, helps for the cleaning and maintaining of
16:32
the property. And then we get into our living
16:36
and kitchen areas. So which property is going to
16:39
give you the space that's going to comfortably accommodate
16:43
everybody? You know, that psychology of
16:45
customers and that sort of value for money is that everyone can
16:49
sit and play the, you know, the sort of board games, everyone
16:52
can sit and watch a movie, you know, overnight and they're
16:56
comfortable with all of that. And exactly the same in the
16:58
kitchen so that they can all sit around the dining table for a
17:01
nice family meal and and think about then the outdoor area.
17:06
So as you step outside, have we got even if it's a small area,
17:09
can we have some alfresco dining and just a small Bistro sort of
17:12
set out there for a morning coffee or an evening glass of
17:15
wine and think about an enclosed sort of garden for those fairy
17:20
friends or pets that were pets and children that were taken as
17:23
well. So it's nice and secure out
17:25
there. And then when we get upstairs to
17:27
bedrooms, so think about bedroom to bathroom ratios.
17:31
So ideally 2 to 1, you know, is great ensuites, it's fantastic.
17:36
But 2 to one in terms of bathroom is, is is the sort of
17:39
ideal add a push, you know, sort of three bedrooms to the one
17:42
bathroom. But anything more than that, you
17:45
know, we're starting to get cues in the morning when we're ready
17:48
to, to go out for, for our local attractions.
17:51
And again, that sort of doesn't feel like good value for money.
17:54
So think about the bedroom to bathroom ratios.
17:58
Think about the bedrooms of how you can sort of position the
18:01
bedroom furniture that the bed can be accessed from both sides.
18:04
Don't have anybody crawling over the bed, you know, to sort of
18:07
get in and try not to cram as many people you know in there as
18:12
possible. One of the key things is to, to
18:16
aim for luxury and to aim for the best standard that your
18:19
budget will allow. A lot of our customers, they are
18:22
picking somewhere that is equal to their own home or better
18:25
because they want to go and go. Imagine living in a place like
18:28
this, you know, forever, you know, and they get that luxury
18:32
for, for the week or a few days. So that would be a a tip of mine
18:36
is that, you know, aim, aim for luxury, aim for the best
18:39
standard that you you can possibly get.
18:41
Yeah, I love that. I think that's a great tip.
18:42
And I was at one of my rentals the other day and we have a
18:46
little book there that people can leave a note if they've had
18:49
a nice experience. And somebody had put, why don't
18:52
you live here? And I thought, oh, that's,
18:54
that's a nice thing to say. I mean, it's because it's too
18:57
small. But I mean, yeah, it was.
18:59
I get the, I get the sentiment. So in terms of your top 10
19:03
things to consider, then let's just kind of run through that so
19:06
that everybody's clear. So first thing to consider.
19:11
Location, location, location. So think about who is managing,
19:16
as I said that property, think about those transport links.
19:20
You want to make sure that you're getting year round
19:22
bookings. There's lots of retirees that
19:24
can that retirees that can go sort of in those off seasons.
19:28
Think about how they're potentially going to get there
19:30
if they don't have access to a car and think about the local
19:34
amenities that you have around you as well.
19:37
If you are going for a large property, you very much become
19:41
the destination the property itself is.
19:43
So location doesn't sort of matter as you get up to those
19:46
sort of 567 bedroom properties. But you do need to consider the
19:52
offering that you've got in the properties that this might be
19:54
those above and beyond extras that you put in there like hot
19:58
tubs, like games rooms, cinema rooms, saunas, all of those
20:03
because they're they're probably not even going to leave the
20:05
property. You know that it's it's that
20:07
fantastic. But if you are going for.
20:09
You know, sort of smaller properties do think about a sort
20:12
of a full offer of experiences that you can have in terms of
20:16
location. But best of all, one that's
20:18
going to be easy for you to manage maintain and easy for you
20:23
to help. If, if a customer has an issue
20:26
or as I said, if we're doing it or somebody like ourselves, then
20:30
make sure you've just got a good management team behind you that
20:34
can support you with with any of those issues.
20:36
Yeah, location so important. And yeah, when I got my first
20:40
rental, it was mainly the location I picked was because it
20:43
was convenient for me. I was, I was living abroad at
20:45
the time. But also the reason I liked it
20:47
was because it had a parking space, had a lovely view of a
20:51
church, but also it was a short walk to a train station and
20:54
close to public transport link. So I thought, well, this is
20:56
going to work for me and it will also work for guests.
20:58
So yeah, location so important. So #2 then Rachel. #2 getting
21:04
the right mortgage. So you've got to get a mortgage
21:07
that will allow you to holiday let, so a specialist holiday let
21:11
mortgage. So whether that is that you're
21:12
remortgaging or and switching over from a sort of normal buy
21:15
to let or you are looking for for that.
21:19
So it's just making sure that you've got the right mortgage.
21:21
And a lot of lenders will ask you for something called a
21:23
rental income estimate letter. So that's real proof of what
21:27
they think, you know that you are going to be able to secure
21:30
on this and that is something that we provide to you.
21:33
You know, if you're at that stage, we can address that to
21:36
your lenders and have a look into booking levels.
21:40
What sort of figure are you going to be able to generate on
21:42
a low season week, mid season and high season?
21:46
And they'll be able to do some affordability checks based on
21:49
those. So that's a real important
21:51
factor just to make sure. And I think a lot of agencies,
21:54
you know, may not get involved until you've actually physically
21:58
got keys in hand, but it's too late Then, you know, you've got
22:01
to make sure that you are purchasing the right property.
22:04
So, you know, even if it is just a second opinion, you know, fire
22:08
things over our way so that we can check.
22:10
But yeah, make sure you've got the right mortgage in place.
22:12
Yeah very important. A residential mortgage is not
22:15
going to work and usually a buy to let mortgage too.
22:18
You need to have a dedicated holiday let mortgage.
22:21
And yes, the lender will ask to see a rental income estimate
22:28
from a reputable source. Sykes can be one of them.
22:31
And they'll want to see the high, medium, and low
22:34
projections as well, so they can work out whether you can afford
22:38
the mortgage basically. All right then #3 then, Rachel.
22:41
#3 see what tax relief is available out there.
22:44
So by no means am IA tax specialist or expert.
22:48
So someone like Zeal, which I know you've done a podcast quite
22:52
recently with, you know, he's getting in touch with them,
22:56
going through everything with them and just seeing what tax
22:58
relief is available out there. Whether you would be better set
23:01
up as a limited company or not, depending on thresholds and
23:05
other factors, they will go through everything with you.
23:08
So there is still relief available out there despite some
23:10
of the changes. It's just making sure that you
23:12
are, you know, saving those pennies where you can.
23:14
Really. So yeah, just exploring, do your
23:17
research into what tax relief is available out there for you.
23:20
Yeah, 100%. Always speak to the experts and
23:22
remember that everybody's circumstances are different.
23:25
And This is why you need to have a conversation with a company
23:27
like Zeal, because they will point you in the right
23:29
direction. And #4 then Rachel.
23:32
So point #4 is consider your health and safety.
23:35
So one of the most important things of being a landlord is
23:38
making sure that your property is safe and in the best
23:41
condition for anybody that's that's coming.
23:44
So one of the big ones is insurance when it comes to
23:46
health and safety. So ensuring that you've got
23:48
adequate insurance. So building content is not going
23:51
to cut it. You're going to need public
23:52
liability insurance as well. That's specific for holiday let.
23:56
So just making sure that you've got the right level of cover for
24:00
your property is is key there. Other things to consider is gas
24:04
safety certificates, if that's applicable, private water
24:07
supplies, if that's applicable, also fire risk assessment.
24:10
So we have some great templates on those.
24:12
But you do need to consider if you've particularly got a larger
24:15
property or one that's over, you know more than just the sort of
24:19
two stories, you're going to make sure that you have a
24:22
professional one done. So you're going to want to make
24:24
sure, particularly if you're going into the eaves of
24:26
properties and that you've got the right plans and the right
24:30
equipment and everything in place if there ever was the
24:32
absolute unthinkable to happen, that you're completely covered
24:36
there as well. And then things just like
24:38
regular maintenance in the property.
24:39
So if you've got hot tubs, making sure that you adhere to
24:41
all of those regulations and rules and cleaning and
24:45
maintaining there too. But also pack testing.
24:47
So for any of your portable appliances, making sure that
24:50
they're regular tested so that you know that your guests are
24:52
going safe and sound to your property.
24:55
So that would be #4. Yeah, 100% health and safety
24:58
very, very important and really key to get that right from the
25:02
start. OK, then your fifth thing to
25:05
consider when buying a holiday let.
25:08
OK, so #5 would be regulations, rules, licenses, know the area
25:13
that you are buying in and these things are changing.
25:16
So you know even if you've thought well I've I looked at
25:18
that, you know sort of several months back, you know, make sure
25:21
that you are clued up. You know, there is licensing for
25:24
example already in place in the likes of Scotland where they
25:27
also have to show things like EPC's on their listings too.
25:31
And then there is sort of minimum criteria as when it
25:34
comes to business rates, what are those thresholds?
25:37
They're different. It comes to Wales and England.
25:39
So are you meeting the right number of days available?
25:42
Are you going to meet the right number of bookings that you need
25:45
to secure as well to get on those those business rates to
25:48
move away from sort of council tax?
25:50
So it's just knowing all of those.
25:52
And one in particular that sort of springs to mind is Powers
25:55
council in in Wales. So all of the holiday let's
25:58
there have to have sprinklers in the properties.
26:01
And that is only just one in quite a small, you know, sort of
26:04
niche region, but it's just making sure that you know, the
26:08
Mary, speak to your local district, speak to your local
26:10
council, just to make sure that you are fully clued up on
26:13
everything. And again, if you're going with
26:16
a national agency, they should be able to provide you with all
26:20
of that information and make sure that it's up to date and
26:22
that you are fully clued on everything.
26:24
Yeah, very important as you correctly point out there, it's
26:28
different in all sorts of different regions across the UK.
26:32
And another important thing to say as well is that if you are
26:35
running a full time furnished holiday let you will probably
26:38
want to move over from council tax to business rates.
26:41
So again, look at your local council, contact them and supply
26:45
the information you need because that is likely to be a lot more
26:48
cost effective than paying council tax.
26:50
OK then, Rachel point #6. So when you are budgeting for
26:54
your property, don't leave out the budget for the renovations
26:58
or furnishing the property. You know, a lot of times I can
27:01
see owners that Max themselves out when it comes to the actual
27:05
purchase of the property and then have nothing to then
27:08
actually furnish it with. And then is, you know, then you
27:12
can really reflect in views of the property.
27:14
It can really reflect in the sort of standard of the
27:16
property. And it's where sometimes buying
27:18
cheap can go wrong because that sort of it's not going to
27:22
withstand anywhere and tear, it ends up costing you more money
27:25
because you're having to replace it more often than if you'd have
27:27
purchased some really good quality pieces to actually put
27:31
in the property itself as well. So just leaving yourself enough
27:34
budget to play around with who spoke before about aiming for
27:37
the best standard that your budget will allow, aim for
27:40
luxury. So just making sure that you do
27:42
have enough budget to meet your aspirations for what you have
27:46
for the property. Yeah, exactly.
27:48
Setting up a holiday that is not cheap.
27:50
So you need you need to have some cash on hand after you've
27:53
paid for the deposit and any stamp duty and all that kind of
27:55
thing. You've got to make sure that
27:57
you've got some money for for renovation and furnishing.
28:00
Although. All right then, Rachel point #7.
28:03
#7 would be that occupancy. So, you know, when you are going
28:06
to the property, decide on what is the maximum occupancy that
28:10
you're going to go for and don't do the sort of the the number
28:14
one, sort of, you know, don't break the rule of just trying to
28:18
cram in as many people as possible into the property, you
28:21
know, with several bunk beds in an area.
28:23
Because again, it's going to be terrible when it comes to wear
28:25
and tear on the property. But also it's not going to give
28:30
that good value for for money. And we are sort of pricing that
28:33
property on the number of sort of bedrooms that's in there that
28:38
it's not necessarily always on sleep.
28:39
So just making sure that it's the right occupancy.
28:42
And then when you are in those kitchen and dining areas that
28:44
everybody who has a bed then has a seat at the dining table,
28:48
everybody has a seat in the living room to watch those
28:51
movies and to play those board games.
28:53
So think about, as I said, how many people you'd like to cater
28:57
for. Yeah, I think that's a really
28:59
good point. You don't want to be sleeping 6
29:01
If you can only fit two people in the kitchen, that's that's
29:03
probably not going to be a a good look for the for the photos
29:06
and the guest experience, of course.
29:08
And you want to provide that great guest experience because
29:10
you're going to live or die by your, your reviews.
29:13
OK then, Rachel point #8. #8 would be pick your niche, so
29:17
pick the clientele that you're going for.
29:19
So if you're going to go for families or if you're going to
29:23
go for groups of friends, groups of adults sort of reuniting, if
29:27
it's going to be couples, think about the things that's really
29:30
going to tick the boxes for those.
29:32
So, so families, it could be that there's a play area sort of
29:35
outside that there's a bath so that it's nice and easy to
29:39
actually wash the kids after their day of exploring in the
29:41
area. If it's, you know, if you're
29:44
close to the beach, you're going to want to have all your beach
29:46
towels and everything ready so that they can take them.
29:48
They haven't had to think about anything.
29:50
And then if it's the the sort of couples, you go more down the
29:53
romantic side. So everything that you're
29:55
purchasing is then catering for the niche that you're going
29:59
don't try to cater for everybody.
30:01
You know, that can that can sometimes, you know, be a bit of
30:04
a bit of a failure and can, can just be a bit of a headache for
30:07
you. So, you know, pick your niche.
30:09
And again, if you don't know, you know who that is, you know,
30:12
for your area, speak to us and we can we can certainly help you
30:16
to find that. And it could be that it could be
30:19
couples and families, you know, that that go to these
30:21
properties. It could be that you can offer
30:23
to multiple, but we'll make sure that they said you're taking all
30:26
the boxes for everybody. Yeah, understand your target
30:29
guest and set up your property accordingly.
30:32
Makes a lot of sense. OK then #9. #9 think about your
30:37
local amenities. So think about a full package.
30:41
So people go on holiday to make memories, right?
30:44
And they are making memories in the property, but they also need
30:47
something to do. And whether that is some
30:49
beautiful walks, whether that's countryside or whether that is
30:52
is the sort of coast, whether that is fun days out with the
30:55
kids to local sort of attractions.
30:57
That's, that's on, on the restaurants, you know, everyone
31:01
loves to go out and have these, you know, gastro tours of some
31:05
of the areas. And we have some fantastic
31:07
restaurants all across the UK. So think about what you're going
31:11
to be able to to offer and that might be even some local
31:14
discounts that you can get for some of the areas.
31:16
The information that you want to include in your information pack
31:18
for guests when they arrive, they could be totally new to the
31:21
area. So you're going to want to give
31:23
them as much information as possible.
31:25
And some of the sort of the, the quirky experiences that I've
31:29
seen lately is, you know, the alpaca walks, um, you know, sort
31:33
of, um, going and foraging cooking classes, yoga classes
31:39
that are on offer, private chefs to come in and actually, you
31:42
know, sort of cook a meal for yourself.
31:43
So you've got that luxury of you not having to cook or do the
31:46
cleanup afterwards. So just think about what can
31:49
make you unique, you know, with with all the will in the world,
31:53
you know, you can get people to your property, but you've got to
31:57
make your property stand out a little bit.
31:59
You've got to make it, you know, more attracting than the next
32:04
property that somebody is going to want to look at.
32:06
So let's make sure that that, yeah, that you can, you can get
32:10
as many audiences in as possible.
32:12
Fantastic. Yeah, Always considering that
32:14
amazing guest experience. All right then, Rachel, 10th and
32:18
final tip. Yeah, the right agent,
32:22
particularly when you are new to holiday letting you know with
32:26
the 30s of experience that our company has and I've certainly
32:30
worked for sites for it for 11 now, you learn all the dos and
32:33
the don'ts quite quite quickly. And it's something that you can
32:36
then share, you know, sort of with our owners.
32:39
But it is we spoke about getting those all important booking
32:42
levels for business rates. And you've got to make sure that
32:46
someone understands you, that understands your needs.
32:48
That if you want to be this hands on owner and be involved
32:51
and it's a little bit of a lifestyle choice for you, that
32:54
you get to meet guests and you get to put the welcome packs
32:57
together and you get to do all the cleaning for the property,
32:59
then absolutely you can do that. You can be as hands on as you
33:02
want. If you wanna be like yourself
33:04
where you were overseas originally with this, with with
33:08
your property there, then you can be as hands off as you want
33:11
and hand those keys over and know that they are in trusting
33:13
hands and that people are going to respect, love that property
33:18
just as much as just as much as you do.
33:20
So get the right agency behind you.
33:22
Ensure that you've got a sort of marketing powerhouse.
33:25
We spoke about the booking levels, but that doesn't come
33:29
easily. That we've achieved that is, is
33:31
backed by the marketing then that we do because as you can
33:34
imagine, there's lots of people out there that are trying to go
33:37
for the same traffic. So we want to make sure that
33:39
we're getting eyeballs to your listing and then converting
33:42
those into all important bookings as well.
33:44
So get the right agency that really understands you,
33:47
understand your needs, understands and builds that
33:50
package around you, but can also actually generate the bookings
33:53
for you. 100% yes 10 brilliant tips there So location,
33:59
location, location. Get the right mortgage.
34:02
Think about tax relief. So talk to the experts at Zeal.
34:06
Get all your health and safety certifications in order Think
34:10
about local regulation because it's different wherever you are
34:13
in the UK, make sure that your budget for renovation and
34:17
furnishing. Look at your occupancy numbers.
34:21
Pick your niche to get your target guest right, think about
34:24
the local amenities and work with the right agent if that's
34:28
necessary for you. And of course, get in touch with
34:30
the team at Sykes Cottages. Rachel, it's been a real
34:34
pleasure to talk to you on this episode of Holiday Let Insider.
34:38
Thank you for joining us. Thank.
34:39
You thank you James. Just before we go, I did just
34:42
want to plant just a little seed of of sort of interest
34:46
potentially for for some of the listeners as well.
34:48
So a lot of people can think about the traditional bricks and
34:51
mortar, you know, of a property that that is the only way to
34:54
sort of enter this market. I've worked with owners that
34:57
have entered this market in some unique ways recently.
35:00
So they've looked at purchasing instead of the bricks and
35:03
mortar, they've looked at purchasing land and then ways
35:05
that they can diversify that land.
35:08
So they're thinking about shepherd's huts, converted
35:10
buses, converted helicopters, railway carriages, you know.
35:15
Yeah, it's endless, you know, on the, on the possibilities and
35:20
the configurations that are out there.
35:22
So that could be, you know, another way to enter the market
35:25
and they do have a much lower entry point than your
35:29
traditional bricks and mortar. But of course, it comes with a
35:31
total separate business plan. With this one, it's not the sort
35:35
of property value appreciation that's the investment coming
35:37
from, but more the growth and the sort of expandability of the
35:41
actual property and the site itself.
35:43
So we've seen owners go from having one or two, you know, to
35:46
then having several units where they just keep growing and
35:49
growing and growing. And, you know, some of these are
35:52
all the rage right now as well into the glamping sector.
35:54
So just as a little, a little interest, maybe a little seed,
35:59
some a little bit of encouragement, you know, think
36:01
outside the box too. It doesn't just have to be
36:04
bricks and mortar to enter to enter it.
36:06
Of course, that is the traditional route.
36:08
And that is what everyone thinks about when they think about a
36:11
cottage. You know, they think about that,
36:12
you know, sort of chocolate box cottage that they're having.
36:16
But it could be flats, it could be in the in the centre of city
36:19
centres as well, or it could be diversifying land.
36:22
So yeah, see the opportunities around this.
36:25
There certainly are, yeah. And yeah, great food for thought
36:28
there and a brilliant kind of extra tip and a way to end it.
36:31
There are there are more than one way to skin a cat, right?
36:34
Lots of lots of different opportunities and, and guests
36:36
out there, they're looking for something a little bit
36:38
different. They're looking for a real true
36:40
experience these days. And there's so many different
36:42
properties that can provide it. Rachel, thank you so much for
36:46
sharing your your wisdom and your knowledge with our
36:48
audience. Thanks for joining us on Holiday
36:49
Let INSIDER. Thanks for having me.
36:52
Great to chat to Rachel Brennan there from Sykes Holiday
36:54
Cottages. Remember, location, location,
36:57
location. Get your mortgage right, your
37:00
tax issues, regulation. There's lots to consider at the
37:04
start of your journey and that episode was packed with some
37:07
fantastic knowledge. All right, that's it for today's
37:10
show. If you keep to work with Sykes
37:11
Holiday Cottages, head to sykescottages.co.uk/letyour
37:16
Cottage. And for more free education tips
37:19
and trends from the short term rentals industry, visit
37:22
Houseplanet dot Club where you can sign up for our newsletter,
37:25
listen to our podcasts and download a suite of ebooks for
37:29
hosts and property managers. That's it for today's edition of
37:32
Holiday Let Insider. Until next time, happy hosting.