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Renting your holiday home

Managing your holiday rentals:

When managing a holiday rental there are two main factors to consider - the physical day to day running of the property, and the administration.

If you are on hand or live close to the property, then the day to day running of the property may not be an issue. Alternatively, you may decide to pay a letting company (or "letting agent") to take care of the bookings and on site admin for you. This is also a common solution on residential developments.

Taking a booking:

If you are going to handle most of the bookings yourself then the first step is to take and confirm the booking. Whether you decide to accept verbal telephone bookings, internet enquires or written requests is up to you but it's important that you consider the pro's and con's of each and that you protect yourself and your guest.

One of the most common and accepted methods is to ask that any booking requests are made in writing. This could be done by sending the guest booking agreement which they must sign and return with a booking deposit. Once a deposit has been received you can then confirm the booking. You should get an agreement draw up by a solicitor and it should included details of how to make a cancellation, any associates fees or penalties, breakage charges and another other important information.

When it comes to accepting payments you may decide just to take a cheque although it is now increasingly common for payments to be made directly via credit card, telephone / internet banking or a third party method such as paypal. You also need to consider how you intend on refunding any payments such as damage deposits.

Preparing for your guests arrival:

The next thing you need to ensure is that your property is ready to receive your guests. This includes cleaning the property, washing and replacing any bedding, removing or repairing any breakages and generally ensuring that it presents the right image.

If you on site or within easy reach of the property then this may not be an issue. You may also be lucky enough to have a friend or neighbour who doesn't mind doing this for you. If not then don't worry, there are lots of letting companies who will do this for a percentage of any bookings or you could even employ someone privately to do this for you.

Your guests arrival:

After even a relatively short trip your guests will be keen to ditch the suitcases and relax. With a bit of forward planning you can make full use of this and use it to your advantage. Remember, first impressions count and if you get everything right all of their friends will want to stay at your holiday rental next year!

Probably most important is how are they going to get the keys? The probably won't appreciate having to drive to a village 30 minutes away to collect them from a friend. A better solution is to ask a neighbour to look after them for you and better still, have the kettle on when they arrive! Going that extra mile can make all the difference, how about some fresh flowers and a bowl of fresh fruit?

Your guests departure:

If they've really enjoyed the holiday then you may have a job persuading them to give back the keys! However, accidents do happen and it's important at this stage to check for any damage. Most guests will be honest and own up to any breakage but if in doubt it's important to remain professional, polite and weigh up the cost of the damage. If it's just a vase worth a few pounds, and this is a guest that has already booked for next year it may not be worth an argument and perhaps loosing the booking.

Finally, if you want them to fill in a questionnaire leave in somewhere in view that's unobtrusive... you could even put it in a welcome pack. If they want to fill it in, they, will and the feedback will often come in handy for testimonials. Don't force them to fill it in before they get back their damage deposit!