Buying and Renting out a holiday cottage. Top tips to new and existing holiday cottage owners.

Cottages, Hotels and B&Bs in the Lake District

Welcome to

Escape 2

Lake District

Escape 2

Lake District

All text and images © escape2lakedistrict.com 2012

A Guide to setting up a self catering holiday accommodation business

A light hearted look at setting up and running a holiday cottage

Setting up and renting out a holiday cottage

Please note the views expressed in this article represent the views of the author and in no way reflect the official view of Escape2LakeDistrict.com or Helvellyn Consulting. If you are looking to set up a holiday accommodation business and are in need of guidance, please seek professional assistance.

The right location - Take on or Start up - The right size of property - Equipping your cottage - USPs - Pricing - Agency or self-manage - Advertising - Terms and Conditions - Maintenance - Insurance and accounting - Health and Safety - Grading - Dogs - What to do next.

The objective of this article is to provide a light hearted but hopefully informative set of top tips if you're thinking about buying and renting out a holiday cottage. It does not claim to be a definitive guide, but we hope it is of some use and interest!

Why do you want to have a holiday cottage?

Well in all likelihood holiday home owners fall into one of the following categories:

Second Homers - owners of a second home who want to earn some extra cash by renting it out for a few weeks of the year
Holiday Cottage Owners - People looking to get a good income level through renting out a holiday cottage or property for as many weeks of the year as possible
Multi-Property Owners - People with the idyllic holiday cottage business of multiple self-catering units attached to their main residence, or a string of properties around the country or even the world!

The objectives and therefore priorities for each type of owner are different although the one feature that is common to all owners is that IT ISN'T CHEAP! Unless you are in the enviable position of having oodles of spare cash then buying one or more holiday properties is not going to be a cheap way of making cash, however there are degrees of expenditure as we will explain below. However, whatever your position, each of the property owner types need to think through the same fundamental areas before embarking on a successful holiday cottage business.

Choosing the right location

Location, Location, Location - true for any type of business. If you are a pure second home owner you will have chosen a location that suits you, and that's fine. But if you're looking to do this as a "business" whatever the scale and you need to be booked up most of the year then choose well! The location will in many ways dictate occupancy. An idyllic cottage in the outer Hebrides will do well at peak times but is unlikely to fill up for short weekend breaks in the off season. Conversely if you're lucky enough to be within a few hours of a major city like London, Manchester or Newcastle then chances are you'll have people looking to stay all year.

Once you have picked the county and town, then you need to think about the location itself. It's self-catering but people are still likely to want to eat out, so having a pub or restaurant within walking distance is a good selling point. Likewise a local shop, however small, will avoid an hour long round trip for a pint of milk. Of course if you have multiple self catering units then it becomes possible to offer these necessities yourself, and regardless of the number of units a small welcome pack with the essentials is a good idea. So the ideal self catering property is in an idyllic location, with splendid views, but within a few hours drive of a major city and within walking distance of the nearest pub and shop. Simple!