Well then, here we are again. Locked down, Christmas and New Year are coming up over the horizon (hopefully unlocked if we all behave ourselves).

While the loss of bookings in November will be nothing like as bad as the loss of bookings in the spring and early summer, it’s still a big confidence blow to the sector. If there is anything, you think that we at My Favourite Holiday Cottages should be doing to provide more support or position ourselves better for the re-opening of the market next month – all suggestions – even blindingly obvious ones – will be very welcome.

Now is a perfect time to join the PASCuk or the ASSC for Scottish holiday homeowners, who are lobbying hard with their respective Parliaments on your behalf. Join to add weight to their campaigning.

In the meantime, The November Homefront brings you some handy tips and advice on everything from marketing to compliance issues to put your business in a better position when bookings

England

For details of the latest COVID-19 Restrictions in England announced, which take effect on Thursday, 5th November, click on this link to the gov.uk  website page.

Summary of the key points

Hotels, hostels and other accommodation should only be open for those who have to travel for work purposes and for a limited number of other exemptions which will be set out in law.

Pre-booked holidays that were due to start prior to the 5th of November can continue as normal, so there is no need for owners or guests to cancel a holiday that meets this criterion purely as a result of the new Lockdown information being announced.

The Job Retention scheme (Furlough) will now be extended for a further month. The Job Support Scheme has therefore been postponed until Retention Scheme ends :

If you have taken a mortgage holiday, you will be able to top up the holiday period to a total of six months (including holiday months

Covid Tiers: Stay Where Two is Company But Three Are Allowed!

We may be COVID-Conscious right now, but this shouldn't stop you and your partner from escaping to the countryside for a safe and much-needed short break this autumn and winter. View these cosy and secluded country cottages where you can step away from the crowds for a weekend or mid-week holiday in perfect rural isolation.

 

The Benefit of Midweek breaks

Out of season, midweek breaks offer excellent value for money. Many properties will offer four nights for the price of three. You can find properties for as little as £250 for a 4-night Monday-to-Friday holiday – that's real value for money at just over £30pppn.

You'll also find that rural areas are less frequented by visitors to the countryside between Monday to Friday. With so many of us now able to work from home, what's to stop you from taking the computer with you just in case duty calls? Although Wi-Fi-free cottages

The Holiday Homefront: September 2020

Well, now – what an August that was! ‘No Vacancies’ right across the site. And with September and October also doing very well for bookings, this has at least given us all a chance to make amends for losses incurred during the lockdown.

As usual, The Holiday Homefront begins with articles that caught our attention (and which we believe should grab yours). Then, for those who advertise their properties on MFHC, there are some practical actions you can take to improve response levels to your adverts.

If this is your first edition of The Holiday Homefront, you should know its purpose is to help holiday property owners better manage and market their properties. It’s free and is published once a month. Click Here if you would like to subscribe to it.

Read on!

If an article does not display a link, click on the Title.

 

HOLIDAY COTTAGE MARKETING10 Simple Tips and Tropes for Writing

If this is your first edition of The Holiday Homefront, you should know its purpose is to help holiday property owners better manage and market their properties. The number of people subscribing to The Holiday Homefront continues to grow. Numbers are now approaching four figures. Thanks for all the positive feedback from so many of you. We will continue to write about what you tell us you want to read. News of regulations/compliance requirements affecting the holiday lettings sector. Helpful blog articles on holiday property maintenance, marketing and management were published on MFHC last month or elsewhere. Ways to increase the appeal of your adverts and attract more visitors to your website

Scroll down to read brief introductions to articles, then click on the links to read those that are relevant. If a link is not displayed in an article: Click on the Article Title. 

MAKE YOUR ADVERT WORK HARDER! Why Displaying Your Own Availability Calendar

A Cotswolds Indulgence

One of the best things about self-catering holidays is that being in charge of your kitchen and menus means you can discover a whole feast of culinary delights using local organic produce. The Cotswolds is a veritable foodie nirvana. Chris Burton, the owner of the fantastic Eco Chic Cottages in Burford and Lechlade, has put together a tasty compendium of her favourite Cotswold foodie places for food and drink to eat in or carry home for dinner.

Food and its provenance have never been more topical or more relevant. So when in the Cotswolds, why wouldn’t you want to try all that the rolling green ‘Wolds’ can provide? We have a wealth of local delicacies to discover and enjoy.

Workday breakfasts don’t apply when you’re on holiday. Time is your own, and the indulgence of a cooked breakfast is a heavenly treat—all the more so if the weather is good and you can breakfast alfresco.

For example, the classic breakfast of bacon

Is your holiday cottage up-to-date and guest-friendly?

Keeping amenities in holiday cottages in line with modern trends and expectations can be a challenge.

Sometimes it helps to step back and get an external perspective. Breezeway has published an interesting list of amenities. They've broken the lists into two categories 'The Hobbyist' and The Professional.'

The report makes for an easy and thought-provoking read if you keep in mind that no holiday home could expect to provide everything in the Professional list and expect to remain solvent.

Mowhay Barn in Padstow, North Cornwall

It contains lots of very sensible suggestions, though not all of them are expensive. We recommend you give it more than a passing glance!

The only one we would take issue with is listing 'a deck of cards' in the hobbyist section. In our experience, this means a used deck of cards. These frequently contain less than a full deck. However, a brand

Well, everything seems to have taken off! There has been a massive surge in visitors to the site clicking through to the websites of properties advertised. During June, our traffic volumes increased by 161%. Let’s hope people can behave sensibly at home and on holiday and avoid another lockdown – local or otherwise.

I’ve been impressed by owners' commitment to revising their cleaning schedules and putting new practices in place. These will ensure holiday cottages are recognised as one of the safest kinds of holiday accommodation in the UK. If you can bear it, there is more useful COVID-19 information in this edition of The Holiday Homefront, along with much more helpful advice and information for cottage owners.

The number of people subscribing to The Holiday Homefront has just about doubled in the past four weeks, mainly through word of mouth. COVID news aside, if this is the first copy you receive, contents usually focus on the following:* News

The Professional Association of Self-Caterers (PASC) has released guidelines for using and managing swimming pools. They are necessary but mercifully, brief, so we are reprinting them here below, but if you want to find out more about the PSC and what they do, here’s the link: www.pascuk.co.uk

For pools where the swim session will be pre-booked for the use of a single household or bubble holidaying together, providing they do not use any changing rooms or shared toilets (i.e. change and shower in their accommodation), then this is permittable with additional cleaning of high touchpoints such as access doors/keypads and is identified in a COVID19 risk assessment.

Special attention must be made to maintaining the correct PH and Chlorine levels and keeping a record of this.