Thank you for dropping in to read the August 2021 edition of The Holiday Homefront for UK Holiday Cottage Owners. As I write this, the weather has begun to warm up after a slow and rather damp start, and blue skies prevail again. Let’s hope this sets the pattern for the remainder of the month.

 

Articles in blue headlines: Click on the headline to read a full copy of the article.

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Hempaye Cottage in Sidmouth

The Wanderlist, New Directory Of Top Countryside Holiday Retreats

If you want to know what it takes to scale the heights of guest care and experiences in the holiday cottage business, look at these leading examples from Forbes Magazine.

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Welcome to High Summer and the busiest time of the year. Quite honestly, we’ve never known summer with such great demand for bookings. We get calls and emails daily from people desperate to find somewhere to book in the summer holidays. So, if you have had any last-minute cancellations, do advertise your availability in the Late Availability section on the sites you use to advertise your holiday cottage. NB: This is free and much visited on My Favourite Holiday Cottages.

Anyway, here’s more advice and top tips for you to digest between changeovers. Remember, click on the title where relevant to access the full article.

Onwards and Upwards!

Rick Bond

My Favourite Holiday Cottages

 

How to use Pinterest for business

Suppose you’ve dabbled but never really got to grips with the power of Pinterest or dismissed it because you only use Instagram. In that case, this easy User Guide will not only make you aware of Pinterest

Go Slow in the Cotswolds this autumn.

September and October is a lovely time for walking in the Cotswold Hills as nature transitions from Indian summer to Autumn gold - a perfect way to spend a late summer or early autumn weekend when the hubbub of high summer has died down. While there is still availability, book a weekend or midweek rural retreat for two in a Cotswold village with a cosy pub or two on hand to muse over the day's adventures.

All are within easy reach of Lonon and Midland cities, allowing for arrivals early on Friday evenings, but with that million-miles-away feeling.

Here you will find some delightful country cottage boltholes with a touch of urban chic and furnished to luxury standards, such as these three bijou beauties (click titles to view more images).

 

The Sycamore in Arlington

This delightful Cotswold eco-lodge  For Couples lies in the Gloucestershire Countryside Near Bibury.

How to Advertise Your Holiday Home or Airbnb for Free

A handy checklist from those reliable folks at Schofields Insurance of free and easy ways to market your holiday cottage.

 

What to Tweet: Content Tips For Experienced Media Managers

For those of you keen to do better on Twitter – or at least see a tangible return for your efforts this is an insight into Twitter opportunities many of us have yet to exploit. It covers everything from using Twitter Threads to creating a context for your ‘brand’ - without paying for advertising.

 

What Marketers Say Is the Key to Good Customer Experience

Everybody knows that a ‘good customer experience’ is a sure way to get new and repeat bookings. But do we all know what it takes to make people feel you’re offering an experience good enough for them to rent your property? You will if you read this!

This report digs deep into the components that, put together, create a positive experience

Greetings!  

May is the month when spring traditionally begins its slow segue into summer. This year the weather pattern seems to have reversed itself with reports of frost and snow showers! Let us hope this position is soon remedied with more warm and gentle airs prevailing across the UK. In the meantime, one thing you can rely upon is The (all-weather, ever-green) Holiday Homefront, with another helpful bundle of top tips and advice for holiday cottage owners.

Oh, and for this month, one ticking off! See if you can spot it.

Remember: To open a link to a longer article, click on the article title when it is displayed in turquoise blue.

 

1.     Plug sockets with USB chargers.

Here’s a handy idea to make your holiday cottage more user-friendly and your guests more appreciative. Consider replacing existing plug sockets in key places (e.g. lounges and bedrooms) with ones that incorporate USB points allowing guests to recharge

Read about our Six Favourite Seaside Piers in the UK. The article includes contact/location information to help with visit planning together with recommended local holiday cottages to stay in when visiting.

With a nation desperate to get out of doors this summer and finding somewhere for a memorable short break this spring is now proving something of a challenge. So, while beach holiday cottages with availability may be hard to find, how about a great little weekend break in the UK countryside centred around walks through bluebell woods? After such a long period of pandemic confinement, there's likely to be nowt so good for the soul as a stroll through woodlands carpeted with the gentle hues of a million softly shimmering bluebells.

We've put together a 'Six of the Best' list of lovely bluebell woods for anyone planning a last-minute break in late April and early May, together with suggestions for nearby holiday cottages in which to stay.

  Harford Wood near Landkey in North Devon

Grid Ref: SS612322

This is a good two-hour scenic circular walk-through green lanes, fields and ancient woods. To save the best bit until last, finish off by

Out of Season Weekend Breaks in Warwickshire.

For a memorable weekend break in Warwickshire exploring all the best places when the crowds have diminished, My Favourite Holiday Cottages approached Sally and Jonathan, owners at Tredington Mill in Shipston-on-Stour. We asked how they would recommend their guests make the most of their days while staying in one of their two restored mill cottages. Here’s what they came up with, and, to be honest – you’ll need to spend at least two weekends there to get through everything, which means there is plenty for all ages and interests to discover.

So, where do the Tredington Mill’s owners recommend visiting on a short break outside the peak season in Warwickshire?

Visitors here tend to like visiting places in the Cotswolds and Stratford-upon-Avon. One of our preferences for the best Cotswolds visits is Chastleton House, a National Trust house and gardens (where croquet was invented). When the owners talk about “

Welcome to the April 2021 Issue of The Holiday Homefront. For further information on the articles featured, click on the title or the Read More button.

 

A spotless bath at Rectory Cottage in Northamptonshire

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Why you shouldn’t trust some Covid-safe badge schemes 

For those owners relying on self-accrediting badge schemes to prove This report from Which Magazine makes for a very interesting read.

Read more

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And while on this COVID Cleaning subject - another option...

‘We’re Good To Go’ participants get global ‘Safe Travels’ stamp

Visit England and Visit Britain are delighted to announce that businesses in the UK registered to the ‘We’re Good To Go’