Holiday Letting | A to Z Guide to Holiday Letting
Your team of staff are thorough, professional and helpful. All our visitors seem confident on arrival that they have booked the right holiday. We think you’ve got it right!

We are so very pleased and fortunate that we are on board, so to speak. We also know that we can contact Jacqui at any time. She is a mine of information!

A – Z Guide to Holiday Letting

Administration

 – At the root of our success in maintaining fast and efficient administration is our commitment to the use of computers to handle the routine tasks. The technology is teamed with friendly and efficient staff who add the all important personal touch. They will ensure that all payments have been received before confirming final holiday details, and that guests are given full instructions about how to get to your property and collect their keys – even if they are booking at the very last minute.

Advertising

 – Much of our marketing budget is assigned to attracting new clients. Our advertising spend is strategically split between traditional media like newspapers and magazines and advertising on the internet. We monitor every response from each advertising source carefully to ensure that it is effective. This allows us to recognise trends early – such as later booking – and seize these opportunities to gain a competitive advantage.

Booking Service

 – We believe our booking service is second to none. Not only can our customers leave brochure requests day and night, they can also ring our offices to have their holiday queries answered seven days a week. Our sales team are highly trained, and to help them achieve maximum efficiency we have a sophisticated telephone system and a fast, fully computerised, reservations facility, as well as systems for credit and debit card transactions that guarantee bookings can be confirmed and paid for immediately. In addition, customers can log on to our Web site at www.classic.co.uk to search for their ideal property, check availability and book securely on-line at any time of the day or night.

Brochure

 – Even in the age of the internet our brochure is still our ‘shop window’. As well as being attractive and informative, it must also give the client confidence in the quality of the product we offer. We strive to produce the best brochure in the business. Please send for it by clicking here to judge for yourself.

Cancellation Guarantee

 – The rents quoted in our brochure and on our Web site include the cost of our cancellation guarantee. This covers our guests for cancellations on medical grounds and guarantees you full payment once you have been notified of a booking.

Cleaning and Gardening

 – We are holiday letting agents, and our specialist service is in marketing your holiday home. We do not undertake any property management. If you are unable to manage the property yourself, it is vital that you appoint a Housekeeper or an agency to take on all these arrangements, and of course look after your guests.

Commission

 – Our commission is 20% plus VAT (effectively 23.5%).

Contractual Commitment

 – We do recognise that circumstances change and therefore our contracts run for a calendar year at a time. We send out new contracts every summer for the following year.

Database

 – More than half our bookings are generated from previous clients, their friends and their families. Our previous clients are our most valuable asset and as soon as your holiday home is added to our portfolio, you tap into that large potential market.

Design

 – Our clients are buying a high value product based only on the information they see on the screen or the printed page. Our professional and imaginative presentation on screen and page reassures our customers that we can be relied upon to provide the holiday they desire. Buying a holiday is an emotive pursuit and we add to the enjoyment by presenting our holiday homes in an attractive and exciting way.

Direct Mail

 – We produce an enticing and specifically targeted direct mail campaign which is sent out to our large database of customers. It is highly productive and we have a good success rate.

Discounts

 – We offer late booking discounts to guests, normally up to 20%, and these are generally only available within two weeks of the holiday date. They are designed to encourage last minute bookings. We also offer a 5% re-booking discount to encourage re-bookings from guests who book a holiday in the same cottage within 18 months of their last holiday.

E-Marketing

 – Each year we plan a comprehensive email campaign, which offers customers new information, selected holiday homes and late availability due to last minute cancellations.

Eligibility

 – Bookings will not be accepted from groups of single people under the age of 25 or all male or all female parties of more than three people without the prior agreement of our Owners.

Fire Regulations

 – Since the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 were passed, all manufactured upholstered furniture has been required to pass certain tests of fire resistance. All upholstered furniture purchased after 1st March 1990 should meet the requirements. The only exception is that furniture made before 1950 and the re-upholstery of furniture made before that date are exempt from the regulations.

Insurance

 – We have negotiated a favourable policy exclusively for our holiday home Owners. The policy is specifically written for holiday homes and covers Public Liability as well as Buildings and Contents. If you stay with your existing company, it is important that they are aware that you are holiday letting. Also it is essential that you check you are covered for Public Liability.

Internet Marketing

 – Marketing on the internet is a critical part of our overall strategy. We were one of the first in our business to see its potential and we are determined that our internet presence will remain the best in the market. We have adapted fast to maximise the potential offered by the internet and will continue to do so as the internet environment changes.

Marketing Terms

 – We specialise in offering a service to Owners who regard their holiday home as a small business. Our investment in marketing means that we must do the same. Hence, we do require our Agreement with you to be exclusive. In addition, the minimum period for which we are able to market a holiday home is 19 weeks between May and September. During this period, up to two weeks can be set aside for you or your family. We will only market your holiday home if we are confident that we will be able to let it for a viable number of weeks.

Mortgage

 – If you have a mortgage you should inform your building society or lender that you are holiday letting the property, but this can cause problems if not handled properly. Some companies do not allow holiday letting.

Occupancy

 – When your property is listed with us you can opt to open all year round or just for the main season, although we would advise Owners not to withdraw the winter months if possible as they are becoming increasingly popular travelling times, with a huge growth being seen in the short break market.

Overseas Owners

 – We have to deduct tax at the standard rate from your net rent if you are resident overseas. The Inland Revenue have now established self-assessment for overseas residents. Our accountant has all the relevant details. Once we are notified by the IR that you are eligible for self-assessment we will then stop deducting tax.

Payments

 – On the 10th of each month, we pay the Deposits collected in the previous month and the Balances – which represent the remaining two-thirds of the rent – for all the holidays started in that previous month. When a holiday home joins our portfolio, payments are held until a satisfactory Final Inspection has taken place.

Personal Service

 – On joining our portfolio you will receive a personal service from your local Property Manager, with whom we hope you will develop a good working relationship. Your Property Manager will visit you at least once a year and will always be contactable.

Public Relations

 – Effective PR and a good reputation with the national and regional press and consumer magazines is essential. We are confident of the quality of the holiday homes we offer and of our service, and operate a co-ordinated PR programme that regularly achieves significant coverage in key national publications such as the Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph.

Registration Fee

 - There is an initial Registration Fee of £75 plus VAT. This is a one-time charge deducted from our first payment to you. Any additional holiday homes under the same ownership will be charged at £45 plus VAT.

Rent

 – Anyone who has tried to decide where to pitch their rent to maximise their income will know how difficult it is. Each holiday home has its individual characteristics and each client their own set of preferences and priorities, making it impossible to use the same formula in every case. However, with thousands of bookings a year, ranging across hundreds of holiday homes, we have built up a wealth of experience upon which to base our calculation of the most profitable rent for any given property. Our income is tied to your own, so you can rest assured that our only incentive is to maximise your return.

Risk Assessments

 – Carrying out a risk assessment is an important step in protecting your guest and your staff, as well as complying with the law. It helps you focus on the risks that really matter in your holiday cottage - the ones with potential to cause real harm. In many instances, straightforward measures can readily control risks, and for most, that means simple, cheap and effective measures to ensure the safety of your guests. The law does not expect you to eliminate all risk, but you are required to protect people as far as 'reasonably practicable'.

Short Breaks

 – You can offer short breaks to your guests of three, four, five or six nights at a 30%, 25%, 20% or 10% discount on the weekly rate respectively. Winter short breaks can be booked at any time during the year, and are applicable from January to Easter and from late October to Christmas. Spring and Autumn short breaks can be booked between two and eight weeks ahead of the holiday dates or at any time to suit you in advance. They apply from Easter to the end of June and from mid-September to late October. Christmas short breaks can be booked from December and New Year short breaks from the first week of November.

Tax

 – If you let your property for holidays, rather than on a longer term basis, then the Inland Revenue regard this as a business. This has considerable tax advantages, including significant reductions on your potential Capital Gains Tax liability and the ability to avoid Income Tax on a proportion of your income by investing in a pension plan.

VAT

 – VAT registration is normally not advisable because you have to pay VAT on your gross income. VAT registered Owners are treated in the same way as non-registered Owners.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Holiday Letting | A to Z Guide to Holiday Letting