A – Z Guide to Holiday Letting
Your essential guide to the language of 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Commission
Our commission is 20% plus VAT (effectively 23.5%).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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'.
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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.
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Tax
According to current Government policy, from 6 April 2010, the letting of a commercial holiday home will no longer qualify as a trading business for tax purposes. However, as with all other property income, there is a wide range of allowable expenses and start-up losses can be carried forward. We are at the forefront of the lobby to convince the Treasury and Government to recognise our sector of the tourism industry as a trading business so we are hopeful that, if the change does happen on 6 April 2010, it will be reversed shortly thereafter. Please feel free to contact us for an update.
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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.
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