Why Choose Classic Cottages?

Our efficiency, experience and support create outstanding results for our property Owners.

Years of Experience

We are a family business founded over 30 years ago. The team now consists of 30 people with the majority having been with the company for more than five years and over a third for ten years or more. That body of experience is the company’s greatest asset.

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Personal Attention

From your first enquiry, one of our five Property Managers will be assigned to you to discuss all aspects of holiday letting and will remain with you once you have signed up with us. Each has extensive knowledge of the business and their particular region. They are always contactable during the working week and we have a Duty Property Manager on call at weekends. They do have holidays but we have an excellent team back at the office who will invariably have the answer to your question or know where to find it.

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Advice

We will advise you on every aspect of holiday letting from your statutory duties to colour co-ordination. There is not much we do not know about our business but, if you do find a gap in our knowledge (some of the intricacies of VAT and tax have been known to stump us), we will help you to find the answer. On the first visit we will give you a full and honest appraisal of the suitability of your property for holiday letting, including any changes we would request before marketing the property. We will advise you on the right rent band to maximise your income, and will give you an estimate of the season length you might expect in order to arrive at a projection of your annual net income. Your Property Manager will also be happy to advise on other matters like design, decor, accepting pets – even the duties of your housekeeper should you need to employ one. Our Property Managers do not receive a commission for adding new holiday homes to our portfolio, so you can be assured that the advice is impartial. Once your holiday home is up and running, we will meet with you at the very least once a year to discuss the previous year’s bookings and make plans for the following year.

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Efficiency

An important part of the trust placed in us by Owners and guests alike is our efficiency. It is no use to you handing over all the administration if you still have the hassle of checking up on us. Intelligent use of computers ensures that we handle all the routine administration punctually and accurately. In addition, having an in-house IT team means that we are constantly developing and improving our systems so that our operation is not welded to the computer – we do not allow our computer to say "No"!

We also pride ourselves on attention to detail in every aspect of our business, from preparing property descriptions to dealing with a complicated booking request. Sometimes it can border on the obsessive, but we are very aware that we are dealing with your property and your guests’ holidays, both are important and mistakes can be expensive.

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Transparency

You will receive a statement with every payment which provides a breakdown of each booking including our deductions. The financial statements are even presented so that they are ready to be passed straight to the taxman or your accountant. When you sign up with us you will also get log in details for our Owners’ Web site which allows you to see bookings as soon as they are made, all the financial details of those bookings and the guests’ feedback questionnaires as they come in.

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The best properties

We are very proud of our portfolio of holiday homes. Since the earliest days we have been determined to build a reputation for offering only the very best properties. Success has been built on the fact that our customers feel that they can trust us with each and every holiday they take. The quality of the properties is an integral part of our success, the best marketing in the world will fall flat if the customer is not delighted with the product. Like any other business, we only thrive if our customers return.

We are also a VisitBritain Quality Accredited Agency, which recognises that we manage our holiday homes to the highest standard and only take on properties that meet our exacting requirements.

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Imagination and creativity

One of the unique facets of our company is the amount of time and money we put into ensuring all our communication with our customers is beautifully designed. It certainly costs more than mainstream marketing, but we believe that investment is a crucial part of building the trust and reassurance that keep our guests loyal.

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Computers

Paradoxically our other core skill is in information technology. Our in-house team of three programmers ensure that the administration runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible and also provide us with an edge in the dynamic and fiercely competitive world of on-line marketing. Our IT team have developed and maintain our Web site which means that it is always being assessed and improved. But our Web presence goes beyond our core site, we also have a site specifically for property Owners and a site called the Classic Guide (www.classicguide.co.uk). The latter helps our guests to decide what to do and where to go in the West Country whilst at the same time extending our "reach" on the Web.

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A History of Success

We were founded in 1977 by Tony and Clare Tregoning. Starting with just twelve holiday homes in the first year, the company has grown to the point where we now market over 600 holiday homes throughout the West Country. It has passed to the next generation so it is still "in the family".

It is all very well for us to extol our own virtues, but we have had the occasional ‘pat on the back’ so here are some of the awards we have collected over the years:

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