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Do you sometimes think that your home could be doing more for you? Perhaps the kids have flown the nest and you have empty bedrooms not being used. You could have a big garden that’s crying out for a shepherds hut, caravan, yurt or annex to be installed. Maybe you live in a part of the world that people love to come and visit. There’s a great way of getting your home to contribute to your livelihood; as a holiday let.
Whatever you want it to be; a side hustle, a bit of pin money or full-on new business venture you can decide. Here are a few useful tips on turning your under-used space into desirable holiday accommodation.
Quality counts
The space needs to be immaculately clean; make sure the walls have had a fresh lick of paint and worktops have been disinfected and there’s not a speck of dust on any horizontal surfaces. Carpets should be shampooed and solid wood flooring mopped & polished. The bath and shower must be spick-and-span and the shower curtain spotless.
Provide freshly-laundered luxury towels & bed linen; if they look stained and threadbare it makes a really bad impression. Miniature toiletries such as handmade soaps luxury bubble bath add a lovely finishing touch.
Lastly, in this day & age, reliable wi-fi is an absolute necessity; unless of course, being remote and off-grid is your USP.
Legal requirements
You’re allowed to make a small amount of income (currently £7,500 [tax year 2020-21]) before you need to pay tax on it. If you find that your holiday property is let for 105 days of the year or more (not including times when friends and family are staying for free), it then qualifies as a ‘Furnished holiday letting‘. Check the HMRC website to see whether you’ll need to register for self-assessment.
Health & safety considerations are of utmost importance when providing holiday accommodation to paying guests. This involves carrying out a risk assessment and ensuring the property complies with a number of standards and regulations regarding such things as fire, gas, electricity and carbon monoxide hazards. You will need to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, provide a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and make sure that furniture (especially mattresses, sofas and curtains) meets with British Standards requirements.
You will need to take out a new insurance policy which covers holiday letting. It should include public liability, accidental damage and loss of rent. Your regular home & buildings insurance won’t be sufficient – and may actually be voided if you need to make a personal claim.
To make all these statutory obligations easier to deal with, it is essential to keep proper records. Put away all relevant invoices & receipts – even if it’s only in a shoe box under your bed.
Promotion
You’ve followed all the tips above and your holiday accommodation is ready to go; so how do you find paying customers? You need to get yourself out there!
Firstly, register your property on listings sites such as Airbnb, HomeAway and onefinestay. If you’re interested in house exchange opportunities, sign up to a site like PeopleLikeUs.
Set up social media accounts specific to your property and regularly upload beautifully styled photos of the space you have to offer. Instagram and Facebook Pages are perfect places to start.
Finally, never underestimate the power of word of mouth. Invite friends & family to give your new lodgings a trial run. Ask them for their honest opinion and to give you suggestions about what you could do to improve. They can then act as unofficial ambassadors, recommending your place to their friends and family – and so on, and so on.
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