7 Essential tips for a full calendar and a 5-star rating

When preparing your holiday cottage you’ll want to give yourself the best possible launch pad to make your property stand out and ensure a consistently full calendar all year round. Hailing from Torbay on the south-west coast of England, we are Airbnb specialists, taking care of all your hosting and holiday home management needs.

Drawing from our experience managing high-quality holiday lets in the English Riviera, we thought we’d share a few of our tried and tested methods for making your holiday let stand out from the crowd.

A welcome guide is essential in making your guest feel welcome and comfortable on arrival, helping to explain all they need to know about your holiday home and the surrounding area. It should look to answer questions such as, where are the best restaurants and bars? Any hiking trails? Or what kind of local attractions are there? If you have any local tips make sure to include them!

There should also be instructions on how to work the flat, for example, how the heating works or how to run any appliances. This will help them feel at home straight away, without the frustration of trying to get everything working!

Go one step further and provide a welcome hamper, it doesn't need to be extravagant! A few kitchen basics such as milk, tea and biscuits can make all the difference to your feedback.

Put yourself in the position of your guest and think about the little touches that would ensure a 5-star review while on your holiday.

Pet friendly? Maybe provide a dog bowl and some treats.

Is your space a romantic getaway for two? Think about providing cosy blankets, chocolates or recommendations for candlelit restaurants or gourmet takeaways.

Child friendly? Why not leave behind some games or, even better, provide a cot or a high chair.

These thoughtful touches can make the difference in ensuring your guest has the best possible stay, guaranteeing return customers and 5-star reviews.

It is tempting to keep things as cheap as possible, providing the bare minimum to your guests to maximise profits. This can be a false economy, disgruntled guests and poor feedback will lead to fewer bookings and lower prices.

Instead, invest at the beginning to make it exceptional. Provide the highest quality accommodation with popular features and you will see the money spent come back to you, and then some.

Popular features to consider include dishwashers, WIFI, hot tubs, log fires, modern smart TV’s, record players etc. the list goes on!

If you can think of a luxury item that’s within your budget, the likelihood is that it will go a long way to helping your listing stand out from the crowd.

A common mistake that owners make is to stand still. Whilst they may have created the perfect luxury holiday home for 2015, this does not mean that it is the perfect luxury holiday home for 2020.

It can be as simple as updating the furnishings. New curtains and bedsheets, in line with current trends, can go a long way to modernising an ageing space.

Keep it up to date and the guests will keep coming!

So you’ve followed our advice, created a luxury holiday home and have yourself a full calendar of bookings. Time to sit back, relax and watch the money come in?

Not yet! Although holiday home letting can be a lucrative business it is also labour intensive. You’ll need to make sure that you have the best possible cleaning crew in place, they will need to be flexible with their hours and guests will expect the home to be spotless.

After 100’s of change-overs, it’s easy to get complacent and forget the smaller details, have the previous guests cleaned the dishes properly before putting them away? Have they dusted the skirting boards? When was the last time your cleaner cleaned under the sofa and its cushions? Make sure you are on top of this as you’ll be surprised what the guests can pick up on!

Ultimately the secret to great reviews and return customers is to get the basics right. Make sure that your amenities are always fully stocked and your communication is spot on, speedy and friendly. Be informative providing accurate and easy check-in information. Keep your linens in tip-top condition, clean and ironed for each stay.

The list goes on…..

These everyday basics of holiday home management are usually the difference between a regular host and a super host.

A lot of time effort and work goes into running a successful holiday let. It can be daunting even knowing where to start, especially when you're already juggling all of your other responsibilities.

This is where companies like Air Necessities come in. We do all the hard work for you, ensuring full calendars and 5-star reviews. Our ready-made and maintained super host rating will rocket you to the best positions on Airbnb, giving you the ultimate launchpad for success.

We’ve found that the increase in bookings and price per night more than offsets our fees, giving you truly hassle-free hosting and more money to boot!

What have you got to lose? Get in touch today and see how we can help you to turn your holiday home into a lucrative business!