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top end
Yeah you need a freezer - or at the very least, an ice machine/compartment in the fridge. No ice for G&T?
Big beds.
Decent coffee machine - pods, if you must. Not cafetiere though.
Dishawasher? You know the answer to that 🙂
TV in the bedroom? No. This is top-end, not bloody Premier Inn.
Internet obvs as guests will need it to drive the speakers-everywhere sounds. Ideally, no f*ing password please, or at least something easy to type like "holiday" not some stupid ultimate-security string of robot puke, no-one needs that after climbing 100 stairs with all their luggage.
Nice bisuits on the table 🙂
Edinburgh is changing its rules on holiday lets - I will be applying for the relevant permissions of course. Its likely to be significantly more onerous than the standards for normal lets. Its not for a year yet ( assuming cornona does not bugger up my plans)
with Air B&B properties there is no check that standards are met. with an agent there should be
In my case even if using air B&B I would still need an agent I trust and someone do do the changeover cleaning. the agent I have in mind will advertise on air B&B if I insisted - but then thats the air B&B fees on top of the agents fees
I am genuinely grateful for the views of folk as this is not something I am used to using. I find the meet and greet thing really interesting. One time I did book a self catering appt in France for a couple of days we arrived at 9pm and had a 2 mile walk to the flat. We had instructions on how to get in ( which worked) but I was very anxious about it. Having a meet and greet would have removed that anxiety Thats me but its interesting that to others on here that is not the case.
The meet and greet would horrify me. That's the last thing i'd want to face after travelling.
We rent the same property in Cornwall almost every year and, after a few years, the owner cut us our own set of keys to save us driving into the letting agents in the centre of town to pick them up and drop them off.
Get on booking websites / trip advisor , find properties similar to yours and read the reviews. You'll soon learn what's important to people.
Good call PP
I find the meet and greet thing really interesting.
Just make sure they have your phone number and be willing to answer calls, so you can talk them through any issues. You know your flat far better than any agent.
things like isolation switches for cookers, heating controls etc. They are sometimes the things that have been a problem for me when using self catering apartments.
top end
Are you sure? I had a look on AirBnB and there are some stunning apartments in Leith. Allocated parking and lifts included. Not cheap mind.
We will not be able to answer phones or do emails - at least not reliably. We will be trekking in the high Andes, that sort of thing. We need to be completely hands off
Errmmm - thats a lot cheaper than the ones the agent we have in mind runs and its not a very nice flat. You get one decent sized room that is a kitchen / sitting room and the rest of the rooms are tiny. I know the development
and its not a very nice flat.
It's not really about nice though.
It's about passing filters on booking websites.
That flat would have made it through the first round of my search filters whereas yours wouldn't. The parking and the stairs would have stopped it.
I'm sure your flat is lovely but you need to be utterly dispassionate about it if you want to take a grand of someone's holiday money.
thats a lot cheaper than the ones the agent we have in mind runs
....because he's skimming 30% right off the top?
No - because they run high end stuff on small scale! Its also a poor location sandwiched between an industial estate, a main road and a shopping mall - and over a mile from the shore.
We would be competing with this sort of thing more but without the overblown decor. £235 a night. This is the top end around here - this and more expensive.
https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p6776334
I’m sure your flat is lovely but you need to be utterly dispassionate about it if you want to take a grand of someone’s holiday money.
I do get this. Its a quirky flat but the intent is to have it at a very high standard and the location is fabulous - the flat I linked to is across the road from us.
Again - I really do appreciate the feedback folk. Its very helpful
Its a quirky flat but the intent is to have it at a very high standard
TJ - I have stayed in a lot of self catering places when I have been working away as I much prefer them to hotels.
One of the key things is how well equipped they are.
For £235 a night, I would expect quite a lot, even in the now Gentrified Leith. Looking at that price range, you can expect en-suites, parking, etc.
You can't debate whether you need to offer a dishwasher and a washing machine. You absolutely do. TBH, the twice weekly cleaning would be a nuisance and the twice weekly linen change unnecessary IMO. If you want to, offer them as an option, otherwise you are wasting money. What does the agent charge for a turnaround? £80?
Go all out. Check all the listings on AirBnB and make sure you offer all of the things they do in your price range if at all possible. High chair, cot, posh coffee machine, big TV, etc.
Can you fit a log burner?
Some of the things you might not like, e.g big TV. However 90% of people will want a TV and expect something large. Not many people discount a place because they have a big TV but they will if it doesn't.
I would be looking more like 140 - 180 a night. Perhaps less the first year until we built up a record and obviously more in festival time
We have a gas fake log burner - not going to carry logs up those stairs!
How big a TV? ours is 40" and anything bigger would be tricky
IIRC the agent simply charges the 30% - no flat fees.
Our flat is also significantly bigger than the one I linked to - about 50% bigger. Again the flat I linked to has no parking nor a lift but is one floor lower. There is a one bed opposite us going for 120 a night!
Parking space or I’m off searching the interweb.
I would be looking more like 140 – 180 a night. Perhaps less the first year until we built up a record and obviously more in festival time
IIRC the agent simply charges the 30% – no flat fees.
So a £300 skim for a changeover and placing it on Booking.com
Nice work if you can get it.
Parking space or I’m off searching the interweb.
Would you expect a parking space for a let in London?
The Shore isn't the same as London, but a car isn't necessary there either.
No but if I’m on holiday Id be driving so would want one and get a let with one. If I was coming on the train I’d just walk out the station to Travellodge or whatever it is I used last. For 6 months I’d just stick it out for a normal rental. Surprisingly easy compared to holiday let’s and its what I did when I went to South America.
Leave an account with money in and bank card with a friend for emergency repairs. Pack your bag and go.
Lots of mostly good advice above TJ but at the end of the day its your agent who should know exactly what's required to maximise revenue. Possible 26+ weeks of guests is a lot of different people, not all of whom will be nice upstanding citizens and some are very good at the complaining/refund scenario. Booking.com etc. very much side with the guest. At least the 100 steps should exclude most of the moaning old gits we experienced but beware of bookings for 2 who then appear with 1/2 dozen who 'don't mind sleeping on the floor'!
Also budget for replacing items. Alarm clocks, bed linen, towels and even batteries from remote controls will go 'missing' as will anything interesting.
Good luck.
No parking space rules out most edinburgh holiday lets I would think. Certainly most of the ones I have looked at that are comparable flats. On street parking is available. I could possibly negotiate off street parking tho ( the restaurant in the building has some)
So a £300 skim for a changeover and placing it on Booking.com
And the meet and greet ( altho from comments on here that may not have the value I thought) plus the twice weekly clean and bed and towel change plus they supply all linens, plus I actually trusted the guy
for 2 who then appear with 1/2 dozen who ‘don’t mind sleeping on the floor’!
Thats another reason why I like the meet and greet - should help stop that.
Yes it should but we had people sneak through a side door thinking we wouldn't notice. Certain nationalities are notorious for this.
how will the agents force you to pay tax? I doubt they'll be doing your tax return for you.
Anyway, you can legally pay no tax via airbnb if you're living in the place for part of the year and you're pulling in less than £7.5k, under the governments rent a room scheme.
If the letting agent only has 5 flats, they have no idea about occupancy rates. Get some proper advice from a proper agent, even if you choose to use your local one
Thats another reason why I like the meet and greet – should help stop that.
if I was turning up to an airbnb with meet and greet, and I wanted more people to sleep there than I had arranged, they'd just wait in the car until the handover person had gone. Same way I get my kids into hotels for free
They know the occupancy rates for their flats
yes, a sample size of 5 is not enough. Have you any way of verifying their data? as presumably right now the occupancy rate of the next 6 months is somewhere close to zero
Thanks folks. Plenty of good stuff for me to think about.
Its a year or more away but obviously I need to get the flat ready and I do like to plan ahead. ie am going to have to do a load of work in the kitchen - its 20 years old so its nice for me to be able to think about the stuff I need in it.
I wonder how much you lot are typical of the market I want to aim for? maybe not far away 😉
Thanks again
We would be competing with this sort of thing more but without the overblown decor. £235 a night. This is the top end around here – this and more expensive.
https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p6776334/blockquote >
I have to say that I personally wouldn't call the linked flat top end. Beyond that though, please be honest / make sure the agent is honest in the descriptions. If claiming occupancy for six and availability for families, don't then show pictures with a table that looks cramped with four chairs and a 'huge' lounge with one small uncomfortable sofa and a chaise longue. Also, I know it isn't good for business but be honest about Leith being a taxi journey from the centre.
Another +1 on the dislike of meet & greet, unless you are offering a meet from the airport / station service.
Can you speak with the owners of the other properties the agent has on their books and check the real occupancy/experiences of the agent?
Outside the festival season (which admittedly is manic) where you might get full week occupancy, Im not sure there will be much call for a full week rental in Edinburgh. IANA holiday letting specialist. Lots of long weekends for sure - late Thursday arrival and early departure Monday or Tuesday. Thats the period I would probably want for a city break thing. Might affect the figures a bit?
if I read correctly week lets are what you are primarily basing your numbers on?
Edit - If you are looking at letting to family or groups of couples, how are the bathroom facilities? Will there be enough for everybody to use in a short period of time, assuming they are all going out at roughly the same time. Is it a combi boiler, electric shower, any en-suite etc