How to start a holiday let business

With holiday lets popping up all over the country, they remain a popular investment and income earner. If you’re just starting out however, you may be wondering if it’s a venture worth pursuing. Or maybe you’re overwhelmed by the vast amount of information that you’ll need to learn. In this guide, we’ve distilled all of the essentials to help you start a holiday let business.

The information in this guide is intended as a helpful overview of how to start a holiday let business. For specific advice regarding issues such as financial investments or tax, seek a qualified specialist. 

What is a holiday let?

Are holiday lets a good investment?

Pros and cons of running a holiday let business

How much could you earn?

Set up and running costs

Creating a plan

Financing your property

Holiday let pricing

Advertising your holiday home

Legal rules and regulations

Insurance

Tax

Furnishing your property

Taking good photographs

Cleaning your holiday let

The guest check-in process

Setting a deposit

Which holiday let website is the best?

Managing your property on multiple listings

Hiring a property manager

Accreditation schemes

Key holiday let business takeaways

What is a holiday let?

A holiday let is a property rented out to paying guests. Whilst there are some similarities with being a landlord, holiday homes are different types of rented properties. The differences between them are outlined as follows:

Holiday lets

  • Rented out to paying guests for short-term periods.
  • Used primarily by holiday makers.
  • Guests are not residents that live at the property.

Buy to lets

  • Rented out for longer periods (typically 6 months or more).
  • Lived in by residents.
  • Tenants typically have specific legal rights and protections as part of a formal tenancy agreement.

What primarily distinguishes holiday lets from other types of rented properties then is the duration of a person’s stay, it’s purpose, and the type of person using them. Deciding which type of property is important. Not only could it determine how much money or time you could invest, your choice of property could require different legal responsibilities too. 

Are holiday lets a good investment?

Whether something is a good investment or not can be both a subjective and a measurable question. Ultimately, the decision comes down to you. However, here are some key questions to ask yourself:

  • How much time are you willing to put in?
  • How profitable is your holiday let likely to be?
  • What are the opportunities? 

Let’s go through each question one by one.

How much time are you willing to put in?

Holiday lets might not have residents living in them, but that doesn’t mean they’re a hands off investment. To run a holiday let, you’ll need to consider duties such as:

  • Guest check-ins and check outs.
  • Cleaning.
  • Marketing.
  • Pricing.
  • Repairs and maintenance.
  • Health and safety.
  • Emergency call outs. 
  • Communicating with guests.
  • Financing your investment.

Luckily, there’s also the option of hiring a property manager to do much of that for you. However, if you can’t afford the cost or aren’t comfortable with someone else running this for you, then you’ll have to work out how much time you’re willing to put in. 

How profitable can your holiday let potentially be

Before buying a property, consider the likely return you could get when factoring in revenue and costs. We cover this more in our section on earning potential.

The most important question to ask yourself is: Will a holiday let make you enough money? The answer is personal, and may depend on your circumstances. You may for example decide that other types of rented properties or another alternative way of earning income is more suitable for you instead. 

What are the opportunities?

Do your research and look at potential areas for holiday lets. Examples of typically popular areas include:

  • Seaside locations.
  • Tourist areas.
  • Areas close to attractions.
  • Built up areas with good transport or amenities.
  • Scenic areas. 

If you already own the property you intend to convert into a holiday let, does it match any area that could be in high demand? Holiday let websites should give you an idea of the type of listings that are in-demand. If your area is popular, and the average rental price of listings look attractive, you may have a potential opportunity on your hands. Other issues to consider include:

  • What type of guests will you attract? Your listing and its pricing will need to match your target audience.
  • Are property prices affordable? If you’re looking to buy a property to rent out, you’ll need to work out if you can purchase a house in your target area at an affordable price. Websites like Rightmove can provide average house prices for an area.
  • What are the costs involved? Like most ventures, running a holiday let comes with several running and start up costs that you’ll need to factor in when assessing income. Jump to our section on holiday let costs to consider this topic in more detail.
  • Are there any legal restrictions? Legal restrictions could reduce your income when considering potential returns. If you bought a home in London, for example, you would be restricted to letting it out for a maximum of 90 days a year without planning permission. Jump to our section on Legal restrictions to explore this topic further.
  • Revenue opportunities. Sites like AirDNA allow you to break down average rental income by area of the UK to give you an idea of earning potential. 

Once you’ve assessed the potential opportunity, you may want to also consider the pros and cons of running a holiday let business before diving in. 

Pros and cons of running a holiday let business

Get a piece of paper or open up a spreadsheet. Writing the pros and cons of running a holiday home rental can help distil the net benefits and help you make a decision if you’re still undecided. Like many aspects of holiday letting, many of the potential advantages or disadvantages could be personal. Below are some typical pros and cons.

Pros of starting a holiday let

  • Holiday lets are popular. From Cornwall to Edinburgh, holiday lets can be found across the country. If you’ve bagged a property in the right area, then this could apply to you.
  • Properties are an asset. Due to their historical ability to hold their value, properties are a popular choice with many investors. If your holiday let business venture doesn’t go as planned, you still have an asset you can sell. 
  • Higher rates. Due to their short-term nature, holiday lets often attract higher rates than traditional tenancies.
  • Flexibility. Unlike a traditional tenancy, you can be as flexible as you like with a holiday let. You can choose to take bookings only during certain periods, or all year round. The choice is yours. 
  • Income. If you can bring in a steady stream of bookings, a well run holiday let business can potentially bring in a steady stream of income. 

Cons of starting a holiday let

  • Seasonality. Popular areas such as seaside resorts also have a flip side. They often have busy and quiet seasons, although this may depend on the area.
  • Cost of living crisis. Times are tough, and potential guests may be more discerning with their money. Interest rates are currently high for mortgages at the time of writing. Timing or choice of property may be important.
  • Time resource. If you’re handling everything yourself, you’ll be responsible for a whole host of tasks that could take up much of your time.
  • Cost management. A holiday let comes with high set up costs and several running costs. You’ll have to account for these during the planning phase.
  • Legal regulations: As a holiday let owner, you’ll need to be compliant with a number of legal laws and regulations. 

How much could you earn?

Now that you’ve considered the pros and cons of running a holiday let, you may want to consider how much you could potentially earn. Circle back to our section on potential opportunities if you haven’t already done so. Once you’ve done your research, you should have a better idea regarding:

  • The type of property you require.
  • Suitable areas.
  • Guests.
  • Average pricing.
  • Property presentation.

Armed with this information, you’ll have an approximate idea regarding earning potential. Once you balance this against potential costs, you should get a rough idea of how much you could earn. Jump to our section on holiday home costs if you need more help with this step. 

After working out your costs and revenue potential, you should be able to work out:

  • Monthly net income: Your monthly income after costs are deducted.
  • Gross holiday let yield: The annual rental yield after revenue and the purchase price of your property is taken into account.
  • Net holiday let yield: Your rental yield when annual costs (maintenance, insurance etc) are also taken into account.

Check out our holiday let income calculator if you need help with working out all of the areas discussed above in this section.

Set up and running costs

Before creating any plan or budgeting, factoring in potential setup and running costs is an important step. There will be a wide range of costs you’re likely to face as a holiday let owner, including:

  • Mortgage costs.
  • Deposit on a house.
  • Insurance.
  • Utility bills.
  • Repairs and maintenance.
  • Hiring a property manager or a cleaner.
  • Marketing.
  • Platform fees and commissions. 
  • Property modifications.
  • Regional regulation costs (planning, applying for for a licence etc where required).
  • Furnishing your property.

Writing the likely costs that will affect you will help, but so will mapping out potentially unexpected costs. If a fault occurred at the property that required an urgent plumber call out, have you factored something like this into your monthly budget? Thinking about scenarios like this may help you plan better, create a more flexible budget, or revise your initial cost estimates (e.g. paying more insurance to cover the previous example).

Visit our holiday let costs guide for a more detailed discussion of this topic.

Creating a plan

Setting up a robust holiday let business plan is vital for a number of reasons. Plans are where dreams are fleshed out but are also balanced against reality. It should help you answer the following:

  • Can I afford it?
  • Is this realistic? 
  • What happens if something goes wrong?
  • What are the obstacles to my goal?
  • How do I achieve my plan?
  • When can I achieve it?

There are many different ways to plan, but you may want to consider some of the following:

  • Account for costs: Budget for both likely costs and worst case scenarios so that you’ll be better prepared regardless of what happens.
  • Set a deadline: Think about when you want to have your holiday let operational buy and try to stick to it. Doing so will focus your mind. 
  • Write a business plan:  A good business plan sets out your holiday let business goals, strategies and forecasts. Mortgage providers are also likely to want proof that your business doesn’t present any risks-a solid business plan may help with this. Check out the Government’s website if you need pointers on where to start.
  • Do a SWOT analysis: A SWOT analysis looks at the strengths and weaknesses  of a business with regards to its competitive position. Doing so could be very useful in an increasingly competitive market.
  • Set up a tracker: With a formalised plan and costs in place, set them up in a spreadsheet so that you can look at things visually. Doing so will help you spot obvious errors or where things could go wrong. You can continue to use this once your business is operational.

Financing your property

If you don’t already own the property you want to turn into a holiday let, financing your purchase is likely to be one of the biggest obstacles. You’ll need to:

  • Convince your mortgage provider that you have a viable business plan.
  • Save for a big enough deposit. Most lenders have a maximum loan to value ratio, meaning you’ll need a big enough deposit to cover the rest. 
  • Consider the loan term, interest rate and whether this is affordable. Lenders will have their own affordability criteria too. Factor this into your plan.

Check out our holiday let mortgage guide to look at this topic in further detail.

Holiday let pricing

Pricing your listing is a balance between attracting bookings and making enough income. Factors to consider include:

  • Average competitor prices in your area.
  • The type of guest you’re trying to attract.
  • Prices for similar listings.
  • The type of property.

It might be tempting to undercut your competitors by offering cheaper prices. This could work in the short-term, but could work against you if competitors cut their prices too. On the flip side, if you’re looking to attract higher income guests then they may expect higher prices. Your plan and budget is ultimately going to dictate the prices you set too. If you’ve set yourself a target return on investment, this may require a minimum price level once costs are taken into consideration. Click on our guide for Airbnb pricing for further tips on how to optimise your pricing on that platform and for holiday lets more widely. 

Advertising your holiday home

If you’re going to run a holiday let business without the help of a property manager then you’ll need to think about where to promote it. Below we discuss some of the ways you can manage your listing and how these can be promoted.

Advertising your listing on sites like Airbnb & VRBO

Booking platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com are already well known worldwide. This comes with both positives and drawbacks. The positives are:

  • Popularity. You don’t have to worry about marketing your listing on the web or elsewhere. Websites for these platforms enjoy millions of visits worldwide. 
  • High demand locations. Popular locations on these platforms are likely to be in regular high demand.
  • Trust. High profile companies come with a level of trust that may not always be extended to less well known or smaller independent companies.  

Using these platforms could come with a number of drawbacks, however. 

  • Competition. Popular websites mean more competition. There’s no guarantee that your listing will get bookings.
  • Platform optimisation. You’ll have to work harder to stand out from the crowd. This means making your listing stand out. Bad guest reviews could also impact your listing.
  • Lost control. If you just rely on platforms themselves to promote your listing, you’re at the mercy of their algorithms and control.

Advertising your holiday let independently

Some holiday let owners choose to advertise their holiday let independently or doing this in addition to promoting their listing elsewhere. The benefits of doing this mean you have more control over the process and how people view your holiday let. That makes the potential upsides fairly high. That does come with several large drawbacks, however:

  • It’s resource intensive. You’ll have to manage everything from setting up a website to doing your own marketing.
  • Marketing isn’t always easy. Unless you enlist someone’s help, it isn’t always easy to get noticed. Competition for people’s attention is fierce. You’ll need to know what you’re doing in order to market your holiday let effectively. 
  • Competition is high. You’ll be competing for the attention of customers with rival businesses. 

Visit our holiday let advertising guide for further information on this topic.

The number of legal rules and regulations affecting holiday let owners are vast just like it is for many small businesses. Whilst it may seem intimidating, this is something you’ll need to understand as a holiday let owner in order to survive. Key areas to consider include:

  • Health and safety: You’ll need to carry out a number of risk assessments, with areas affected ranging from fire to electrical and gas safety. 
  • Finance & taxes: Mortgage providers will have their own requirements regarding borrowing. When earning income, you’ll need to think carefully about your taxes too. 
  • Regional restrictions: With Scotland now requiring a short let licence in order to operate a holiday let and other UK territories likely to follow a similar path, you’ll need to check with your local authority regarding any regional restrictions that apply to you.

Check out our extensive holiday let regulations guide to get a comprehensive overview of this topic.

Insurance

Insurance is an essential safety net that protects you when the worst happens. Potential scenarios that could affect you (and where insurance can offer help) include:

  • Property damage.
  • Loss of income.
  • Legal claims.
  • Tax investigations into your holiday let business.
  • Liability claims.

When looking at insurance, it’s important not to underestimate the amount of cover you need to cut down costs. If you haven’t budgeted for something that eats into your rental income, this could prove costly. You may also want to consider:

  • Shopping around for quotes. Insurance costs have risen and shopping around for different quotes gives you a better chance of finding a cheaper deal. It also allows you to compare cover with different providers. 
  • Check cover. Not all holiday let providers offer the same policy, with some excluding cover for issues such as theft and malicious damage by a guest, for example. Check the small print before you buy.
  • Speak to a specialist: If you have specific cover requirements or a property that isn’t easy to insure, speak to a specialist broker that can cater to your needs.

If you’re ready to start comparing quotes, head over to Pikl’s holiday let insurance page to check out what we offer.

Tax

As a holiday let owner, you could be liable to pay tax on any income you’ve earned. Tax can impact you in several ways.

The above is just an overview and does not constitute advice. If you require help regarding tax, speak to a qualified specialist.

Furnishing your property

A well furnished property will make the property more attractive to potential guests and enhance their experience during a stay. Key potential areas to consider are:

  • Property layout. Think carefully about the layout and how you want people to interact with the space inside of your property. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the placement of items and furniture. Measure furniture before buying so that its size is proportionate to the space it will inhabit.
  • Colour scheme. Use colours that compliment each other. A sofa and curtains that have colours that don’t clash will make your living room more inviting and presentable, for example. Research colour schemes to think about the guest experience you want to create.
  • Clutter. Research tips on decluttering and avoid cramming your property full of items as this may make the property feel constricted. Pay attention to visual clutter too. Items like visible wires or the haphazard placing of items could draw a visitor’s eye to negative aspects of the home. 
  • Practicality. Your guests are most likely staying at your property to visit the surrounding area. Focus on making your guests comfortable. At a minimum, provide basic items that they’ll expect in hotels like WIFI and tea/coffee. Going the extra mile, such as leaving information about local attractions or creating a welcome hamper, are likely to be appreciated.
  • Presentability. If you’re looking to cut down on costs, sourcing furniture from charity shops could be a good idea. However, make sure that any furnishings you provide are presentable. Ripped furniture or stained sheets could result in poor guest reviews and result in less future bookings.   

Taking good photographs

A good photo can make or break a potential booking. Well taken photos of a property can:

  • Make the areas photographed look more spacious. 
  • Enhance the interior layout.
  • Highlight key focal points that make your home stand out.

Ignoring these fundamentals could result in guests feeling that your home looks too cluttered or unappealing. Luckily, it’s not too difficult to take good photos with a smartphone camera. To make your property standout:

  • Use a wide angle lens. Often included on higher end smartphones, a wide angle lens captures more of the room you’re photographing in its frame. It will also make the room look bigger. 
  • Focus on composition. The rule of thirds is a photography technique that involves the focus of your subject being in one third of the frame. This could result in more appealing photos and draw your guest’s eyes towards appealing focal points. Also consider experimenting with the layout of your property to see what produces the most appealing photograph. 
  • Utilise good lighting. Use natural light where possible. Also consider the time of day and whether you’re taking a photograph that’s facing the direction of the sunlight. Taking a photograph with too much bright light can make a photograph look washed out.
  • Use a tripod. Even if you’re just using a smartphone camera, utilising a cheap tripod will keep your phone stable when taking shots and avoid blurry images.
  • Consider hiring a professional. Unless you’re planning on taking lots of photos or want to learn how to use a high end digital camera, it’s probably not worth purchasing expensive camera equipment. If you’re struggling to take photos that you’re happy with, you may want to consider hiring the services of a professional photographer.

Cleaning your holiday let

A robust holiday let cleaning process should:

  • Keep the property clean.
  • Presentable.
  • Look for signs of property damage.

Start by creating a checklist for areas in each room of the property you’ll need to clean. Our Airbnb host cleaning checklist guide, and our holiday let changeover checklist article are good places to start. Before you check those guides out, let’s discuss these key areas one by one:

Create a clean environment

Cleanliness will not only please your guests. It will reduce the chances of contamination and pest infestation too . Here are some points to consider:

  • Clean high contact areas. Areas such as door handles, kitchen surfaces and tables will be in regular contact with guests and often be the most notable if they are dirty.
  • Keep your laundry clean. Dirty laundry and sheets are likely to be a common area of complaint. Make sure that these are cleaned and changed regularly after each guest stay. 
  • Maintain a clean bathroom and kitchen. No one likes a bathroom or a kitchen with items that need to be cleaned before cooking. Bathrooms often attract mould too, so make sure this is under control and that the room has enough ventilation. Check that kitchen areas such as hobs, ovens and cutlery/crockery are not dirty.
  • Empty your bins and rubbish. You may want to request that your guest clean up after themselves in your house rules. Regardless of whether they do this or not, make sure the bins are empty and that there is no rubbish lying around.
  • Reduce clutter. Along with considering how to reduce visual clutter (See our section on furnishing your property), avoid stacking or clustering too many items together. A cluttered room can attract pests, impede ventilation and attract mould. 

It’s worth bearing in mind that some cleaning fluids are strong and potentially toxic. Consider wearing items such as goggles and gloves where you think this is necessary.

Make your property presentable

The bare minimum of keeping your property clean probably won’t be enough to keep your guests satisfied. Aim to foster a hotel-like experience, and you’ll increase the chances of more positive guest reviews. 

  • Look for stains and creases. Beyond basic cleaning, look for hard to remove stains in areas such as bedsheets, carpets, upholstery and curtains. A guest may be unhappy with sleeping in stained bed sheets, even if they are clean. Make sure sheets and curtains don’t have creases as these could leave a bad impression too.
  • Focus on the little things.They may seem insignificant, but little techniques such as the right towel folding or toilet paper presentation contribute to a hotel-like feel that shows attention to detail.
  • Remember the layout. Once you’ve had multiple bookings, it can be easy to remember what the property originally looked like. Do your best to present the property like it looks in the original photos to match your guest’s expectations.  

Look for signs of property damage

Resolving damage disputes with a guest or making an insurance claim can be a stressful process. Identifying damage early on gives you time to resolve issues as soon as possible. When thinking about the cleaning process, consider these key areas.

  • Take photographs. Document the state of the property before a new guest arrives and date this. 
  • Make an itinerary. Make a list of key areas that you intend to check so that your process is consistent. If an item is missing, you’ll also be able to identify this quickly.
  • Check for damage when cleaning. Tick off each relevant item on your itinerary as you clean.
  • Photograph damage. In the event something is missing or damaged, photograph this where relevant. You should have plenty of evidence to support any claim.
  • Resolve the issue. Don’t waste time in either contacting your guest or making a claim with your insurer when this is needed. 

The guest check-in process

There are several safety and guest experience reasons to consider when looking at the guest check-in process, such as:

  • Do you want to be there in person? Some guests may appreciate a personal touch. Greeting guests face to face also allows you to get to know them and give you confidence from a property safety perspective. 
  • How can keys be exchanged safely? If you’re not able to hand over the keys personally, is there a safe alternative you can utilise such as keyless entry or a police approved keysafe? 
  • Is there someone you can trust? If attending in person or a remote access to the property isn’t feasible, consider asking or employing someone you trust to take over this responsibility when needed.

In the event that keys do get lost, consider changing the locks or notifying your insurer as soon as possible. If someone can access your property, this could pose a serious risk. Not notifying your insurer could affect any future claim. 

Take a look at our check in guide for a more detailed discussion on the guest check-in process. 

Setting a deposit

Where possible (and if your platform allows it), consider setting a guest deposit. The benefits of setting one include:

  • Good guest behaviour. Your guest may be more responsible knowing that they will lose their deposit if an item gets damaged. 
  • Security. In the event that something does get damaged, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you can claim this off the deposit.
  • Less hassle. Deposit can cover the cost of minor damage and avoid you having to go through the hassle of making a claim. 

The amount you set your deposit at should be a balance between covering potential damages and attracting enough guests. Set it too low and you could reduce the impact and safety net a deposit is supposed to provide. Set it too high and you could put off potential guests. If you aren’t sure how high you should set your deposit at, research rival listings to give you an idea.

It’s worth bearing in mind that some platforms such as Airbnb don’t allow hosts to set a deposit themselves. Have a look at our Airbnb deposit guide for more details on this.

Which holiday let website is the best?

‘Best’ is a subjective term that will also depend on your personal circumstances. Here are some popular holiday let platforms for owners in the UK:

Write a list of key issues important to you as a holiday let owner when comparing websites. Things to consider include:

  • What support does your platform provide if something goes wrong?
  • What are the services fees for using the platform?
  • How popular is that website for your particular area?
  • What resources are provided to help you with the day to day running of the business?

For a direct comparison of Airbnb vs VRBO, have a look at our Airbnb vs VRBO guide for more details.

Managing your property on multiple listings

For holiday let owners looking to expand their business, many opt to list their property on multiple platforms at once. The benefits of doing this allow you to expand your property’s reach to a wider audience than if you stuck to one platform. Without the right preparation, however, you could end up overbooking, creating more hassle and annoying potential guests. To avoid this from occurring, you should:

  • Utilise efficient calendar management. Consider using booking channel management software so that you can easily see all of your bookings in one place and avoid overbooking.
  • Know your platform’s terms. Managing multiple platforms at once means you’ll be faced with different terms for issues such as cancellations and host service fees. Remembering what these are on each website will be crucial for both day to day management and budgeting.
  • Take on what you can manage. With some platforms offering options such as instant booking features, you could potentially get overwhelmed. List on more platforms when you feel you are capable of doing so.
  • Block out your holidays. Make sure to block out planned holidays in advance so that these don’t clash with bookings. Some platforms have strict policies for holiday owners cancelling bookings unless this is for a legitimate reason. Cancelling bookings could also harm your reputation. 
  • Have a backup. Life happens and sometimes events get in the way. Having a backup plan in the event you’re unable to manage a booking (such as a person that can help out) could be vital to your business and reputation. 

Hiring a property manager

A property manager is a person or a company that manages the day to day running of much of your holiday let business. The benefits of hiring one include:

  • Convenience. Everything from advertising, guest check-ins and cleaning is taken care of by the property manager.
  • Expertise. A good property manager should know how to get bookings and attract guests.
  • Scale. If you plan on renting out multiple properties, having someone else manage these could make this goal more sustainable.

Hiring a property manager also comes with some drawbacks, however. Here are some of the main disadvantages:

  • Cost. Your property manager will charge a commission for the services they provide. This needs to be factored into your budgeting.
  • Control. If you have the expertise or confidence to run a holiday let yourself, contracting this job to someone else means you have less control or visibility over how your property is managed.
  • Value. Value for money can be subjective, but consider whether it’s worth hiring a property manager at your stage of the holiday let journey. Some owners with just one property may feel that hiring one isn’t worth the cost until they own more than one. Others may value having someone run the day to day duties more.

Accreditation schemes

You may also want to consider joining an accreditation scheme as a holiday let owner. These show that your property meets certain standards. The benefit of joining such as scheme include:

  • Professionalism. Being held to certain standards could give you more confidence and allows you to provide a consistent experience for every guest.
  • Safety. Some schemes conduct local assessments or require certification to be uploaded for certain maintenance checks. These can give you confidence that you’re upholding certain safety standards. 
  • Prestige. Guests value trustworthiness, and showing that you’re certified could give them more confidence. 

Tourist boards across the UK provide their own accreditation schemes. Most at the time of writing are voluntary schemes. Completing certification in Northern Ireland is mandatory in order to operate a short let licence, however. 

Quality in Tourism provides their own scheme if you’d prefer to use a scheme that is independent from official tourist boards.

Key holiday let business takeaways 

We’ve covered a lot in this guide and it’s easy to get overwhelmed when getting started. Whilst not everything covered here will be relevant to everyone, here are the key areas you may want to focus on first:

  • Make a good plan. From budgeting and finance to researching listings in your local area, make sure your roadmap to achieving your goals is thorough before you take the plunge. 
  • Keep up to date with legal requirements. Contact your local authority for regulatory or planning requirements as these can make or break your business when you get them wrong. Following national health and safety laws are also essential.
  • Focus on your guests. Whilst the main benefit of owning a holiday let is making money, you’ll need to centre the guest experience in order to consistently obtain bookings. Keep this in mind when conducting activities such as research, maintaining your property and greeting guests.
  • Stay organised. A key theme of this guide has been about research, planning and staying informed. Whether it’s a calendar, a spreadsheet, or something else, find a system of organising tasks so that you don’t get overwhelmed. 
  • Keep your property protected. Your property is an expensive investment, so keeping it secure is paramount. Stay vigilant for property damage and make sure that you take out adequate insurance.

Pikl is an insurance company that offers specialist cover for hosts and holiday let owners. If you have any specific queries about cover or want to get a quote, speak to our UK based call centre or click on the link below.

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Pikl Insurance Services Limited is a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 10449346 with registered office Suite B, 2nd Floor, The Atrium, St. Georges Street, Norwich, England, NR3 1AB. Pikl Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA, firm number 773457.