Private Sublet Set-up Services

IN THE BEGINNING

The management of South Devonshire Holidays have
been managing private subletting since 2018 and have
learnt, often the hard way, their way around the holiday
subletting market.The things to think about when privately subletting are;

• Are you allowed to sublet to holidaymakers in your
  deeds/mortgage terms? Some mortgage lenders do
  not permit short term lets,
• Do you need a private sublet licence (if within a
  holiday resort)?
• The need for public liability insurance in case a guest
  injures themselves.
• There must be smoke alarms fitted in the property
  and if you have any solid-fuel appliances, fit a CO
  detector.
• PAT Testing, together with Gas safety checks, must be
  done yearly
• fire safety checks
• Fit a fire blanket in the kitchen.
• Chimneys should be swept once a year (if applicable).
• Hot tubs and swimming pools must be cleaned and
  maintained. If the property has a swimming pool, be
  very aware of the safety concerning young children.
  Where possible, erect a fence around the pool to
  prevent tragic accidents.
• Provide torches if guests are at risk of tripping over
  steps or other obstacles at night.
• Decore. Ensure the decor is not dated. Walls painted
  white or hint of grey are welcomed by guests with a
  feeling of freshness and cleanliness.
• Go for neutral colours and simple but comfortable
  furniture. Since sofas and beds may suffer more wear
  and tear than a longer-term let, be prepared to
  replace every 3-5 years. Avoid light coloured sofas and
  furniture as they are more likely to need regular
  cleaning to stay looking good.
• The kitchen should be well fitted with a good
  selection of dinnerware, cookware, pots, pans, cutlery,
  glasses, etc. Dishwashers and other white goods are
  essential. Invest in an appliance repair policy, so you
  can have it fixed fast if anything breaks down.
• Broadband is a must-have these days. So many people
  won’t even look at a holiday let without internet
  access.

ALSO CONSIDER

Guests will also expect a working TV. Ditch the old TV and buy a
decent flat screen model. Consider adding SKY or Cable if you
want to attract families. The more entertainment options your
property has, the more people it will appeal to.
Extras such as a wood-burning stove and a high-end coffee
machine can work wonders if you want to go the extra mile. We
all appreciate the little extras when we go on holiday, and in
the colder months, a toasty log burner is a definite plus.
Don’t neglect outdoor space either. People on holiday want a
nice garden or decking where they can relax and unwind on a
warm summer’s evening. Add a garden table and chairs and
make sure the area is nicely landscaped and well-maintained. A
gas or charcoal BBQ is a useful additional extra but remember
to keep it clean.
For seaside properties, consider providing beach toys, such as
buckets and spades, sunbeds, beach umbrellas, etc. Optional
extras include kayaks, dinghies, bodyboards, and snorkelling
gear. In short, anything that might attract guests and sets your
property apart from others is a worthy investment.
If this was or still is your home, lock away any valuables and
personal items. Either store them in a secure area, such as a
locked room/cupboard or put them into storage.

Pets in Holiday Lets

Whether you allow pets or not is a personal decision. However,
if you say no to pets, you are reducing your pool of potential
guests. After all, we are a nation of animal lovers, and many of
us can’t bear to go on holiday without our beloved pets in tow. However, if you allow pets, expect extra wear and tear and
factor in more time between holiday goers for cleaning. In
addition, people who are allergic to animals likely won’t want to
stay in a property where pets have been, so make sure you are
clear in your advertisement whether your holiday let is pet
friendly.
If you decide to welcome pets, be clear about how many pets
are allowed, and if you have any restrictions on where they are
allowed to roam, state this on the booking form.
Check your insurance policy to make sure it covers pet damage
before you allow pets on your property. And if you are happy to
welcome pets, feature it as a selling point.

WHAT EVERY HOLIDAY
RENTAL SITE SHOULD
HAVE

South Devonshire Holidays can off you a dynamic website with
the ability to easily update your own content at any time
without the need for any technical programming skills or the
need to hire a developer.
Users viewing travel websites on mobile devices and tablets are
set to overtake desktop computers. This is because our holiday
rental websites are responsive and provide an optimal viewing
experience across multiple devices. In addition, if your site is
mobile-friendly, it will rank in mobile search results – a growing
segment you can’t ignore.
We offer a professional template designed for holiday rentals
that prominently displays your beautiful screen-filling images,
supported with copy that converts visitors into bookings. A
picture’s worth a thousand words – especially in travel.

An all-in-one solution with:

• Simple to understand and easy to update the calendar.
  The ability to input flexible rates and instantly adjust
  them.*
• Reviews from your past guests, a trusted source to drive
  bookings.
• SEO features that allow you to write meta titles
  /descriptions, headers and focus on keywords.
• Carefully crafted descriptions, maps, a list of amenities,
  about us section and contact details.
• A blog so you can be the definitive, authoritative
  resource about your local area.
• *South Devonshire Holidays can offer an integrated software
  package to manage bookings, a channel manager that
  synchronises with listing websites where you advertise and the
  option to accept credit cards. These tools are designed to save
  you time and be more efficient and give your website that
  professional feel. This software can also call to action, whether
  an ‘enquire now’ button that links to your enquiry form or a
  ‘book now’ button that allows users to book and pay securely
  online.

CREDIT / DEBIT CARDS

South Devonshire Holidays is an established holiday rental
property management company. As such, we have negotiated
very low fees with online payment merchants for taking online
credit and debit card payments. If you take out our fully
managed or hosted booking system service, and your guests
chose to pay via credit/debit card, you will be charged only 1%
of the transaction fee (pass-through cost), which is highly
competitive.

Credit Cards Offer Increased Security

We all know that credit and debit card payments are much
more secure than bank transfers. In addition, guests paying by
card receive additional protection from their banks and/or card
providers.
Following the recent pandemic, holidaymakers have become
more aware of the risks associated with booking holidays
privately. Some holiday homeowners refused refunds for
holidays cancelled due to the government lockdown, which
was widely published in the press. As a result, many
holidaymakers now look for accommodation accepting debit or
credit card payments.Since the #Staycation boom, also many scammers have been
posing as holiday homeowners taking bookings and payments
for fictitious properties. As a result, people lost thousands of
pounds, and it has been widely publicised in the media. The
main word of advice to holidaymakers is to always pay by credit
or debit card via the property’s website. However, scammers are
unable to offer this payment method due to the checks
completed by card merchants.
From our perspective, accepting card payments is the quickest
way to secure a booking, as the payment is made instantly
upon placing a booking. Booking is confirmed and paid at the
same time. No chasing, no follow-up hassle.An added benefit is that many credit/debit card providers offer
zero per cent interest on spendings over a period of time,
allowing the holiday owner to afford a breakaway. In addition, it
improves the chances of your property remaining occupied
throughout the year.* 1% is charged by WorldPay per credit card transaction, this is cross-charged
to property owners as a pass-through cost (South Devonshire Holidays Ltd do
not charge for this service), we simply pass on our corporate savings from our
merchant to the owners

SOUTH DEVONSHIRE
HOLIDAYS SET – UP
SERVICE

Being experienced in the field, we fully appreciate that many
customers would like to go private and gain full control of their
properties management and advertising; however, they may
not have the time, expertise, or contacts to get started. We can
help.
The South Devonshire Holidays Private Sub-Let Set-Up Service
sets everything up for the owner before handing over the keys
to the owner (usernames, passwords etc.)The Set-Up Service contains;

• Obtaining and setting up a personalised domain name and
  IMAP hosted email based on your property.
• Creation of an SEO (Search Engine Optimised) website.
• Set up Google Analytics to monitor Web traffic.
• Set up Google MyBusiness, putting your property on the
  map (literally).
• Setting up Instagram and Facebook Business Pages, linking
  them together – allowing management through Facebook
  Manager.
• Setting up preferred supplier cleaner and hot-tub
  maintenance team.
• Supplying you with a Preferred Supplier List catering for
  several trades may be needed to support you within your
  private rental.
• Supplying a helpful hints guide in terms of social media and
  advertising your property.

Optional Extra

Integrate our Hosted Booking System, which automatically
adds you to the South Devonshire Holidays Agency website, or
integrate your own stand-alone booking system and call to
action option.
Easy handover at a future date should you wish to undertake
our Private Sub-Let Managed Service.