This category is about Holiday Home Marketing and is for UK holiday letting owners looking to improve their marketing and drive more bookings.

Whether you own an individual holiday home, apartment or holiday cottage complex Boshers holiday home marketing posts are for you. As Holiday Home Insurance Specialists Boshers are proud to share many tips, guidance and articles.

Subjects covered include increasing your holiday letting bookings, quality assessment schemes and social media hacks. Check out these posts: Year round holiday let occupancy, Quality assessment schemes for holiday lets, How to increase off peak bookings, Social Media hacks to increase your off peak bookings.

making your holiday cottage bike friendly

Making your holiday cottage bike friendly

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making your holiday cottage bike friendlyCatering for the growing British cycling market

As the pinnacle of worldwide competitive cycling it may seem strange to refer to Tour de France winners as busses, but when Bradley Wiggins was crowned the king of the tour in 2012 very few of us, having waiting more than 100 years for a British winner, expected to see Chris Froome storming down the Champs-Élysées adorned in the yellow jersey just twelve months later.

Add to those names the likes of Chris Hoy, Rebecca Pendleton and many more from the record breaking GB cycling team of recent years and you begin to build a picture of a nation enjoying one of the most successful times in its cycling history.

So often elite level success trickles down to greater recreational participation; cycle paths have begun to pop up and be developed in greater numbers and many enjoying a stay in a holiday cottage this summer will now be looking forward to getting the family out for a day on the bikes. There are many ways of making your holiday cottage bike friendly and many owners will be looking for ways to appeal to this market.

So what can you do to cater to this growing market?

Provide guests with the information they need

It’s a good idea to provide your guests with information such as where the local cycle paths are, how long the cycle will be, potential stop off points and also the level of difficulty.

Whilst some may be after an adrenaline fuelled speed cycle through the local woods others will be seeking a more sedate experience whilst taking in the views so make sure your guests know what they’re getting themselves in for.

This information doesn’t need to be restricted to arrival or as a pack in your holiday home either.  Consider promoting the local cycle paths on your website along with images from those unrivaled views.  If you’re aiming to attract this sort of market it’s important to make sure they know everything you have to offer.

Washing and drying facilities

The British weather can be notoriously inclement no matter what the month, which when cycling is involved often leads to muddy and rain sodden clothing.

Providing designated areas where dirty clothes and trainers can be aired and washed will be an added bonus for visitors and will also limit the mud and dirt to certain parts of your holiday cottage.

Storage

Bicycles take up space so you need somewhere to store them.  There is now a wide array of space saving storage devices on the market specifically designed for cyclists and they don’t have to cost the earth; some begin from just £29.99 from well known hardware stores.

Any potential space saving within the cottage itself can also save expense on having to erect external bike sheds and installing further security devices.

Providing bikes for your holiday cottage guests

If you’re providing bikes for your guests then you’ll need to confirm with your holiday cottage insurance provider if they are happy to extend your liability insurance for this activity and comply with policy conditions and good health and safety practice. At the very least you’ll have to ensure they’re regularly inspected and maintained by a competent person.  If they’re defected in any way they should be made unavailable to guests until they have been repaired and are in full working order.

Make sure you provide helmets

Wearing a helmet is a vital part of cycling health and safety so if you’re providing bicycles to your guests it’s essential that you make these available.

Like your bike a helmet should also be inspected on a regular basis, with a log kept of when you last made an inspection, along with any replacements or repairs carried out.

Consider adding signage where your bikes are stored to remind them that the helmets are there for them and recommend they should be used at all times.

Boshers are specialist providers of insurance to holiday homes and cottages. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home please give us a call on 01237 429444.

 

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Coponis Holiday Home Welcome Pack App

Coponis – embracing technology in holiday home welcome packs

Do you own a smart phone?  If you do you’re now officially in the majority rather than the minority as latest statistics show that 7 out of 10 UK adults now own a smart phone of some sort.

With these phones has come a new way of accessing information, a way of seamlessly integrating a phone into our daily lives, a method of adding value and making things just that little easier.

We are now in the era of the App.

If in doubt the fact a staggering 102 billion were downloaded last year alone shows you use them and so do your guests.

Coponis – embracing technology in holiday home welcome packs


So as a holiday homeowner how do you harness this technology and utilise it to the benefit of you and those visiting your holiday home?

An App called Coponis perhaps has the answer.

Picture a scenario where your latest guest has every bit of information at their fingertips before they leave their front door.

From directions on how to get there and where to park when they arrive to places to go, the latest weather forecast and even how to work the oven!

Coponis is an App that takes the traditional ‘Welcome Information Pack’ provided to guests and puts that information and much more in the guest’s hands prior to even arriving.

As well as linking up with Google, the world’s largest search engine to provide visitors with information on all the local spots the App is also able to store a wealth of information on your holiday letting property; it really is a one stop shop for your guest.

As holiday home insurance specialists we take pride in providing information of interest to furnished holiday letting owners. Take a look at the video and see how Coponis may help you and your holiday home business.

 

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twitter for holiday homeowners

Twitter for Holiday homeowners

Twitter for holiday homeowners – becoming advocates for your area.

twitter for holiday homeowners

In July 2006 a new social network that allowed people to post 140 character text messages was launched.

Eight years on that social network is now one of the ten most visited websites on the internet, handling near 2 billion search queries a day and generating on average 5,700 tweets per second.

Twitter has hit the big time; it’s changed the way in which people interact online, breaking down traditional social constructs and barriers and along with them opening up new opportunities for holiday homeowners.

So how can you use Twitter for your holiday home?

Build dialogue with guests and the local community

If we go back ten years your website was your brochure.  It laid out what you had to offer in a similar format to that of a paper document, with little or no potential interaction.

Fast forward to today and Twitter gives you the opportunity to build dialogue, to engage, no only with those that may one day visit your holiday home but also with local attractions and communities.

Promotion of your area and what’s on offer

A vast number of your visitors will spend their days away from your holiday home.  This time is likely to be spent in your local area; so what is it the area has to offer?

Twitter can be used to not only promote your holiday home but also your location as a tourist destination.  Promoting what’s around you, having conversations with local attraction providers and community groups will only help to build and boost the visitors to your area of the country.  Remember that that promotion and dialogue will often also be reciprocal.

Don’t leave it for your visitors to find. Tell them about it and spread the word.

Extend your reach by offering information of value

The potential reach of Twitter is boundless. If you create and share great content then your potential reach is going to be that much greater.

What makes great content? Content that is of value to guests, which again feeds in to areas such as local attractions, things to do, places to eat.

Knowing your audience and giving them the information they want to hear will help your message resonate and with it will come re-tweets, comments and favorites.

Make sure you spend your time effectively

Life as a holiday homeowner is busy.  Where do you find the time to get on to Twitter in the day or the evenings? How do you spread your time between your Facebook page, your Twitter feed and the potential allure of new networks such as Google +?

Make sure you know what it is you’re aiming to gain from your Twitter activity and ensure that your time is spent focusing on that goal.  With focus comes efficiency and with efficiency comes time saving.

Twitter can be a great tool for holiday homeowners to engage and to promote.  Whether it’s the Yorkshire Dales, the Cotswolds, English Riviera, Cornwall or any other beauty spot throughout the country, become an advocate for your area, promote what you have to offer and don’t leave guests guessing.

 

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