Housekeeping – keeping your Holiday Let spick and span

Last Updated on July 31, 2017 by admin

When it comes to your holiday home you want everything to be perfect for your guests arrival. Central to achieving this are those little things, many of which will come under the cleaning, cleanliness and housekeeping banner; VisitBritain believe ‘housekeeping is probably the single most important part of the holiday home letting process’. It’s also the area that prompts more customer complaints than any other throughout UK holiday homes.

So how can you ensure that your standards are never compromised even at this time of year when the sheer volume of visitors calling your cottage their home leads to greater pressure on your changeover periods?

We’ve been taking a look at the latest VisitEngland guidance, and put together some top tips of our own to ensure everything is as it should be when it comes to your housekeeping, whether you carry it out yourself or hire a contract cleaning company.

There should be no evidence of previous guests

There’s nothing worse than arriving at a holiday home to find the remnants of the previous occupants. Make sure all bins (not forgetting those in the bathroom) are emptied, any leftover food is removed from the fridge and that there aren’t any crumbs left around the toaster or other cooking appliances. Its particularly important to pay attention to the kitchens and bathrooms, and it is vital that the beds are clean with fresh linen and free from finger prints on the headboard or any surrounding areas.

Also consider the products you’re using; you want things to be incredibly clean, but not smell like they’ve walked into a sterile environment.

These are all common sense things, but getting the basics right here really is the key to success.

Find a good and reliable housekeeping company

Cleaning can become an arduous and time consuming task for any holiday homeowner. If you’ve not realistically got the time to undertake it yourself, it may well be useful to outsource the responsibility.

Finding the right person or company to take on the housekeeping is the most important factor here; if you’ve got a holiday home letting agent then chat to them about who they’d recommend as they’re likely to have the benefit of local knowledge. Also consider having a chat with other cottage owners in the area to find who they’re using. Recommendations are worth their weight in gold when it comes to finding the right person or company, and they in return will become a real asset to your cottage.

Keeping on top of quality control

Most quality holiday homes will have a checklist to ensure that cleaning tasks are never missed, no matter how busy things get. If you’ve not got a cleaning checklist together then it’s certainly worth creating one and essential if you’re handing the cleaning duties on to a third party or new staff throughout the season.

It’s not just about the cleaning!

First impressions are everything, so make sure you pay attention to the overall maintenance of your holiday letting property. If the first thing your guests will see is the garden, make sure it is well-kept and tidy, paying particular attention to decking areas. Ensure that all of your furniture inside and out are fit for purpose and haven’t become worn or damaged over time (particularly prevalent during the busiest periods).

Perhaps give some thought to the contents of your kitchens cupboards. Do your guests have all of the right utensils and crockery? Have you left enough plates for the amount of guests you are expecting? It’s useful to write up a checklist. This will help you walk around your property and make periodicy checks. Elements such as lightbulbs, door handles, stair carpets, dripping taps and batteries for electrical remotes could otherwise be overlooked.

For further tips regarding housekeeping and changeovers please click here: Holiday Let Changeovers | A good time to make additional checks

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For information on how we can help and support your holiday home business call us on 01237 429444.