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Stonehenge - Stonehenge - Visit Britain tourism figures

Latest Visit England tourism figures indicate strong start to 2016

Stonehenge - tourism With the summer season now in full swing we’ve been casting our eye back to the beginning of the year. The latest statistics from Visit England’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (released in recent weeks) has given us the initial indications of how the industry performed throughout the first quarter, a season during which many holiday homeowners and agencies will be looking to grow bookings.

Here’s the overview of how the industry is looking…

Record breaking results!

Let’s start with some great news; domestic tourism in the UK appears to be on the up.

The results, which cover January – March 2016, reveal a record breaking first quarter with a 23% increase in spending from last year, in no small amount due to a 10% increase in domestic overnight holiday trips.

That works out as a total spending of £1.8 billion and 7.3 million visits. Very positive signs.

Monthly break down

So how do those increases spread out across the first three months of that quarter?

The answer is reasonably equally, with January, February and March all seeing marked year on year increases in visits and visitor spend.

During January visitors to England spent 9.2% more than last year, with February also seeing a 14% year on year hike (that’s £978 million in real terms). It doesn’t stop there either; March smashed all records with a 32.6% year on year increase in expenditure shared across the British Isles.

Regional growth for the South West and West Midlands

When breaking growth down by region the West Country and the West Midlands have been the biggest winners. More and more of us are now visiting the South West outside of the main season, as demonstrated by an 8% increase in visits during February.

Meanwhile, the West Midlands pulled in 11% more visitors than in the corresponding period last year.

Being inventive with pricing, short breaks and incentives appears to continue to be vital in attracting visitors to destinations during these winter months, and holiday homeowners have done this well in recent years.

London continues to draw international and domestic visitors

The capital continues to be a large draw for anyone visiting the country from abroad, as well as for domestic tourism. This statement was backed up by London seeing the largest increase in nights; up 16% in February, and a huge 28% in March.

Spending soaring in the East of England

The East of England saw the biggest increase in spending during February (a staggering 32% up). This growth was also mirrored during March, and even beaten with spend peaking 35% up on the previous year.

The East Midlands was another area in which visitor spend skyrocketed by 25% in February and another 24% throughout the year to date.

The rest of the year

Based on the impressive results of the first quarter, it is looking like the second quarter will continue to display an increase. At the end of 2015, £19.6 billion was spent through domestic overnight tourism in England across all trip-purposes. Will 2016 out do 2015? We’ll have to wait and see, but the signs definitely look good for holiday homeowners.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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Changes to Twitter

How the new changes to Twitter could benefit holiday letting owners

Changes to Twitter

Twitter is a vital tool for holiday homeowners and agents to get closer to, and effectively engage with those wanting to stay in their holiday cottages. The key word in there is ‘engage’; as many will have found over the years, Twitter is far more effective as a marketing tool when interacting with other accounts, rather than a repeated broadcasting of a sales message.

With this in mind Twitter have made some changes that could help you interact even more with those potential holiday letting guests. Here we explain what changes are being made and how you can use them to your advantage…

Longer conversations – @usernames will no longer take up characters

To have a conversation with another Twitter user you need to mention them in your tweet. By including their @username you’ll currently be using vital characters (remember you only have 140 to spare each time). Mention two or three other accounts and that’s half of your allocated limit!

Moving forward these mentions will not be included in your character count.

What does that really mean for holiday homeowners and agents? More space means more conversation and more potential bookings; remember that less than half of the tweets you send should be about yourself, your property and your location.  You want to be engaging with others, so if the balance isn’t currently there with your own tweets make sure you take advantage of this development and get chatting – you will see the benefit in bookings!

Media attachments no longer included either!

The news gets better; attachments (currently included in the character count) will also no longer for a part of those magical 140 characters.  Why’s this such good news? As a holiday homeowner or agent the one thing you should be doing is making your social media presence visual; lots of photos of the local area, sunsets, that garden you’ve worked tirelessly on and anything that might entice those bookings.

Using imagery on Twitter significantly increases click through rates and your visibility to anyone scrolling through that heavily populated news feed.

If you’re wondering what constitutes an attachment on Twitter it can be any of the following:

  • Images
  • GIFs
  • Videos
  • Polls

On average these currently use up 24 characters; make sure you make the most of that extra 17% of space in your tweet by sharing as many photos and videos as you can, and include a link to get them back to your website to book.

Some other neat changes to Twitter…

You’ll now be able to re-tweet and quote yourself.  Why’s this good? It’ll save you a significant amount of time not having to re-write a tweet you want people to see again (for example if you have some last minute availability or have won another award you’ll be able to quickly re-tweet it rather than re-writing it).

This is particularly helpful as the popular tweeting platform Hootsuite has stopped sending tweets that are repeatedly the same or extremely similar in nature.

The end of the .@ rule

This won’t be known by all Twitter users, but if your tweet starts with a ‘@username’ your tweet will go directly to that user. If you add ‘.@’ to the mix it can be seen by everyone.

This will no longer be the case in coming months, meaning that all of the tweets will be seen, allowing you even greater reach.

So more conversation, more images and more reach; there mightn’t be a better time to get your holiday cottage bookings through Twitter.

When will the changes be made

Twitter have indicated they’ll be making these changes over the coming months, so get ready to take full advantage once they hit your account!

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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Managing holiday letting guest expectations

Managing Holiday Letting Guest Expectations

Managing holiday letting guest expectations

The build up to a holiday can be an exciting one for your guests. In anticipation they’ll have created a number of expectations in their mind about the quality of the accommodation, the local area and the experience they feel they’re likely to enjoy.

How are these expectations formed, and what can you do in order to effectively shape and manage your holiday letting guest expectations?

With visitor expectations rising year on year this is becoming an increasingly important part of owning a holiday cottage and ensuring that your guests go home happy that each of their expectations have been readily met or even exceeded.

We discuss a few areas you can use to make sure that your customers know exactly what they’re getting…

Website copy

This can be an area that is often neglected so when was the last time you wrote, reviewed or updated yours?

When someone visits your website they’ll be doing so with a list of things you’ll need to fulfill in order to gain their booking; some of these will be conscious and others, sub-conscious.

They’ll have things that they’ll need from their accommodation (for example a certain number of rooms), they’ll have things that might be desirable and add something extra (for example a hot tub), and finally fears or worries (for example being somewhere too remote and without local shops).

By working out what your visitors need, want and fear, you can then effectively answer these through each of the pages of your website.

In doing so you’ll be answering all of their questions, and creating a clear picture of what they can expect. You’ll be managing their expectations by increasing their knowledge of your cottage. For more information on improving the copy on your holiday home website listing see our previous post:

Website photography

Whilst words will tell them everything they need to know, photos will give them a real feel of what to expect.

You’ll probably already know that photographing the interiors of a holiday home is a tricky business; lighting and making the rooms seem as large as real life are just a couple of the common barriers holiday homeowners will have faced when trying to get the perfect shot.

Consider investing in a professional photographer to ensure your rooms, and other areas are done justice and give a realistic expectation as to what someone can expect.

Also, make sure you have a wide range of photography; both inside and outside, to ensure that nothing is left to the imagination (which is where expectation and reality begin to part).

For more information on eye catching photography for your holiday home website listing see our previous post:

Communication with guests

Whilst expectations can be built and shaped through your website communication, they will continue to evolve during the run up to their visit.

This could be as the result of previous experiences both good and bad, so it’s important you continue to communicate with them and let them know exactly what to expect.

This can include information about their welcome pack, when they can check in, what they’ll need to bring with them and what’s already provided.

The more information you’re able to give them, the better you’ll be able to manage their expectations.

Welcome information folders are an important tool when for communicating useful information to your guests. For more information on welcome folder content ideas and why it’s important to keep them fresh see our previous posts:

It’s the little things

Whilst you can manage the expectations in the run up to a guest’s visit it’s still the little things that count. Think of elements you can add to their stay that may now exceed their expectations; have you considered adding something special or seasonal to the welcome pack? Perhaps hooking up with another local tourist business to offer them a special discount? Or even a pre-decoration service if they’re coming for a special occasion?

Adding and exceeding guest expectations could mean more repeat bookings, so once you’ve shaped them, make sure they have the stay they expect and so much more!

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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Holiday Let Emergency Plan

Handy tips for preparing a holiday let emergency plan

Holiday Let Emergency PlanEmergency Planning – what would you do if something went wrong? We set out some handy tips for preparing a holiday let emergency plan.

As a holiday homeowner or letting agent you’re likely to be responsible for any issues that arise with a cottage during your guests’ stay.

Whilst putting in place effective health and safety procedures and then constantly reviewing those measures will undoubtedly reduce the potential of accidents to happen, the chances are that with a large number of guests staying in your holiday home in any given calendar year, an incident may still occur.

We take a look at how you should and could react in the event a guest suffers an accident in your holiday home.

Preparing a holiday let emergency plan

A cub scout will always tell you that ‘failing to prepare is preparing to fail’.

So, are you prepared with an emergency plan for your holiday home? What do you do when things go wrong? How about if the holiday cottage receives storm damage, or is subject to a fire?

If a crisis arises you need to know what to do, how to react and who needs to be contacted. An emergency plan is a document that gives you this structure and allows you to potentially minimise the impact and potential harm to your holiday home and your guests by providing you with clear courses of action.

What should you include in the plan?

All businesses should have a disaster recovery strategy, which highlights what needs to be done should the worst happen. Your own plan should cover as many emergency scenarios as possible in order to deal with the situation as rapidly and smoothly as possible should it arise.

Remember that this document is going to be used by your guests, so you need to make it as clear and simple as possible to understand. What would happen if a fire broke out at your holiday home during the night? Who would they call?

If you’re using a letting agent it’s worth having a conversation and clear understanding of what you need to do in this respect, the procedures they have in place, and generally where your obligations begin and theirs end.

Communicating your holiday let emergency plan

There’s very little point in having a holiday let emergency plan if your guests aren’t privy to the information within it, when they need it the most. Information, and in particularly emergency contact numbers should be integrated into your current communication process, preferably before guests arrive.

Log incidents

Whether a guest has been injured at the holiday home or the property has suffered damage, keep a record of the incident for future reference. This record should also form an important part of your on-going health and safety or property monitoring; what could have been done or altered in order to minimise the chances of the incident occurring again? For example, if storm damage has been caused to the property as the result of blocked drains and guttering, should you be looking at the frequency with which these parts of your holiday home are cleared.

The main details to log include, the type of incident, date/ time, when, where and any witnesses. This will be useful should you need to make an insurance claim.

By creating an immediate record of any problems it ensures details have been taken accurately while fresh in your and your guest’s mind.

Insurance

If there is an incident involving your guests or holiday home you want to know that your insurer fully understands the situation you’re going through, and also knows the best way to get you sorted as quickly as possible.

For this reason we always recommend using specialist holiday home insurance where possible.

We’ve been specialising in holiday home insurance for more than 25 years; we speak with owners every day, meaning we understand the industry, the demands and the issues you face when it comes to owning a holiday property. This gives us a unique opportunity to provide you with the insurance you really need, and get you back on your feet as quickly as possible.

You may also find the following posts on health and safety guidance for holiday home owners of interest:

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

 

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develop online relationships with local tourism businesses

How to develop online relationships with local tourism businesses in order to increase your reach

develop online relationships with local tourism businesses

When we discuss the tourism industry it can be easy to just think of the fantastic self-catering holiday home accommodation we have to provide our visitors. But as you’ll know, your guests will spend the majority of their time away from your holiday home enjoying the local sights and sounds.

People travel to a location in order to enjoy the destination; that rich tapestry that makes up their experience and forms their memories. Whether it’s a family attraction, a great selection of food and drink producers or local walks and beaches, your holiday home provides them with a hub from which they can take it all in.

So if all of these tourism trades are inextricably linked, how can you engage with others in the local area in order to boost your own online reach and presence?

We have some simple suggestions….

You need to engage!

From restaurants to theme parks, it’s realistic to believe that by now most tourism businesses will have a Twitter or Facebook account. So, are you following them on Twitter and have you liked their Facebook pages as your own business page?

If the answer is no then this should be your first port of call.

Social media works on engagement; if you’re not following and liking you won’t be having any.

Share your tourism partners content and promotions

We’ve already said that your visitors will spend their time enjoying what the local area has to offer, but what does this mean from a social media perspective?

Content makes the online world go round; we’re all creating it and we’re all sharing it. Those restaurants, family attractions and other tourism businesses in your locality are all creating content that is going to be relevant to your potential visitors; this could be offers, open hours, booking information or their latest menu, but no matter what it is it’s highly likely that your potential guest is interested in it.

So what do you need to do?

Share it with your own followers and on your own page. It’s going to add value to your own social media accounts as it’s interesting to followers, and it’s also going to promote these local businesses and the area in which your holiday home is situated.

You share theirs and they share yours

The beauty of doing the above is that more often than not, if you start sharing and re-tweeting their information, they’ll start doing the same as yours. This quickly builds your own presence, allowing your tweets and Facebook posts to travel further to potential guests.

By promoting each other you’re both leveraging the online reach you’re able to gain.

Encouraging them to follow back on Twitter

Most people on Twitter will simply follow someone and have no other engagement. Statistics show that on average when adopting this approach, only 2 – 4 people out of ten will follow you back.

This provides a problem. In step one we said you needed to follow all of those businesses in your local area that may be of interest to your potential guests. If only 2 – 4 follow you back only 20 – 40% of the businesses will actually end up seeing your tweets, meaning you’re not going to be extending your own reach.

When you follow a local business, be sure to engage with them. Hit that follow button, but also introduce yourselves as a local accommodation provider, like some of their tweets and share their great content.

You’ll increase the likelihood of other tourism businesses following back to 60 – 80%, increasing your own reach in the process!

Create Twitter lists to make sure you don’t miss a thing

An issue you might run in to when you start following all of these new accounts is there’s simply too much information going onto Twitter and if you’re not glued to the computer screen you’re going to miss something of interest.

Create Twitter lists and include all of the local businesses within specific lists. This will mean that the next time you login you’ll be able to see just their tweets by viewing a list; you’ll never miss anything important again!

Get re-tweeting!

(More information on Twitter lists is available here: article on twitter lists)

If you found this article on developing online relationships with local tourism businesses of interest, you may also enjoy these:

When holiday letting your second home to paying guests it’s essential to take advice on suitable insurance. Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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Deafgard - holiday home fire safety for deaf guests

Fire Safety for deaf guests and the hard of hearing

Deafgard - holiday home fire safety for deaf guestsBeing awoken in the middle of the night by the loud blast of a fire alarm can be both terrifying and disorientating. There may well be a multitude of things rushing through your mind; is there really a fire or is it a false alarm? Where are the children? Which is the safest route from the building?

For those staying in your holiday letting property this situation can be all the more complex. Remember, they won’t be familiar with the layout of your holiday home, nor the sound of the fire alarm that potentially fills it.

But think for a moment; what would they do without that sound?

In an environment in which your hearing is the ultimate first warning, what would you do if deprived of this most vital of senses?

Holiday Home Fire Safety for deaf guests and people with hearing loss

For guests to your holiday home that are deaf or hard of hearing (which accounts for 1 in 7 people in the UK) this is a very real problem. Fire safety is so often focused around the preventative sound of the alarm that many holiday homes may be unable to cater for visitors with diminished levels of hearing.

What do you need to do as a holiday homeowner?

Fire Safety Law (known as Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005) was introduced in 2006 and makes holiday homeowners responsible for taking measures to protect their guests from the risks of fire and applies to all tourism accommodation providers.

There are three core areas to fire safety law:

  1. Conduct a fire risk assessment.
  2. Improve your fire safety measures as a result of issues highlighted in the assessment.
  3. Keep the risks and measures under review.

When combined with the Equality Act 2010 (which requires you to provide, where reasonable, equal access to those with disabilities), this means it’s vital your fire risk assessment takes into consideration potential visitors that are hard of hearing or deaf, and then puts in place procedures to allow them to enjoy a safe stay in your holiday accommodation.

As a provider of guest accommodation, what is reasonable?

Accommodation and service providers have a duty to take reasonable steps to remove, alter or avoid any physical barriers that make it impossible or reasonably difficult for people with disabilities to use their facilities. Factors to consider include, whether the proposed adjustments meets the needs of the disabled person, is affordable and whether it would have a serious effect on other people. What might be looked upon as reasonable for a large hotel chain may not be so for an individual furnished holiday letting property or small bed and breakfast.

With the above in mind, there is an opportunity for small self-catering accommodation providers to differentiate themselves by going the extra mile.

What are your fire safety options for deaf guests?

There are a range of options and equipment on the market that will allow you to keep hard of hearing guests safer in the event of a fire.

Here’s an overview of one of these:

The Deafgard by Fireco

The Deafgard by Fireco is a battery powered unit a deaf or hard of hearing person can take to their room.

In the event of a fire alarm sounding the unit is triggered and vibrates a pad that fits beneath the guest’s pillow, flashes an LED light and displays the word ‘fire’ to ensure your guest is fully awoken and aware of the alarm being sounded.

Here’s a quick look at how it works:

This is an efficient way to ensure hard of hearing and deaf visitors are made aware of an alarm seconds after it sounds. You may find that guests with hearing difficulties may bring their own Deafgard or similar device for use at your holiday home. However if it’s affordable to your holiday letting business, making one available is a great way to differentiate your holiday home and fulfill your responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.

These devices are available on the open market, for more information click here – Deafguard | Fireco.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

Please note that this article gives only an overview of Fire Safety for deaf guests and the hard of hearing and we suggest you take advice from a qualified professional before making any decisions in this area if you are not confident of using the above guidance. 

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Drive repeat holiday let bookings

How to drive repeat holiday let bookings

Drive repeat holiday let bookingsWhen someone stays at your holiday home and has a great time you want them to return again and again, but with potentially up to a year before they enjoy their next trip, how do you drive repeat holiday let bookings and make sure you’re in their mind when they come to decide whether to return or seek new experiences?

We take a look at how you can encourage and drive repeat bookings for your holiday home.

Gaining contact to drive repeat holiday let bookings

You need to turn your visitor’s romantic weekend or week away into a longer-term relationship and dialogue. If they never hear from you again it’s far less likely they’ll come back.

In order to do that you need to build contact between now and when they next decide to take a holiday. Think of the ways in which you can communicate with visitors once they’ve left; do you send them an email for their arrival home? Do you ask them to leave feedback online or in a guest book? Do you thank them?

There are many ways to gain contact with your visitors once they’ve left; let’s take a look at a few others you can use.

Email Marketing to drive repeat holiday let bookings

Email marketing is a fantastic way of keeping in touch with previous guests.

Do you tell them about the changes you’ve made to your holiday home? Upcoming events in the area? Potential discounts you can offer on local attractions they may be keen to visit?

A monthly newsletter packed full of information that may trigger and encourage a return to your holiday cottage can be worth its weight in gold.

Create Great Content to drive repeat holiday let bookings

You may have heard the words ‘content marketing’ a lot in recent years.

What makes content great? Relevance.  The more relevant the content to your visitor the more they’ll engage with it, and the more it’ll encourage them to return to your cottage.

They’ve already visited your holiday home, so what is it that makes your guests tick? Before sending any information to them always think, “Would they be interested in this and would it encourage them to come again?”

Remember, content doesn’t have to be reams and reams of text; many holiday cottages are in areas of natural outstanding beauty so that beautiful photograph of the sun setting over the coast may just be enough to tempt them back (particularly in the darker winter months!)

Keep your site up to date to drive repeat holiday let bookings

It’s unlikely your visitors will want to experience exactly the same holiday as they did last time so your site should be up to date and ready to dazzle.

We’ve already discussed the importance of content above; the site filled regularly to the brim with great content will have far more repeat visitors, and as a consequence, repeat trade.

You’re giving them a reason to return.

Engage with guests on social media to drive repeat holiday let bookings

More and more guests will mention their holiday destination on social media; whether that’s Facebook or Twitter; do you follow and like people that mention you on social media?

These social networks are great tools from where you can continue dialogue.

Remember, social media is supposed to be social, so make sure not all of your tweets or posts are outbound and promotional.

Create dialogue, generate conversation, and encourage engagement.

You’ll then be at the forefront of their mind and in a positive position when it’s time to book.

Make returning as easy as possible to drive repeat holiday let bookings

We all like things to be as easy as possible.  Is this the case with booking a stay at your holiday cottage for returning visitors?

Do you have a fast track booking system as you already have their details?

92% of travelers want the option to book online; do you offer this functionality to your guests?

Remember, we’ve said your site should be up to date; is your booking availability calendar too?

Ultimately, if you’re able to combine your great holiday experience with a longer term relationship and regular contact, you’ll find your visitors begin to come back time and again.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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Boshers specialist holiday home insurance webite on ipad

Five Benefits of a Specialist Holiday Home Insurance Policy

Boshers specialist holiday home insurance webite on ipadSpecialist is a word that is often used but one we take really seriously and to heart. We’ve been specialising in insurance for holiday letting properties for 25 years. With that amount of experience under our belt we understand the industry.

Speaking with holiday homeowners every day gives us the knowledge and understanding that allows us to ensure we have one of the most comprehensive specialist holiday home insurance policy wordings possible for you and your needs as a cottage owner.

How our Specialist Holiday Home Insurance Policy can help

Here are just a few ways our Specialist Holiday Home Insurance Policy can help cover you when you need it the most:

£5m public and products liability

With the volume of people visiting and staying in your holiday home it’s vital you have an adequate level of public liability insurance.

Public liability insurance covers the legal liability of the policyholder for accidental bodily injury to third parties or damage to their property.

For example, if you were held legally liable for an accident in your holiday home that caused injury to a guest or to some of their possessions, you would be covered under your public and products liability insurance.

£10m employer’s liability

If you employ people to work inside or outside of your holiday home, for example in the form of a gardener or a cleaner, you will need employers liability insurance.

This will cover you against injury or illness sustained in the course of their employment.

It is a legal requirement to display your employer’s liability Certificate of insurance; we’ll provide this for you when you take a policy out with us.

Loss of rental income

What would you do if something happened to your property that meant it were out of action for the busiest time of the year?  Would you be able to stomach the financial implications of the potential loss of income during those summer months?

If your holiday home becomes uninhabitable as the result of something outside your control such as flood or fire it can have serious financial consequences.

This insurance covers you for the potential loss of income you may suffer as a result of disruption or interruption caused by an insured event.

What this means is that should you lose trade then you’ll not have to pay the price of the loss of trade you suffer through cancellations and periods of not being able to accept bookings.

Legal expenses up to £100,000

If you have a dispute with an employee, supplier or guest the legal costs can quickly add up and even run out of your financial control.

Our legal expenses cover is there to protect your legal position on a range of employment or business disputes.  We will negotiate for your legal rights after an event that causes physical damage to your holiday home or to evict anyone in your property who does not have permission to be there.

Your legal rights will also be defended if an event arising from you letting your holiday home leads to you being prosecuted in a criminal court.

You’ll also benefit from a number of helpful helplines, which will give you guidance on areas such as commercial law, tax and online employment and business law.

Accidental Damage

Sometimes accidents happen; red wine ruins that new cream carpet, or a guest accidentally breaks a chair.  Our policy covers most accidental damage that can occur, subject to some exceptions that insurers generally consider to be uninsurable, such as damage caused by cleaning or the corruption of information on a computer.

This means that should your guest accidentally break something, you won’t be left with a large bill.

These are just a general overview of how our specialist Holiday Home insurance aims to support holiday home owners. We always encourage anyone looking for insurance to read their Policy document in order to fully understand the cover you have in place and also ensure that when you’re looking for quotes that you are comparing like for like cover.

For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:

For more information on how our specialist holiday home insurance could help cover your property please give our friendly team a call on 01237 429444. 

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Ideas for holiday home owners to reduce heating costs

Two ideas for holiday home owners to reduce heating costs this autumn

Radiator and blue sky in home interiorWith September drawing to a close one of the busiest periods of the year for holiday home owners many may expect this to be a time of reflection; to look back on one of the warmest June and July’s on record, to bask in the glory of increased bookings or to simply have a well earned rest.

The reality is perhaps somewhat different; the increasing year-round bookings, the maintenance and repairs, the planning for 2015.

It all starts now.

The drive to fill the months ahead is becoming increasingly competitive and with the colder autumnal and winter weather, an emphasis is not only required on getting visitors to the holiday home but also on keeping them warm in the most efficient way once they arrive.

Here are two ideas for holiday home owners to reduce heating costs and help you achieve just that.

Is it time for the winter coat!?

Lagging water tanks and pipes, along with insulating behind radiators around your holiday home reduces the amount of heat that can escape, meaning hot water stays hotter for warmer and you spend less money on reheating it.

So where do you really need to be insulating?

Start with the hot water cylinder

As the hub of your water system, insulating the hot water cylinder in your holiday home is one of the quickest and easiest ways to save money.

Many will already be wearing a fitted jacket but it’s worth checking the thickness, which should be in excess of 75mm.  If your water cylinder jacket falls beneath this mark then heat loss can be reduced by up to 75% by purchasing a new, thicker jacket.

It’s estimated that the cost of the jacket will be saved in heating bills within six months!

Do you have radiators? Have you considered reflector panels?

Whilst under-floor heating is becoming more and more popular the majority of holiday homes continue to use radiated heat.  A commonly faced issue with radiators is that they are fixed to walls, which are quite often externally facing.

This means that a large amount of the heat generated by a radiator could be lost through the wall to which it is attached.  This can be further exacerbated in some listed property homes, where modern levels of building regulation insulation aren’t present.

Radiator reflector panels are a low cost and effective way of addressing this issue and reducing the heating costs of your holiday home.  Fixed behind your radiators, they reflect heat from the radiator back into the room, instead of letting it out through an external wall.

They have most benefit when installed on uninsulated walls, which can be internal (between rooms) or external (the outer skin of the holiday home).

The cost of these will be dependent on the supplier and the radiators within your property so it’s worth looking at several options before deciding on the best fit for your holiday home.

For more energy saving and top tips for holiday home owners please do have a read through our blog and let us know if there are any areas you’d like to hear us writing about.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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Ten steps to ensure your holiday home remains open for business

keep-calm-protect-inspect -our-holiday-homeWith the UK basked in what is fast becoming an Indian summer and one of the warmest July’s on records fresh in the memory it can be difficult to adjust the mind to look forward to more inclement times.

The devastation caused to homes and holiday property across the Westcountry and South coast of England in the early months of 2014 is still only now being repaired; dredging on the Somerset levels continues on a daily basis.

Now is however the time to take stock and to ensure you’re fully ready for the winter ahead; proactive maintenance now may well save time and money when the nights are darker and the winds much stiffer.

Here are ten steps to ensure your holiday home remains open for business

Frozen Pipes

If you’ve not already insulated pipes and storage systems in your holiday home then now should be the time to review.  Whilst the average UK temperature during September is a balmy 15C, that figure drops significantly to 5C during December to February (the lowest recorded temperature this year was -8C in Sutherland).

We see more burst pipe and escape of water insurance claims than any other; the damage caused can be significant but there are several simple steps to take to minimise your risk:

  • If your holiday home is to be unoccupied during the winter ensure you turn the water off at the stopcock.
  • If the stopcock is not turned off, and the heating system drained, ensure the temperature throughout your holiday home is kept above a level to prevent your pipes from freezing.
  • Ensure you arrange for regular checks to be made on the property during its period of occupancy.
  • Look to lag and insulate pipes, boilers and storage tanks, particularly if exposed to the elements.
  • Make sure your heating and water systems are regularly checked by a professional and consider installing a leak detection system or automatic stopcock, particularly if you live away from the property.

Storm Damage 

The estimated cost of damage caused by the storms in February has soared above the £1bn mark. For holiday homeowners this damage can be felt not only in property damage but also in lost revenues from occupancy.

It’s therefore vital to do your storm damage checks:

  • High winds can cause already loose slates to fly considerable distances, causing extensive damage.  When was the last time your holiday home slates were checked?  Make sure you visually check for broken or loose slates on a regular basis and conduct more thorough inspections prior to forecast gusts.
  • Maintain the drains and guttering on your property.  Summer months and activity such as cutting your lawns can cause drains to become quickly blocked.  Water with nowhere to go will inevitably cause your property more damage.
  • Check for any damage to your chimneys, gates, trees or fences.  Also remove trampolines or other play equipment not securely fastened to the ground.
  • If your property is occupied during the winter consider having an emergency package for guests, including things such as a torch should the electricity supply to your property be cut.
  • Ensure a qualified professional carries out all necessary repairs to your property.

Your Insurance

As specialists in holiday home insurance we understand the impact that having your property unavailable as the result of the weather has on your business.

For that reason we’re always keen to highlight ways in which property owners can be proactive in minimising these potential risks.

Please ensure that you take a look through our specialist holiday home insurance policy so you fully understand the conditions you should be taking to minimise the risks of the weather having an impact on your holiday letting business.

Our Policy is there to help protect you and for your peace of mind.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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