Pet friendly, yes or no?

Making your property available to pets as well as people is a great way to increase bookings. If you’re happy to do this, ensure that you have the necessary facilities within the property such as water and food bowls as well as an enclosed garden or courtyard.

One of the fastest-growing sectors of the UK holiday market is in pet-friendly holidays. More and more people want to take their beloved pets away with them - not just because they enjoy the company of their pets, but because leaving them at kennels can be expensive.

Some advise that by not catering to the demand for pet-friendly cottages, you could be missing out on a lot of bookings. About a quarter of holidaymakers take their pets with them on breaks - and by not catering to this demand for pet-friendly cottages, you could be missing out on a lot of bookings. This could be turned on its head, by opening up to that extra 25% you may equally lose out on a similar percentage of people who select property based upon there being a no-pets policy.

From the outset I decided on a no pets policy, since I myself suffer with mild allergies and seasonal asthma. For others this can be quite accute and they have a hard time finding suitable accommodation, especially since 'allergy-free' is something not often posted in accommodation details.

Even if you made a spring clean every week you cannot guarentee to remove all potential allergic reactions.  We have many holidaymakers booking our cottage because they feel secure in the knowledge that we have done our best to create allergy-free accommodation. No pets, no smoking, HEPA filtered fresh air using a heat recovery system, vaccuum cleaner with HEPA filter and no carpets.

The loss of income from not accepting pets is debatable since we would have lost out on a percentage of bookings made by allergy sufferers and would have an increase of extra cleaning and repair costs. After all, pets can cause damage - some are poorly trained and others may become disorientated by new surroundings - and this can leave owners facing substantial cleaning and/or repair costs.

Dog and cat allergy (extracts from allergyuk.org)

Dog and cat allergen is found in the animals' saliva, sweat and urine. Animals frequently groom themselves so the allergens coat the hair and skin cells (dander), which, when shed, spread throughout the home. Once the saliva dries, it becomes airborne very easily.

These allergens can be very persistent in the environment, with detectable levels found in homes where no pets have lived for many years, and dog allergen can be found in schools, having been brought there on the clothing and shoes of pupils and teachers. Cat allergen in particular is very 'sticky' in this way.

Despite popular belief, all dogs possess the allergenic material known to produce allergic reactions in humans, and therefore reported differences of sensitivity to different breeds probably relates more to level of exposure. Even breeds that are described as 'hairless' still have allergens found in dander from skin sources. It is possible that longer hair may harbour other allergens such as dust mite, pollens and moulds, to which an individual may also be sensitive. Other persons may be sensitive to substances found on the dog, such as flea powder or soaps.

Also, many dogs (and cats) have skin problems such as eczema, so because of their dry skin and irritation, spread larger amounts of dander.

Exposure to cats during a child's first year of life is an important factor in the development of sensitisation to this allergen. Some studies have shown that children who grow up in homes with pets have more severe symptoms than those in homes without pets; other studies have shown that there may be a protective effect from growing up with pets. However, for those who have eczema, hay fever or asthma, removing pets is the best advice, even if there is no obvious allergy to them at present.

Asthma (extract from allergyuk.org)

Asthma is a common and long term lung condition that requires ongoing management. In asthmatics the airways are sensitive and become inflamed and narrow on exposure to certain triggers, leading to difficulty in breathing. Asthma commonly starts in childhood but it is possible to develop asthma at any age. The causes of asthma are not fully understood, but what we do know is that both the environment and genetics have a role to play in who develops asthma.

Perfect Housekeeping

You will have no problem finding people willing to be your cleaner, and some willing to take on your property as a caretaker-manager. However, what you will find difficult is sorting through these ads and applications for a person who can really do what they offer, week in, week out, to the standards you set and that they agree upon at the beginning.

If you are not living close by to check on the quality of this service, then it can be fraught with problems if you rush into employing someone and are then unable to run regular quality checks, especially at busy times. If possible take them on for a trial period, if they are as good as they say they will have no issue with that. Extend this trial period through the summer months if you still feel unsure, and if after that you are happy then offer them continuous work. You may prefer to offer this permanent basis on condition that their standards remain. Don't try to go for lowest hourly rate, and don't go over your budget if you feel they are asking too much. We pay a fixed change-over fee, plus any extra one-off cleaning fees, laundry fees and costs of materials and welcome packs.

Make the change-overs yourself

At least at first make the change-over yourself. You will then have an understanding of how long it takes to prepare the home ready for the next guest. Our check-in, check-out times allow a 5 hour turnaround, otherwise called a change-over. It is a two bedroom cottage with one large bathroom so it is possible to make the change-over in 4 hours. This leaves a buffer in case the departing guests leave late or an extra deep clean is required.

During our first months of letting our property, we had fantastic comments and feedback, after all it was effectively brand new, "like a show home". At that time living in another country we had to find someone to manage the change-over days and any maintenance that may need attention. In the middle of the high season we noticed 'suggestions' in our feedback forms. I should have acted immediately and visited to understand why this was so, but I put it down to overly fussy guests. This was my first and biggest mistake.

We did visit at the end of the high season for our own holiday and contacted the manager-cleaner to let him know when we'd be arriving.

Whilst I cannot say the house was filthy, it was far from the high standards we expected and believed we were providing to our guests. It was only then that we read through the cottage suggestions book to read things like "hairs in the bed and fridge" and "freezer solid with ice". I went around the cottage armed with my camera and found 30 issues which needed attention such as a broken glass bedside lamp - how could anyone miss that if they'd just cleaned the room?

What we found astonishing was the fact that he knew we were coming to stay, giving him the opportunity to make the place perfect for our arrival. After discussing this with him it became clear that he had not done the cleaning himself but sub-contracted someone else to do it. He insisted that he had checked it personally, especially on this occasion because he knew we were coming. He was either not telling the truth or has very low standards, you could not have missed the broken lamp. His overall response was quite aggressive, not a nice experience at all. His denial says everything about his attention to detail and customer care. After checking the inventory we found several items missing including more than a full set of bedding and towels, something he also denied knowledge of. There was also no record of any inventory check since he began.

Seek recommendations for your staff

Although he was recommended by an online holiday cottage website, I should have asked for recommendations and perhaps tried to speak with his existing clients. So I tried harder to find a replacement with this fresh in my mind, but again this was rushed through since we were there only a week and had new guests arriving after our departure. I found someone who had two of his own holiday apartments about an hour away from ours, he said he now cleaned his properties himself as he had had similar experiences to us. This time it was better but still we found too many issues during that second year, he too then sub-contracted the cleaning, and his arrogance and reluctance to speak with guests during their stay, unacceptable.

For the third and subsequent years we have been blessed with a fantastic cleaner who also part manages with me, this time recommended by word-of-mouth. She does not wish to have lots of properties to clean as she realizes that her standards might inevitably slip. Her friends joke that she has OCD for cleaning. We repeatedly get comments from guests complimenting her and thanking her for such a clean house and smiling welcome. We know that she does an enormous amount towards our repeat bookings and recommendations.

I take time to listen to her if she has any concerns with bookings or her responsibilities, she also has valuable advice on improving guest experience and cost reductions. She also informs me on each check out if any guests have caused damage or an issue which needs more of her time to resolve. This gives me time to evaluate as to whether any damage deposit should be withheld or absorbed into overheads.

It is worth considering, when interviewing potential cleaner caretakers, to ask if there is anything they would prefer not be responsible for, or anything that concerns them about your property. For example, we used to keep all our spare linen and consumables in dry storage, in the loft space, however not all people are happy with going into attics, some even have a phobia of them.

4 simple improvements

Try leaving some personalised postcards for your guests to send to friends and family

There are many improvements you can make to increase customer satisfaction and gain new and repeat bookings, here are 4 simple ones:

• Remember that cleanliness really is the big issue. Keeping your property spotless and well maintained is vital so if you’re unable to do it yourself, make sure you find someone you can trust. A dirty bathroom or fridge makes for bad reviews, which could deter future customers from booking.

• Consider installing a hot-tub if you have space. Adding one to your holiday home is likely to increase its desirability. We did not have the space however we fitted a large wide bath with a luxury overhead rain shower, it gets most of the glowing comments in our guest book.

• Providing a welcome pack including locally sourced fresh products, a bottle of wine and the local paper (with a 'what's on' guide) is a nice touch. We also leave a few postcards. Since the cottage is in Cornwall, guests also receive a Cornish Cream Tea of scones, clotted cream and jam which helps make guests' arrival more welcoming, easier and creates a lasting impression. If you can accommodate guest dietary preferences in this that will also illustrate your willingness to understand their needs. It's amazing how much thoughtful touches like these can increase the likelihood of your guests re-booking or recommending your property to others.

• Most holiday makers expect the same mod cons they'd use at home, so a washing machine, dishwasher, microwave and free Wi-Fi are pretty essential, and a tumble dryer a bonus. You may also want to consider a coffee machine, sandwich toaster, slow cooker and other technology such as a DVD/Bluray player and Xbox.

I bought a Sony Blu-Ray and DVD player which has been perfect, no complaints from the guests, easy to use and takes up little space. I bought it from Amazon and this link takes you to the newer release of the same model. You may find something here more suitable, I just went for the simpler less expensive model.
We don't provide a sandwich toaster but the toaster makes 4 slices at once, we've had it since 2010 and it's still working fine, looks new, just remember to empty the crumb trays every week.
For coffee, we provide two types of coffee percolators rather than a larger machine with capsules. The most popular which works best on gas or induction hobs is this Giannini caffettiera or this one by Bialletti, if you want to know why, you can read another of my blogs at "So you want to live in Italy".