Holidaymakers vs business travellers

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russellt
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Holidaymakers vs business travellers

Post by russellt »

For no obvious reason or action on our part, we have started to attract enquiries and bookings from business travelers as well as the usual holidaymakers.

The business travelers have been mostly professional types eg, locum doctors and dentists, lecturers, etc. We've even had maths teachers from China, sponsored by the Dept of Education - they were on some sort of swap with local teachers.

We've also had enquiries from UK and overseas contractors, which I have to say I am less keen to encourage.

One thing i have noticed is that some business travelers are more keen to treat the accommodation like an hotel, yet may seek to book for a week or two. So i have to stress upon them that the T&Cs require that, from a cleanliness/tidy perspective, they must leave the property as they found it when they arrived, or I have the right to retain their security deposit as payment for additional cleaning time.

I have to say there is also the feeling, as yet unwarranted, that the property will be less well cared for by business travelers.

What do you think? Do you actively seek to attract business travelers? What downsides or differences have you noticed versus holidaymakers? What other risks should I be considering? Do you think this market is an opportunity or an unhelpful diversion from the core holidaymaker market?
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Cassis
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Post by Cassis »

As a B&B owner it's different for us, but we get a lot of business trade and it is a nice bonus out of main season. We do nothing in particular to encourage or discourage it and we find that they are better for us (despite earlier rising for breakfasts) because they are punctual and tend to be cleaner and less demanding.

Closer to your situation, a gite/B&B complex near us used to have a "petite maison" that they kept solely for business visitors. Never a problem for them, either.
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Bunny
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Post by Bunny »

I'm starting to get a lot more enquiries from business travellers. I think they are becoming more savvy to the benefits over a hotel. Most of mine have been less professional and more building contractors. They are great to fill the winter period. The benefits are that they are out all day and some go home over the weekend. The downside is that yes they do treat it like a hotel and literally just get up and go, often not even doing their washing up. However, I'm capitalising on this and now insist that any business lets are done as a 'serviced let' and I charge them an additional fee for the privilege. So far, none have refused the extra charge. I've had no real problems except for one group who left it particularly dirty, who I wouldn't have back. I normally try to leave a day between bookings to reduce the risk. You do need to be very firm about your rules though. Not being on holiday, there's no leading up excitement and they read absolutely nothing!
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kevsboredagain
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Post by kevsboredagain »

I don't think you can really stereotype guests that easily. Business or pleasure, each type could be great or leave the place trashed.

I'm curious about your condition "leave the place as you found it". Assuming it takes 3-4 hours of cleaning to prepare the place to a good standard, does this mean you expect your guests to spend 3-4 hours cleaning before they leave too in order to leave it in same standard?

I'd imagine this would go down less well with business travelers, who are expecting to pay for cleaning afterwards, than private ones.
russellt
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Post by russellt »

Bunny wrote:now insist that any business lets are done as a 'serviced let'
I like that! I'd need to pull together a specification and revised T&Cs. What are the major differences you'd prescribe between holiday let and serviced let? Is it just the cleaning and tidying up after them?
kevsboredagain wrote: I'm curious about your condition "leave the place as you found it"
That was just a throw-away line for this forum. I don't expect them to spend 3-4hrs cleaning before my cleaner goes in, but simply make sure things are washed-up & put away, dishwasher emptied, fridge emptied, personal belongings removed, etc.

Perhaps with the blurring of accommodation types, booking channels and reasons for booking, traditional holiday let accommodation providers need to move towards a menu of service options which define the base 'holiday let' specification, then additional service options like eg 'serviced let add-on' for the business traveller.

I do recall, when discussing the arrival of the Chinese maths teachers with the D of Ed representative, we both knew that they'd be expecting to treat the accommodation like an hotel, ie just walk out on the last day. A clearly defined 'serviced let add-on' + price would have made that conversation much easier.

(It would also help HMRC to recognise that we are running businesses with attendant business risks, and not just property investments) :evil:

Any other ideas for service add-ons? We tried the grocery pack idea a few years ago, but it was more hassle than it was worth.
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