Parking

If you are planning to buy a rental home, or you're thinking about what to do with one you have just acquired, this is the place for any questions about starting out in the rentals business.
Rosehill
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:51 am
Location: Rosehill Paignton devon

Parking

Post by Rosehill »

There is off street parking at our cottage which during the busy summer season we cannot guarantee there will be a place available directly outside the house. On sites like booking.com without being misleading is it okay to tick the box for to say parking facilities are available at the property as long as we explain the situation in the description?
zebedee
Posts: 1270
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: yorkshire dales

Post by zebedee »

We have private parking at the rear of our property, that no one else can use, but there is a width restriction in the access route. When we started out we were with an agent who saw the property and advertised it as having parking for 2 cars. Since managing it myself I get to hear first hand exactly what people are looking for, and many people won’t book unless they know they can definitely park off the highway on private land where they perceive their car will be safer than on the public highway.

It will be interesting to hear what others say on this matter, but as a general rule it is better for a guest to arrive and find a property gives them much more than they expected, than for them to get irate that one detail that they wanted and thought they had booked is missing.

In this case, that would equate to your guests not expecting a parking facility but then finding that they can park easily outside the property. That’s a win win all round, but if they do end up walking a bit from their car, they won’t complain.

The key question is - is the agro worth it? (No, not in my mind).

Can you say there is shared parking??
User avatar
CSE
Posts: 4414
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 3:34 pm
Location: Galicia

Post by CSE »

Talk to Booking. They are very approachable.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Rosehill
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:51 am
Location: Rosehill Paignton devon

Post by Rosehill »

Thanks. My concern is that we are missing out on bookings because people who search on Google or other sites for a holiday house with parking won't find our cottage because the facilities on booking.com do not include parking.
ianh100
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:37 pm
Location: Sherborne Dorset

Post by ianh100 »

Not tried to ask booking.vom to change the listing detail, can you do that? Their chosen description of our place is a joke.

For me personally parking is a massive deal, particularly if staying in a seaside town with limited parking. My personal view is that if a listing states parking I am expecting a reserved space.

If your property is somewhere that will almost always have parking within a reasonable distance then perhaps that is still OK to say that it has parking but as suggested see if Booking.vom can update the description.
Rosehill
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2018 11:51 am
Location: Rosehill Paignton devon

Post by Rosehill »

Just to be clear the description does say we have parking but under the facilities available at the property it states no parking. The cottage is by the sea but in a large development with lots of off street parking. We have an agent who posts all our adverts so would have to go through them.
User avatar
Cymraes
Posts: 519
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

Rosehill wrote:Just to be clear the description does say we have parking but under the facilities available at the property it states no parking. The cottage is by the sea but in a large development with lots of off street parking. We have an agent who posts all our adverts so would have to go through them.
If it's on street/first come first served parking then that is what you should be saying. You don't have any parking by the usual expectation. It's a bit disingenuous to say you have parking when you don't have any right to a spot.
africanpenguin
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 12:42 pm
Location: Switzerland

Post by africanpenguin »

It's a bit disingenuous to say you have parking when you don't have any right to a spot.
For me, parking means parking available, including on-street. Right to a spot = private parking space. If a listing said no parking I would assume that there was no practical/reasonable cost parking available at all within say, about 500m. I completely agree with the need to be very specific about what parking is available, but when there is on-street parking right outside I find it strange to say there is no parking. In most British towns on-street parking is what I would expect to be available.
Ecosse
Posts: 812
Joined: Thu May 29, 2014 10:40 pm
Location: Saint Gervais les Bains, France
Contact:

Post by Ecosse »

ianh100 wrote:Not tried to ask booking.vom to change the listing detail, can you do that? Their chosen description of our place is a joke.
Yes, you can: our description contained errors, too (such as 'children's play park when all we have is terrasse with a trampoline and toys) and they were very quick to change it when we pointed out the errors. I think I contacted them through the dashboard with a list of requests.
User avatar
Cymraes
Posts: 519
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2015 3:31 pm
Location: North Wales

Post by Cymraes »

africanpenguin wrote:
It's a bit disingenuous to say you have parking when you don't have any right to a spot.
For me, parking means parking available, including on-street. Right to a spot = private parking space. If a listing said no parking I would assume that there was no practical/reasonable cost parking available at all within say, about 500m. I completely agree with the need to be very specific about what parking is available, but when there is on-street parking right outside I find it strange to say there is no parking. In most British towns on-street parking is what I would expect to be available.
It really isn't that simple in holiday resorts in the UK.

Assumptions are dangerous. I once booked a B&B in Cornwall as they said they provided free parking. They did - it was a pass for the very busy public car park 500yds away. We spent ages circling that car park every night waiting for a space to come free so we could park. Not the hassle free car parking we'd been led to expect from the advert. We left early in the end.
africanpenguin
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2015 12:42 pm
Location: Switzerland

Post by africanpenguin »

Assumptions are dangerous.
Which is why I'm *not* assuming that a parking available box ticked yes means a private parking spot available at the property.
I once booked a B&B in Cornwall as they said they provided free parking. They did - it was a pass for the very busy public car park 500yds away. We spent ages circling that car park every night waiting for a space to come free so we could park. Not the hassle free car parking we'd been led to expect from the advert.
In this instance I agree that the owner clearly was being disengeuous in saying they had parking. That meets my defintion of "no parking", and at the very least I would expect to have the situation clearly spelled out in the listing.

But the OPs situation is different, as 1) parking is available right outside 2) they *are* proposing to clearly explain the situation in their listing.
rosebud
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2012 5:24 pm
Location: Steyning, West Sussex

Post by rosebud »

On booking.com I have
Free public parking is available at a location nearby (reservation is not needed).
I assume this was an option from a drop down list. it is possible to park in the street but places are often taken..

There is another option - parking in the car park of a local pub (free but guests have to let bar staff know their registration number)
Drax
Posts: 185
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 4:36 pm
Location: Yorkshire Dales

Post by Drax »

For me parking is a big issue, when we stay overnight either to a hotel or self catering accommodation I always ensure there is private off-street parking for my car next to the accommodation. I would not stay somewhere that does not have this facility.
I have also spent a small fortune and hard, physical work digging out and laying a block paved driveway at our holiday cottage for guests to use.
Talking to our guests they invariably state that they always book accommodation where there is off-street, private parking.
Keep your powder dry.
User avatar
greenbarn
Posts: 6146
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 6:41 pm
Location: The Westmorland Dales, Cumbria

Post by greenbarn »

I’d take “Parking facilities available at the property” to mean exactly that - ie preferably off-street parking at the property, but at the worst, a dedicated on-street parking slot in the immediate vicinity of the property.
akwe-xavante
Posts: 306
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 3:19 pm
Location: East Yorkshire

Post by akwe-xavante »

At my cottage it's not possible to get to it at all by vehicle. Parking is on a nearby public highway 46mtrs away. In reality if your lucky you could get a parking space within 300yrds or more of the ten foot that leads to the cottage. The description of the situation simply says on street parking 46mtrs away.

In three and a bit years I've knowingly lost two bookings and in addition had one cancelled. Those that cancelled did a practice run out in the car to find the cottage a few weeks before the actual booking! They then phoned to cancel because parking was too far away for the kids! I've had a couple of people grumble about the parking but I've had many more say how wonderful it is to be away from it all.
Post Reply