Agency recommendations for Yorkshire??

[Yorkshire Lass]

We are nearly ready to start letting our house in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. It's a large Grade II listed property which is two minutes walk to the Esplanade and sea views/short walk to the beach etc. Does anyone on here have any particular recommendations regarding agencies we might use?

[kendalcottages]

Have you looked at Dales Holiday Cottages (they don't just cover the Dales)?

They are owned by Hoseasons (who themselves have been bought out by someone else) but they take a significantly smaller cut than Hoseasons IIRC (around 10% rather than 20% IIRC).

I did meet with both but chose not to go down the agency route. If you have the know-how (especially when it comes to promoting yourself online), then I don't think you need to.

Good luck!

[Nuthatch]

We started out with Yorkshire Cottages and found them to be very professional. Unlike quite a few of the agencies you can take your own bookings as well, so it's quite a good way of starting out with a bit of hand-holding.

[charles cawley]

Local and regional agencies can offer better value.

It is important to be aware that some national agencies use many brand names and can appear to be local when, in fact, they are not.

If practical, avoid exclusivity and try to have several different sources of bookings including your own web site. Some agencies even charge commission on private bookings...

Although I am sure this will not apply to you, it is surprising how many people only discover the true nature of the conditions of an agency when they read its terms and conditions long after signing up. Some agencies have many pages of these. Although it may take a long time to read every word, this is essential.

[Yorkshire Lass]

Thanks for your kind replies and advice. I was already thinking of contacting Yorkshire Cottages and your experience encourages me to do that as it would be great to get my own toe in the water by doing some lettings myself but still have a bit of a security blanket via an agency also till I see what the market is going to be like. I was thinking of also approaching English Country Cottages/Cottages 4 U just to see what they say - I think they might be the big agencies that Charles may have in mind and I know that the exclusivety thing plus high commission is a given there. They have a property a few doors down from my own which they are letting at a very high rate (though not great occupancy from what I can see). Does anyone have experience where two similar properties are very close to each other? Does the agency have any conflict of interest and will they market one property at a cheaper price than the other if the owner requests this? Thanks also for the suggestion re Dales cottages - I will certainly check them out.

[charles cawley]

There is the potential for a conflict of interest on the rates front.

A good agency will work to maximise revenue for all its homeowners. But, if homeowners insist on certain rates, the competition is more between the owners than down to a conflict of interest of the agent.

The problem for agencies is not demand for holiday lets, but being entrusted with enough top quality lets. Losing a good quality let through poor service is something to be avoided at all costs

If you have the time, it could be worth seeing Cottages4You to see what's out there, they are a superb selling organisation. They are now part of the giant Hoseasons owned by Wyndham Worldwide and have a huge share of the market. You will get some idea of how things work and, perhaps, the edge you could have if you decide to try a different approach.

[Wonkeye]

I would definitely recommend Stayin Ltd:
http://www.northyorkmoors-stay.co.uk, where we advertise too. They also cover Scarborough. Friendly email contact with Sam, the founder, and the option to edit your own text whenever you want.

[charles cawley]

Had a bit of bother with the link but it works here:

http://www.northyorkmoors-stay.co.uk/

First impressions are good

[Wonkeye]

I fear 'twas the intrusive comma after uk !

[Windy]

Those "Stay In" sites are good - there is one for the Lakes too - trouble is everyone piles into them - I'm sure that the new rentng owners on our site track where the old hands advertise and just follow us there.

3 years ago there were about 6 lodges on the Stay In site for the Lakes. Loads of quality enquiries and bookings. Now there are about 60 - imagine what happened...

[charles cawley]

Sites with growing numbers of properties can water down the results number of bookings for each let, but they don't all do this.

A good service will be Twittering, Facebooking, perhaps, using search engine advertising and constantly marketing. Sadly, all too many advertising and agency services fail to do this. As they grow so the internal competition from other holiday lets makes their sites produce fewer bookings.

When choosing an agent or an advertising service, check out their marketing, added value services and quality of presentation. If they're not up to scratch, think again.