Self-catering holiday rental are not like hotels...are they?

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
JanB
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Post by JanB »

In the days before the sites such as HL, HA and OD turned ugly (IMHO) it was much easier selling self catering accommodation for weekly lets and that model worked well for me for eleven years. I only offered short breaks within two or three weeks of the required dates.

However, it all started with the sites portraying nightly rental rates (weekly rate divided by 7) and that skewed things as it did not show the reality of the cost of the extra changeover involved when staying for less than 7 nights. Cue disappointed guests who did not see why they should cough up more money per night, for a shorter break.

Am I alone in getting the feeling the deliniation between Hotels, B&Bs, Guest Houses and self catering are becoming more and more blurred, from a guest persepctive? In my opinion it seeks to encourage some guests to opt for more reasonably priced accommodation and then moan like crazy that it does not offer all the five star acoutrements found in much more costly accommodation...... so unreasonable.

As others have said, it is quite different running an hotel to self catering on many fronts but it seems the self catering business is being somehow co-erced into an entirely different scenario.
"It's a funny old world...." but full of the most amazing people. :-) Sense of humour essential!
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

I don't have a problem with short breaks or pricing and am now into year seven of going it alone. Short breaks form the mainstay of my business. Guests do pay more than hotel prices but they know exactly what they are getting and I guess for most, it allows them to holiday with their dog, something not many hotels welcome.
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greenbarn
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Location: The Westmorland Dales, Cumbria

Post by greenbarn »

casasantoestevo wrote:
greenbarn wrote: In the UK the opposite is very often true. Many small hotels - and self-catering owners - use a linen hire/laundry service as it can work much better for them. Many big hotels have the space and the turnover to justify an in house laundry.
Did not realise that. Only wrote from our experience and from that posted on here. There are not so many B&B/ small hotels which are UK based on LMH.
Our local laundry service charge a small fortune. The sheets were not iron in a size that could fit in the storage cupboard and they were far too stiff. We will carry on with our own laundry.
We started off with a linen hire/laundry service. It’s a long and sad tale of poor quality and service, best summarised by them delivering us duvet covers with huge rips in them. We bought commercial machines and now do our own. It’s good to be in control of what we supply our guests!
ianthy
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Location: Bologna, Italy

Post by ianthy »

JanB wrote: Am I alone in getting the feeling the deliniation between Hotels, B&Bs, Guest Houses and self catering are becoming more and more blurred, from a guest persepctive? In my opinion it seeks to encourage some guests to opt for more reasonably priced accommodation and then moan like crazy that it does not offer all the five star acoutrements found in much more costly accommodation...... so unreasonable.

As others have said, it is quite different running an hotel to self catering on many fronts but it seems the self catering business is being somehow co-erced into an entirely different scenario.
I totally agree, the lines have been blurred and the offers appear to be directly compared. Why else would the hotels be pushing back on Airbnb, which in most cases is home stays and holiday rentals. Guests are definitely more selective, for our own holidays the days of us arriving to find that we would make beds and finish off the clean of the local housekeeper are gone. We stay in mainly Airbnb's and its the personal touch and flexibility that I like. Plus the detailed listings give me more info than any brochure could ever do. Staying in a real home, communicating with the owner and then the little touches like the table set afternoon tea when we arrived in Bury St Edmunds, Bottle of Prosecco in Sienna, early check in and free local parking in the centre if Rome. This is what really makes the stay for us.
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