Well, let's see, those are a lot of questions! Let's try them one by one...
Do we want to renew our name or get a new one (it is rentspanishalgarve)?
What you have now doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but you may want to change it anyway. Theoretically it's about market research and having a URL that's catchy enough to remember, but also contains search keywords, but ultimately it comes down to personal taste. Do you like that name? (I think it's fine.)
Do we want him to 'host' (is that right) on their own webspace or server or whatever, I said yes I think so, on the basis that I'm like Fluffy and want it as a tool to refer enquirers to rather than try and chase rankings.
That depends. How much does it cost for your web designer to host the site himself? I know that some web designers don't charge much for the initial design, but charge a lot for the actual hosting, and end up making more money that way because the hosting is a renewing charge. You can get fully-functioning web hosting for less than $10 a month, so hopefully he isn't charging more than that.
If it were me, I would go with a third-party host, but that's because I know something about web design, so I wouldn't necessarily always work with a web designer on a project, and I wouldn't need to contact my web designer to get them to make changes later, etc. That would be hard to do if the web designer was the one hosting the site!
Do I put links on and if so what,who,how,why.
What do you mean by links here? Links to car hire and travel insurance and the like? There's a lot of forum discussion on that, but the summary is that well-chosen links can only help your site.
Can I use lovely photos I've seen on sites like flick r or something, just for nearby towns etc.
That's a bit more tricky. Theoretically you should only use images which you have permission to copy (either because they are open-license or because you have gotten permission from the site owner). Some people ignore that, though, if the picture is very generic (e.g., the Eiffel Tower) or has been substantially altered for use on your site. Really, though, it's best to get permission, which is often easy to obtain.
Should I get together a terms & conditions/booking thingy/calendar
Yes?
I suppose that here I would suggest that you check out other forum members' web sites and see what they have done. Lots of people here have integrated with the rentors.org calendar, so you might try that!
Good luck with this. It's definitely overwhelming, but having your own site is a great marketing tool.
And of course, if others have other ideas, please feel free to contradict me!
Now I have all these questions being thrown at me and I feel lost.
I know the answers are all on this wonderful site but I needed to rant and I really feel like I am going boseyed.
