holiday cottage insurance

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>
desie123
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holiday cottage insurance

Post by desie123 »

Hi. We have bought and refurbished an old thatched cottage. Sykes - who is going to advertise the cottage has specified we must have either an open fire or log burner to maximise the level of income. We have established a 5 star rating but it must have a real fire.

We have installed all the relevant fire precautions/installations/equipment to mitigate the risks including a fireproof barrier under the new thatch.

Can anyone advise me of an insurance co. that would undertake our insurance as the some will not entertain a real fire. I notice in other similar properties that they all have wood burning stoves.

Appreciate any assistance from the community.
Des
Tillee
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Holiday Let Property & Contents Insurance

Post by Tillee »

I am also interested in this subject - any recommendations for a good company to insure with would be very much appreciated.
Thank you.
Sunny Devon Is A Good Place To Be
Jonathan
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Re: holiday cottage insurance

Post by Jonathan »

desie123 wrote:Hi. We have bought and refurbished an old thatched cottage. Sykes - who is going to advertise the cottage has specified we must have either an open fire or log burner to maximise the level of income. We have established a 5 star rating but it must have a real fire.

We have installed all the relevant fire precautions/installations/equipment to mitigate the risks including a fireproof barrier under the new thatch.

Can anyone advise me of an insurance co. that would undertake our insurance as the some will not entertain a real fire. I notice in other similar properties that they all have wood burning stoves.

Appreciate any assistance from the community.
Des
I have always found the NFU very good.

Jonathan
Goscar
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Post by Goscar »

+1
Ecosse
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Re: holiday cottage insurance

Post by Ecosse »

desie123 wrote:Sykes - who is going to advertise the cottage has specified we must have either an open fire or log burner to maximise the level of income. We have established a 5 star rating but it must have a real fire.


Des
While I have no direct experience of Sykes, there are many negative threads on LMH regarding Sykes. Your cottage has an established 5 star rating (presumably because you bought an established holiday let?) so why does it need to have a stove installed to improve it? I would be wary... this strikes me as Sykes looking to maximise THEIR income, as opposed to YOUR income. If you install a stove or fire place, Sykes may be able to fill more of your weeks, but you will likely be left with higher cleaning bills, more damage and ultimately less profit.
desie123
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Post by desie123 »

I suppose if Sykes are trying to max the occupancy, that's good news for the client too?
The 5 star rating was awarded because it has extraordinary features and will be equipped with high end furnishings. It was an old domestic house when we bought it but have done an extensive and sympathetic refurb over the last two years. The location also adds to it's appal. But...

If you rent this particular cottage or any other for matter, you are buying into it's character for a week or so. As it has two rather fabulous inglenook fireplaces (with domed bread oven) an electric bar heater might be a disappointment. So the advice does make sense.
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Cymraes
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Post by Cymraes »

desie123 wrote:I suppose if Sykes are trying to max the occupancy, that's good news for the client too?
Not necessarily - higher occupancy means higher wear and tear and people have very high expectations of a 5* property so you'll be constantly replacing and refurbishing to keep it up to scratch or it'll show in your reviews which can be damaging.

Sykes equate income with profit which is smoke and mirrors. Let me share the costing of one of the short breaks they put into my cottage a few years ago.

The guest paid £241 for a 4 day booking 5+1. The fact we actually only sleep 5 didn't count as the baby was under 2.

Once Sykes had taken their % I got £171. Cleaning and laundry (max occupancy) cost me £100 so I'm down to £71.

The guests broke the kitchen bin - £40 to replace. so I'm down to £30

Out of that I'm paying heating ( March so heating on most of the time) electricity, insurance, rates, TV licence etc etc.

I reckon that short break actually cost me money. Sykes however made quite a bit out of it. I however would have been better off if the place had stood empty.

Income in this case = £171. Profit = £0
desie123
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Post by desie123 »

I agree in your particular case though you can't factor in breakages as this is a risk factor you take with FHL's.
I'm assuming every holiday let has a bottom line rent value where it becomes uneconomical. We have calculated this in ours and would not entertain taking any bookings below this. Hopefully as a higher yield cottage, we would have made a profit in your case as the cleaning/running costs would not be too different. But I agree, if they trash the furniture, you could loose out but this must be a rarity. My family have rented dozens over the years and have always left them in a good state.
amandajane
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Post by amandajane »

Sykes called me several times recently trying to give me the sales talk. Having read about them on here I took a look . My first reaction was that they are advertising a £20 deposit. That rang alarm bells immediately because it suggests that they are appealing to a market that's not really for me. Then I asked them about security deposits, and the response was a rather confused "no, the only deposit we take is the £20".

Personally, I'd rather have no bookings than commit myself to them.

I don't really believe that any booking should cost you money, other than the most exceptional of scenarios. Take care!
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Cymraes
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Post by Cymraes »

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Sapper
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Post by Sapper »

I know Sykes get some bad press on here but we have been with them for four years with no problems, I'm sure no matter who you use its possible to have nightmare guests, that would be part of holiday letting . We have two sets of guests in four years who have left our cottage in poor state , but there has not been any damage or theft . We continue to have high occupancy at a rate that we are happy at . We insure through brokers Towergate , who may be able to help. We do have a stove fitted and it has really incredible our Jan and Feb bookings . Sykes will also allow you to suggest what your pricing should be .
Ecosse
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Post by Ecosse »

desie123 wrote:I agree in your particular case though you can't factor in breakages as this is a risk factor you take with FHL's.

My family have rented dozens over the years and have always left them in a good state.
Whether you go with Sykes or not, do make sure you factor in breakages - they happen all the time and while larger items can be claimed for from the guests' damage deposit, all the smaller items are best labelled as 'wear and tear'. We get through a phenomenal amount of cups, glasses and teaspoons, that I never charge for, as well as bedding... which never lasts as long as you hope it will. I don't care though, because our price includes a percentage for the eventual replacement of these items. If I didn't factor in this percentage (and when you start out, it's very easy to underestimate how much this), it would be a different story... I suspect I would be quite resentful each time an item needed replaced.

Also be a wee bit careful of making the assumption that all guests will treat your place just like you and your family would, as that could lead to disappointment. We're all prone to thinking that everyone's the same as us, but in reality, everyone's standards are different, meaning some people truly think it's acceptable to hide dirty dishes under clean ones when they leave or, in the case of one of our guests last week, slalom round the children's play equipment on our terasse and park up, leaving a trail of engine oil across what is effectively our garden. The same guest thought the no smoking rule only applied during daylight hours... he genuinely thought we wouldn't notice if he smoked in the shower last thing at night :shock:

The above isn't meant to put you off holiday letting - that was our worst guest by far recently and all our other guests were fabulous - but while I have welcomed literally thousands of guests during the last 4 years, I would say only a handful truly had the same standards as me. Many had higher standards (yes, I learnt from them!) and many had lower standards... or had let their normal standards drop simply because they were on holiday... but as wear and tear is included in the price, I'm happy to turn a blind eye so long as they're respectful of our other guests and have a good time.

Finally, don't forget to factor in your time. Even with a management agency taking on the majority of the work, you will still have to spend a significant number of hours dealing with, e.g. repairs/maintenance, not to mention factoring in the cost and time already spent on renovating your property. When your're deciding your prices, don't forget to ask yourself the important, and often overlooked question: what hourly rate are you happy working for?

All the best with your new venture!
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

You could click on the little ad at top right of this page to get a quote from Schofields. (Disclosure: if you take out a policy, Lay My Hat gets a small commission payment, at no cost to you)
Paolo
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GillianF
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Post by GillianF »

Just in terms of offering a real fire or log burner. I wouldn't bother. In our experience of offering one as a feature we found supplying firelighters, kindling and logs to be a pain in the neck. Cleaning out ash during a let and at the end of a let was work we could have done without.

And, most guests were completely incompetent about lighting and maintaining the stove to provide any level of pleasure looking at it or benefitting from heat. Even those guests who managed to light it then just expected it to look after itself without any further attention - such as, adding fuel!

These things sound lovely in a brochure but not so good in reality.
gardenboy
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Post by gardenboy »

I put a woodburner in as i really like them. Guests however do not have a clue, i got a call last week from a concerned neighbour re the quantity of smoke coming out of the chimney and was my house ok.

Guests left leaving woodburner needing cleaning so i made a deduction, in fact first deduction ever.

I will hide the wood and poker etc in future.
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