Lay My Hat

Hi,
We've been running a 6-guest cottage on the south coast for 3 years. 1 king-size, 1 double and 2 singles in 3 bedrooms. During the low season we have increased heating costs and still have to wash bedding/towels for 6 for less income, which isn't very cost-effective. We are wondering whether to run as a 4-guest cottage out-of-season and use the different bedrooms to provide flexibility.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

As long as you can lock the unused bedroom I would have thought that would be fine. Having said that, we often book 3 bed properties for ourselves even though there's only 4 of us so our son and daughter don't have to share a bedroom. You'd have to look back through your previous bookings to see how many guests might be doing that.

We get quite a few low season bookings in our 3 bed that sleeps 6 for just 2 or 3 people. This is via booking.com where our prices compare well with 3 rooms in a hotel. They are often contractors like electricians and we have never had any issues.

I don't really like booking.com but it has been a good site for us out of season.