What is the holiday let Covid impact?
No sooner had Boris announced the incremental lockdown lifting from 12th April than the holiday letting market began to boom once again in the UK. If a property hadn’t already been booked for the summer in the South West, then from that moment on, it was. However, as holidaymakers return to sunny South Devon and East Cornwall, they are finding holiday letting properties that have raised their game to the highest levels. Here we share some of our insights into the holiday let Covid impact.
Reassuring travellers with the highest standards
It is perhaps little surprise that holiday homes are the first choice of accommodation this year, given the events of the past 14 months. The personal space of a private property allows for social distancing, remaining in your own household, and provides the freedoms that come from being in your own home. In a bid to further visitor safety and provide a sense of reassurance, owners, agents and property managers have gone the extra mile to make travellers feel safe on holiday once again.
Details include (but are not limited to) updated cleaning protocols to the increased use of ‘hands free’ technological processes, clear communications and markers to ensure guests know exactly what has been done to safeguard their experience.
For example, hosts and property managers have included break seals on welcome hampers and sanitiser ‘bombs’, set off in properties before housekeepers leave to ensure surfaces have not been touched post-clean by anyone other than the arriving guests.
Many holiday homeowners have used the quieter periods during 2020 and 2021 to refurbish and refresh properties, making them welcoming to arrive at as well as easier to clean and ensuring the impression is one of being spotless. For many five-star holiday homes, much attention was already paid to ongoing maintenance tasks such as painting scuff marks after guests have left. However, in the wake of Covid-19, there is increased recognition of how important it is to show that attention has been paid.
Looking after the health and wellbeing of all
The efforts to maintain high standards as well as provide tangible and meaningful reassurance have dual purpose across the hospitality industry in the South West. The region has had notoriously low rates of Covid-19 and a reputation for upholding rules and regulations. That in itself is of great comfort to those travelling to the region. Of course, those who live and work in the area want to strive to keep it that way for all concerned - including the sustainability of tourism to the area.
One of the most important things that we have found guests want and need when visiting a holiday home is prompt, informed and transparent communications. While we all want to go on holiday as soon as possible, many of us do so with trepidation, resulting in questions around processes, the properties themselves, as well as the local area. By inviting questions and seeking to answer them on behalf of holiday homeowners, guests as well as owners can feel confident in where they’re going, where they’re staying and the experience that they are going to have.
