Holiday Cottage Start-up

Errata

I would guess most dog owners have their dogs in the house when at home and wouldn't want to keep it outside at night in a strange, unheated kennel where it wouldn't sleep a wink and bark like a loon everytime a worm wriggled past.

ViksB

That's what we thought but I just thought I would check I wasn't way off the mark.

Nenen

I am no expert in this but a friend who runs an online business highly recommends the weebly site for building your own website. It has options to do online bookings and take money via googlepayment (no idea how that works) and paypal (used extensively on ebay).
It might be worth you taking a look:
http://www.weebly.com/features.php

Errata

Re laminate floors. Some dogs have very sharp claws and like to play chase and 'mad moment' indoors which could damage laminate. Some owners allow dogs but specify they must be kept off the furniture and not allowed upstairs; fat chance.
Some owners require a housekeeping deposit which is returned after the property has been inspected when vacated; good opportunity for lots of argy bargy if there are dogs involved.
BTW I'm a dog owner and take it on holiday.

ViksB

Errata wrote: »

Re laminate floors. Some dogs have very sharp claws and like to play chase and 'mad moment' indoors which could damage laminate. Some owners allow dogs but specify they must be kept off the furniture and not allowed upstairs; fat chance.
BTW I'm a dog owner and take it on holiday.

So as a holidaying dog owner, what do you look for in a holiday cottage, would would the ideal furnishings and floorings be?
Thanks

Errata

Personally - carpet in living room/bedrooms and make sure the evil dog doesn't pee on them
Stilwells is an agency which does the advertising etc but bookings are made direct with the owners. Some owners who live 'on site' or near the accom put it on a local site
eg amblesideonline.

hermum

I've been looking for a pet friendly holiday let in a specific area of the New Forest, to take my Westie with me. I only want a small cottage & found the ideal place, except it's fully booked right through until November, other that a 3 day break.
I could find lots available that don't take a dog.
I would be happiest with wooden or tiled floors throughout, as that's what I have at home. Easy to clean after each visit.
I know that it would be an added expense but maybe you could have a pet set of bedding so that if the owners allowed their dog on a bed it wouldn't then be used on a non pet owner.
However unless you're in an area where there are loads of dog welcome places you probably won't get many non dog owners.
Also a plastic dog bed, with old bedding, always available on Freecycle and charity shops.
I wouldn't let my dog sleep outside. Other than her being distressed, any neighbours would probably want to kill her as I'm pretty sure she'd kick up a fuss.

rico1902

I think you should do both the things i.e. consulting various letting agencies as well as designing your own website. In the first stage you can contact the letting agencies to promote your business. Later on when profits start incurring then you can think of designing a website. Because with a website, you can elaborate your offerings, show pictures of the property, generate better reach and give your contact details to the customers.

Pennywise

rico1902 wrote: »

I think you should do both the things i.e. consulting various letting agencies as well as designing your own website. In the first stage you can contact the letting agencies to promote your business. Later on when profits start incurring then you can think of designing a website. Because with a website, you can elaborate your offerings, show pictures of the property, generate better reach and give your contact details to the customers.

Trouble with that is that many of the agencies demand "exclusivity" in that they either won't allow you to promote elsewhere, or allow you to but they insist that all bookings go through their system, thus earning them the usual commission and handling fees even when they've done nothing to procure that booking! You end up with two lots of costs - one for your own website or advertising and then again to pay the agency - the worst of both worlds!

I suppose there's an argument to start up via an agency for the first year or two to get an established customer base, and then terminate the agreement and move forward with your own website in the hope that previous customers will Google for you if they can't find you on the directory/agency anymore. But you have to check the agreement as to how long their contract lasts, what termination notice periods are needed, etc. I did have one client using one of the leading firms who ended up with virtually no business for a few months as she had to give termination notice, but once she did, they stopped marketing it without telling her, so she had no new bookings and didn't realise why - was all in the small print so she couldn't do anything about it!

Horace

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'd apply, but they always want experience. "If you have experience in hospitality, or are a seasoned traveller with a well rounded experience of hotels and self catering accommodation, then Chocolate Pillow needs you!"

I've no experience in hospitality and am not a seasoned traveller and don't have a well rounded experience of hotels or self catering accommodation.

Reading further down it lists the essential requirements and the desirable ones - so it is desirable to have experience of hospitality, sales, star ratings but having applied and written about many jobs over the years desirable means not essential. Apply anyway, what is the worst they can do?

OP - I know that my landlord won't allow pets of any kind and if there are dogs then the flat tends to smell of dogs and the doggy smell is hard to get rid of. I must admit that although I like dogs, I won't stay in a cottage where dogs have been because of the doggy smell which seems to permeate throughout because it has been infused into the furnishings.