Holiday letting in North Wales is such a popular option for those looking to invest in property. It has so many more financial and lifestyle benefits compared to those that traditional long-term letting can offer. Not only can you enjoy the enhanced income and tax relief, but you can also enjoy the property yourself.
There is a lot to consider before beginning your journey. So it’s important you have all the facts and have considered all the options.
From finding the perfect holiday home, all the way through to taking your first booking and beyond, Menai Holidays are there every step of the way.
Finding the Right Property
Balance is key here. You want to find a property that you can enjoy, but holidaymakers will visit time and time again.
The key is to find a location that generates enough income to cover all your costs and of course, make some money on top. You can find some inspiration for the perfect location here.
Location is also key for you if you are planning on using the property yourselves. You want something within a reasonable driving distance. Especially if you plan on running the business yourself, you’ll need to be able to get to the property quickly if there are any issues. Many owners choose to manage their holiday property themselves due to the reduced costs and increased margins, however, they don’t take into account the time commitment needed. Most agents will have a range of service options to suit all your needs, you can find out more about these further down.
Getting Your Finances in Place
If you already have the finances in place then great, what are you waiting for?
For those that do not, you will often need a specialist mortgage for holiday letting. Most brokers or financial advisers can point you in the right direction.
We can provide mortgage letters free of charge to help with your application. This will outline the rates we believe you can achieve along with an estimate of potential income to help you in gaining finances to fund your purchase.
What will some of the costs look like?
*Please note that these prices are average (as of 05/02/23) and may differ dependent on supplier/location.
Cleaning:
1 bed: £80*
2 beds: £92.50*
3 beds: £110*
4 beds: £132.50*
5 beds: £180*
Gas and electric/oil
Current Price Of Heating Oil 76.99 Pence per Litre in Wales* *Check with your supplier for an accurate yearly price (for orders over 900 litres.)
Wifi/Subscriptions
Starting from around £30 / month rising to £56.00 / month for Ultra Fast*
*Speak with the providers directly as they will be best to advise on current deals/offers
Netflix, Now Tv etc: Starting from £6.99 a month – £15.99 dependent on subscription, or £83.88 a year
Council tax*
You can check your council tax band here
Household items
Soap, bin bags, toilet rolls, cleaning supplies etc
Maintenance
If you choose our Managed Service option, we have on-site handymen – £25 an hour plus the cost of additional materials*
Bins: £15 on average to empty*
Hot Tubs: These will need to be emptied after each guest’s stay.
The most energy-efficient ones will generally cost between £1.00 and £1.30 per day. For a one-off hot tub service, you will pay between £150 and £200, while monthly service plans cost between £25 and £30. To replace filters once a year, you should expect to spend between £250 and £350. A hot tub typically costs between £15 and £20.50 a week to run*
Compliance and Legal Matters
Once your holiday let is ready to go, we just need to make sure everything complies with all existing legislation and standards. This can range from having the correct insurance to electrical safety certificates and more. We will tell you exactly what you need to have checked and certified before you can open the doors to guests.
We would also suggest you seek specialist financial advice as there are many tax benefits to consider. If your property is registered as an FHL (Furnished Holiday Let) and you meet certain criteria for income and booking levels. You can get CGT (Capital Gains Tax) and Business rates relief. You can also get capital allowances on furnishings and operating costs deducted as expenses.
Our online portal provides yearly financial summaries automatically, which are ideal for keeping track of income and preparing for tax returns. This is just a basic guide, we would always recommend you see a qualified accountant to discuss the above points.
Pricing Your Property
One of the last, but certainly one the most important factors to consider, is the price! Do your research on similar types of properties in the area to get a good fallback figure. Don’t set one price for every week of the year, it doesn’t really work anymore. Remember your not competing against other agencies, you’re competing against the properties themselves.
At Menai Holidays we research the market daily and we constantly tweak our prices daily to ensure they are at the best price possible for you and our guests, we can make hundreds and thousands of price adjustments daily, something that just isn’t feasible if your an independent or with a small agency. Most of our owners who use our income maximisation options can earn up to 42% more than their initial projected yearly figures!
Marketing Your Property
To ensure your property generates the bookings and income it deserves, it needs exposure. This means primarily having a website that ranks well on search engines such as Google.
Over the last decade or so the holiday letting market has become fiercely competitive, companies are investing heavily in resources to ensure their company is at the top of all search engines for a large variety of keywords that customers use to search for a holiday cottage in North Wales. It’s really difficult for an independent to get a foothold in the market, most simply can’t compete.
We have a team that ensures your property is getting the visibility it needs not only via our own websites but using partners such as Airbnb and Booking.com for example. Read more about marketing your property in our Marketing Your Holiday Cottage Guide.
Getting Your Property Ready
Whether your house is yet to be built, or just needs some finishing touches, we can help.
We can point you in the direction of builders, architects and much more. We also have preferential rates with a lot of local suppliers and shops, perfect for furnishing your holiday home.
Once your property is ready, our professional photographer can come out and photograph the house making sure that it can stand out from the crowd. We will start building your property on our site, ready to market to millions of potential guests.
If you need a housekeeper, we can provide you with a list of suppliers who can deal with all aspects of property maintenance. If you prefer to not have to deal with anything, we provide a managed service option where we take care of everything, you can just sit back, relax and watch the bookings come in.
Going that extra mile for your guests will be noticed. Small things such as milk, bread and fresh flowers go a long way. An information pack on the houses appliances and local attractions is also very useful. For more information on creating an amazing welcome pack, read our guide here.
Day To Day Management
As mentioned before running your own holiday let can reap great rewards, but be prepared to put the work in. There are a few things you can do to help reduce the burden on yourself.
1. Hiring a cleaner/caretaker
Although it’s another additional cost, it’s one we think is worth every penny. A good cleaner/caretaker will reduce your workload significantly, especially if you are taking multiple breaks within a short space of time. After all, they are experts in what they do, they will ensure your property is perfect for every guest that arrives.
2. Key safes
Installing a key safe that can be accessed via a code means no one needs to be at the property personally. Some owners do like to meet guests to show them around etc, its entirely up to you. But if you live a good distance away, a key safe is your best option.
3. Compliance
At Menai Holidays we ensure all of our properties are compliant before they are let and we also keep track of any annual services due to ensure your property is always safe for your guests
Menai Holidays can organise and manage a range of services such as the above on your behalf. As well as our standard letting service, we also offer a ‘managed service’ option, where we take care of everything. To find out more about this, read our Guide to Managed Service.
What Makes a Successful Holiday Let?
There isn’t really a blueprint for what makes a perfect holiday home. Like every property, every customer is different in terms of what they look for. Some of our hints and tips below will ensure you’re maximising the potential of your home.
- Short breaks and last-minute bookings – being flexible is key. Around 50% of the holiday let market are looking for short breaks. Accepting short breaks and last-minute bookings open you up to the whole market.
- Own usage – at the end of the day it’s your property, but we would advise trying to minimise your own usage during peak periods. These periods are the most popular and form a large part of your holiday let income.
- Dogs – 1 in 3 of our guests takes a pet with them on their holiday.
- Popular features – hot tubs and woodburning stoves are always popular. Houses with these features will always tend to book better than those that do not. We’ve also teamed up with a local company, concept spa to get our owners some fantastic deals on hot tubs. Most importantly, making sure these are properly maintained is key and we can provide guidance and support on this.
- Going the extra mile – visitor books and welcome packs are always nice touches.
Want to find out more about what it takes to create a successful holiday let? Download a copy of our Creating A Successful Holiday Let guide.
Finding the Perfect Letting Agent
You may decide you are going to handle everything yourself and don’t need an agent to set up your holiday let. But beware it’s a big commitment. Using a holiday letting agency can take away all the work. Finding the right one is key!
So why choose Menai Holidays?
- We’re an award-winning agency – That’s right, we were bronze winners at the British Travel Awards in 2022!
- No 1 for bookings per property – no other agency in North Wales can achieve the level of bookings per property we can.
- Local – we have three offices across North Wales (Brynsiencyn, Pwllheli and Barmouth). This is something some of the larger brands can’t manage, having feet on the ground means we can take extra special care of your property.
- Personal service – we care about owners and our guests. Our local, friendly and knowledgeable team are always on hand to help.
- Services we offer – from professional photography to a 24-hour emergency phone, we have every angle covered. We also have an in-house maintenance team who can take care of any work needed at your property.
- Getting your property noticed – we use our website, social channels and partner sites such as Airbnb, Booking.com and many many more to get your house the exposure it deserves. We can access millions of potential customers.
Please Note: The information contained in this article was accurate at the time of writing, based on our research. Rules, criteria and regulations change all the time, so please contact our prospective new owner team if you’d like to hear how. Nothing in this article constitutes the giving of financial, tax or legal advice to you; please consult your own professional advisor (accountant, lawyer etc). in this regard. If we have referred within the article to a third-party provider of unregulated holiday let mortgages, this is due to the fact that such mortgages aren’t currently regulated by the FCA.
As a helpful reminder, your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage, so again anything you decide to do in this particular area this is one on which you should take your own professional advice on too, as we aren’t providing and can’t provide you with this.
