Adding Value, Holiday Cottage Boutique Bolt Holes
Adding Value, Holiday Cottage Boutique Bolt Holes
Just as rambling hostelries have reinvented themselves as boutique hotels, this guest focused approach can easily be applied to your holiday cottage business. With a few tweaks, holiday home owners can offer the same personal touches and provide guests with life's little extras for a very reasonable outlay.
Firstly foot wear, in pushing the country weekend button, line up a selection of wellies in a variety of sizes and provide an out side tap so guests can wash away the mud before they venture over the mat. Guests have also been known to use the opportunity of a holiday to wash their cars, very strange behaviour, so provide a hose for the purpose. Similarly, dogs ( if allowed) might benefit from the occasional hose down. Provide a few old towels for this purpose just in case Fido's have been left behind.
Wildlife watching, put binoculars and bird books in the cottage (sourced from the pre owned selection on Amazon) and give some information on the species that regularly alight in the garden. Leave a supply of nuts and bird seed for re filling the designated feeding contraptions. Your guests will love watching the visiting wildlife but won't be so keen on spotting the odd rat enjoying a slice of bread on the bird table, so do leave a note requesting that guests only feed birdie stuff.
History buffs, does your holiday cottage have an interesting past, nothing too gruesome such as abattoir cottage and perhaps leave out the ex workhouse angle, but certainly the village sweet shop, forge or perhaps some interesting architectural feature. A little potted history of the immediate area is of interest to guests, Saxon Churches, ancient track ways, it all helps to put your holiday cottage in some sort of context, especially if it is 'stuck in the middle of nowhere'. No such thing really, everywhere is somewhere with some sort of explanation of events.
Encourage creativity especially if your property is set in within a glorious landscape. Most guests who enjoy a dabble would lug their own materials down on holiday, but a watercolour sketch pad, a few brushes and paints + a how to do book, might inspire visitors to discover their inner artist. Combined with a list of local galleries and Art Centres that offer painting workshops.
Messing about in boats; If your holiday property is close to water, offer the use of your boat (having cleared it with your insurance company first) or if no boat to hand, then liaise with a local boat hire business that can provide the opportunities to take to the water.
On the same theme, provide basic fishing tackle so Father and Son can bond on the river bank. As with water colouring for beginners, provide a basic manual with information of where and when you can fish locally, tackle shops often provide the permits, but very few offer tackle hire.
Similarly, no horse to hand, then provide a list of local riding or trekking centres that cater for all abilities and supply the hard hats. For beach combers, simple fishing nets for little ones and jazzy buckets and spades, a play tent and perhaps a kite.
A book shelf for rainy days, they have to offer worthwhile reading really, not too heavy but not to lightweight either. Local interest books, and other worthy tomes. An Oxfam Bookshop is worth a visit for the initial stock, also a good source of pre owned DVD's or collect the 'free' ones from newspapers and magazines.
Classic Board games, nothing that requires batteries, plus a chess set. Someone would have remembered to have pack will the iPod, Wii and more, but these family time pursuits can take place in front of a glowing hearth with a cup of Earl Grey. Simple pleasures.
On which point, a huge wood pile of neatly stacked and split logs indicates a certain generosity of sprit. Even for summer bookings, guests can dream of cosy winter evenings in front of the fire and might re book a November weekend purely on that premise.
So just remember to put out that bottle of good claret, organic lemonade for the kids, a posy of hedgerow flowers, a loaf of rustic bread with local cheese and you are all set. It's the little extras in life that add value to your guests holiday experience.
Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. He recommends New Forest Living who are specialists in offering a selection ofHoliday Cottages to rent in and around the New Forest. Berlusconi: Del Piero Milan champion to retire why not? Gianni Truvianni's "South Africa 2010", Blanco Scores As Mexico Triumphs 2-0 Over France ODYSSEY WHITE HOT TOUR #1 Putter Reviews Best Tricks in Packing a Weekend Travel Bag Golden Triangle Train Tour gives Mind-Blowing Experience Kerala Tours - An Exciting Getaway Decorating Your Yard for Christmas Common Classic Looks for Halloween and Other Events Cheap Calls Bridging the Gap When Traveling Around the World Inexpensive Ticket Steals for Travel Opportunists The Nikon D7000 DSLR Will Be Hot This Christmas Sexual Supplements And A 'Trip-Around-The-World' Wildlife Holiday Tour to Bandhavgarh National Park