Letting a holiday home: 7 tips to achieve higher returns!

Suppose you own a country house in Spain or France. And suppose you want to rent out this holiday home during the months that you do not use it yourself. Then a list of 7 tips for letting a holiday home is certainly interesting!

So be sure to read on if you want to make your holiday home more attractive to potential tenants!

This page is also interesting for prospective buyers of real estate abroad. First, you will be given seven tips on how to get a return on your holiday home using the do-it-yourself approach. But not everyone wants to lose a lot of time and energy with it…

Therefore, at the bottom of the page, we also provide an alternative for those who are rather looking for a completely carefree rental without having to perform the tasks of a landlord themselves.

If you still need to buy property, reading these offers of carefree foreign property with rental guarantee [AVAILABLE SOON] will probably get you thinking…

Positioning and being different | Tips for letting a holiday home

As you know, both Spain and France are extremely popular holiday destinations. So how can you make sure that people looking for the best holiday home rental will choose your property and leave the competition out in the cold?

First of all, there is no need to start thinking in terms of doom. Since France and Spain are such popular destinations, there will always be tourists in need of a nice place to stay.

So your main task is simple: Make sure someone puts your property first on their wish list.

Naturally, you also want to charge a reasonable rent that creates a win-win situation for both yourself and the tenant.

You can achieve these goals if you equip your holiday home with some features and amenities not offered by the competition.

In other words, you should distinguish your holiday home from other holiday homes in the area that are also available for rent.

Also bear in mind that you will actually experience competition from hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts in the area.

The first impression is crucial | Tips for letting a holiday home

First impressions are important, also on the holiday accommodation rental market. Potential tenants looking for the ultimate holiday home online see first and foremost the exterior of the property.

Examples include photos of the front garden, the driveway, the frontage, the walkway and the front door.

Photographs of the front prepare the potential tenant for what they will see when they walk into the house.

A holiday home that looks good on the outside is always a step ahead of the competition. An attractive exterior can only have a positive influence on the rental of the property.

If you want to convince potential guests to rent your holiday home, you need to promote dozens of attractive photos on various online rental platforms such as TripAdvisor, Booking, Villas, Airbnb, VRBO and FlipKey.

What attracts even more are some self-made videos about your holiday home that you can put on your own YouTube channel. You can then easily share these videos and display them on your website.

Yes, you read that right, nowadays you should have your own website for your holiday home in addition to the offers you post on the online market places.

You can perfectly build it yourself! We made a detailed step-by-step plan [AVAILABLE SOON] about it!

This is probably the most demanding tip in this list of 7 tips for letting a holiday home.

But an own website offers that little bit more and also creates a professional image!

Appeal to the senses

Potential renters looking for a holiday home surf the Internet looking for that ultimate place to stay to have a great time. During this search, empathy plays a major role.

People are attracted by the splendour of colours in a beautiful garden full of flowers and plants, for example. Take beautiful pictures of them and try to capture smells and colours on film.

For example, you can appeal to the senses by placing a dining table under the open sky and decorating it romantically and cosily.

If necessary, cook a delicious dish and serve it like a real top chef with inviting garnish on beautifully prepared plates.

Set the table, decorate it with candles and some flowers, create that magical, cosy holiday feeling and capture it all with a camera and/or video camera.

Don’t forget to mention in the description of your holiday home what fantastic table moments you can enjoy in that fantastic garden under the bare sky!

Friends, family, good weather, good food and drink, stars and a green garden full of colours… What longing tourist says no to this?

As a landlord, you are on the safe side if your holiday home has brightly painted exterior walls and/or clean, inviting sidings.

But if the paint on your exterior walls is flaking and fading, you should consider repainting the whole house in a cheerfully inviting colour.

A garden and a swimming pool work like magnets | Tips for letting a holiday home

Consider employing a local gardener for the maintenance of the garden. Pulling out herbs, cutting the grass, watering the plants, and so on. These are all tasks that must be completed in order to be able to offer visitors a beautifully tended garden.

Depending on the circumstances, you might also consider installing a sprinkler system to water the plants automatically.

If your holiday home has a swimming pool, you should also maintain it carefully and regularly. Try to engage someone locally who is knowledgeable about this.

This could be your gardener or someone from a pool supply company. Or a handy neighbour.

A swimming pool is of course a big plus in the warm south! The possibility of taking a refreshing dip acts as a magnet for potential tenants.

Offering a swimming pool is one of the most valuable tips for letting a holiday home!

As a landlord, you should pay much attention to safety in and around the pool. The safety of your guests is paramount!

Focus on anti-slip tiles, pool lights, swimming rings and life jackets for children, a pool alarm system (motion detector), and so on.

Also place large signs to remind parents of their responsibility to watch their offspring. A fence around the pool can also prevent children from falling into the water at an unguarded moment.

Check with a legal expert which legal contract you can draw up. Such a contract is signed by the tenants so that the landlord cannot be held responsible for accidents.

Provide bicycles (or mopeds) and other sports equipment

Now it’s time for some sports tips for letting a holiday home! For example, bicycles and/or mopeds can be provided for guests at no extra cost (on payment of a deposit, for example).

Don’t forget extra equipment such as bicycle helmets (important!), a bicycle pump, oil, some extra tyres, and so on. Also try to ensure that the lights of the bicycles and mopeds are working at all times.

Here, too, check with a lawyer which contract you can get the tenants to sign so that you cannot be held responsible for accidents.

If the holiday home has a garden, you can also play petanque. A ping-pong table with accessories, badminton equipment, a football, a billiard table and a game of darts are other fun additions to the holiday accommodation!

If your holiday home is on the coast, consider providing a kite and a surfboard.

Use your imagination, after all, there are many fun sports items and gadgets that can enhance your guests’ experience during their stay.

Install an alarm system | Tips for letting a holiday home

General info

Consider installing an alarm system in the holiday home. It does not even matter whether the property is located in an urban area or in the countryside. Such an alarm has two advantages:

1. Your holiday home is secure, and
2. Guests will feel much safer

Contact different companies specialised in intruder protection and alarm systems so that you can compare. Do not compare on price alone, because quality has a price tag.

Try to opt for a combination of both fire and alarm systems. Often, you will be offered a substantial discount for such a package.

Also pay attention to ease of use! A holiday home alarm system should be intuitively controllable.

Guests should not be inconvenienced by the system at all. In other words, guests should always be able to enter or leave the house without any problems.

Additional safety tips

For additional safety, as an owner you can make sure that your holiday home is well lit. For example, you can equip footpaths with solar-powered lanterns.

You can also install lights with motion sensors on the driveway and at the front door, side doors, back door and garage. As soon as movement is detected, the light comes on.

Also consider installing window locks in your holiday home if possible. This provides an increased sense of security.

Automate | Tips for letting a holiday home

There are also many technological gadgets and upgrades that can save you money in the long run and also serve as differentiators.

Consider, for example, a scenario in which one of the guests forgets to turn off the tap completely. This costs money without benefiting anyone.

So it is certainly an option to install plumbing and taps with integrated activation sensors.

Your guests can still use the amount of water they want, and the supply is automatically cut off after a few motionless seconds.

In addition, you can turn your holiday home into a smart home. With a smart thermostat, for example, you can set the temperature digitally and the technology does the rest.

Depending on the settings chosen, the heating or air conditioning will only come on at specific times.

The installation of smart technology can make life easier for your guests.

Nowadays, at the touch of a button, it is possible to let curtains up or down, turn on the gas fireplace, switch some or all of the lights on or off, and so on.

Please also note that guests may prefer an automatic garden gate and/or garage.

Be proud of what is available in terms of technological gadgets and do not forget to include all these assets in the description of your holiday home!

Finally, do not forget to leave a list of important telephone numbers, websites and e-mail addresses. For example, leave the contact details of the electrician, the plumber, the police, the fire brigade, the ambulance, the doctor on call, the pharmacy on call, and so on.

Wi-Fi

Nowadays, almost everyone is the proud owner of a smartphone and/or tablet. A nice extra for guests is the availability of free, high-speed Wi-Fi in the holiday home.

For the younger generations, this is even the most obvious of all tips for letting a holiday home!

Only if you want to position your holiday home as a kind of eco-tourism retreat to relax can you consider not installing Wi-Fi.

We hope you have learned something from these 7 tips for letting a holiday home!

Finally, below you can also find more information on more carefree solutions for investing in foreign real estate:

Carefree alternative – Hands-free letting | Tips for letting a holiday home

Are you interested in a foreign holiday home, but without all the hassle and stress of renting it out yourself? So why not consider investing in a mixed-use holiday home?

Buying property abroad for your own use and for rental can be the golden mean for your situation!

Mixed use means that you can use the holiday home privately and that it is rented out for the rest of the time.

There are solutions on the market for private individuals to acquire full ownership of a high-quality holiday home at home or abroad.

Depending on the provider, you can then count on a variable or fixed return per year + a number of weeks of private use at a greatly reduced (or even free) rate.

Be sure to check out the following offer in the beautiful, unspoilt Limousin region:

Alternative I: Buy a holiday home in France in a luxury resort

At the luxurious Wyndham Halcyon Retreat Golf and Spa Resort, you can currently acquire full ownership of luxury flats, studios and tree houses.

These are mixed-use buy-to-let properties:

• As the owner, you are entitled to 2 weeks FREE private use per year (with access to all facilities, including spa and golf course, water park, children’s playground, etc.)
• You can enjoy carefree rental + maintenance outside the periods that you use it yourself. In return, you are presented with the following guaranteed return:
  • 3% return on the purchase price in the first year
  • 6% return on the purchase price during years 2 to 6
  • 8% return on the purchase price during years 7 to 11
• Investing in this French luxury property is possible from as little as 42,500 Euros (the rest can be financed by means of a (mortgage) loan)

Alternatively, you can opt for a more liquid investment in the same resort. In concrete terms, you can also invest in this recreational real estate from a participation of EUR 17 230 with a return of up to 8%.

Alternative II: Buy a holiday home in Greece in a luxury resort

In Hera Bay Luxury Resort you can currently make a financially interesting real estate investment. Buying a second home in Greece is currently possible on the fantastic island of Samos.

Various types of property are for sale (from hotel rooms to villas) and as an owner you can enjoy two unique things:

• Free annual number of weeks of private use
• Annual contractually guaranteed return calculated on the purchase value of the property

Alternative III: Buy a holiday home in Montenegro in a luxury residence

In Tivat, you can currently acquire full ownership of luxury studios and flats in Montenegro in a unique top location on a hill, including views of the Adriatic Sea.

You can choose between purely private use or mixed use. Mixed use yields 6 weeks of free private use per year, plus a solid gross rental yield that, according to simulations, can easily exceed 7%.