As I write this (on Friday), the sun ☀️ is shining and it’s pretty warm, however as I look at the forecast for tomorrow it appears to be returning to the more typical summer weather of cloud and rain 🌧️ - got to love the British weather - wouldn’t want it any other way!

As schools finish for summer and we enter the busy season, here’s a roundup of the latest news, tips and information to help you keep informed and grow your holiday let business.

See you next Saturday at 5pm?

Phil

Founder, My Holiday Guide

IN THE NEWS

In Wales, the 182 days policy is continuing to raise concerns for FHL owners.

For those unfamiliar with the policy, it means that holiday let properties in Wales must be let for at least 182 days a year in order to qualify for business rates. Those that do not meet this threshold will need to pay the ‘Second Home Premium’ council tax rate, which can be up to 300%.

PASC and others continue to tackle the Welsh Government to review the policy and to reduce the threshold. Currently only 27% of owners believe they will meet the threshold this year.

Here is another news article highlighting the potential impact after Cyngor Gwynedd council approved a proposal to enforce planning permission for second homes.

In England, local councils continue to debate and establish additional measures on short-term rentals.

Brighton & Hove City Councilpassed a vote last week to ask the government if it can start licensing short-term lets in a bid to combat their impact on local communities. This could entail establishing similar measures to the 182 days policy in Wales.

The London School of Economics and Political Science have recently published the results of a study where they assessed the impact of ‘day caps’ (limiting the number of days a property can be rented out for) on the FHL and housing market; taking actual data from Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.

In summary, the study suggests that day caps, while intended to improve housing situations for local residents, have limited effectiveness on housing availability and provides guests with less options and higher prices.

The study found that [the policies] “had little impact on the availability and pricing in the long-term rental market, suggesting that the assumed benefits of such policies might be overestimated.”

It also highlights that “a significant portion of hosts did not comply with the regulations, highlighting challenges in enforcement and the effectiveness of these rules.”

The authors recommend reevaluating current regulations to find a better balance between community needs, housing availability, and economic opportunities.

According to an article by The Telegraph, the proportion of properties purchased as an ‘additional property’ has hit a record low, with 1% of purchases being attributed to being second homes or buy-to-lets.

Five areas that have historically had the highest proportion of second home purchases (Gwynedd, North Wales, Cornwall, North Norfolk, the Isle of Wight and Pembrokeshire) have seen a significant dip in second home purchases as a proportion of total house sales.

Other News

• Hoteliers in Cambridge have rejected a proposal to introduce a nightly £2 tourist tax

• Amsterdam, one of the world’s most visited destinations, wants fewer tourists

• Out of Eden has released a new range of Toughened Crockery

• eufy (An Anker company) has released a new smartlock

LISTING PERFORMANCE & GROWTH
Tips and strategies to enhance the visibility and attractiveness of your holiday let.

VisitEngland have released a report assessing state of tourism within the UK.

Inbound visits in 2023 remained below 2019 levels but the number of nights stayed equalled 2019 levels and there were significant improvements compared with 2022. The number of visits in 2023 was 7% down on pre-pandemic levels, but was 21% above 2022, while the volume of international visitor nights was higher than both 2019 and 2022.

Visitor spend was higher in 2023 than in 2022 and 2019, but in real terms fell by 10% compared with 2019 when inflation is taken into account.

The top inbound market for visits and spend was the USA, which surpassed pre-pandemic visit levels by 14%. Other key markets were France, Germany, the Irish Republic and Spain, but these all remained below 2019 visit levels. In total, visits from Europe accounted for 65% of total inbound visits to the UK.

As part of the report, VisitEngland assess the most visited attraction categories, with 1989 being the baseline year that current visitor levels are compared to.

For holiday let hosts, this provides some hard evidence on categories or types of locations guests visit, and are worthy considerations for your digital welcome guide.

Top attraction categories include :

• Museums and Art Galleries

• Historic Houses and Gardens

• Country Parks

• Safari Parks, Zoos, Aquariums & Aviaries

• Castles and Forts

The VisitEngland report also included a spreadsheet showing all of the attractions along with visitor numbers. I have placed a copy of the spreadsheet here that you can view and filter by region. This will enable you to gain suggestions for additional attractions you can add to your guest welcome guide.

FEATURED RESOURCE
Highlighting useful tools and resources for your holiday let.

Holiday Cottage Handbook

Holiday Cottage Handbook is a fantastic educational resource for holiday let hosts. Check out the website, where you can download a free e-book for hosts and property managers, and listen to the podcast series, which features experts from across the industry.

HCH is currently organising a special event for holiday let investors and hosts. STR Zone – Powered by Holiday Cottage Handbook will be a major feature of the Property Investor Show, which takes place at ExCeL London on 4-5 October. The event is free to attend – click here to register.

SAVINGS
Here's a quick round up of discounts and deals we are aware of from providers to the holiday let industry.

• Panda London has up to 25% off in their summer sale

• Dunelm continue to have up to 50% off in their summer offers

• Rinkit! currently have a summer sale with 10% off using the code SUMMER10

• Emma sleep have up to 40% off in their summer sale

INTERIOR DESIGN
Interior design inspiration and decor tips.

PROPERTIES OF THE NEWSLETTER
We all love looking at and getting inspiration from other properties so here’s our top pick for this edition.

NO FOMO
Missed last weeks newsletter? Here’s one thing you might like.

VisitEngland's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 new ‘Visitor Ready’ Scheme

In last weeks newsletter we delved into the new ‘Visitor Ready’ scheme from VisitEngland.

If you missed it you can read the full article here to see what it is and how you can apply for free.

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