🏠 How to offer (paid for) EV charging to your guests

It’s been a pretty big news week in the short-term letting world! Let’s see how the new controls will be introduced and controlled.

How have your bookings been this week? Is the rubbish weather making people want to book a get-away, or are they holding off for spring to arrive and feel that the weather will, at some point, improve?!

We have a bumper edition for you today so give yourself 5 minutes to digest all of the nuggets in this week’s newsletter.

See you next Saturday at 5pm?

Phil

Founder, My Holiday Guide

IN THE NEWS

Although the announcements this week by Jeremy Hunt to tackle housing affordability concerns while supporting tourism has been well covered in the news, it feels appropriate to mention it in this weeks newsletter.

A summary of the new controls on short term holiday lets in England:

• Councils gain power to require planning permission for short-term lets (>90 days/year)

• National register of short-term lets established for data and regulation purposes

• New planning use class created for short-term lets (not sole residences)

• Existing short-term lets automatically reclassified but permitted development rights might allow changes without full planning application

What has been announced to date are essentially headlines, with a lot of the details yet to be defined or announced - These will shape how the new controls will truly impact the industry.

If you haven’t done so already, I would encourage you to join your appropriate association (E.g. PASC, STTA, ASSC) who, along with other organisations will work with and lobby government to ensure the new controls are correctly defined and introduced.

A roundup of other news:

Here’s a quick infographic based upon some of the findings from Airbnb’s latest UK report covering 2023:

Landal GreenParks UK adds two new resorts to portfolio - Landal Whalesborough Resort & Spa in Bude, Cornwall, and Landal Twin Lakes in the Lake District.

StayFi have added a new feature to their guest wifi interaction software - HomePage allows you to require guests to sign-in to use your wifi, with the added opportunity to provide upsells and experiences to your guests whilst capturing email addresses for other marketing efforts.

Here’s a summary of how Airbnb is reporting a defiant outlook in “inflection year” despite Q4 losses.

In Scotland, short-term let operators are looking at legal action to claim compensation based upon the new rules.

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

How can I offer EV charging to my guests?

With the rapidly increasing ownership of electric cars, are you considering offering EV charging at your property?

According to the RAC, there are currently around one and a half million EV cars in the UK from a total of around 40 million vehicles.

There is no doubt that there is a steadily growing number of guests specifically searching for, and only choosing properties that offer EV charging with the property. Most of the main listing sites now allow you to filter by properties with EV chargers. There are also specific Facebook groups setup to offer EV charging properties.

So how can you provide your guests with a charging facility, that also allows you to set the price for how much they pay?

Last year I wrote a couple of articles on this subject which can be found here and here. But I have to say that, even since I wrote these, many more options have come on to the market.

What is clear is that there are a number of potential solutions you can pick from and there is currently no clear dominant market leader where I can recommend you just select their product.

It is worth noting that you don’t need to have a charger and software from the same provider - Chargers that are OCPP 1.6 compliant will work with other apps / software such as Tap Electric. The benefit of using an app like Tap is that it’s focus is on providing the ability to share and charge for use; whereas the app/software that comes with other chargers may have this type of feature but it may just not work as seamlessly or be as ‘feature rich’.

The additional benefit is, if you already have a charger, you can just ‘install’ an app like Tap Electric and use it with your existing charger.

Within our resources directory I have listed out a good number of EV chargers and software providers that you can review. Below I have listed a few of these that explicitly state that they provide the ability to offer EV charging for guests:

• The Optimus charger from Go Zero

• The Zappi charger from myenergi

• The Pod Point charger and app

• An Easee charger coupled with the Tap Electric app

Offering a EV charging facility will slowly become a ‘must have’ amenity so acting sooner may allow you to attract guests who may otherwise overlook your property.

FEATURED RESOURCE
Highlighting useful tools for your holiday let

I stumbled upon a unique way of providing your guests with a map of local activities. Funny Little Maps create custom ‘picture maps’ of your location in a fun and informative format.

Here’s an example of the type of map they can create:

Checkout their Facebook page to see more examples and to contact Sarah.

Interested in sponsoring the newsletter? Hit reply or email Phil at [email protected]

IN THE DIRECTORY
Log Cabins, Garden Rooms & Annexes

With the announcement this week of the additional controls for holiday lets, will cabins and garden rooms grow as an alternative to having a second home? We have added a Garden rooms and annex category to the directory that lists out a good number of UK based log cabin suppliers.

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

• Mitre currently have up to 17% off pillows

• Dunelms clearance sale has up to 50% off selected items

• The Original Bed Co are offering £100 off when you purchase a bed and mattress together using the code MATTRESSBED100

• Emma Mattresses have 5% off with the code EMMALOVER the 2nd of March

INTERIOR DESIGN
Interior design inspiration and decor tips.

This article from Houzz highlights some nice examples of how you can add an extra room into your existing space without needing an extension.

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

FUN FACTS

Which lifestyle changes can make you live longer?

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

If you’re considering expanding your marketing efforts into social media, we highlighted how creating a Facebook page and interacting with Facebook groups is still your best bet.

Read the full article here: