{"id":487,"date":"2019-03-26T09:23:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T09:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/?p=487"},"modified":"2026-02-25T11:37:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T11:37:33","slug":"the-dos-and-donts-of-a-holiday-let-first-impressions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/the-dos-and-donts-of-a-holiday-let-first-impressions\/","title":{"rendered":"The Do&#8217;s and Don&#8217;ts of a Holiday Let &#8211; First Impressions"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>First Impressions<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so it\u2019s important you get it right from the start.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A long drive often culminating in heart stopping narrow Devon lanes can make for a stressful start to any holiday. Guests who arrive with tempers frayed are more likely to take note of any imperfections in your property. Avoid this by providing clear driving direction, this is particularly relevant if you know that your property is nowhere near where your SAT NAV states. Clearly sign the entrance to your property to reassure guests that they&#8217;ve arrived at the right place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Stepping out of the car<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-497 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Blickling-Hall-Jacobean-Country-House-151576435_4440x2693-min-300x182.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Blickling-Hall-Jacobean-Country-House-151576435_4440x2693-min-300x182.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Blickling-Hall-Jacobean-Country-House-151576435_4440x2693-min-768x466.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Blickling-Hall-Jacobean-Country-House-151576435_4440x2693-min-1024x621.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Blickling-Hall-Jacobean-Country-House-151576435_4440x2693-min-2000x1213.jpeg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once out of the car, often the first thing a holiday maker sees is your garden and outdoor spaces, be it simple parking spaces or an elaborate <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">country estate. Be sure to keep your outside spaces clean, tidy and in tip top conditions all through the year. Make sure the garden is well tended and colourful pots will brighten even the dullest of drives. Paths and steps should be well lit, level and not slippery.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>The garden<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-527 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Outside-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Outside-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Outside-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Outside-1024x767.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/03\/Outside.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the garden, provide good quality outdoor furniture, enough to comfortably seat the number of guests the property accommodates, maybe a parasol and a couple of sun loungers. BBQs are popular, but not all insurance companies approve of th<\/span>em, particularly if you have a thatched property, so always check your policy. If you provide a BBQ, make sure it\u2019s well cleaned between lets.<\/p>\n<p>Look out for the next holiday let do&#8217;s and don&#8217;ts.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Let your cottage with us<\/h2>\n<p>If you would like more information about letting your cottage with us, simply <strong>complete the form below<\/strong>. Our team will be in touch to answer any questions, and you&#8217;ll receive a copy of our <strong>FREE Owner Guide<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top: -25px; margin-bottom: 20px;\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/sykescottages.jotform.com\/jsform\/250763125518961\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First Impressions As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so it\u2019s important you get it right from the start. A long drive often culminating in heart stopping narrow Devon lanes can make for a stressful start to any holiday. Guests who arrive with tempers frayed are more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":1865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-owner-advice","location-devon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5426,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487\/revisions\/5426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.helpfulholidays.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}