Short Breaks: A Complete Guide

When starting out on your holiday letting journey, one thing likely to be on your mind will be how to fill up your calendar with bookings. One way to achieve a high occupancy rate is to allow guests to take short breaks in your property. This can help to fill up quieter months and can increase your income by almost double – read on to find out how!

The Positives

Open your calendar and improve your income – More bookings means more money in your pockets. We will not charge less than 60% of your normal weekly rental price. This means that if you get two Short Break bookings in the same week, you could earn 20-50% more than if you booked your property out for just a one week-long booking.

Make flexibility a priority – Our short breaks allow customers to easily find the holiday they are looking for and by accepting short breaks at your property, we can help you secure more bookings and income. Short breaks will give you opportunity to increase the amount your property earns per night, and expose your property to a wider range of customers.

Our analysts will constantly review performance in order to maximise the potential bookings and revenue that short breaks will bring to your property.

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The Different Types of Short Breaks

More and more people are looking to find peace and comfort amongst their hectic lives. Short Breaks can provide these individuals with the quick escape that they need. This demand can help you to increase the income generated from your property. Overall, owners on all short break types earn 8 extra bookings and 27% more revenue each year, this includes those that offer last minute getaways. 

Flexible Short Breaks

This new option is bookable all year. It allows customers who are looking to start their holiday on their preferred day of the week in addition to your standard changeover days.

Last Minute

We have seen more than ever this year more bookings are made within 14 days of the holiday, so we also offer a Last Minute short break discount throughout the year.

Christmas & New Year

Is it that time of year again? The festive season is an important time for any holiday letting owner. Providing Short Breaks during this period could help you stand out from the crowd and make your property more attractive to potential guests.

Off Season

Although medium to long-term bookings may be more difficult to get during the months of April, June, September & October (excluding Easter and half terms) – short-term bookings remain popular. 43% of searches for these months were for short breaks,  with over 33% of all bookings during this period being people who were looking for a short holiday.

Peak

Short Breaks are not only popular in the off season. Our data shows that during peak weeks, 40% of website users search for short breaks, that’s more than 7.5 million searches annually.

Winter

The winter months of January, February, March, November & December (excluding Christmas, New Year, and school half terms) prove to be a big hit with people looking for Short Breaks. 60% of all searches for winter are for Short Breaks and with these months tending to be quieter, it can be the perfect opportunity for people to have some quick but needed down time.

Things to Consider…

Adding Short Breaks can have many wonderful benefits but it’s important to keep in mind some things to be aware about. Due to the increase in changeover days, cleaning costs will rise as you will need to spend more on cleaners to maintain your property’s standards. You will also need to increase the amount of fresh linen and towels that you have available to accommodate the increase in bookings that you may experience. Moreover, if you manage the property yourself there will be more responsibility on you to be prepared for any changeover days, this can be especially difficult for those who may be busy during the week or cleaners who can only clean on set days.

If you have the flexibility Short Breaks can be ideal for anyone looking to improve the income of their holiday let. It may initially cost more due to the cleaning and maintenance of the property but with the potential to increase your earnings and the opportunity to use our Income Maximisation tool, these expenses should be easily covered. Now go and get those bookings!

Want to know more? Get in touch!

If you’re already currently holiday letting and want to know more, or just thinking about getting started. Give our local friendly team a call on 01665 830783 or complete our online form here.

** This blog has been adapted based on original content written by Daniel Scott April 2023

Calendar image courtesy of: Pexels