Few people will need convincing that the way most people book their holidays today is radically different from, say, ten years ago. Or five years ago even. The arrival of the internet means that researching destinations, evaluating options, and ultimately booking your trip, can now all be done from the comfort of your own seat. If you so wish, travel brochures, guidebooks, or even travel agents, can be a thing of the past. This is particularly true for people looking at booking a self catering holiday in the UK, where the key success factor to the holiday is securing that gorgeous, comfortable and well equipped holiday cottage.
Yet, ask yourself: are you really making the most of the opportunities the internet really offers? For example, are you sure you are fully cutting out the middle man when booking your break? Have you really made the most of the information (potentially) available to you? Do you recognise the tell tale signs that make the difference between true excitement or serious alarm bells? The following 5 points should help anyone looking at booking their next UK cottage holiday.
1. Did you book with the owners direct?
You may be booking your cottage online, but chances are that you are still using a booking agency. An agency which can charge the owner of 'your cottage' a commission as hefty as 25%! Besides the fact that ultimately this commission is charged back to you in some way or another, the key problem for you is that you are most likely missing out on the best cottages.
Why? Simply because there are now so many online portals available to cottage owners allowing them significant exposure to their future customers, for just a nominal annual fee. So anyone still mad enough to still part with a quarter of their turnover either has a rather poor product on offer, or is just asleep. Or both. In other words, using a booking agency increasingly means you are missing out on the best cottages available.
'But how do I know that I use such a portal, and not an agency?' I hear you think. Easy: if the site you look at allows you to link directly to the cottage owner, you are most likely using a portal. Agencies would never hand over that control, as it is the only way they can ensure to get their hefty commission.
2. Did the website show you availability?
This may seem a trivial point, but trust me, it isn't. People who own popular cottages want you to know these are popular. Firstly, a cottage with minimal availability will - quite rightly in most cases - give you an immediate clue to its quality. Secondly, people who own and manage a high quality and popular set of holiday cottages do not want to waste their, or indeed your, time responding to endless amounts of enquiries when they have no availability. And take my word for it, a good holiday cottage can reach (close to) 100% annual occupancy.
Showing availability on their website serves both these purposes very well, and anyone owning high quality cottages with high occupancy would be a fool to not show this.
3. Were you able to read any independent feedback on 'your' cottage?
Very few holiday cottage websites will not have some form of 'this is what our guests said about us' section on their website. And I am sure that in 99% of cases, these are genuine quotes. What I am less sure about is how representative the contribution is of 'Mr and Mrs. McBride from Colchester'.
4. How long did it take the owners to respond to your enquiries?
Very simply put, any holiday business run with the degree of professionalism and attention to detail you would expect, will reply promptly to your enquiries. Without expecting them to be on call 24/7 (mind you, many come quite close!), the message you sent at 8 o'clock one Wednesday evening should really have a reply by lunchtime the next day at the very latest. Anything slower than that should make you wonder how quickly they come and deal with that leaky tap you may report. And you should ask yourself whether they are actually in the service business, or whether the cottages they happen to own are just a cosy way of generating an income in return for as little sweat as possible.
5. What did the Terms and Conditions look like?
Key to a great holiday is the general 'mood' of the holiday business you are handing your well-earned cash to. The least you should expect in exchange is a professional, yet friendly and proactive attitude, geared to ensuring you and your family have the best possible time. Testing this in advance is possibly one of the hardest parts of your research.
Calling up the owners of your targeted cottage is one way of getting a good feel of who you are dealing with. Another is to have a close look at the 'language' used on the cottage's website. Does it exude a degree of warmth, or is it rather cold and matter of fact? Do you get a sense that the owners are really looking forward to having you on site, or are you simply someone who helps them pay their bills?
Possibly the best way to test this is to look at the Terms and Conditions. Are they reasonable or do they fill you with fear? If it is the latter, don't be overly surprised if your holiday cottage is decorated with notices of what to, and what not to, do. Indeed, hardly the best environment to enjoy your two weeks of summer bliss.
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