Tax For Furnished Holiday Lets | Expert Advice
As of 6th April 2025, the Furnished Holiday Let tax scheme has ended. However, there are still some aspects...
by Janine de Lange / Owner
Whether you are a new, experienced or aspiring holiday home owner, tips for holiday letting are always useful! With ever changing booking trends and patterns, seeking professional advice could make a huge difference to your Cornish holiday homes’ profitability.
With stunning beaches, quaint fishing villages and unspoilt countryside, it is easy to see why so many people holiday in Cornwall. But how do you keep customers returning year after year, and what holiday letting advice should you follow? Here are our 10 top tips for holiday letting in Cornwall, to ensure your property reaches its full potential in the coming season.
Read on for our advice on how to achieve holiday letting success – from property preparation to pricing, and everything in between! You can use the quick links below to jump to your chosen subject.
For more information and a free income projection, request your FREE Owners Guide today:
The first of our tips on holiday letting relates to buying a suitable property. It is important to choose a location which has appeal both to you (if you will be using the accommodation), and to tourists.
But are people still choosing Cornwall for their holidays? Our parent company, Sykes Cottages, commissioned a survey in November 2024, asking 1000 Brits their holiday intentions. Demand for Cornish holidays looks to remain strong, with 80% of those surveyed planning to enjoy a UK staycation in 2025, and 25% favouring the South West as a destination.
Some of the most popular requests when searching for accommodation in Cornwall are:
Coastal properties with sea views near to a beach, or those set in the countryside remain most popular.
Naturally, a property in a great position with good views will also attract a high volume of bookings and secure a good return on your investment.
Another influential factor in a guest’s choice of holiday home is its proximity to good facilities. Those situated within easy reach of a pub, restaurant, shops and tourist attractions experience higher desirability and booking performance.
For more information on the most sought after locations in the county, read our insider’s guide to the top 7 places to buy a holiday home in Cornwall.
Not only do desirable features give a holiday cottage a competitive edge over similar properties, they also allow you to increase your rental rates and maximise your income.
One of our top tips for holiday letting is to spend time researching the features that are in demand. Learn what the competition are offering. By doing this, you can find ways to distinguish your property from other holiday homes in the area.
Investing in a hot tub will certainly make your property stand out from the crowd. According to our Cornwall Holiday Let Market Insights Report 2025, hot tubs remain one of the most searched for features on the Sykes website. Properties with hot tubs can earn an average of 37% more income!
With energy prices on everyone’s minds, a wood fired hot tub is a great, sustainable solution with lower running costs than a conventional hot tub. For more information on the financial considerations of running a holiday let, read our guide to holiday let costs.
27% of guests consider good Wi-Fi or technology when booking a property. If your property has strong Wi-Fi, and possibly a separate quiet area with a desk for those who need to work remotely, your home will be all-the-more appealing!
With 32% of guests considering a property’s garden or outdoor space when booking a holiday, another tip for holiday letting is to choose a property with external living space.
To truly maximise this space, add sturdy garden furniture, an outdoor dining set and BBQ facilities, so guests can really relax in the Cornish sunshine. You might also consider adding storage for water sports equipment and a place to store muddy shoes. These don’t have to be costly, but will encourage repeat bookings and fabulous reviews.
With family holidays representing 31% of our bookings in 2024, you would be wise to make your holiday home into family friendly accommodation where possible. If appropriate, simple additions such as a high chair and travel cot reduce the amount of luggage a family would need to bring with them. Other popular property features include off-road parking, a dishwasher and an open fire.
For many, pressures on household budgets have made holidaying closer to home more appealing than ever.
With the continuing cost of living crisis and its impact on UK households, it’s unsurprising that there has been a rise in the ‘save-cation’ holiday trend – our research found that 32% of guests holidayed in the UK in 2024 due to the lower cost.
To encourage bookings during the low-season, using initiatives such as accepting last minute bookings, short lead time bookings and dynamic price reductions are a practical solution to encourage guests to make a ‘save-cation’ a viable option.
First impressions are invaluable. Providing a comprehensive information pack is one of the easiest and most effective ways to welcome guests. It’s an opportunity to set your property apart and an effective way to quickly answer your guests’ questions about the accommodation and local area.
You could also provide a small welcome hamper of delicious Cornish treats. If your property is pet friendly, a few extras to make your four-legged guests feel at home will always be well received. Read our comprehensive guide on how to put together a guest information folder for your holiday home.
It’s not just short breaks and last-minute getaways that are more popular in recent years. We have seen a 60% increase in searches for ‘paw-cations’ since 2019, from people looking to holiday with their dogs. Properties accepting pets earn an average of 2.5 more bookings and 18% more revenue than those that don’t!
To make the most of this continually growing market, consider allowing four-legged guests. By taking this holiday letting advice, you could extend your season of bookings, by appealing to dog-loving couples and those looking for walking getaways outside of the peak periods.
Accepting pets is also a great way to increase your income per booking, as you can add an additional charge per pet. Although we would advise owners to consider more frequent deep cleans if they accept pets, this supplement more than covers those costs. For advice on preparing your property for pets, read our guide to making your holiday home dog-friendly.
As an owner, understanding what to charge for your holiday let is fundamental. This is where working with a holiday let agency can really come into its own.
Here at Cornish Cottage Holidays, owners can choose to use our unique and dynamic income maximisation pricing tool. This intuitive software helps holiday let owners earn as much money as possible from their bookings.
Our ‘super income max’ option allows us to increase prices by up to 50%, and reduce by up to 20% in times of low demand, giving you more bookings overall throughout the year, with the best possible income.
Owners who were happy for their pricing to be driven by this software earned on average 21% more revenue and 6 extra bookings in 2024.
You can learn more about how to price your holiday let, as well as Cornish Cottage Holidays’ cutting-edge income maximisation system, in our guide to pricing your holiday let.
Across the UK, people are becoming more environmentally conscious; whether it’s the known choice to shop locally, use less packaging or make lifestyle changes. The growing trend of ‘eco-tourism’ means it’s worth considering how environmentally friendly your property is. Not only could making small changes help reduce your running costs, but it could increase your property’s desirability to guests.
Planet-friendly features can be great unique selling points for your holiday home. Holiday cottages with EV charging facilities receive around 260 searches a month on Google. With only 1 in 20 of our properties currently having an EV charger, this is a chance for owners to make their accommodation stand out.
For other helpful advice, read our article on how to make your holiday home eco-friendly.
It goes without saying that furnishing and maintaining a property is vital to letting a holiday home. Creating a stylish, well-presented and clean interior is key to making guests feel welcome, satisfied and likely to book again.
The most successful holiday cottage owners are continually making improvements to their properties by reinvesting back into their holiday let business. This can be as simple as renewing furnishings or decorating on a regular basis to keep the property looking at its best.
It can be helpful to use a management company to take care of the key responsibilities like housekeeping, changeovers and maintenance. Read our blog to learn more about the benefits of using a holiday home management company in Cornwall.
Remember to ensure your property is warm and aired on arrival, with great quality linen and towels. Check your inventory so that you know there is ample cutlery and utensils available, as well as lightbulbs, toilet roll and batteries. Action any suggestions left in the guest book from previous guests, and finally, ensure the garden is well kept, with external lights in good working order. As the first thing guests see, it should be appealing!
A top tip for running a successful holiday let is understanding the legal requirements that must be adhered to, for the safety of guests and others.
Key things to consider are:
For a detailed guide to all of the above, read our blog on holiday let legal requirements.
The key to your holiday let success is finding the right holiday letting agency for expert advice and support. Cornish Cottage Holidays specialise in the self-catering holiday market, and have a team of industry experts who strive to help holiday home owners run a profitable and successful business.
With a local office in Redruth, plus larger support team at our national parent company, Sykes Holiday Cottages, we offer a winning combination of both local and national marketing. We really get to know you and your holiday property, allowing us to offer an incredibly personal service.
With over 800 self-catering cottages located throughout Cornwall, we have the expertise and industry know-how to help you run your holiday letting business. For more information on how we can help, read our blog on the benefit of using a holiday let agency in Cornwall.
We want running a holiday home business to be as enjoyable and effortless for you as possible, so we’ve created some helpful guides to answer any queries. Simply visit our Owner Advice Page to find out more.
Request your FREE Owner Guide or give us a call on 01326 336773 (option 2) today.
Please note: As a holiday letting owner you are responsible for compliance with health & safety laws, regulations and guidance, and for having suitable insurances in place (not Sykes Holiday Cottages or its brands (Sykes)). From time to time, Sykes shares information with you on the topic of health and safety and insurance. When it does so, it is not providing you with advice (legal, financial, tax or otherwise); please seek your own as you see fit. In addition, it is not making any representations or warranties about the information being complete or free from errors or inaccuracies. Sykes shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising under or in connection with your reliance on it.
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by Janine de Lange / Owner
I’ve had the privilege of living in the beautiful South West since 2010, and in my opinion there’s no better place in the worl...
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