When you have just purchased a vacation home (or even if you have owned one for a while) and are now considering letting it as a furnished holiday house to paying guests, you could be experiencing a little nervous. There are several concerns that are typical amongst those who are new to the holiday home business, so we've prepared a short guide to help answer some of the questions you have.

Where will I put all of my things?

Generally whenever renting out your holiday home, you should never lock away anything that your guests may need (such as furnishings or kitchen equipment). For any personal or even delicate items, you may want to keep them out of the way. You can either store them in a lockable cabinet or attic space or in an outbuilding if you have one (and it can be made completely secure). If you have any items that you would prefer your guests not to misuse, moving them into a secure location is the best way. Including any products that you want to keep for your own personel use (like wine/food or even toiletries).

How can I trust visitors to maintain my vacation house?

Trust is not something you should hand out freely when it comes to protecting your property. The fact is that there is an added element of risk to allowing unknown people to stay unsupervised in your house, however it is possible to lessen the risk. A cleaning / damages down payment is an absolute must, and should be taken as well as a reservation verification deposit. If you do not run changeovers yourself then you will need to tell cleaning personnel to document any damage or additional cleaning needed. This is just in case guests challenge any deductions that you might be forced to make from their deposit.

Communication is vital to forging good customer relationships, which means you need to attempt to make contact with your visitors the moment they place their reservation. Correspondence can help to make visitors feel like friends, and friends are more likely to take better care of your property. A properly placed welcome gift basket, containing a few essential groceries or even luxurious products, can have a positive influence on your guests' stay and help cement the positive relationship.

Where can I locate someone to perform the cleaning / changeovers?

Locating good changeover and cleaning employees can be somewhat tricky if you are a new comer to a location. It is usually a good idea to try and talk to other owners in the area and find out who they use in their properties. Cleaners which charge a flat rate are better than the ones that charge per hour, as it is better to predict and account for the cost in your budget.

What do I need to do about holiday home insurance?

If you have a holiday home, you are unlikely to be able to cover it using an ordinary home insurance plan, since most insurance providers will perceive it as too high a risk. With a non-standard insurance provider you can obtain a competitive online quotation for holiday home insurance regardless of how your house is being used. If your vacation home is unoccupied for long time periods you may run into further issues, however a specialist insurance broker should be able to help. You can insure your unoccupied house regardless of how long it is unoccupied for.

Holiday home insurance cover may be tougher to find, but unoccupied house insurance cover is particularly important when your house is at risk because it is vacant.