Home Owner Guide

We are always looking to add quality holiday homes to our portfolio to meet the demands of our guests. We especially welcome local owners, those who live in Cumbria and manage their own property. If you have a holiday home and would like to discuss marketing through our company please do call either Clare or John for an informal chat.

OUR GOAL

For the eighteen years we have been operating, our mantra here at the Lakeland Cottage Company has always been Quality - not Quantity; investment to optimise each home, not just to maximise our profit; service not just self serving. 

We achieve this by setting a limit to the number properties that we would represent along with the very best marketing. By doing this we are able to give a fair marketing opportunity to each owner and to know each owners property inside out, filling in the extra details for an enquiring guest, being sure of suitability and guiding them to other properties where their first choice is perhaps already reserved.

So if you are frustrated seeing your holiday home lost amongst page after page, browser after browser of other homes and cottages, just another of three, four or even nine hundred plus units, and that is what they become, then we may well be for you.

We believe our photography and graphic design is second to none - browse the site and judge for yourself. We achieve this from our background in creative advertising in London and as a former practising still life adverting photographer. With these skills we are more than capable of creating images more akin to Homes & Gardens than the run of the mill snap shots as seen on many other sites. It is these images, web design and written description, along with having only a select choice and and in depth knowledge of each cottage or house that sell those properties we represent.

All this combines to produce high bookings, high incomes and satisfied guests.

OUR SERVICE

MARKETING

Our main role is to market your property for you, producing attractive images to show your efforts and the attractions of your holiday home. Presenting it in its best light and promoting the home on our web site and brochure. We are then responsible for dealing with the holiday maker, listening to their needs, filling in the gaps on details, along with taking the reservations, rental and any other fees for services required. As of 2004 marketing has moved very much to the internet. As such we were one of the first local agencies to utilise Google ad-words and SEO ranking. The results have been impressive, placing us as truly in the world wide market, increasing not only our guests from the UK, but a significant and ever growing number from abroad.

MANAGEMENT

The second service is the optional management of your property. This covers the preparation of your home in readiness for the guests arrival. Also the general care of your property, reporting and arranging for any repairs or refurbishment that may be required. This service often suits owners who live away from the area.

INCOME

Income will depend very much on the quality of your property, as much these days as simply the location.
Indeed more and more guests are seeking out the quieter areas of the Lake District, such as the Cartmel Peninsular, Coniston and the Lyth Valley. However they do demand high quality and, if offered and whether your property is in the better known areas such Ambleside and Grasmere, or set in one of the lesser known areas, your income, with the best marketing, should be high and regular - and that is where we would like to come in.

COMMISSION

Our marketing commission is highly competitive, guaranteed to be one of the lowest you will find. 

OTHER CHARGES

There will be a few annual charges as set out below

Manage cost where required, such as the cleaning and linen, call outs etc.
Registration fee £95.00 per annum
Visit Britain Annual Inspection - Price determined by VB (2011 rate £145.00 inc VAT)

PAYMENT

We make payment by electronic transfer at the end of each month. At this time you will receive all deposits paid, any balances and or full amounts paid less our commission and any other disbursements such as preparation costs.

THE CONTRACT

We do require owners to agree to and sign our contract.

MOVING FORWARD

Should you wish to proceed after we have met and visited your holiday home, we would set about getting your property up and running. The process is quite simple and hassle free where you can leave all the details to us. The first stage is to arrange for photography. This can take one or two days where we would style, light and shoot all of the relevant rooms and exteriors. Following this comes a few days of post production, retouching the selected photographs, setting and writing your web page, posting to our web site, ready to take your guests.

CHOOSING THE LAKELAND COTTAGE COMPANY - A BIT MORE ABOUT US

You will have rightly researched many companies to market your holiday home. As indicated we are by no means the largest agency in terms of number of properties we market, however we do consider ourselves a leader in marketing and getting the job done, namely achieving you, the home owner, a good and steady income from your investment - and it is these facts that should perhaps be one of your considerations.

Our policy is to take aboard only quality properties, at a number whereby each individual owner receives the best attention, each individual property details are fully known and understood by all of our staff and each property is expected to achieve a high level of bookings and income for both the owner and ourselves, your agent.

Many have commented and compared on the quality of our web site design and photography against other marketing companies, this from both owners and the many calls from holiday makers.

Indeed we did win an award from the Cumbria Tourist Board for the best holiday web site and were fourteenth runner up in the prestigious National Commerce Awards in 2003. Having arrived at our web site you can now judge this for your self.

We achieve this high level of marketing from a background of many years spent in the field of advertising, based in London. Clare was director of a leading advertising agency and, for myself, I spent fifteen years as a professional advertising still life photographer.

We are backed by two friendly office staff, Sue Kendrick who has been with us from day one and Annie Smethurst as of 2006. Both a wow with our guests and are firmly behind our policies, where each give equal care to both guest and owner needs. Each visit every property throughout the year, also attending the Visit Britain Inspection, this to better understand the attributes, qualities and location of each holiday home, allowing them to expand on the published details when speaking to potential guests.

Now having read through the basics of holiday letting, we would be delighted to have an informal chat regarding any property you may wish to place on the holiday market.