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What was happening in France 10, 50 and 100 years ago in December
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Discover French magical Christmas châteaux in the Loire valley
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Top tips for making your rental property a success
One of the keys to success in holiday rentals is seeing it as a guest does: is there wifi, decent wine glasses...
Look also at Airbnb and HomeAway sites for what top-rated properties offer and how you would rate.
Nice Pebbles letting agency was found 11 years ago and CEO Gayle Roberts has put her expertise into Room for Profit, a book with travel writer Tristan Rutherford, to ‘make Airbnb work for you’.
It offers a short-cut to success with short-term rentals, how to keep guests returning (to save on advertising) and how to make your house review friendly.
She says people seeking family properties ‘checklist’ four things: Wifi, washing machine, dishwasher and baby cots – but a full list of kitchen ‘essentials’ has 50 items and if two or three of them are missing then bad reviews will follow.
No need for a fancy website, just clear clutter from your house, take good clear photos, and a couple of hours is enough to put it on Airbnb or HomeAway.
A couple of hours is also all it takes Tristan to tidy his house – he has two-year-old twins – for guests to use.
Lock valuables away but you do not need to store clothes, just make it clear to guests which storage spaces they can use.
Remember, you can still stand out from the crowd as far too many people do not do it so well.
Room for Profit, Gayle Roberts and Tristan Rutherford, Createspace, £6.99 ISBN: 978-1544759487