Rentals365 Blog

Win a London pad property portfolio, and help a charity.

A new slant on the trusted property raffle model is a competition to Win a London Pad. This concept is an exciting prospect for anyone with a dream to own their own lettings empire. Not only that, but you could own a multi million development outright. The property is at York House in Tower Hamlets E1 and comprises a block of 11 serviced apartments. The apartments are of a high specification, and have Italian Design Kitchens with stone worktops and Jacuzzi baths en-suite to master bedrooms.

The rental income will be half a million UK pounds per year, which would mean that you may never need to work again. Alternatively, if you do not like the idea of owning a project such as this, then you have the option of selling it, and wreaping a multi million pound windfall. Expert advice will be offered in respect of managing the property. Or, you can have the building managed for you.

Great Ormond Street Hospital is a special care unit for very sick children. They are world renowned for giving children the best possible chance of recovering from serious illness. Obviously, the treatment they provide is based upon the latest medical techniques. This means that they will use the latest equipment, and drugs. All this costs money, and to enable the hospital to keep providing this service, they rely on donations. Part of the money raised from this competition will fund a 4 bed ward in the Cardiac Daycare unit.

To enter, all you have to do is answer a few simple questions, and purchase an MP4 player for the price of 60 UK Pounds. You could give it as a christmas present, or keep it for yourself. The gadget has a 4 Gigabyte memory, so can hold up to 2000 songs, or 4 hours of playback for video. This is a handy tool, and the usual retail price is 89 UK Pounds.

These are the best points to consider about this competition

• Get a 1 in 200,000 chance to win a property fortune.
• Give money to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
• Own an MP4 player.

It seemed like a great idea to me, so I have entered. Why don’t you?
Click here for more details.

How to manage your visitors effectively so that you can keep them happy, and virtually guarantee their return.

This is a relatively simple exercise in customer relations management. Anyone who is familiar with the concept of CRM will know that this is extremely important for a business. Your vacation property should be treated just like a proper business, so CRM is just one part of making it successful.

1. Help them to find what they are looking for. Ideally they have found it - their dream holiday, but just to be safe, ask them if everything is alright. Do they need anything else? A little something extra could make all the difference, and ensure that they are happy enough to feel that they have indeed ‘found it’.
2. Don’t underestimate how important you are. As host for their holiday, you are their guide, friend and confident. You obviously know more than they do about the property, the area etc. Play up to this, by showing them that you are indeed a lovely person - after all, people sell products, so the nicer you are, the easier you will find it to sell. Having already sold to them once by getting them to book your property, then encouraging your guests to return should be a little easier. Even if they do not return - as some people do not like visiting the same place more than once, then they may recommend you to someone else.
3. Go above and beyond. This may seem daunting, but just by giving a little help here and there, with say for example; unloading their cases, finding them a telephone number, direction to the nearest shop or restaurant  etc. could make a huge difference.
4. Provide extra things for free. This all depends on how you wish to manage your property. If you have keenly priced your weeks, then you may feel reluctant to ‘give stuff away’. If you do add extra’s for free though, then your guests may feel that they have had more value for money.
5. After they have gone. Don’t be a stranger to your ex-guests, send them a card at christmas.  Maybe there is a special event organised in your area - tell them about it, either via email, or a post card. Gentle reminders here and there will keep the memory of their stay fresh in their mind. 

“Y’all come back now.”  That memorable line — pinched from “The Beverly Hillbillies” television show — is a phrase that should be ringing in your ears after every departure. Your own version of this goodbye will suffice though.

There are a lot of do’s and don’ts with regard to running your holiday home as a business, and here are a few.

1. Take the trouble to find a decent agent. bad management can cause unnecessary vacancies, and worse. Disreputable managers have been known to rent property out, and pocket the proceeds.
2. Price your rates correctly, too little and you are selling yourself short, too much and you will not get the bookings you deserve.
3. Exercise extra marketing activities yourself. Obviously, tell friends and family of your holiday property, but don’t expect to get your full rate from these. Then there is an endless variety of websites with which to market your property, these will have varying degrees of success. Press advertising, articles, the list goes on.
4. Keep a useful events folder, with leaflets, and details of all your local attractions. This folder would also incude local restaurants, shops, taxi and local transport services.
5. Always keep your property clean, with necessary utencils available.
6. Keep a Guest Book, and encourage your renters to write down their findings, and thoughts for your property.
7. Have a welcome Pack ready for each of your guests as they arrive. Important things such as milk, bread, and tea or coffee, plus a little extra such as a bottle of champagne, or maybe a bottle of your local wine or produce (local being obviously cheaper).
8. As the weather may not always be conversive to outdoor pursuits - have books, and board games available. A video games console is good for kids. Try to have as many varied activities as possible, so as to keep most people happy.
9. Ensure that you have a do’s and dont’s list. In this list you can also provide instructions for everything that may need more than one brain cell to operate.
10. To ensure that your guests leave on a good note, you could give them a goodbye gift. This need not be expensive, just some local produce. Remember -  it’s the thought that counts.

So there you have it. As you have a great property in a great location, then you cannot fail to do well - but similar things have been said shortly before a great demise. With this in mind - never become complacent. 

Welcome to our blog. This is the place to find the latest news for Rentals365.

This is a brief history of the site so far.

I first had the idea for the creation of a Holiday Property Directory, when I purchased my first Villa in Spain back in 2002. The website then took a further two years to get going. Like so many people who have good ideas, and subsequently find that other people have had the same idea but had it before them - I was slightly disapointed, but figured that the market was plenty big enough for more than a few sites to be doing the same thing. So, when the website eventually went live, I found the ground well trodden by the other sites, who had become firmly established. Since I have created Rentals365 though, there has been a whole raft of other sites jumping on the bandwagon.  The market is indeed flooded now, and some sites will obviously fade and die. I am positive though that this one is staying the course.

I decided to build the site myself, as I had experience with website design. Almost immediately, it became apparent that there is a huge difference between a basic html website, and a data base driven dynamic one. This led me through a learning curve, that was at times painful, but ultimately rewarding. I could have paid a professional designer to have created the site for me, and I did get a few quotes, but having built the site myself - I feel better knowing that I have gained better control. As websites are constantly changing - so it is indeed a full time job.

I operate other websites aswell, with Rentals365 playing a prominent role in the portfolio. Having other sites, makes it easier for promotional purposes, with traffic being shared, and development being easier. As website promotion plays a big role in any websites daily life, having experience, and additional contributions makes the whole job easier.

In 2007, I asked a friend of mine to help with the promotion of this website, as he had experience with the internet’s extensive capabilities. This has proved fruitful, as the site now enjoys good rankings in all the major search engines. The team now also comprises two administration assistants - Rebecca Fields, and Kerry Bailey. Now, with an injection of cash, and a more focused plan, we are moving forward in a positive direction.