Why make your holiday let pet friendly?

By choosing to make your holiday home pet friendly, you open yourself up to a large market of holidaymakers: approximately 40% of travellers take their pets with them on their breaks according to travelsupermarket.com. By tapping into this market you open yourself up to new strands of revenue and make your property more marketable in the letting arena.

It is also worth bearing in mind however that there will be a few extra considerations in making your property pet-friendly:

• Suitability – you will have to assess whether your property is suitable and safe for pets. For example, is there enough indoor space for pets to roam comfortably? Are outdoor spaces secure to prevent pets escaping? Would you consider putting in stair gates to restrict pets to certain areas of the house?
• Damage – you may want to remove the more fragile items from your home in advance of pet visitors. Also, requesting that animals are never left unattended in the home is recommended.
• Pet Odours – adding in specific cleaning products to the cleaning rota within the home that deal specifically with pet smells will help deal with any concerns in this area. Additionally, make sure you have a good quality vacuum cleaner to pick up hair and include air fresheners (we recommend the plug-in variety) within the property. Keeping flea spray in the property and checking regularly between visits for any sign of fleas would be a prudent step.  You may wish to include these extra considerations in the price of your rental, the average being around an extra £15-25 of cleaning charges. It is worth making this information clear in your booking forms.
• Redecorating – you may wish to invest in more hardwearing decor and furniture to accommodate your new furry visitors.

If you do decide to welcome pets into your property, you may wish to include some items within the property; separate food and water bowls; old towels to help clean down muddy paws after walks; some treats or toys in hampers. Doggie beds are also a welcome addition.

On a final note, make sure you market your holiday let appropriately so that people know that you are pet-friendly. Include it in your marketing material and advertisements and ensure you are correctly tagged on any websites that you promote yourselves on. For additional appeal, it is also worth including information relevant to pet owners, for examples, nearby walks or popular parks that are suitable for pets.  Becoming a pet-friendly property opens you up to a wider section of the market and makes your self-catering holiday home more appealing to families who don't want to leave their furbabies behind.