| Your
new holiday caravan is your pride and joy, and of course you
will want to share it with others. But renting your caravan
as family holiday accommodation can be a nightmare unless
you make sure you are within the law, namely being insured
to sub-let, and having all the required safety tests.
We have been holiday caravan owners for many
years, and in the early days we had to sub-let to help cover
our overheads. We also learned the hard way how not to do
it, but we were much luckier than some others.
The bottom line, in our opinion, is that
you should never allow your holiday park to sublet your caravan.
The reasons are many, but probably the most important is because
'you have no say'. Some members of the public mistreat, or
even remove items from your caravan because they think it
belongs to the holiday park and they can afford it.
Some of the larger holiday parks make promises
of a guaranteed rental period i.e. up to 40 weeks. This means
you can cover all your annual costs and have a profit in your
pocket. In reality this rarely ever happens, and to this day
I have never met anyone who has told me that it has worked
for them (although I am sure some must exist). Still the temptation
to do it this way is great, because it seems like 'money for
doing nothing'.
So where does all the money go? Firstly, many
holiday parks will advertise short notice, or short break
holidays at vastly reduced prices to help bring more money
in for the parks clubs, bars and entertainment. Secondly,
many of these bargain breaks attract the wrong sort of people
who will be assigned to your caravan (see horror stories below).
After the park has charged you for the laundry,
cleaning and the park commission, not to mention your gas
and electric bills, you may only get £20 to £50
for that holiday, and that's if you are fortunate enough not
to have repairs bills too.
At the end of the season MOST caravan owners
end up owing the park money for the next years site fees and
left with a caravan that has now seen better days.
Private letting allows you a much greater
control such as overseeing who is renting your caravan and
the income for that holiday let. For a nicely maintained caravan
on a popular park you would expect to cover all your annual
costs with just 6 weeks of sub-letting during the summer.
For others it may take a little longer. This then leaves the
rest of the year for yourself.
Finding the right place to advertise your
'caravan to let' is your first priority, and advertising on
a high profile website is your best bet so that you receive
enquiries all year round for one small fee. Getting your own
website is good too, but takes time to be listed and found
by the public. See here about advertising.
Screening all phone calls and asking 'certain
questions' may help you choose families who will treat your
caravan with the respect it deserves. In 4 years of letting
(1996 to 2000), we never had a single bad incident, but we
were very selective, and put off many undesirables with our
higher prices balanced with higher specifications and service.
Benefits of sub-letting
You decide who stays in your caravan.
You can screen your holiday makers at the initial point of
contact.
You decide the rate you charge.
You decide which and how many weeks to let until your costs
are covered.
You can meet the holiday makers on site to give them the key
(lots of advantages to this).
You know which weeks are available for the rest of the year
for yourself.
One big benefit we found was:
You can place a sign 'TO LET' in your window
and take enquiries direct from you caravan window. If you
see people taking your telephone number, (and if you like
the look of them) you can show them around and take a booking
there and then, or build a strong rapport for later so they
don't forget you.
Try
A Static Caravan Holiday |
Caravan
- Static Caravan/Mobile Home insurance |
How
to value a caravan for insurance purposes |
Caravan
drain down and over wintering tips |
Subletting
your holiday caravan | Buying
a static caravan | What
different caravan types are there?
|
