Unique holiday rentals: everything you need to know

August 2024

How can you ensure that your holiday rental stands out from the crowd? One option is to go for something unique, whether that’s a cabin in the woods, an old-fashioned caravan or a renovated windmill. A quirky holiday rental can be a fantastic way of attracting a niche market. Here are some tips to make sure you’re doing it the right way.

First things first: check the legalities

If you’ve got a great idea for an unusual holiday let, the first thing you need to do is review the local regulations in your area. An annexe, shepherd’s hut, or repurposed garden shed can usually be let out, but you’ll have to make sure it meets the legal standards, whatever they may be in your region.

Similarly, it’s essential that you have a look at the health and safety requirements for holiday lets. Most jurisdictions have laws that govern things like electrical checks, emergency exits and so on. You may have to take extra care when setting up an unusual holiday let. After all, essential safety details like fire extinguishers or handrails may not fit perfectly with your desired ambience, but you’ll have to find a way to make them work.

If you’re planning to build your own unusual holiday let, it’s worth consulting an expert first. You might dream of a set of glamping yurts, but have you considered how to bring them up to legal standards? Make sure you have these basics covered before you even dream of moving to the next step with your holiday rental business.

Make a detailed plan

The idea of a vision board may be a little corny, but it’s exactly what an unusual holiday let needs. Think about why people go for quirky, off-beat holiday rentals. While travellers who choose a standard city flat or country cottage might just be looking for somewhere to lay their heads at the end of the day, people who seek out something unusual want a complete experience.

With that in mind, here are a few questions to ask yourself as you plan your holiday rental:

• What does your target market look like? Do you want to attract families to an enchanted cottage that will fire the kids’ imagination, or are you going for couples who want something off-beat and fun?
• What does the inside of your property look like? Ideally, all the decor and furnishings you choose should match your theme. A log cabin full of IKEA-style minimalist furniture quickly loses its allure. Instead, go for rustic, traditional wooden furniture with rugs and cushions to match.
• What about the exterior? If there’s a garden or other outside area, how can you make that special? Remember, this is the first thing that your guests will see, and it will set the mood for their stay.
• Are there any other details you could add to make your holiday rental extra special? Some successful quirky holiday homes include farms, where guests can interact with animals, as well as cottages with giant chessboards in the garden or lodges with funky outdoor bathtubs and, of course, plenty of privacy!

If you can build a cohesive story around your holiday property, it’ll be easier to market it to your guests. Sometimes, the story writes itself. For example, if your property is a lighthouse, then decorating it with a nautical theme is a fun and obvious choice. Just make sure all the details fit for a holiday home that will become a truly immersive experience.

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Getting your unusual holiday rental ready for guests

Once you’ve decided on a theme, here comes the fun part: it’s time to decorate your holiday home. Luckily, this can often be done on a budget if you’re looking for fun, unusual pieces of decor. If your property has a rustic theme, then vintage shops will be your best friend. You might even want to try your hand at some upcycling if you’re feeling creative.

At this stage of the process, make sure you’ve looked after every last detail. Magnolia walls just won’t cut it —you want to create something holistic that your guests will embrace. In the ideal quirky holiday rental, everything in the property fits the theme, right down to the mugs and glasses in the kitchen and the toilet roll holder in the bathroom. It’s definitely worth asking a friend or two to check your vision, choosing a person you know with the best grasp of interior design.

You may also want to spend some time developing your holiday rental brand. Think about the name of your property carefully, as you’ll want to choose something that immediately sets the mood and conjures up something special. Create a logo using the name. You can use it in your guest book, on a plaque by the front door, and even on small details, like toiletries and so on.

Marketing your unusual holiday rental

At this stage, the actual marketing process should be fairly easy. After all, you already have a clear idea of the kind of guests you want to attract, and your property is looking ready. All you have to do is make sure your marketing strategy is on point.

There is one potential pitfall here: when you advertise your holiday home on holiday rental portals, you need to make it very clear that you are targeting the quirky side of the market. If someone who is looking for a more standard experience rents it by accident, they may be left confused or unsatisfied and even leave a bad review. To stop this from happening, take lots of clear, high-quality photos of your property. You’ve spent time working on the details that make it special, and now is the moment to show them off.

You’ll also need to think carefully about the blurb you use to advertise your property. Go back to the vision board you created earlier. What adjectives best describe your holiday rental? Writing a blurb for an unusual holiday home can be a little more challenging than writing one for a regular property. You need to both emphasise what makes your property special and explain the basic information, which can require a bit of a balancing act.

Choosing the right keywords for your search engine advertising is also potentially tricky. Remember, you’re looking for a particular target audience. When you’ve got an unusual holiday property, it can be a good idea to target it quite narrowly since you’re aiming at one specific niche rather than going for all kinds of people. The good news is that, with the correct marketing, your quirky property will essentially sell itself.

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