How much does it cost to join Blue Chip Holidays?
It costs nothing to join. We do not charge a joining fee and we will pay for a professional photographer to shoot your property.
We are happy to provide support and advice free of charge to help you achieve a four or five star rating.
What regulations do I need to adhere to?
There are a few, but not too many. The rules are there to provide legal and financial protection for you and to ensure your guests are safe during their stay.
Legally, you are required to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment and take steps to minimise any risks identified. We require you to carry out an Access Statement informing potential guests of the services and facilities available. This will be displayed on our website and enables guests to determine whether your property will meet their access needs. Neither assessment is onerous and both are easy to undertake. If you would prefer, there are people who will carry them out for you for a small fee. We can help you to find reliable companies who are happy to help.
Annually, you also need to organise PAT testing (small electrical appliances) and a gas test (if relevant). These can be easily arranged with a local electrician and plumber.
You are also required to hold public liability insurance. This is very straight forward and is a simple add-on to your buildings insurance.
For further information, please have a look at our website:
www.bluechipowners.co.uk/regulations
What information will you give my guests?
Six weeks before they are due to arrive, guests will receive an email with information about the area where they are going to stay, what the local attractions are and any restaurants in the area. We like to provide as much information as we can and so invite you to share your own recommendations and ideas for things we can include.
Closer to their stay, we send out directions and details of how to get in touch with the person who is going to welcome them to the property. Ideally, guests should be met at the door and you can employ a professional property manager if you are unable to do this yourself. Occasionally, owners will leave keys in a key-safe (in the case of late arrival for example). In this case, guests would be contacted by the property owner or caretaker with the combination, or details can be put in arrival documents.
What do Blue Chip Holidays customers expect my property to be like?
Our guests expect your property to be spotlessly clean, with quality bed linen and bath towels. All appliances should be in working order and instructions supplied where appropriate.
Guests expect to be able to set the temperature of the property to their own comfort levels so should have access to heating controls. All utilities are included in the price, so coin-operated electricity meters are not permitted in Blue Chip Holidays properties, nor any other means of charging extra for utilities.
Generally, your property should feel like a welcoming home-from-home. Providing a warm and relaxing stay means you are likely to benefit from repeat bookings and recommendations.
Is there anything else I need to do?
A completed web page for your property, together with professional photography, will be online within four weeks of the contract being signed, assuming the property is ready. That is not to say we cannot start taking bookings earlier though. We will create a holding page with preliminary details very quickly. If you can give us a few photos whilst we wait for the weather and the professional photography, that will make your holding page more appealing. The more information you are able to give us the better as this allows online visitors to choose your property with confidence.
Once we have created the permanent listing, we ask that you check it over to make sure we are not mis-selling in any way. It is also important that you let us know of any changes within the property (for better or worse) so that our marketing is always accurate. We do not want your guests to have any nasty surprises when they arrive, so we ask you to let us know if you are aware of anything (such as building work next door) that might spoil their stay and lead to a complaint.
Do you accept short breaks?
Yes we do. Outside the peak months, many guests are looking for short breaks and so it is good business to provide them. We understand that some of your costs are fixed, irrespective of the length of stay, and to protect your margins we do not charge on a pro-rata nightly basis.
| Number of Nights |
Cost as a percentage of the weekly rental rate |
| 3 |
70% |
| 4 |
77.5% |
| 5 |
85% |
| 6 |
92.5% |
| 7 |
100% |
We want to maximise your income, so we only accept full-week bookings in July and August when demand is high, unless it is very last minute. This means that during peak months you would have a set changeover day. The standard changeover day is Saturday, although we can work with you if you would prefer it to be different.
Can I use the property myself?
Of course you can. We understand it is one of the attractions of owning a holiday home. Our standard contract allows you to use the property for up to six weeks each year. In order to attain the maximum return for the property, we request that only one week is taken during July and August. To book an owner’s stay/break, simply contact our Sales and Customer Service Team who will reserve the dates for you as long as they have not already been booked. The availability on our website is live so you can always check first. To ensure that there are no mistakes, we ask you to confirm your requested dates in writing (an email is fine) and we will do the same back.
Contact us about holiday letting your property.
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