Promotional feature: With the recent talk about second homes upsetting the residents of St Ives, Cotswold Life talks to Character Cottages, a local holiday letting expert, about how a professionally run holiday cottage actually benefits the local economy

Great British Life: Digbeth Views kitchenDigbeth Views kitchen (Image: Archant)

How does second home ownership impact local Cotswold villages?

In reality, many second homes sit empty most of the time, with some owners only managing to visit their cottage two or three times a year. A lot of local residents believe that this contributes to a weakening of traditional community spirit and impacts local businesses, by reducing the available demand for pubs, shops and restaurants.

So how does holiday letting help?

High quality second homes that are professionally run as holiday lets provide a means for large numbers of affluent visitors to stay in local villages. This significantly increases the demand for local services and can sometimes make the difference between success and failure, particularly for local pubs and village shops.

Great British Life: France House bedroomFrance House bedroom (Image: Archant)

For example, a typical cottage marketed by Character Cottages sleeping six guests can bring in 50-60 bookings a year, which represents over 300 visitors per annum to a village. Even assuming just a relatively small expenditure per visitor on local services, the conversion of a single second home to a holiday let can have an incremental impact on a village economy measured in thousands of pounds.

What about the out of season months, do the benefits to the village continue?

Absolutely! It is easy to forget that booking a holiday in the Cotswolds “out of season” is actually an extremely attractive idea. Holiday homes with open fires and cosy furnishings, welcoming country pubs, long walks in the clean crisp air and picturesque villages in beautiful rolling countryside all provide a wonderful setting for perfect weekends away, whatever the season.

As a letting agent dedicated to the Cotswolds, at Character Cottages we understand the unique appeal of the region and we therefore maintain our marketing expenditure consistently throughout the year, rather than just focusing on peak months, so that interest is constantly generated and bookings are taken all year round.

This all sounds interesting, what are the next steps?

If you have a high quality, characterful property, which sleeps five or more people, and you like the idea of supporting the local economy whilst also making money from your second home, then our advice is to contact a letting agency such as Character Cottages first. We provide owners with a range of guidance and support, so that it can take as little as two weeks to get your cottage ready to holiday let. Once the property marketing has started, many owners are amazed at how quickly the bookings start to come in!

For more information, constact owners@character-cottages.co.uk or telephone: 0208 935 5375