Feedback on Subletting

Although we did not charge employees, friends and family for using our holiday home, we did have to manage reservations to avoid double bookings etc. For managing this process manage we got a master diary in which all dates where entered including are own.

From our experience a lot of people want the same weekends / weeks so we operated on a first come first served basis, ensuring the diary is kept up to date.
To be honest this was a bit of a hassle as some people change dates often at the last minute and we had to be responsible for ensuring they had keys. It is definitely worth having a good number of keys so new arrivals can be given a key in advance rather than waiting for keys to be returned.

We did have some issues with people booking and not turning up, probably because it was free and they had not paid a deposit. This is an inconvenience as they may have prevented someone else using the van for the period.

Due to this experience we would probably be keen to use the Park management service if we ever sublet to the general public to help towards running costs. In reality the commission is high but you would save a lot of hassle.

Upgrade?

Having proved that ownership works for us we may consider upgrading to a newer caravan at some point in the future. This may be a good time to look for a static van with a pre-installed veranda and storage solution.

We would probably look for a 2008/9 model with veranda, central heating, double glazing and a more luxurious interior and flat screen TV!!!

We would want to put the new caravan on our existing pitch which should be no problem.