A new survey has been released that tells us some interesting things about how the UK has changed and how our lifestyles, tastes and requirements are changing with them. While focused around hotel holidays, the survey is equally relevant to those who enjoy staying in holiday cottages.
The survey does reflect what we see and hear from our holiday cottage owners about the changes they have seen over the past few decades about what is expected of a holiday property and what we now expect.
The survey was run by Pixmania.com, an electronic retailer. It found that almost a third of Brits rank Wi-fi access higher than cleanliness and a good restaurant. The results were:
- A nice view
- Wi-fi access
- Clean room
- Good mattress
- Great hotel restaurant
It’s good to see a nice view is still top of the list, but it’s a shame to see over thirty percent of people are so connected that they can’t spend time away from the internet!
While deeper exploration of the changes in British society would be fun, it’s a little out of scope for this blog. However, we can use this list to work with our holiday cottage owners so they offer what the public wants.
All of our holiday cottages offer clean rooms, clean linen, hygienic surroundings and a good mattress. They wouldn’t be featured on the site if they didn’t. But, this survey and any others like it are a good way to tell our owners that Wi-fi is now seen as a specific requirement by almost a third of holidaymakers.
It seems our inability to switch off from the world is stronger than our desire to do just that. However, if the public wants it, holiday cottages should provide it. The same can be said for the rest of that list.
We can’t always do much about the view. A property is where the property is. However, highlighting the view if it has one is important. Wi-fi access should then be provided if at all possible as some respondents of that survey said they only pick destinations that offer it.
A clean room and a good mattress should be the very minimum our holiday cottages have anyway, but it’s worth reiterating. As for a restaurant. Well, if you have good ones near your rental property, it’s worth highlighting those too.
While we may not agree on this list of priorities, they are what people want. As we are in the business of giving people what they want, we should listen.