Winter let management in Bournemouth and Dorset

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Winter let management keeps a holiday let earning from November to March, when most Bournemouth and Dorset holiday homes sit empty between the last half term and Easter. Sea Breeze lets your property through the winter to people who are working or living locally, by the week and by the month as well as by the night. Every property we manage is also listed on Flexiestays, Bournemouth's number one platform for winter and long stays, which charges only 8% on the bookings it brings. Our commission is 16% of booking revenue, with no retainer.

Why winter is our difference

Many managers price for July and August and accept a quiet winter as part of the deal. We do not. Keeping properties earning in winter is the main thing that sets us apart, and it shapes how we list, price and run every property from the first visit.

The summer calendar fills itself with families, couples and weekend breaks. The winter calendar has to be built from a different set of guests, on different channels and at different lengths of stay. That is the work this service covers. If you want the whole year managed, including the summer, holiday let management is the starting point; winter lets are part of it, not an extra.

Who books in winter

Winter guests in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch are rarely on holiday. They are here for a reason, and often for weeks.

• Contractors. Engineers, fitters and site teams on construction, infrastructure and aerospace jobs, who want a kitchen, a washing machine and parking for the van rather than a hotel room.
• NHS staff. Doctors, nurses and therapists on placements or short contracts at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and Poole Hospital, often starting in the autumn or the new year.
• University staff and families. New and visiting staff at Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth, and parents visiting students across the term.
• Relocations. People who start a new job in the area before they have bought or rented, sometimes with a family.
• Insurance and displacement. Households whose home is uninhabitable after a flood, fire or escape of water, placed by an insurer or a claims agent for as long as the repair takes. Winter storms bring more of these.
• Remote workers. People who can work from anywhere and choose the coast out of season for a month or two.
• People between homes. A sale that completes before the purchase, a renovation that overruns, a return from abroad.

Short breaks still matter. Christmas, New Year, February half term and winter weekends bring families and couples, and we price those dates separately.

Flexiestays: the channel built for winter

Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo are where holidaymakers search. Many winter guests search somewhere else. Flexiestays is the Flexiestays group's own platform and Bournemouth's number one platform for winter and long stays: contractors, relocations, insurance and displacement guests, NHS and university staff, visiting families and remote workers book there for weeks and months.

Every property we manage is listed on Flexiestays as well as on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and 20+ channels. Flexiestays charges only 8% on the bookings it brings, about half of Airbnb's 15.5% host-only fee, so more of a long winter booking stays with the property. A company that books its staff once can book again directly the next time.

Long stays, fewer changeovers

A guest who stays a month replaces several short bookings. That means fewer changeovers to clean and pay for, fewer linen sets through the laundry, fewer empty nights between bookings and less wear on the property from arrivals and departures. A guest who is living in a property also tends to treat it as a home rather than a weekend away.

The trade-off is the calendar. A long stay fills weeks you would otherwise fight for, but a long stay that runs into Easter or the summer would block the dates that earn most. We agree an end date for each long stay against the calendar in front of it.

How winter pricing works

Winter pricing is set by the length of the stay, not just the date. From November to March we set three things for each property:

• A nightly rate for short breaks, with the festive dates and half term priced on their own.
• A weekly rate for contractors and short placements, below seven times the nightly rate.
• A monthly rate for relocations, insurance stays and longer placements, lower again because the month brings no changeovers or gaps.

Pricing is reviewed daily against the bookings already taken. Minimum stays move too: a short minimum stay over Christmas, a longer one in the weeks when long stays are what is booking. The method is set out in our pricing strategy guide, and the holiday let calculator gives a first estimate for your property across the year.

What a property needs for winter

A winter guest lives in the property in the cold and the dark. Before the season we check:

• Heating. A boiler that has been serviced, controls a guest can understand and radiators in every room.
• Insulation. Draught-proofed windows and doors, and curtains or blinds that keep the heat in. A cold flat earns poor reviews in January.
• Wifi. Fast enough for video calls, because many winter guests work from the property.
• A desk. A proper table or desk and a chair someone can sit at for a working day.
• Parking. A drive or an allocated space is worth a great deal to a contractor with tools. Where there is none, we say so in the listing.

A washing machine, somewhere to dry clothes and enough storage for a month's belongings matter as well. We go through this at the set-up visit and tell you what is worth adding.

The 28-night line

Two rules change once a stay passes 28 nights.

The first is business rates. In England a self-catering property is rated for business rates only if it was available to let for 140 nights and actually let for 70 nights in the previous 12 months, and only lettings of 28 nights or less count towards the 70. A winter made up only of month-long stays can leave the property short of the test and back on council tax, where BCP Council and Dorset Council charge a 100% premium on furnished second homes. The winter mix needs short stays as well as long ones. Our guide to holiday let tax after FHL covers the rest of the tax picture.

The second is the legal form of the stay. A long stay raises the question of licence or tenancy. A guest staying for work or while their own home is repaired, with a main home elsewhere, is generally not a tenant. A guest who lives in the property as their only or main home may be, whatever the booking is called. We ask the purpose of each long stay and use the right agreement for it before we accept it.

How we run it

We visit, photograph the property and list it on Flexiestays, Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and 20+ channels. From then on we handle the guests: messages from every channel in one inbox, check-ins and inventory checks, regular inspections and support 24 hours a day. Cleaning, linen and repairs go through trusted local companies we recommend, which you pay directly, or through your own; we arrange and coordinate them if you want.

Commission is 16% of booking revenue, with no retainer and no monthly fee. The detail is on our pricing page. For stays of several months through the year, see mid-term and long stay management; for every length of stay from a few nights up, see short let management.