When letting a holiday home, the maintenance support network can have a significant impact on the success of the business and guest expectations throughout the year as well as reducing owner stress when problems and issues arise.

As a successful holiday let will result in frequent usage of the property throughout the year, and especially in the summer months, wear and tear can be considerable. So maintenance can be classed in two groups: reactive and planned.

Reactive maintenance occurs during a guest stay. Examples of this include repairs to white goods such as a washing machine or fridge, heating not working or repairs to a broken lock on the front door or a faulty alarm. These types of issue are hard to predict and require an immediate response as guests are in the property and can have their holiday seriously affected, for example if the alarm continual goes off, or if they are unable to lock the door upon leaving the property.

Planned maintenance is equally important but can be managed around guest stays to address issues such as external decorating, replacing items of furniture which are worn or tiling in a bathroom for example. This type of maintenance often carried out at the beginning of the season in March or April can have a significant affect on the success of a holiday let, where first impressions are created for guests on arrival.

Successful maintenance is a partnership between the owner and the key holder or property manager who will identify any areas for address and help liaise on actions to have work completed.