{"id":6809,"date":"2020-03-13T18:17:56","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T18:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/?p=6809"},"modified":"2025-06-25T14:06:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T14:06:06","slug":"coronavirus-considerations-for-uk-holiday-home-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.independentcottages.co.uk\/holiday-blog\/coronavirus-considerations-for-uk-holiday-home-owners\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus: Considerations for UK holiday home owners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Last update 13th April 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last couple of years have been a roller coaster ride for holiday home owners. The hardships and uncertainties of the first half of 2020 gave rise to an unprecedented summer where we saw record levels of Brits searching for UK holidays. This was swiftly followed by further restrictions and lockdowns and then another great summer for UK holidays during 2021. The continuous changes to travel restrictions and group sizes over the last two years, coupled with the large number of last minute bookings and cancellations has really kept us cottage owners on our toes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article may not answer all your questions, but it aims to provide owners with resources to current government advice, guidance and laws. We will also try to offer some practical ideas that may help holiday home owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We urge you to keep up to date with the latest tourism advice and government guidance for England<\/a>, Scotland <\/a>and Wales<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current situation as of 13th April 2022<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

England<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On 24th February the UK Government removed all remaining coronavirus restrictions in England. People in England are no longer being asked to work from home, it is not compulsory to wear masks and you are not legally required to self-isolate if you test positive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wales<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Wales is currently at Alert level 0<\/a>. It is no longer a legal requirement to provide COVID passes, there are no restrictions on the number of people who can meet and face coverings are only legally required in health and care settings. It should be noted that workplaces and premises open to the public are still required to carry out coronavirus risk assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Welsh Government is planning to remove all remaining restrictions on 18th April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Scotland<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On 24th February the Scottish Government announced <\/a>a staged approach to ease all coronavirus restrictions. Vacination certificates are no longer legally required and there are no limits on the number of people or households you can meet or stay overnight with. It is expected that restrictions such as the legal requirement to wear face masks will be lifted on 18th April. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How should I handle bookings and guest cancellations over the next few months?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We are all excited to be able to go on holiday again. However, guests are also likely to have questions surrounding your terms and conditions, and in particular, your Covid related cancellation policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have not already done so, now is a good time to review your terms and conditions to ensure that they accurately reflect your current policies. Whilst it is important to be flexible and fair, you may decide to include reasonable clauses to prevent guests from cancelling their holiday at any time or for any reason whilst still expecting a full refund. For example, the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943<\/a> makes it clear that owners are legally obliged to refund guests if a contract has been \u2018frustrated\u2019, such as due to a lockdown. However, now Covid is a known risk, it is not unreasonable to include clauses that would remove the need to refund guests if they fall ill or need to self-isolate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no one size fits all when it comes to terms and conditions. Whilst flexible policies are more likely to attract more bookings, owners also need to ensure they are financially sustainable. If you are planning on reviewing your terms and conditions we recommend you read PASC\u2019s draft paper which reviews the pros and cons of various cancellation policies<\/a>. There is a useful section which looks at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) <\/a>views on the laws and guidance for coronavirus and their impact on holidays and cancellations. In order to ensure your terms and conditions are tenable they must be fair, clearly set out in a contract and this contract must have been bought to the attention of your guests before they make a booking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you cannot retrospectively change your terms and conditions, if you are moving a guest\u2019s booking to a new date, it is the perfect time to highlight any recent changes made and ask the guest to agree to your new terms and conditions for their revised dates.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As many insurance policies now include Covid related illness, it is important to advise guests to take out adequate travel insurance at each stage of the booking process. If you have repeatedly highlighted the need to take out travel insurance it will be much easier to apply your terms and conditions in the event of a cancellation. It is also a good idea to collect final payments at least four to six weeks before guests arrive to ensure you have enough time to re-sell the dates in the event of a cancellation.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever your terms and conditions state, it is also worth considering customer satisfaction, consumer advice<\/a> and customers\u2019 expectations with regard to cancellations and refunds. Even if a booking is not \u2018frustrated\u2019, a blanket refusal to cancel a booking can cause bad feelings between guest and owner. For some owners, the potential risks and implications of unhappy guests is not worth the worry, so handling the cancellation professionally in a timely manner may be the best option for all parties. If you are going to agree to a cancellation, you may as well do this as soon as possible to give you the longest window of opportunity to re-sell the holiday if restrictions allow. If it is a booking that has already moved from 2020 or 2021, you may also find it more financially viable to re-sell it at 2022 prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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COVID-19 cleaning standards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most holiday home owners have now fully embraced their ‘new normal’ in terms of Covid cleaning protocols. Our blog article Coronavirus: Considerations for reopening your holiday home to guests<\/a> has some practical advice and considerations to help you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As holiday home owners, we have a duty of care to ensure we keep our guests, staff and ourselves safe at all times. With Covid-19 on our doorstep, cleaning standards will need to be higher than ever with a focus on procedures and protocols to limit the spread of the virus. In order to ensure we have taken all reasonable measures to manage the risk of coronavirus at our properties it is important to carry out a coronavirus risk assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PASC (The Professional Association of Self-Caterers) has put together some informative protocols and cleaning standards<\/a>, including a Risk Assessment template, for the self-catering industry. This is freely (and very kindly) available for all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can owners claim on their holiday home insurance for loss of income?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, many holiday home owners have found that despite having insurance for business interruption, insurance companies have refused to pay out. PASC<\/a> has been lobbying the UK government and helping to coordinate several action groups to ensure that Insurance Providers pay those customers who have paid a premium for a service that they are not receiving. This collective lobbying has made good progress with many Insurance Providers now paying out. If you are still struggling with your insurance claim, we suggest you get in touch with PASC to join the relevant action group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After extensive lobbying from PASC, some insurers have now agreed not to deduct Government grants from insurance payouts. To date, the list of insurance companies includes Ageas, Allianz, Aviva, Axa, Axa XL, Covea, Direct Line Group, Ecclesiastical, Hiscox, QBE, RSA and Zurich. If you have had your grant deducted by any of these insurance providers we suggest you get in touch with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government grants and loans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The UK, Welsh and Scottish Governments have announced various funds and grants for the hospitality sector since the start of the pandemic. There are currently no grants available for holiday home owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Moving forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The demand for UK self-catering that we saw last summer was unprecedented and we are unlikely to see the same opportunities this year. The combination of the rising cost of living, with the option to go abroad, has meant that many holiday makers are either staying at home, seeking sunnier shores, or waiting until the last minute to make a booking. However, whilst it has been a slower start to the year, we are currently seeing large volumes of people looking for a holiday on our website, therefore showing that there is still a reasonable demand for self-catering holidays in the UK. Here are a few tips to help fill those gaps left in your calendar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n