Renting Out A Caravan What You Need To Know
How to Set the Price for Static Caravan Rentals. Buying a static caravan can be expensive but running it can be even more expensive. When you add site fees, caravan insurance, electric, gas and other running costs you could be looking at around £5,000 a year. Although it’s a great lifestyle, not everyone can afford that kind of money, and that is why renting out a static caravan can be a really good idea.
Renting out a caravan is not just about helping to pay for site fees and the running costs of a static caravan, it is also a great way to make a profit from your holiday home. You are most likely thinking, what is the legality of renting out a static caravan, and how much should you charge as well as should you ask for a deposit and how much should that deposit be? This guide will explain all.
Renting Out A Static Caravan What Do You Legally Have To Do?
There are many legal and safety issues that you need to follow when looking to rent out a holiday home. Below are the important issues that need to be followed, and these issues are what people renting a caravan would expect.
- You need to obtain a gas safety certificate. This must be obtained each year. However, most sites already have it as part of their contract that all caravan owners must product a gas safety certificate each yea.
Note: This certificate must be displayed within the caravan.
- All caravan owners renting out their caravan must have a portable appliance testing certificate (PAT). This is an annual requirement. However, most parks also require all static caravan owners to have this if they are renting out their caravan or using it for pleasure.
Note: All electrical items within the caravan must be tested which includes DVD players, toasters, coffee machines, and toasters.
- Fixed Electrical Installation Certificate. Your static caravan electrical system must be tested every three years to receive a fixed electrical installation certificate.
- You must have a working smoke alarm fitted inside your caravan
- A carbon monoxide alarm is required if you are considering renting out your static caravan
- All static caravan owners who are renting out their caravan are required to have a fire extinguisher and a fire blanket installed within the caravan.
Renting Out A Static Caravan How Much Should You Charge?
When caravan owners look at renting out their holiday home one of the biggest problems they face is how much should they charge. A lot of people have different opinions on how much to charge for renting out a static caravan so we thought it would be important to speak to professional business people to get a better opinion.
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One of the reasons why so many people fail at renting out their caravan is down to not having the right price structure in place.
First of all, it is important to look at the running cost when renting out a static caravan. You need to consider the following:
Electricity. How much electricity will the holidaymaker use?
How much gas are they likely to use?
Cleaning the caravan, how much will this cost?
Compare large Holiday Park Operators’ Prices
The main competition when renting out your static caravan is the holiday park themselves. So, it is important to look at their prices and what they charge for a similar caravan as yours. Although there will be hundreds of other owners looking to rent out their caravan, make sure you first focus on the holiday operator.
If you are not going to provide park passes, then you will have to take this into account of your rental price. You will have to work out how much on average your guests will have to pay to buy passes from the holiday park operator.
Once you have looked at the prices of the passes, and then looked at the prices of similar caravans then you need to look at undercutting the holiday park. Our business experts have said if you want to really compete and increase how many weeks of the year your caravan is rented out, then you need to undercut the caravan park by on average £70 depending on the time of year.
Where To Advertise My Caravan For Holidaymakers
When renting out a caravan don’t rely on Facebook to get you all the holidaymakers you need to pay your site fees. Facebook can be good especially if your site has a Facebook group, but there are other places to advertise.
It does surprise me when people rent out their caravan, they don’t think about Booking.com. This platform has a huge audience with many of them looking for caravan holidays. Other places to advertise include Airbnb. This is a great platform to get rentals.
Another great way to get holidaymakers to rent your caravan is by building a cheap website. This way you are not having to share any of the profits.
The Problems Caravan Rental Owners Face
One of the biggest problems for caravan owners when looking at how much to charge for their rental static caravan is the Sun Newspaper £9.99 holidays. These special offers have caused serious problems for caravan owners. Many rental caravan owners have seen a drop-in rentals due to these offers.
Another problem is the holiday park themselves. Some holiday park operators offer some incredible prices and offers, so it is important to compete against them. One way to compete is through offering a great service and generating repeat customers.