In this Q&A we meet Margaret Leach who came to the holiday letting business more by accident than anything else, having bought because of the day job. Since then she’s achieved an impressive 67 “excellent” ratings on Tripadvisor. It’s not hard to see why with such a strong focus on guest experience…
“With our tourist information file we started out intending to translate the local information which is all in German, but we have ended up effectively writing a special guide book for our guests, well over a hundred pages of recommendations and information”.
1) Tell us a little about your holiday apartments
We have a total of 4 houses – 3 of them have a total of 9 holiday apartments in them (one to three bedrooms) and 1 has guest facilities and our office on the ground floor and an apartment for us on the 1st floor. We bought the first house in autumn 2004 and started letting in spring 2005 and the last 2 were bought in summer 2008. We didn’t start out intending to buy so many houses, it just happened that way: partly responding to unexpectedly high demand for the holiday apartments and partly opportunity. The houses are all in 2 neighbouring streets and close together.
During September 2010 we were awarded a German National Eco-Tourism Award which we are thrilled to have won, especially in a country with such exceptionally high environmental standards. If you would like more information please read our press release.
2) What made you buy them – was it financial, emotional, a connection with the area, or something else?
We actually bought the first house because of our other business, the ‘day job’. We publish business reports on Russia and Eastern Europe and were making frequent visits to the region – quite a hike from mid Wales. So we bought the house as a stopping off point and decided to do some letting to offset the running costs of the house. The holiday lettings are now taking over as our main business. We love it!
3) What’s the best thing about the region your apartments are located in? Is it the scenery, the pace of life, the locals, the activities, etc?
All of those things. The scenery is simply gorgeous and so green and peaceful, yet we are within 2 hours drive of Munich or Prague – going to Prague for the day for shopping is something we do often. And then we are so close to so many places which are a long trek from the UK – last November we had a holiday in Prague, Hungary, Vienna and Salzburg. Then the people are lovely and so friendly and there are so many things on, especially on summer weekends. The only small drawback is that local shopping facilities are limited, but there is always the internet!
4) What are the 3 special touches you add to enhance the guest experience?
1. Our tourist information file – we started out intending to translate the local information which is all in German but we have ended up effectively writing a special guide book for our guests, well over a hundred pages of recommendations and information.
2. Our guest shop – we stock a small range of food and drink for our guests so that nobody will go hungry when the shops are shut.
3. Sports and activities – the 4 houses mean that we have space for 2 lots of indoor table tennis, a pool table, table football, a small gym, a sauna and a massage room. And a large DVD collection.
4. Reception – whenever we are at the house (which is most of the time), we are available to answers questions, make bookings etc.
All of these are extra services which our guests really seem to appreciate.
Getaway Earth: OK that’s 4!! But when someone does so much for their guests who are we to limit them to just 3?!
5) If a guest had just one day in your rental what would you recommend they do for the perfect experience?
Honestly, there are so many things to do, it is difficult to focus on a single day. A trip on the cable car to the top of Grosser Arber Mountain is a must – on a clear day there are views of the whole Bavarian and Bohemian Forest mountain range. Then there is a walk through the forest to the old woodcutters’ cottage at Schwellhauesl and a visit to one of the National Park Information Centres. Or just take advantage of the free local bus and train travel to take a full day tour to the villages of the Bavarian Forest.
To rent a self catering apartment in Bavaria from Margaret, please complete the contact form which can be found through the above link, or via any of her other apartments listed on Getaway Earth.
on July 30, 2010 at 3:11 pm
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