How to Name Your Holiday Cottage

Naming your holiday home is an important step in starting a holiday letting business. Your holiday cottage name should catch people’s attention and be easy to remember. This makes marketing your property and creating brand awareness much more simpler. We have created this guide full of hints and tips to help you pick the perfect holiday cottage name and grow your business.

Why you should name your holiday cottage

Often, while guests are on holiday in your area, they look for places they might want to stay when they come back. Holiday lets that have a beautiful view, in a great location, and have curb appeal. Properties that have their name displayed are more likely to be remembered and found easily when searched for.

When travellers search for a home by name, they are often looking to book direct to find a better deal and a better experience. This means you can make more money and control the customer journey rather than rely on listing sites.

Tips for picking your holiday cottage name

Make it memorable
Having a great name won’t matter if no one can remember it. Word-of-mouth marketing can generate new bookings, so the simpler your name is to share and ultimately stick in people’s minds, the better.

Easy to pronounce and spell
Avoid anything that is difficult to read or pronounce. You should be able to say your property name out loud to someone without them having to ask how to spell it or say it if written down.

Be original
Although classic cottage names are popular, to pique potential guests’ curiosity, try to think outside the box and come up with something more imaginative so you stand out. One such unusual name is ‘The Cosy Peacock’.

It should be meaningful
How do you want customers to feel about your brand? What does your cottage name evoke? Names that hint at a property story or evoke a feeling make it easier for customers to connect to the brand. It will also make it easier to create a strong visual identity on paper and online.

For example:

Location – One of the easiest ways to figure out how to name your holiday cottage is to think about where the property is located, what is in the vicinity and any local landmarks. If your cottage has a view of Anglesey’s Menai Bridge, you could name your property ‘Menai View’. A property situated on the brow of a hill could be ‘Hilltop Retrea’t or overlooking the village green and pond could be ‘Duck Pond Cottage’.

Local culture – Many regions of the UK have a strong cultural identity. This can often be a great way to find a name for your cottage, as it gives it an authentic feel. For example in the Lake District, words such as ghyll, tarn and mere could be incorporated into the cottage name.

Native flora, fauna and wildlife – These can be a great source of inspiration when it comes to naming a holiday cottage. Flowers can evoke a quintessential English cottage feel, popular examples include ‘Lavender Cottage’, ‘Rose Cottage’, ‘Yew Tree Cottage’ and ‘Meadow View’. Think about local wildlife too that could be seen from the property – ideas include ‘Woodpecker’s Rest’, ‘Swallows Nest’ or ‘Herdwick View’.

History or property features – If your cottage was used for another purpose at some point this can give your property a bit more personality. Names like ‘The Old Post Office’, ‘The Forge’ and ‘The Old Rectory’ are examples of names that pay homage to their history.

Research the competition
A good idea is to research the names of other holiday homes nearby on listing sites that have rentals in your area and by Googling your shortlist of names. Ideally, there aren’t any holiday cottages that are too similar to your name, but if there are, steer clear of using anything too similar.

Having a name that closely resembles another holiday cottage in your area isn’t recommended. Potential guests searching for your website name could end up on your competitors website and booking with them. If your cottage name is already commonly known in your area, it’s better to come up with a unique name to avoid confusion.

How to choose a holiday home domain name

Once you’ve decided on a name for your holiday cottage, you need to secure the domain name so you can market your property online.

Keep the name consistent
You don’t want to have a domain name that’s different from your holiday cottage name as it could confuse guests. They don’t necessarily have to be exactly the same, as it’s unlikely rosecottage.co.uk will be available, but the best practice is to keep them as similar as possible. For example, rosecottageyork.co.uk might be available.

Short urls are better
As well as being easier to remember, short domain names are easier to read and type. They also fit much more neatly onto your marketing materials like flyers and business cards.

Avoid-hyphenated-domain-names & numbers
Domains with lots of hyphens or numbers look unprofessional and are more difficult for users to remember, say and type e.g. cottage-in-st-ives.co.uk. Also, will people know the difference between a – and a / when you say ‘dash/hyphen’?

Avoid double letters
Avoid double letters like www.lilaccottage.com. The two c’s look a bit strange without capitalisation and users could visit the wrong website if they mistype your domain name.

Go for .co.uk or .com
Choose a .co.uk or .com domain name extension because they’re the most commonly used and most likely to be remembered. If possible, buy both the .co.uk and .com versions so competitors don’t, and redirect the one not used to the other.

Use a domain name generator tool
If you are struggling for ideas or your top choice is already taken, use a domain name generator tool. You simply enter your names and the tools suggest available domains.

Buy the domain name before someone else does
As soon as you decide on your domain name you should secure it before someone else does. You can buy a domain from a registrar such as https://www.fasthosts.co.uk/. Just make sure you register the domain in your name so you own it, not your web designer. Also, opt for domain privacy to hide your home address from lookups and set your domain to auto-renew so it doesn’t expire.

How to use your domain name if you don’t have a website
If you don’t have a website (you should), you can still use the domain in your marketing. Just forward the URL to your listing site advert, it’s easy to do and your domain registrar will help you with this.

Check social media handles
You want your branding to be consistent across all your online profiles, so also check that the social media handles are also available for your brand name. If there is already a holiday cottage using your exact name, opt for one that is closely associated with your name – and ensure that you have the same name across all social channels.