Founded in 1984, Schofields is a family run company specialising in holiday home insurance for properties in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Phil Schofield leads the marketing team and offers a wealth of industry knowledge to the Schofields blog and various online publications.
With over 10 experience managing holiday lets, Phil is an active member of the holiday letting and self-catering community, providing expert holiday letting advice, as well as essential holiday home marketing tips. His combination of insurance and marketing knowledge make him a key asset to the holiday rental industry.
Reading Time: 2minutes Furnished holiday lets tax relief abolished Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced in his 2024 budget that he will abolish the furnished holiday lettings tax regime. Currently, holiday let landlords enjoy far greater tax advantages than buy-to-let landlords who let out residential properties to longer term tenants. They are entitled to deduct more costs including; costs incurred …
Reading Time: 10minutes They say that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and nowhere is this truer than when selling holidays. Studies show that you have just 20 seconds for your photos to make an impression before viewers lose interest and move on to a competing holiday let. Holiday cottage photography is one of the most versatile tools to increase bookings – …
Reading Time: 4minutes Holiday home owners dread the thought of undesirable guests, especially those who refuse to leave after their booking has ended. Squatters who target your holiday cottage whilst it’s empty can also harm your holiday letting business. Whether they intend to extort money or stay in your property for as long as possible, the expense and inconvenience caused can be stressful. …
Reading Time: 4minutes It’s inevitable that as a holiday let landlord you will have to deal with guests who breach your holiday cottage occupancy limits and bring extra guests. What typically happens is the lead guest doesn’t include young children in the booking numbers, wrongly assuming that children don’t count as they are sleeping on the couch, on airbeds or travel cot. Another …
Reading Time: 4minutes The appeal An open fire or wood burning stove in your holiday cottage can be one of its biggest selling points and one of the most requested features by holiday let guests, especially during the colder months. After all, who doesn’t dream of sitting in front of a cosy log fire on a chilly evening while on holiday. Installing a …
Reading Time: 12minutes Each year, extreme winter weather and blasts of Arctic air send temperatures plunging for prolonged periods across the UK. Subsequently, thousands of unoccupied holiday homes are exposed to the risk of burst pipes and major water damage which can be catastrophic and a major inconvenience for you and your guests. Below are some helpful tips to stop pipes from freezing, …
Reading Time: 5minutes Over winter your holiday home will be unoccupied for long periods and exposed to harsh weather. By implementing a few simple precautions you can avoid unnecessary damage (and costs) to your holiday cottage. Below you will find a range of tips we have put together to prepare and protect your holiday home to ensure it is safe, secure and clean …