It is a top priority for anyone in holiday rentals to keep up-to-date and in the know about the challenges facing them and what works best in obtaining more bookings. We would like to introduce you to one of the best sources of this information online, Lay My Hat.
A dedicated resource for holiday rental homeowners, the Lay My Hat website is full of advice, ideas and tips on how to achieve what all holiday homeowners want most… more bookings. Run by holiday homeowners, the website offers the bold statement of ‘The Rental Owner’s Guide to More Bookings’ and the content does not disappoint!
Articles found on the site include “How to turn booking enquiries into bookings”, “10 tips for making guests return next year” and “The most common mistakes on rental owners’ websites”. The advice is essential reading for the novice, but also refreshes the knowledge of the experienced rental owner.
Lay My Hat Forum
Within LayMyHat.com is a popular forum that covers dozens of topics and is the place for discussing the ins and outs of managing a holiday rental. With hundreds of ‘posters’ (those that add comments to the forum) and ‘lurkers’ (those that read, but don’t contribute) the forum contains discussions on rental listing sites, non-internet marketing, managing your property, managing your guests and much much more.
The opportunity to share experiences on a plethora of different topics dedicated to the holiday rental market is highly valuable and the forum at Lay My Hat provides an excellent platform.
Recent tips on Lay My Hat
A tip recently aired on the forum was to include a year or month when compiling your keywords for Optimizing your website. Eg holiday rental Bansko 2009 or B&B Moraira August 2008. It was noted by the author of the tip that more and more searches on Google, Yahoo! etc included the month and/or year and it may help you appear even higher up the Search Engine results pages. Invaluable information!
Another poster commented that they left a welcome message using the magnetic letters on the fridge, and this normally resulted in them finding a thank you comment from the guest after they left! What a great way to create a fantastic first impression and deepen the relationship with the guests.
Go to www.laymyhat.com and have a read through; you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Also do get involved, don’t just be a lurker!
Featured Destination
Croatia is a holiday destination not to be missed. The Adriatic coastline is haven for holiday makers with all manner of watersports, Blue flag beaches, promenades and glorious views. Inland Croatia’s natural beauty is intoxicating and her cities are rich in culture and heritage. Book your holiday apartment in Croatia and see why Croatia is one of Europe’s most visited countries.

Just checked it out, looks really good. Is anybody a member? Got any opnions?
Hi Brett, I’ve picked up loads of handy tips from Lay My Hat (although only a lurker!) – in particular the tailoring words of my reply to initial enquiries. I will always mention what we did the last time we stayed, what the weather was like and if they have children I also make sure I tell them what ours did during the holiday so they know the kids won’t be bored! Lay My Hat is a great source of new information for people like us.
I have been an active member on this site for a long time. Fantastic source of information, great friendly group of people always able to guide you especially if you arenew to the rental business
Thanks guys!
I have just signed up to lay my hat after reading the blog. As this is our first season we are willing and able to learn and can only improve. Thanks to everyone for all your help and advice.
Penny