We offer a personalised and tailored service to meet all clients’ needs, from seeking suitable properties to purchase in a specific price range, to assisting in the furnishing of it for holiday letting, to taking over the management of established holiday properties, taking away the pressure and stress involved. 

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We offer a personalised and tailored service to meet all clients’ needs, from seeking suitable properties to purchase in a specific price range, to assisting in the furnishing of it for holiday letting, to taking over the management of established holiday properties, taking away the pressure and stress involved. 

We can advise on the suitability of a property before or after purchase with regards to letting potential, dependant on location and the property’s attributes.  If the property does require furnishing, we have established good working partnerships with many local companies who offer Dream Cottages’ owners a discount.  We can then advise you with regards to fixtures and fittings in line with the VisitBritain quality standards, in order to achieve an appropriate star rating, as well as advice on how to make the property more attractive to the potential holidaymaker.  Likewise if the property is already furnished or part furnished we can tailor this same service to help entice customers. 

We will advise you within which price band we will place your property and provide you with an estimated guide on the level of bookings you can expect.

All the above is offered free of charge.  For a small fee we can also provide a projected estimate of income, based on the property chosen.

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Dream Cottages is a family run company established in 1988.  Our Offices are based in the heart of Weymouth’s old harbour tourist area and this central location gives us excellent exposure and also enables us to keep in close contact with the properties we manage.  Being locally based we are able to maintain our reputation of working on a one to one basis.  We only take on properties that are in easy reach rather than other popular areas like the Cotswolds for example, as this would compromise the service that we are renowned for. 

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Dream Cottages is a family run company established in 1988.  Our Offices are based in the heart of Weymouth’s old harbour tourist area and this central location gives us excellent exposure and also enables us to keep in close contact with the properties we manage.  Being locally based we are able to maintain our reputation of working on a one to one basis.  We only take on properties that are in easy reach rather than other popular areas like the Cotswolds for example, as this would compromise the service that we are renowned for. 

Our offices are open 7 days a week with extended opening hours from Monday to Saturday 9.00am – 8.00pm and slightly reduced hours on a Sunday.  Out of office hours there is an answering service which is checked daily.

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Having gone through the initial services we can then devise a customised property management plan which will establish the terms of the contract between you and us.  Depending on the level of management service you require, we can offer varying services from basic bookings and information to full management which includes maintenance and cleaning in between each let.

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Having gone through the initial services we can then devise a customised property management plan which will establish the terms of the contract between you and us.  Depending on the level of management service you require, we can offer varying services from basic bookings and information to full management which includes maintenance and cleaning in between each let.

Level One: Owners are in residence/nearby and can coordinate full management including all maintenance, renewals, cleaning, key collection and any emergency situations. Dream Cottages are required to achieve optimum bookings and market the property to its full potential.

Level Two:  Owners are available to coordinate emergency management and general maintenance and renewals on the property.  Dream Cottages to achieve optimum bookings and market the property to its full potential.  Dream Cottages to coordinate key collection arrange cleaners and gardeners if relevant and make payment on behalf of the Owner for these services (to be cleared on your end of month payment to owner).

Level Three: Owners available for annual maintenance and renewals.  Dream Cottages to achieve optimum bookings and market the property to its full potential.  Dream Cottages to coordinate emergency and general maintenance on property and arrange all cleaning, gardening and arrangements for key collection and make payment on behalf of the Owner for these services (to be cleared on your end of month payment to owner).

Level Four: Owners not available. Dream Cottages to achieve optimum bookings and market the property to its full potential.    Dream Cottages to coordinate full general, annual and emergency maintenance and renewals on/in property.  Dream Cottages to coordinate all cleaning, gardening, key collection arrangements and payment on behalf of the Owner for these services (to be cleared on your end of month payment to owner). 

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Before lettings commence we can offer general advice and help with issues such as insurance, taxation and legal requirements concerning health and safety matters when letting to the general public and can refer you to other relevant companies when specific advice is required.

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Before lettings commence we can offer general advice and help with issues such as insurance, taxation and legal requirements concerning health and safety matters when letting to the general public and can refer you to other relevant companies when specific advice is required.

We have a pool of reliable skilled tradesmen who are not employed directly by us but whose previous work we have been able to rely upon and to trust.

Our Shorthold Tenancy Company offers the flexibility and convenience of having an in house long term letting service.  This is particularly useful for six month Winter Tenancies should the property not be best suited to winter holiday lettings.

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We offer a marketing service specifically for the Owners of Holiday Properties who wish to sell their holiday home.  We can market the property whilst still obtaining bookings for the current owner.  This allows an income whilst the property is on the market and an incentive for prospective buyers as the property will normally have advance bookings.  This service is fully operated in-house.

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We offer a marketing service specifically for the Owners of Holiday Properties who wish to sell their holiday home.  We can market the property whilst still obtaining bookings for the current owner.  This allows an income whilst the property is on the market and an incentive for prospective buyers as the property will normally have advance bookings.  This service is fully operated in-house.

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Once an enquiry has been registered and a provisional booking made, the Customer has three days (although immediate payment is encouraged by debit / credit card) in which to send a deposit payment of one third of the cost of the holiday, or the full amount if less than 8 weeks before the holiday period.  Once received we will send a receipt to the Customer and notification to the Owner and the Cleaner/Caretaker, if required.  This will detail the number in the party and the breakdown of adults, children and infants, the holiday dates and any other requirements such as linen hire if necessary or information of a pet in the party, if the property accepts pets.  If a booking is taken last minute we will usually place a phone call to the Owner and the Cleaner to check that the property is available and ready, although we do ask all Owners to notify us immediately if the property is un-available for any reason at any time.

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Once an enquiry has been registered and a provisional booking made, the Customer has three days (although immediate payment is encouraged by debit / credit card) in which to send a deposit payment of one third of the cost of the holiday, or the full amount if less than 8 weeks before the holiday period.  Once received we will send a receipt to the Customer and notification to the Owner and the Cleaner/Caretaker, if required.  This will detail the number in the party and the breakdown of adults, children and infants, the holiday dates and any other requirements such as linen hire if necessary or information of a pet in the party, if the property accepts pets.  If a booking is taken last minute we will usually place a phone call to the Owner and the Cleaner to check that the property is available and ready, although we do ask all Owners to notify us immediately if the property is un-available for any reason at any time.

All payments received in respect of a booking are paid to you, at the end of the month in which they are received.  You will receive a ‘Payment Advice’ at the start of each month a payment is due along with a cheque although owner accounts will soon be paid by BACS directly into our owner’s bank account.  If no money has been received in any one month you will not be sent a ‘Payment Advice’.

Should you require own use of your property we do ask that you call to check availability, mark the property for Owner use and crucially obtain a booking reference number just to ensure our booking records are correct and updated.  Our computerised booking system does not allow double bookings as long as every booking is entered and booking reference numbers issued. Use of a holiday property by the Owner during peak times is possible but this must be agreed prior to engaging our services.  Use in out of peak season times is unrestricted.

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There are a number of extras available in order to generate more income and to help widen the potential market base.  These include linen hire, at a cost to the customer of £12.00* per double and £6.00* per single.  Some Owners do like to offer the bed linen hire inclusive of the price (for a 4 star rating this will very soon be compulsory) as an added incentive to book their property.  Other Owners prefer to make the bed linen hire compulsory at a reduced rate.  If linen hire is arranged by the customer directly with the Owner, prior to arrival, then this is done commission free.

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There are a number of extras available in order to generate more income and to help widen the potential market base.  These include linen hire, at a cost to the customer of £12.00* per double and £6.00* per single.  Some Owners do like to offer the bed linen hire inclusive of the price (for a 4 star rating this will very soon be compulsory) as an added incentive to book their property.  Other Owners prefer to make the bed linen hire compulsory at a reduced rate.  If linen hire is arranged by the customer directly with the Owner, prior to arrival, then this is done commission free.

Where pets are allowed there is a charge to the customer of £18.00* per pet per week, this is subject to the prevailing commission rate.

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We handle all aspects of the booking process from our offices in Weymouth.  In accordance with the Scale of Services agreed we will deal with all customer problems, difficulties and queries.  We will ensure all customers receive full travel details and instructions for your property – even if they are booking at the last minute.

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We handle all aspects of the booking process from our offices in Weymouth.  In accordance with the Scale of Services agreed we will deal with all customer problems, difficulties and queries.  We will ensure all customers receive full travel details and instructions for your property – even if they are booking at the last minute.

During the week our full compliment of Office staff are on hand and available to help you with any queries or assistance with your property and ensure that everything is dealt with promptly and efficiently.  During the weekend our Weekend Manager will be available to assist you in an emergency if required.

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All our properties are assessed annually by VisitBritain.  This entails each property being visited by their assessors and approved before they are considered for a Star rating.  The Star rating ranges from one Star to five Stars and the more Stars denote the higher the overall level of quality of property.

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All our properties are assessed annually by VisitBritain.  This entails each property being visited by their assessors and approved before they are considered for a Star rating.  The Star rating ranges from one Star to five Stars and the more Stars denote the higher the overall level of quality of property.

This offers you as an owner an independent and industry wide recognised standard rating for your property.  It assures our customers peace of mind and confidence that any property they book has attained a certain level as specified by the official VisitBritain guidelines.  We pass on the fee for the VisitBritain inspection at cost.   For further information refer to VisitBritain’s `Quality Standard - Self Catering Accommodation’ booklet.

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All properties are featured on our website and we have a link to a Virtual Tour: a 360 degree rotating image of each room in the property.  We receive thousands of page views a day on our website.  Our online availability shows real time bookings linked directly from our website to our booking system.  Our next website update will allow on-line booking - effectively allowing us to be open for bookings 24hrs a day, 365 days a year - all online bookings will be screened before being processed in order that we still maintain contact with the customer - a vital tool in making sure we have the right guests staying in our cottages. 

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All properties are featured on our website and we have a link to a Virtual Tour: a 360 degree rotating image of each room in the property.  We receive thousands of page views a day on our website.  Our online availability shows real time bookings linked directly from our website to our booking system.  Our next website update will allow on-line booking - effectively allowing us to be open for bookings 24hrs a day, 365 days a year - all online bookings will be screened before being processed in order that we still maintain contact with the customer - a vital tool in making sure we have the right guests staying in our cottages. 

Advertising is carried out through a variety of mediums but increasingly via the internet using search engines such as Google, as the trend in looking for and booking a holiday becomes internet based.  Traditional media advertising includes national newspapers such as The Times on Sunday, The Sunday Mail and The Sunday Telegraph.  Other publications include Daltons Weekly, The National Trust Magazine and Good Housekeeping to name but a few.  Late availability advertising at key holiday times includes Teletext and Google Adwords. Special advertising will also be carried out at keys times during the year in weekend supplements, general magazines and special interest publications. We also have an agent in Germany promoting us from within the European Community which is enabling us to obtain ever more overseas based customers as year passes.

Our full colour brochure is produced on an annual basis and over 10,000 brochures are requested and sent first class every year. Every property is guaranteed at least a third of a page advertisement with a minimum of two photographs.  Our brochure is often admired and praised as one of the best available due to the large number of photographs we offer and the clear and precise descriptions of the property.  We believe a picture speaks a thousand words and know the quality of properties we have is tantamount to this.  We know our brochure is something that will stay in many homes for years to come as we regularly have customers phoning to place a booking from brochures that are over three or four years old! 

On publication of the brochure every year we have a direct-mail programme sending notification of our new ‘free’ colour brochure and information on our website update to every previous year’s customers; and because we are such a long established Agency, we now have one of the largest customer databases for a business of our size. 

Naturally we also advertise in the local tourist board guides including the West Dorset Guide, Weymouth and Portland Guide, Dorchester Guide, Swanage and Purbeck Guide, Lyme Regis Guide, Blackmore Vale.  These guides are sent direct to the customer when enquiring at local Tourist Information Centres.  We of course also maintain good working relationships with the Tourist Information Centres in our key areas.

Our enviable front line location right in the heart of Weymouth’s popular Old Harbour also allows for a large amount of passing trade, particularly during the summer months.

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There is a one off Registration Fee of £150.00* plus VAT.  This covers the marketing write-up of the property (which will be sent to you for full authorisation prior to going to print), the brochure representation and costs associated, initial visits to the property and following visits for photography and uploading of the property details on to our website and booking system.  The registration fee is deducted from your first Payment Advice (see following details).

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There is a one off Registration Fee of £150.00* plus VAT.  This covers the marketing write-up of the property (which will be sent to you for full authorisation prior to going to print), the brochure representation and costs associated, initial visits to the property and following visits for photography and uploading of the property details on to our website and booking system.  The registration fee is deducted from your first Payment Advice (see following details).

There is also a compulsory £25* plus VAT annual fee for the Virtual Tour photography, this includes the initial shots and annual updates if necessary as and when the property has any major changes such as new kitchen, bathroom etc.

Our basic commission rate is 20% plus VAT of the holiday let charge; this is in accordance with Level One of our Scale of Services.  Depending on the Scale of Service required commission rates will be between 20% - 25% plus VAT, this will be dependant on the level of management required and the total number of properties to let (discounts are available for Owners with two or more properties).

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Ring or email Managing Director Zachary Stuart-Brown on 01305 789000 or zac@dream-cottages.co.uk  to arrange a viewing on your property or to discuss your requirements further.   With over 13 years experience on advising on all aspects of holiday letting from buying the right property to furnishing to maximising bookings, Zachary’s advice and guidance has been invaluable to many owners.

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Ring or email Managing Director Zachary Stuart-Brown on 01305 789000 or zac@dream-cottages.co.uk  to arrange a viewing on your property or to discuss your requirements further.   With over 13 years experience on advising on all aspects of holiday letting from buying the right property to furnishing to maximising bookings, Zachary’s advice and guidance has been invaluable to many owners.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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