I was talking to a cottage owner the other day who provided a valuable insight into the holiday lettings business , just how much effort he went to so that his guests could have a good time and his long working days.
He also went on to give me the benefit of his knowledge and opinions. Farmers went into the self catering business in a big way because of government subsidies that helped them convert disused farm buildings into holiday cottages. These same farmers took advantage of the solar generation of electricity schemes and have coated entire barn roofs with panels to generate electricity to sell back to the grid. Let’s just say that this particular cottage owner felt that farmers have an unfair advantage over a non farming person running a self catering business. Few other businesses receive any subsidies or tax advantages. It could be said that farmers and bankers are in protected positions in Britain.
This particular cottage owner expressed his fears about over supply of farm holiday cottages resulting in under occupancy for everyone. Cottage owners who are not farmers, funded their holiday cottages themselves but have to compete with those who did not, despite the fact that they could be in the same village. If those farmers decide to sell their holiday cottages, they do not have to repay the taxpayer for subsidies received. I could see his point.
There are also those people who inherit property and have an undeserved advantage over those who have to earn every penny. Life has never been fair.
The average self caterer renting a cottage sees life purely from their own needs; a warm welcome on arrival, a beautiful cottage, comfortable beds, a welcome cream tea and so on. They are not interested in the politics of the business or whether a cottage in the country is built on a level playing field, all they want is a good quality experience and a pleasant host.