As part of Sykes Holiday Cottages’ Impact Mission, we aim to:

• Reduce Carbon Emissions by at least 50% by 2030

• Work with at least 20 biodiversity projects every year

• Achieve a Plastic Free Business accreditation by the end of 2024

• Have 100% of our team volunteer every year

• Enable 100 disadvantaged families to go on holiday annually

• Positively impact at least 10 community and charity initiatives every year

Making environmentally-conscious choices for your eco-friendly holiday home, such as sourcing local materials and buying fresh, local produce from farmers can not only help protect the planet, but may also boost your holiday let occupancy rates.

It doesn’t necessarily mean huge changes are needed in order to be classed as a sustainable holiday cottage. Find out more about how to make your holiday home eco-friendly with our easy-to-follow guide.

 

How to Make Your Holiday Home Eco-Friendly

When finding ways to increase your sustainability, there are 8 important areas to consider in terms of making your holiday rental business more environmentally friendly:

• Renewable power sources for your eco-friendly holiday cottage

• Lighting and appliances

• Plastic

• Water use

• Technology

• Product and supplier selection

• Waste & recycling

• Green building solutions

Running a sustainable holiday home can be a great way to maximise your rental income and attract more bookings. According to Envirorental, Booking.com surveyed 33,000 travellers from 35 countries in 2023, and found that:

• 80% of customers said that travelling more sustainable is important to them

• 74% want more sustainable travel options

• 44% don’t know where to find sustainable travel options

• 43% are willing to pay more for sustainable travel options

• 65% of customers would feel more comfortable staying in an accommodation which had a sustainable certification

• 53% said recent climate change news had influenced them to make more sustainable choices

There are a number of changes you can make when looking how to make your holiday home eco-friendly, whether you are buying a holiday cottage or are looking to update your current holiday home.

Insulation

Investing in insulation is a great way to reduce needless energy expenditure. Good quality insulation can help your property retain heat so that you don’t have to waste energy continuously trying to reheat your holiday home.

There will be a number of places around the house that could benefit from added insulation, the most common being the loft, walls, and ceilings.

Double or Triple Glazing

Windows can be one of the key spots in your home that lose a lot of heat. This is why double or even triple glazing can make a big difference in how energy efficient your holiday home is – as well as your heating bills.

When making your holiday home energy efficient, you may want to consider working with a reliable holiday let maintenance company to cover simple maintenance tasks and help reduce the risk of long-term damage and expensive repair costs to your property.

Rugs and Curtains

Thicker rugs and curtains can help to keep your holiday cottage better insulated. If you have a period property and need to stop drafts coming through original window panes or cracks in hardwood floors, large rugs and thick curtains can help insulate.

Save Water

Reducing the amount of water wastage at your holiday cottage is not only good for the environment, but also could have a positive impact on your water bills. Here are several eco-friendly holiday home tips to reduce water consumption:

• Install flow-reducers or aerators on taps

• Choose water-efficient shower heads

• Install dual-flush toilets when they need replacing

• Set up rainwater harvesting where feasible

• Investigate grey water usage (using waste water and collected water for things like flushing toilets and watering plants)

• Use programmes on washing machines effectively

• Encourage guests to use laundry facilities more sparingly

• If feasible, install time-controlled irrigation systems for landscaping using harvested rainwater

• Plant drought-tolerant and/or native varieties of plants in gardens and outdoor spaces

Low Flow Shower Heads

Replacing an old showerhead with a low-flow alternative can help to make showers much more water-efficient. Although showers are often viewed as better than a bath in terms of water consumption, this is not always the case with some power showers. Many use more than an average bath-load of water in less than 5 minutes.

Low flow showerheads control both the water flow rate and the spray pattern of a shower. There are two common types, these include aerating showerheads (which mix the water with air to give similar levels of pressure but using less water) and non-aerating (which squeezes the water through tiny holes, producing a higher pressure).

Fix Leaks

Making regular checks for water leaks can be an easy way to avoid wasting water in your holiday home. To check your supply pipe for leaks, simply switch off your water supply and check your water meter. If it continues to increase, you have a leak and should contact your water company.

To check your internal plumbing, start by switching your water supply back on. Then switch off anything in your home that is connected to the water supply (central heating, taps, showers, pond pumps/water features, etc.), if again the water meter continues to increase, it indicates that you could have an internal leak.

For more tips on making your holiday let eco-friendly, visit our website: https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/letyourcottage/advice/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-eco-friendly-holiday-letting