We bought a Holiday Lodge!

Well indeed, we did, but that was a little while ago now and, believe it or not, Teal Lodge Cornwall is actually celebrating its 2nd birthday today!

Happy Birthday Teal Lodge Cornwall!

What a start to life our beloved holiday lodge has had too; as I guess anyone with a 2-year old will appreciate, it’s not exactly been a “normal” couple of years but here’s hoping that, far from entering the terrible twos, the toughest times are behind us and we can all enjoy a more settled existence from now on!

It's been a busy 2 years so, this being my first blog, I thought I should start at the beginning …

So why did we buy a Luxury Holiday Lodge … let alone in the middle of a pandemic?

Well, to be honest, we didn’t specifically plan to – we didn’t know what “a Luxury Holiday Lodge” or even “a Lodge” was – and had never visited let alone stayed on a Holiday Resort. I’d be lying if I said we had positive initial vibes about the concept or indeed anything that might resemble a caravan. After all, the latter were the source of many years of frustration on the A303 / A30 and thus much amusement as they were serially crushed on Top Gear … so not exactly the stuff of dreams!

However, as a family living 250 miles away from Cornwall, but loving the area and keen to visit the Cornish Kotenko contingent regularly, we’d been considering buying “something” for many years. So when Covid brought a rapid end to my fabulous new job and a premature close to the school year in July 2020, we saw an opportunity to escape from the monotony of months in lockdown and head to south-west “just to have a look at a few different areas.” I should have known it would end up as more than that – it always seems to do so once our ideas turn into actions … and we’ve never been very good at “just looking” to be honest!

Where in Cornwall to buy a holiday home?

Well, our first stop wasn’t actually in Cornwall at all. It was in the South Hams area of Devon – it’s a beautiful area but all the narrow roads & a severe lack of quality sandy beaches meant it was a “no” from us.  I mean, quaint country lanes are OK once in a while but reversing for tractors and lorries every time you go out does get quite annoying!

Stop 2 was just over the north Devon / Cornwall border just south of Bude. Actually we’d never been to Bude before and loved it as a town in its own right – great beaches, lovely canal walks, and some good places to eat. It also had the advantage of being a shorter drive from our home in Surrey! But, for the sake of another 30-60 mins on the journey to/from the south-west, it would be a long way from what we already knew to be some great days out & locations in the area; driving 2 hours to the western wonders of Cornwall didn’t feel like a fun day trip!

So then we headed a little further west and quite a lot further south to a lovely holiday cottage we’d stayed in previously; a converted barn with an on-site pool just outside Liskeard.  The property was great (naturally – as we wouldn’t have gone back otherwise!) but the area was uninteresting for the long term – not much going on in the local vicinity and too far to the beach; Looe, Fowey and Polperro all have nice harbours but are lacking in waves & the stunning scenery of the north coast

No third time lucky then in terms of immediate location, but it just so happened that during Stop 2 I had replied to a random email from the owners of a newly-acquired Holiday Resort near Perranporth. I guess I must have subscribed to their email list some while before, perhaps while cunningly multi-tasking when reluctantly home-schooling two under-7s.

I was primarily drawn to the leading image of this lovely looking hot tub with an equally lovely view. Apparently there was a “brand new luxury lodge development” and they were open for business. It was in an area we knew well, perfectly located (for us) between our various family members in Truro and Newquay, with some of our favourite spots nearby and the wonderful Perranporth beach virtually on the doorstep!

So we went – “just for a look” (of course) – one Tuesday morning in late July – I figured we’d probably see a 2-bed and a 3-bed model, say “thanks but no thanks” and proceed to Perranporth or to Nana’s house in Newquay for lunch. But we didn’t make lunch – in fact we didn’t even make dinner – so it’s a good job she wasn’t expecting us, that I had various snacks in my bag and that Cornwall Services was open on the way back.  Now normally an (emergency) stop at McDonalds would be the highlight of the day / week / holiday for the kids (then 7 & 5) – but on that evening they were more excited about “their new Lodge”!

OK, so we didn’t actually buy it there and then – I mean, love at first sight is all very well & good but that would just be irresponsible wouldn’t it – especially for a (largely) rational, professional and allegedly unemotional commercial being like myself?! No, instead we made an appointment for 3 days later and went back to the barn to do some homework, combined with a dip in the hot tub of course!

Oh, we saw 8 different lodges that day by the way – and couldn’t believe how different they all were – but, in the words of the legendary Olivia Newton-John (RIP) we were all “Hopelessly Devoted” and unanimous in saying “You’re the one that I want” to the first one we saw, which was the one on the email & the one that was destined to become Teal Lodge Cornwall.

What makes it a perfect holiday home?  

Hmm, now that pre-supposes that it is perfect, and, while we genuinely love it to bits and have no regrets since signing on the bottom line 3 days later, collecting the keys 2 weeks later & being proud owners now for a full 2 years, I’m a realist as well as a perfectionist!

So I feel obliged to be balanced, especially if you might be considering buying a Holiday Lodge or similar property yourself, as it’s definitely not all sand, surf, smiles & selfies  … and in doing so, to give you a little insight into our rationale both then and now!

The Best Bits

Birthdays are for celebrating & this is what we love most about Teal Lodge Cornwall:

First & foremost we got ourselves a lovely holiday home!

Sorry to be a little self-centred (!) but our primary goal was always to find somewhere special to enjoy Cornwall holidays & make memories for years to come

We are thrilled to have acquired a Cornish holiday home-from-home that means we can now even host local family members that otherwise we would rarely see

It’s in the Best Location in Cornwall!

It’s a big claim & yes, there are other amazing places too, but for me this area has the best combination of great things to do nearby & easy access to all of Cornwall.

Nowhere is much more than an hour away so unless you like to stay in one place, it’s perfect for exploring & days out which makes it very desirable as a holiday let too!

We have the Best of Both Worlds – it’s Relaxing but not Remote!

If location is important, then so is setting … and ours is wonderful! Most people prefer a bit of privacy … but many don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere!

It never ceases to amaze me how, even in peak season, it never seems “busy” around Teal Lodge Cornwall & so many guest reviews refer to “a relaxing break”

But in addition to the luxury lodge itself, the great views & the fabulous hot tub, the resort facilities, including the heated indoor pool, are right on the doorstep!

It’s always an advantage to have some Unique Selling Points in an increasingly competitive marketplace & few can offer all these in one place!

Bookings & Guest feedback have surpassed our expectations

When we did our homework (in the hot tub …) we estimated occupancy of around 30 weeks per year – ie May-Oct plus Christmas, Easter & Half-Term holidays

So far, Covid limitations aside, our occupancy has been somewhat higher than that & with all 5-star reviews & many returning guests, while we take nothing for granted, it suggests we are doing something right and does give us some comfort that the financial risk was worth taking, especially as I’m not back doing “a proper job” yet – sorry, Mum!

We have control!

Yep, I’m a control freak … but far from apologising for this, I’d say it’s essential.

As independent owners, we have sole control over marketing, guest access, pricing, security, maintenance, 3rd party contracts etc etc. This comes with challenges too but is wholly preferable to giving control (and a lot of money – that ultimately guests fund) to the resort or to an agent. In fact, I would strongly advise any owner or potential owner against outsourcing – but that’s a whole different blog post!

So what about the bits that keep us awake at night?

We may have only just turned 2 but it’s never too early to reflect or to be curious as to what comes next. With age comes wisdom, but growing older also brings new challenges & here are a few that we all too often think about:

It’s just too far away to be perfect!

In an ideal world we’d love to have a holiday home that we could visit for weekends, not just in the school holidays, but it’s just too far for that; while the kids are good travellers, driving 5-ish hours each way for 2 nights is just too exhausting. We knew this when we bought of course but if someone could invent teleportation sooner rather than later that would be amazing!

As remote owners we naturally have to do things differently to hosts living on-site or nearby. Mostly it works fine – some say better – but when things (very occasionally) go wrong it’s quite stressful that we can’t just pop down & sort them out ourselves. Tony can make or fix most things but not from 250 miles away!

It’s not bricks & mortar, it’s not our land & it’s definitely not an investment property!

Much as we love the location, sadly we don’t really own it!

While being on a holiday resort enabled us to move quickly into a “ready-now” lodge, there’s no getting away from the fact that far from being a capital investment, it’s a limited-term lease & most certainly a depreciating asset.

As I said before, our primary goal was a family holiday home – while the current rental income is healthy, covers costs & provides some near-term cash-flow, we genuinely do not expect to make a profit in the long term all things considered.

It’s on a Holiday Resort!

Do you remember how I said that we weren’t into caravans & had never envisaged staying on, let alone buying on a holiday park? Well, guess what … there are quite a lot of other people who feel the same – maybe even you?!

Fortunately we had the benefit of seeing it for ourselves, learned that not all holiday parks are the same & that Teal Lodge Cornwall is far far far from a caravan. Our photos, our guest reviews and, heck, even our prices support this … but I still see search requests every day from potential guests who rule it out on this basis alone

It’s fine – fortunately there are many more open-minded folks out there – but it’s fair to say that if we could pick up the Lodge and put it on the other side of the Farmer’s field, perhaps with a little pathway over to the indoor pool, my life would be a whole lot easier from a marketing perspective!

What does “Normal” look like?

Delighted as we are with bookings and feedback to date (did I mention that we have all 5-star reviews?!), we are mindful that “the past is not necessarily a guide to the future” & we take nothing for granted.

We also, quite frankly, have no idea what normal looks like as Teal Lodge Cornwall was born & raised in peak Covid times & for the first 18 months at least, experienced periods of total isolation & extreme adoration with very little in between.

But now Teal Lodge Cornwall is boldly toddling along in a world where folks have choices again.  Some guests have come back 2 or 3 times & are TLC’s favourite aunts & uncles already. Others say they’ll come back – and maybe (hopefully) they will – but they can also visit holiday homes - maybe even with friends & family in larger groups or in distant lands … or maybe they are saving their pennies as the cost of living crisis now presents a new challenge for us all.

And that’s all OK too. We are delighted when anyone chooses to stay at Teal Lodge even for a few nights given how many Holiday Lets there are in Cornwall, the UK & the world! But let’s just say that I’ve always hated the classic “where will you be in 5 years’ time” interview question – & Teal Lodge has inherited that feeling too!

The control freak cannot be fully in control

Yes, we have it covered in all the areas that we can, and we feel we are in as good a place as we can be to look after our guests & our lovely Holiday Home accordingly

But, as with many things in life – and certainly most that are worth doing - there are some inherent risks and we just have to live with those.

The first relates to guests and, fortunately (and thanks in part to managing it ourselves), we have been largely blessed with wonderful, friendly & respectful guests and have had only 2 “incidents” of any significance in 2 years. I won’t go into detail on those now but with clear terms & conditions, security deposits & insurance as well as strong local support, close communication & a predominance of direct bookings, we hope to keep these as isolated incidents & that all guests will be welcomed back with open arms!

The second relates back to the holiday resort factor again. The reality is that this is still an unregulated industry and there are sadly many horror stories of people losing large sums of money from unscrupulous operators. While we feel we did our homework appropriately (not all in the hot tub – honest!), with the site being acquired earlier this year by a different – and thankfully well-reputed – Group, we do often wonder what changes, challenges or new opportunities may arise before TLC is 3!

So in the absence of a crystal ball (I knew there was something we should have put on TLC’s birthday list…), we will learn from our experience, and continue seeking new ways to reach, attract & build loyalty amongst great guests old and new. After all, it may be our holiday home but we are always thrilled to hear from others who love it (almost) as much as we do! 

If you’ve stayed with us already or are booked to do so in the futurw, we thank you! We genuinely couldn’t do it without you and the feedback, reviews, photos & messages really do make it all worthwhile!

💙💙💙

With oodles of love & TLC always

Tony, Elena, Amanda & Lara