Building a Holiday Rental Log Cabin - An Interview

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Pinchin Architects were appointed to design an elevated log cabin located within the Alum Chine, a conservation area which boasts woodland beauty and wildlife within and leads down to the sea on the picturesque Bournemouth coast.

Located within its own gated plot, the log cabin sits among the treetops on top of a garage on a steeply sloping site. The cabin is currently rented out as holiday accommodation and is ideal for two adults sleeping downstairs and children on the mezzanine.

We decided to revisit the completed project and chat to the owners about the process of building the holiday rental cabin & how much revenue it produces yearly.

Can you tell us about the Log Cabin and how much it cost?

The Cabin can came from Lithuania and in total cost us (2016) £12k including delivery. It’s built using non-toxic materials, in fact the nordic timber used maintains a high indoor air quality.

What were the other costs you incurred to modify the garage & create a base for the Cabin?

Broken down here are the costs for the modifications we had to make the our garage:
We spent 4K to add the steel, £1.5K to fit the steel superstructure, about £2K to add decking and balustrade and around £300 on insulation.

How much did you spend servicing the cabin?

We then spent an additional £1.5k to run water and sewage systems from the cabin. As well as £6.7k for electrics which included a new electric 100 amp supply, fuse box, CCTV, internet connection and a TV aerial etc.

How quickly did you make a return on your investment?

After three years the cabin turned around exactly £60k in rental. Much of this was used to pay off the loan we had taken out. This said by year three most expenses were covered and profits were increasing by 50% annually.

How long did it take from your first idea to the date your first guests arrived?

The complete conception to completion took 24 months, the main obstacles we encountered were the complex planning permission due to TPO, we then had to request a change of use from residential to holiday let and finally parking.

What is it like running a holiday let?

Initially there was some anxiety about whether people would accept it locally, even though lots of our neighbours have Airb BnB listings, we questioned whether tourists would stay here? We also questioned if it was worth the investment?

Myself and my wife are both NHS working parents but luckily we managed to reduce our hours in our day jobs meaning we could successfully manage the rental alongside our jobs and family life. We both get involved in guest changeovers, my role is generally being the maintenance man, I coordinate online bookings and act as an accountant for the property. Whereas my wife Ellen, is the staff coordinator, she also managed laundry & quality control.

After the first summer season we got into a really good routine and guests were leaving such nice comments that everything seemed worth it and our original anxieties seemed somewhat trivial.

Would you build a Holiday Rental again?

Absolutely - without a doubt! It’s generated new income for us as a family and it enables us to work from home. Financially we are in a better place and have now begun planning for the cabin income to pay off the cost of a mortgage for our new home extension.
I’d be keen to build a second cabin nearby, but Ellen isn’t so sure as she wants to continue working for the NHS.

What were your biggest surprises, lessons or takeaways for others who may be considering the same sort of project?

Firstly choosing the right laundry company, we had to think about the standards we were setting. We debated whether we’d wash things at home to save money but questioned whether this would take too much time and space. So what we ended up doing was investing in a really good Miele Washing machine and separate tumble dryer (It cost us approximately £1.8K and the annual maintenance of the machines is about £140 ) we manage all the laundry in house.

We also questioned whether we needed a cleaner, but soon found out we actually needed two, for when one of them took holidays. Once the cleaners have been we still go in and do our quality control checks before the guests arrive.

The final learning curve was how and where to list the cabin Digitally. We needed to hire someone to build our site, maintain it and embed a booking system that would configure with the other booking agencies systems we used i.e booking.com, Airbnb, hotel.com etc.
I ended up going to two booking.com local presentations and conferences which really helped me get to grips with the online booking systems. Just for reference we use a stripe payment system which enables us to both bill our customers and make refunds should COVID-19 prevent a stay.

Pinchin Architects can assist with all types of home or holiday rental projects and can help clients put the right permissions in place in order to help them structure and move their projects forward.

If you would like any further information on how we can assist you please get in touch using the details below. We also have some free downloadable guides that can help you get your perfect project started!

TESTIMONIAL

“I have worked with Pinchin architects for several years and hold them in high regard. This project was not a quick ‘build a base and add slap up a cabin’. To achieve the views we wanted we decided to mount it 3m up on a garage roof which was perched aside the top of a deep valley. Although this was picturesque, there were many structural challenges, and often we asked how we could maximise and utilise the space. You need the ideas and also the solutions, which is where Pinchin architects excels.”