Hiring Out Your Static Caravan – FAQS

While renting out a static caravan is rewarding – both in terms of generating a second income and offering a joyful experience for guests – it’s worth doing your research before committing. To help you decide whether it’s right for you, look into what you’ll have to do to make your caravan ready for rental, work out how much your running costs will be compared to how much you could earn, and think practically about how you’ll run the rental day-to-day, from cleaning the caravan between guests to check-in and check-out procedures. Having a clear idea of what renting out a static caravan involves will make you confident about your decision.

Before renting out a static caravan, there are several steps you’ll need to take to make your caravan a safe and enjoyable space. If you get this right, you’ll have happy guests and, hopefully, repeat visitors. Safety is key, and you’ll need to install items such as smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and book in regular gas and electricity safety checks.

To make an excellent first impression when hiring out your static caravan, think about the interiors of your caravan and whether they’ll need updating or freshening up before you rent your caravan out. Your caravan should be a clean and tidy space with basics such as good quality towels and linen and useful kitchen equipment and appliances. An outside area or a luxury such as a hot tub may also help you charge more for your caravan, so think about what your target holidaymakers may appreciate.

If your static caravan is on a holiday park, find out whether it will let you hire out your caravan privately. Some may have rules around how you do this, and some will say that you must use its letting service. Always research this before committing to a holiday park.

There are certain essentials that a guest will need when hiring a caravan. These include a well-equipped kitchen, good-quality towels, pillows, linen, and cleaning products. A welcome pack with a comprehensive list of how everything works, local attractions and places to eat and drink will also be appreciated. You could also provide a small welcome gift, such as local food or drink, to impress your guests.

Generally, the best durations of breaks to offer are three-, four-, and seven-night breaks. This will give guests time to fully appreciate your caravan and the area and avoid too many changeovers with cleaning and setting the caravan back up again. These are also the most popular durations booked on UKcaravans4hire.

You have several options for advertising your caravan, including online marketplaces, holiday rental sites, local publications, and fliers. However, using a dedicated caravan rental platform such as UKcaravans4hire could be your best option, as it’s a specialist site aimed specifically at those looking to rent out caravans.

Listing your caravan on UKcaravans4hire will give you access to a site with more than three million visitors yearly and a customer database of more than 200,000 subscribers. It will also remove many of the hassles of handling bookings yourself – our online system vets potential customers to help minimise fraud. And, perhaps the best bit, you won’t have to pay a subscription fee – you’ll only get charged if you make money.

There are several ways to advertise your holiday caravan, from local marketplaces like Facebook and holiday rental sites like Airbnb to dedicated caravan rental platforms like UKcaravans4hire. There may also be options within your local community to advertise your caravan, such as local newspapers, newsletters or fliers.

Using a dedicated rental website such as UKcaravans4hire has many advantages, including a tailored customer base and an online system that vets customers to help minimise fraud.

When thinking about making your caravan more appealing to holidaymakers, your first step is to consider the demographics of who it is likely to attract. If your caravan is on a holiday park aimed at families, adding thoughtful extras for children will impress parents and little ones alike – think a small number of games, toys and books or a bucket and spade or bodyboards if you’re near the beach. But anyone renting your caravan will likely appreciate a relaxed space with minimal clutter and an outside area such as decking.

If you’d like to offer a more premium stay at higher prices, you could add luxury extras such as a barbeque area, outside seating, or a hot tub.

To ensure you make money when hiring out your caravan, list all the outgoing costs you will need to pay – such as a cleaning company’s fees if you use one and utility costs – and compare this to what you could earn.

If you’re aiming for the highest income rather than prioritising your own breaks in the caravan, consider hiring your caravan out during the peak periods and visiting at quieter times yourself. You could also add some luxury features to charge more per rental.

To help you set competitive prices, look at similar properties in the surrounding area and keep your prices at a similar level. However, consider any differences that might justify a higher price, such as proximity to a popular attraction, excellent facilities, or high-spec interiors/exteriors.

When hiring out your static caravan, remember that your prices will need to fluctuate throughout the year. You’ll be able to charge more during peak periods, such as school holidays or bank holidays, but you may need to offer discounts to attract guests when travel is less popular.

If your caravan is on a holiday park, customers will be looking for a competitive price compared to booking directly through the holiday park itself.

As well as the price of buying your caravan, you’ll need to budget for several other costs associated with renting it out and maintaining it. If you’re considering buying a caravan on a holiday park, find out what its pitch fees and service charges are and whether these increase after a certain period of time. Other ongoing fees include utility rates, safety checks, insurance and ongoing maintenance costs. Depending on how you undertake changeovers between guests, you may also need to budget for a cleaning company and any welcome gifts you leave to impress your guests.