25% of holiday let guests don’t tell the landlord about damage

While the rise of holiday lets in the UK has met the growing boom in staycations and led to impressive yields for landlords, there is an issue over damage caused by guests.

According to one insurer, one in ten (11%) holidaymakers have accidentally caused damage to a UK holiday home, and one in five (19%) have caused accidental damage of £200 or more.

The findings from Direct Line business insurance also reveal a big worry for holiday let landlords.

That’s because the research shows that a quarter (25%) of people who cause damage do not admit this to the property owner.

29% did not want to pay for the damage

Of these, almost a third (30%) felt too embarrassed to own up, 29% did not want to pay for the damage and over a fifth (23%) did not think the damage was significant enough to warrant saying anything.

Among these, younger guests aged between 18 to 34 years old are the group most likely to cause accidents in rental holiday homes (25%), with over-55s (3%) typically being the most careful.

Many guests also admit to treating holiday homes differently from how they would their own, with over two-fifths (42%) saying they treat them with less respect.

Some of the main reasons for not confessing to causing damage is an assumption that the landlord’s insurance policy will cover potential accidental damage (44%), not taking financial responsibility for any of the damage caused (30%) or not wanting to worry about such issues while on holiday (27%).

Priciest types of accidental damage in a holiday let

According to landlord claims data from Direct Line business insurance the priciest types of accidental damage in a holiday let last year were:

• Carpets and flooring damage cost more than £940 on average
• Water damage cost an average of £1,340
• Soft furnishings and fixtures and fittings damage, cost £940 on average.

Gary Holmes, the product manager at Direct Line business insurance, said: “Holidays are always an exciting and well-deserved time off for families, and it’s great to see households choosing to rent holiday homes in the UK and take a staycation.

“However, our research shows that accidental damage to holiday homes can become very expensive, with one in ten admitting to causing accidental damage and a fifth (20%) of those guests causing damage of £200 or more.”

He added: “Most holiday homes are not covered by standard home insurance policies, so it’s important that landlords find a holiday home policy that suits what they need and consider adding on cover such as accidental damage, legal expenses or loss of rent, to help deal with the financial fall out of unforeseen issues.”

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