When the Rain Falls in Spain… What Will Your Guests Do?

by Lindsay
(Costa del Sol)

There can be nothing worse than coming on a family holiday to the Costa del “Sun” only to find it raining! Those of you with a property on the Costa del Sol might welcome a spot of rainy weather after a long summer of sunshine, but it’s the last thing your guests want!

So what can you do to keep guests happy and entertained during poorer weather? Well firstly, admit that it´s not a case of “if” but “when”, because it is bound to rain at some point during your holiday lettings season. Once you have accepted it as a given, here are some easy ideas to make sure your holiday rental is prepared and your guests have a fab holiday, no matter what the weather in Spain decides to do!


1) Make it Fun!

At least the rain in Spain isn’t as cold as in the UK, so will your guests really want to be stuck indoors even if it is raining? Chances are they won’t have brought anoraks, wellies or supersized brollies, so why not provide some for them to use? And do leave them some ideas of an easy walking route or nearby park, and maybe weatherproof rucksack to take some snacks. Places like Parque de la Bateria near Carrefour in Torremolinos are perfect, as there are enclosed picnic booths to shelter from the worst of the rain, and a boating lake for when the sun comes out.


2) Indoors Ideas

Leave information in your holiday rental property about indoor attractions. Some ideas might include the Ice Skating Rink in Arroyo or the Sealife Centre, followed by a walk around Puerto Marina in Benalmadena, which is largely covered. Or get details of opening times & prices for your nearest indoor play centre where the kids can scream and shout to their hearts content while the grownups enjoy a café con leche and good chat. There are indoor play parks in most resorts now, and staff will usually speak enough English to be able to show you the ropes (no pun intended!) and don’t forget the indoor bowling centre in La Cañada for fabulous family fun!

For a constant stream of “what to do” ideas along the coast, it’s worth subscribing to a couple of local information websites to keep you updated. Some good ones are:

www.roundaboutspain.com

www.theolivepress.es

www.familylifeinspain.com/category/children

www.mumabroad.com/andalucia

and www.marbellafamilyfun.com will even send you the latest English-speaking cinema listings every week, another fantastic rainy day idea!

It is no coincidence that holiday property owners who go the extra mile, such as getting in touch with families even before they travel, are the ones who receive the most glowing feedback. So, tap into their “anticipation happiness” by passing on news of any events or things to do before they have even arrived.


3) Gone Shopping….

Who hasn’t bundled their little treasure into their pram and headed for the nearest shopping centre in desperation on a rainy day? We are lucky to have two fantastic indoor shopping centres here on the Costa del Sol; La Cañada in Marbella, and Miramar in Fuengirola, (which even has an entertainment area for the children) but did you know about Vialia in Malaga? It’s a lovely commercial centre located at the Renfe train station Estacion Maria Zambrano and an easy walk (or one more train stop) to the historical centre of Malaga. Kids love to go on the train too, so provide information about times and your nearest station. (Apologies to owners with holiday rentals beyond Fuengirola, hopefully one day they might get there!)

… and don’t miss the bus! Because kids love them too, especially big red double-decker buses. So how about instead of that “% off all holidays in October” offer, get a bit more creative with your marketing and throw in a couple of free tickets on the City Sightseeing Tour, or the Mini-Train, or another attraction on the coast, Tivoli World perhaps (not entirely rain-proof, but you get the idea?)


4) Rainy Day Creativity

Providing a good selection of toys in your holiday property to keep children amused will be doubly worth it on a rainy day. You don’t need to go spending a fortune on the latest toys & crafts, since you can often pick up good quality items in charity shops such as Cudeca (while doing your bit for a very worthy cause too). Think about children’s books, toys, or even a chest of clothes and accessories for playing at dressing-up, or check out sites such as www.friday-ad.es or www.Segundamano.es. Just make sure you do buy only quality items and thoroughly clean and check them all for defects before use.

If you only have a few families in your rental each season and don’t have room to store lots of toys, then why not hire them? Companies such as www.analot.com hire packs of toys per month, which when split across each weeks rental gives excellent value for money (not to mention adding great value to your rental business and helping to appeal to families)

Also, do think back to basics and provide arts & crafts materials together with puzzle sheets, colouring books, quizzes and worksheets to keep little ones entertained – and remember a selection of decent books for Mum and Dad to enjoy during the peace and quiet! The Activity Village website is fantastic for printable activities to leave in your holiday property, and even has a section on languages for kids. Buenisimo! www.activityvillage.co.uk


5) Gadgets Get the Thumbs up

Whilst I’m not advocating sitting the children in front of a TV screen for their whole holiday, it is certainly true that most parents would be grateful for a DVD player and a selection of family friendly films to wind down on a rainy afternoon. An extra bonus, and a good outlet for all that rainy day energy would be a Wii games console and a couple of games like “Just Dance” – my friends had this at our New Years stay in London and the kids were kept amused for hours (not to mention how well they slept after all that exercise!), again you can pick up second hand units for a fraction of the cost at your local www.game.es shop.

If you already implement some of these ideas in your holiday property, or have some other useful tips for rainy days then I would love to hear from you!

For more details of the work that Tots to Travel is doing in Andalucia, go to www.facebook.com/Holiday.Property.Expert.Andalucia or visit www.holidayrentalsbook.co.uk and we will send you our FREE book full of tips and advice on niche marketing and filling those empty weeks with happy families!