You’ll have had your tea? The dying holiday cottage welcome pack

‘We were disappointed to find that there was no welcome pack at the cottages,” writes a holiday maker after a trip to Stranraer. “In previous self-catering stays, we were provided with at least some essentials like milk and bread, which we expected here too.”
Another reviewer expresses surprise there were no food or beverages waiting when they arrived at a luxury property in the Scottish Borders: “Even a small gesture like some tea or coffee would have been appreciated after our long drive.”
Sykes Cottages, which represents more than 20,000 holiday homes across the UK and Ireland, says the absence of some basic provisions or local foodie treats is among the top ten complaints mentioned by customers who leave a one out of ten rating in their review.
Since Covid, stripping beds and dumping the linen in a bathroom before leaving a holiday home has become routine. Was the welcome pack another victim of the pandemic?
Fiona Campbell, chair of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, which has 1,700 members and supports the operation of thousands of self-catering properties in Scotland, says it’s not dead yet — but bureaucracy and the cost of living crisis are squeezing it tight.
“There is all sorts of additional legislation around welcome packs. Back in the day, you might have got a bottle of wine. Technically speaking, although it is slightly open to argument, you now have to have a 2004 alcohol licence,” she says.
She describes battling with one Scottish council to acquire an alcohol licence in order to “offer one bottle of wine per guest”. Campbell adds: “They were not going to grant it because I am not a pub. It is just completely preposterous.”
The only loophole, she says, is if a bottle for incoming guests can genuinely be classed as a gift. “If you come and I know it is your 40th birthday, I can say I am leaving this as a little present. If I leave a welcome pack for everyone, that is technically part of the contract.”
Home-baked treats are now also subject to administration, she adds. “You might be delighted if I had left you a nice home-cooked banana loaf. But, it has to have all the ingredients listed.” Campbell, a judge on the BBC TV show Scotland’s Greatest Escape, says this is the result of European Union labelling rules.
“It is just overreach and it takes the joy out of the whole thing. Everything has to be properly packaged. All these regulatory frameworks create barriers to creating a really good customer experience — which is why we are in the self-catering business in the first place. But they have put so many barriers in place, it’s made it harder to do than is worth the effort.”
St Andrews Property Company, which manages summer holiday lets, says before the pandemic a welcome basket was provided but this came to an end under Covid rules. The firm said none of the 100 owners and clients they represent have suggested the nicety should restart and they believe this is down to money.
“As much as I think it is a lovely gesture, the costs involved would be extremely high if we had to supply over 150 properties with an average of four bookings per week,” said a spokesperson for the firm. “Whilst we do provide guests with a starter pack of coffee, tea, sugar, salt, pepper and milk most guests are aware this is self-catering accommodation and that they should bring additional supplies to last their stay.”
At the Hideaway Experience, a five-star, adult-only operation with lodges and cottages spread over Angus farmland, visitors always arrive to butter, jam and freshly baked bread. Made using flour from local wheat, the loaf is taken from the oven just in time, to ensure that it is still warm when visitors unlock their doors. “Most guests will say how nice it is to have that,” says business manager Victoria Mitchell.
But she also warns that the cost of living crisis is cutting profit margins and providers have to seriously consider whether they can stretch to treats which may be thrown away. “Even the time it takes to make the bread, that is time, that is money for wages,” she says. “We did weigh it up. We thought, because we are in that luxury category our guests have certain expectations, but if you are not in that market, maybe you will have lost that offering.”
Paid-for extras at the Hideway Experience, such as breakfast and barbecue packs are available, although Mitchell explains this means completing risk assessments for food, fridge temperatures being recorded and staff being allergy trained.
Buying items from supermarkets is not so complicated, she says, adding: “certainly with alcohol and making any food on site, there are implications.”
Campbell says making guests continue to strip beds since Covid is down to “laziness” but most holiday home owners are motivated to provide a warm hospitality experience for those who book. The point of the welcome pack, she stresses, is in the name.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the free nibbles and tipples she enjoys when judging Scotland’s Greatest Escape are “phenomenal”.
“To say the welcome pack has gone is too simplistic,” she adds, but it is certainly under threat.