The Journal
How-to guides
Step-by-step guides to the day-to-day of running a small property — channels, calendars, rates and the systems behind them.
How-to guidesB&B Cancellation Policy UK: Deposits That Hold Under Consumer Law
A "non-refundable" line on your website does not make it enforceable. What UK consumer law actually allows you to keep, how to write a stepped policy, and how to keep OTAs and direct in step.Harris6 min read
How-to guidesHoliday Let Availability Calendars: One Calendar, Every Channel, No Gaps
One calendar every channel reads from: how to sync availability across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and your own website without double bookings or unsellable gap nights.Harris8 min read
How-to guidesThe Pre-Arrival Message Sequence: What to Send, When, and Why Most Templates Don't Work Here
Most pre-arrival email templates assume you have your guests' email addresses. On OTA bookings you don't. Here are the five messages a small UK property should send instead, when to send each one, and where a service message becomes marketing.Harris12 min read
How-to guidesThe VAT Threshold for B&Bs and Small Hotels: How to See It Coming, and What Crossing Really Costs
The £90,000 test runs on any 12 months, not the tax year — and you cross it in the month you beat last year by more than your headroom. How to see it coming, and what crossing really costs.Harris11 min read
How-to guidesHotel Reports for Independents: The Five to Open on a Monday Morning
Five reports, not fifty: the twenty-minute Monday routine for a 5–40 room independent, and why most weeks only one of the next six needs you to act.Harris11 min read
How-to guidesSeasonal Pricing for a B&B: How to Build a Rate Calendar That Holds
Two prices is not seasonal pricing. Build four or five tiers from your own booking history, then spend the effort on the top two — that is where 89% of the money is.Harris11 min read
How-to guidesSeasonal Pricing for a B&B: How to Build a Rate Calendar That Holds
Two prices is not seasonal pricing. Four or five tiers, mapped onto a calendar built from your own booking history — and almost all of the money is in getting the top two right.Harris11 min read
How-to guidesRevPAR Calculator: Work Out Your Number, Then Find Out Whether It's Any Good
The arithmetic takes a second: room revenue divided by available room nights. The useful part is what comes next — whether £80.67 is a good number for a twelve-room house in September, or a poor one.Harris8 min read
How-to guidesDirect Bookings vs OTA Commission: What a Booking Is Really Worth
A £220 booking is worth anywhere between £155 and £216 depending on which channel it arrived through. Here is how to work out the real take rate of each one, what shifting your mix is actually worth, and why net RevPAR is the only number that matches your bank account.Harris9 min read
How-to guidesHow to Increase RevPAR at a Small Hotel (Without Cutting Your Rates)
Discounting to chase occupancy is how a small hotel makes less money while looking busier. Six levers that lift RevPAR without touching your headline rate — and a 30-day plan for working through them.Harris9 min read
How-to guidesOccupancy, ADR and RevPAR: How to Calculate the Three Numbers That Matter
Occupancy tells you how full you were, ADR what you charged, RevPAR what your rooms actually earned. The formulas, a worked example for a 12-room guest house, the UK benchmarks worth measuring against, and the mistakes that quietly skew the numbers.Harris6 min read
How-to guidesHow to Sync Booking.com and Airbnb Calendars (And When iCal Stops Working)
iCal keeps a single cottage's dates straight across Booking.com and Airbnb for free. Here is how to set it up in both directions, what it quietly will not do, and the point where it stops being the cheap option.Harris8 min read