Sykes Tick Rating Guide

At Sykes, we rate all our properties using a tick based rating system. Our Property Consultants handpick, approve, and assign tick ratings to the property during the initial onboarding stage.

When your guests are happy, you’ll be happy, and so will we! In order to give Sykes customers the best night’s stay, we encourage our owners to furnish their holiday lets to the highest standard.

Taking this into consideration, we’ve put together a dedicated Tick Rating Guide that will help give you an idea of what’s expected when setting up your holiday home.

Once you market your holiday let with Sykes, we will give the property a grading score of between 2 and 5 ticks. The higher the grading, the higher the overall level of quality, amenities and features.

In the simplest of terms, our grading system can be summarised as follows:

• 2 ticks – Clean, comfortable, well presented and well run

• 3 ticks - Good level of quality and comfort

• 4 ticks - Excellent standard throughout

• 5 ticks - Exceptional standard with a degree of luxury

Clean and Comfortable - 2 Tick Properties

2-tick properties require a good overall standard. Although guests are paying a lower price per night, the cottage should be clean, providing good value for money and be well-equipped with satisfactory facilities.

When decorating your holiday let, you should also include:

• Pleasant décor

• Basic comfort and seating

• Enough seating to match the number of people the property sleeps

• Enough cookware, crockery, and utensils per number of sleeps

Living room

Typically, a 2-tick property will feature adequate seating and a basic level of comfort. The living room will be clean and well-maintained, with an adequate level of décor and enough seating to accommodate guests staying at the property.

Kitchen

In a 2-tick kitchen, there will be basic facilities available for guests, including a toaster, kettle, and fridge freezer. There will be sufficient equipment for guests to cook basic meals.

Dining

The dining area should be kept tidy and clutter free, with appropriate seating. You can expect to find all the dining essentials, including utensils, cutlery, placemats, and coasters.

Bathroom

In the bathroom you will expect to find a standard shower curtain or similar, at least one toilet roll, hand soap, bathroom mirror, towels, and a bathmat.

Bedroom

The bedroom will be clean and typically include a duvet tog to suit the time of year, basic furniture, a side table, table lamp, two pillows per guest and a place to store clothes.

Garden/Outdoor Space

In the garden you can expect to find clean garden furniture and enough outdoor seating for guests. The grass will be well-maintained with tidy flower beds and no weeds in the outdoor space.

Quality Without Compromise - 3 Tick Properties

All properties should have maintenance and care and replace with a good level of comfort and quality.

In addition to what you would find in a 2-tick property, you’ll find cupboards that are well-stocked with cookware, crockery, cutlery and utensils. Our holiday let inventory checklist is a helpful resource keep track of the must-haves for your holiday home.We would also expect the following from a 3-tick property:

• Self-contained and fully self-catered

• Good basic facilities throughout

• Well-decorated but not necessarily with a linked theme throughout

• Bathroom/bedroom ratio up to a maximum of 1:4

Living Room

The living room will be a clean and comfortable space to relax with feature cushions for design, adequate lighting, television, coffee table, blankets, and enough seating to accommodate guests.

Kitchen

In the kitchen of a 3-tick property you’ll find a clean and well-maintained space to prepare drinks and meals, comprising sufficient cutlery and crockery per number of guests, a microwave, clean tea towels, and basic supplies of washing up liquid, tea and coffee.

Dining

The dining area will be clean, comfortable and should be kept clutter-free, with appropriate seating to serve guests. You can expect to find all the dining essentials, to enjoy a 3 course meal.

Bathroom

The bathroom will be clean and functional, perhaps with a bath and shower. The property may also have an additional bathroom, en-suite, or cloakroom.

Bedroom

The bedroom will be comfortable and inviting, with relaxing lighting and matching décor.

Garden/Outdoor Space

In the garden/outdoor space of a 3-tick property there will be clean garden furniture, no weeds, tidy flower beds, grass maintained and enough outdoor seating for guests.

Superior Standards - 4 Tick Properties

Building on the basics you’d expect to find in a 2 or 3 tick property, with a 4-tick property, you can expect an excellent overall level of quality, numerous mod cons and contemporary furnishings to maximise your rental income.

The interior of the property will be furnished to a high standard, with superior commodities and high-quality fixtures and fittings.

When furnishing your holiday let, you'll also want to include:

Living Room

In the living area of a 4-tick property, you’ll expect to find a clean, well-designed room ideal for guests to relax and unwind.

The space will typically feature high quality furniture from John Lewis or a similar luxury retailer, with a welcome hamper, good lighting, a fireplace, television, sufficient seating, and a coffee table for added appeal.

Kitchen

The kitchen will be well equipped with a preparatory area for food and drink, along with amenities such as a dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer.

There will also be tableware for entertaining, dishwasher tablets, good gadgets, coffee machine, boiling water tap, and sufficient cutlery and crockery per guest. For more information, read our guide on what essentials to include in your holiday let kitchen.

Dining Room

A 4-tick property will typically feature a dedicated dining room or open plan kitchen diner, along with plenty of seating per number of nights.

The dining table will usually be decorated to a high standard, allowing guests a clean and spacious area to eat.

Bathroom

The bathroom will be calm and clean, with high quality fixtures and fittings. There will usually be a bath, and a shower and there is a typical ratio of one bathroom (or more) for every two bedrooms.

Guests can expect to find a mirror plus lighting, towel heater, shaving outlet, high quality towels and a bathmat.

Bedroom

The bedroom will be warm and inviting for guests to stay after a long day of exploring. Here you’ll typically find an extra blanket, lamp and side table per guest, with a good quality mattress, spare pillows, quality bedding and extra cushions for a nice finish.

Garden/Outdoor Space

According to the Sykes Staycation Index 2024, a garden is one of the most sought-after property features, so it’s worth giving your property’s outdoor living space the consideration it deserves.

The garden of a 4-tick property should be well-maintained with a range of amenities to keep guests entertained during the warmer months, including a BBQ, parasol, flower beds and a seating area.

Creating a First-Class Experience - 5 Tick Properties

In a 5-tick property there will be an exceptional standard throughout. Lavish interiors, fine silken bedspreads, luxury gadgets and items such as hot tubs and saunas can help create a 5-star experience for guests.While setting up your holiday let, remember to include:

• Complimentary toiletries

• An upgraded welcome hamper

• Wi-Fi

• Smart TV

• Excellent quality furniture and comfort, stylish and well thought out décor

• Quality fixtures and fittings, a hot tub and en-suite bathroom

Living Room

Guests can expect to be welcomed into a beautiful living space with top-end, bespoke furniture from luxury retailers. Typically, you will find occasion and side tables, modern appliances, and an excellent level of décor with a thought-out theme.

The living room will be furnished to a high standard, with ample seating for the capacity of the property plus additional scatter cushions for added comfort and design, along with mood lighting for added ‘wow’ factor to make your property stand out from the crowd.

Kitchen

The kitchen of a 5-tick property will typically be spacious and modern, with useful appliances including a coffee maker, juice press, USB points for charging devices, dishwasher, coffee machine, food processor, weighing scales, induction hobs and boiling water taps.

The space will have a refined design and concept, with plenty of utensils and appliances. Typically, you will find storage for food, a good amount of workspace, suitable lighting for food prep, non-essential utensils such as baking equipment, tea pots and quality serve wear.

Dining

The dining space will be spacious and inviting, with coasters, ambient lighting and welcome flowers for the table.

There will be enough crockery, tableware, and glassware to enable guests to prepare and serve delicious meals with multiple courses. There may be additional space and seating for visiting guests.

Bathroom

The bathroom will be an oasis of calm and cutting edge design; you may find a Jacuzzi or roll top bath, a spacious walk-in shower and beautiful sanitary-ware.

Guests will be treated to fluffy towels, robes and slippers, and will be able to sooth away the aches of a busy day holidaymaking.

You’ll expect to find a roll top bath, high quality towels, modern technology, mirrors and a luxury shower type such as a waterfall or walk-in shower.

Bedroom

The bedroom will include high quality linens made from Egyptian cotton with a high thread count, a king-size bed with high quality throws for added comfort, a seating area, and a good range of quality pillows with additional mood lighting for added ambience.

There will be sufficient guest storage or hanging space, with high quality cushions for decoration and bedside tables for each guest. Technology will often be found in the bedroom, such as a Smart TV or Bluetooth speaker.

Garden/Outdoor Space

Typically, in a 5-tick property you’ll find a garden that is superbly maintained with a hot tub in the seating area, which will add significant value for owners.

The outdoor space will feature a thought-out design with a BBQ and cooking area, shade provided where applicable and high-quality garden furniture. For more inspiration, take a look at our ideas guide for your holiday cottage garden.

Case Study of a 5 Tick Property

Resting in the rural village of Allerston in North Yorkshire, is this remarkable, detached holiday home, Foxes Den. Benefitting from a bubbling hot tub and near the North York Moors National Park, this 5 tick two-bedroom lodge is ideal for a group of four.

What was the most difficult part of getting the property set up for letting?

Nicole: So the planning process was quite lengthy, we did purchase the land with planning permission already for the three lodges but when we bought the land there were a few elements we wanted to just tweak.

We wanted to make the lodges slightly bigger if we could, we wanted wider corridors and wider door frames just so a wheelchair user could use them if needed and that took about a year really working alongside the parish council, so we did have to get an architect involved just to redo some plans.

What are some of the best features of Foxes Den?

Scott: The best feature on the property I would recommend the bi-fold doors, it brings the outside in and the sound system as well, we’ve got the indoor sound system but then it transfers to outside when you are in the hot tub.

What was it like opening your property up to guests for the first time?

Nicole: So when we first opened our doors to our very first guests, it was very nerve-racking, we set a deadline, I think we went to advert with Sykes in the January and we were opening in the May, so we knew our deadline and we still had quite a lot to do so it was a stressful few months leading up to it and then when we had our first booking, we thought this is really real now, this is actually happening.

Would you recommend Sykes Holiday Cottages?

Nicole: I would hugely be happy to recommend Sykes to anybody thinking of property letting, we have quite a few friends and relatives that have a holiday cottage or properties that a similar to us and when we have had the same conversations with them, they have all agreed that Sykes is a great brand to go with.

They are really reliable, they are a big enough company that they have the advertising and the team behind them for the support and I think when you are dealing with somebody’s holiday, they are precious, it could just be their one holiday of the year, you want to get it right so you want to make sure that process is smooth right from the booking process all the way to the end of their holiday and Sykes help us to accommodate that.

If you're interested in letting your property, find out the benefits of holiday let management with Sykes.