About
Frequently asked questions
The following answers cover the most frequently recurring questions. If, however, you have a specific query which is not covered, either below or in our Booking Terms and Conditions, please feel free to telephone or email us.
But do you really want to get involved? Isn’t holiday letting hard work, the income uncertain, and the whole enterprise more hassle than it’s worth?
Well — yes and no! At Quay Holidays we make it our business to take the hassle out of holiday letting. Poole, Bournemouth, and the surrounding Dorset coastline remain some of the UK’s most desirable holiday destinations, with award-winning beaches, vibrant marinas, excellent transport links, and year-round demand from leisure, corporate, and relocation guests. Here’s how we help — though don’t just take our word for it; you’ll find feedback from our owners at the end of this page
FAQ
Questions? We’ve got answers
Booking & payment
Once you’ve found a property on our website that suits your requirements and it shows as available, just follow the instructions to instantly book online. However, should you prefer you can call the Quay Team on 01202 683333 to make your reservation.
A deposit of 25% of your holiday value is required upon booking which can be made either via our website or by calling the Quay Team on 01202 683333. The balance is payable no less than 8 weeks before your holiday starts. If your stay begins less than 8 weeks ahead, the full amount is due on booking.
Debit and credit cards are accepted online, over the phone, or in person. Payments can also be made by sterling bank transfer. All payments must clear before your booking commences.
No — there are no surcharges for card payments.
Most properties have a 2-night minimum, though individual owners may set a higher minimum — 3 or 4 nights, sometimes a week. In peak season the minimum is generally 4–5 nights; closer to the dates we release shorter breaks where the property allows.
No — there’s no fixed changeover day. Arrivals and departures can be any day of the week across all our properties.
Our calendars are generally open 18 months to 2 years in advance.
Yes. If you book your next stay before you leave, you’ll receive £75 off a stay of a week or more, or £40 off a short break. Last-minute offers appear in the discounts section of our website. For longer stays of a month or more, contact us — we can sometimes arrange a discount by negotiation, depending on the property.
We’d always suggest taking out your own travel insurance so you’re covered for cancellation and other unforeseen events, though it’s entirely up to you.
If you have to cancel, the 25% accommodation deposit is non-returnable. If the cancellation is within 8 weeks of your holiday start date, the full accommodation cost remains due, so we recommend taking out holiday cancellation insurance (available at low cost from many sources). We’ll always try to re-let the accommodation and, if successful, will return any recoverable monies less the 25% booking deposit and an administration charge of £60 inc VAT. Note that different cancellation terms may apply if you booked through a third party such as Airbnb or Booking.com.
If you need to change your dates, we’ll help where we can, but changes are only possible with the written agreement of ourselves and/or the property owner. Where a booking can be moved, we charge an administration fee of £42 inc VAT.
Property amenities & what's included
When you find a property that looks right, click on it to show full details. The description shows a summary of the facilities scroll further to find a full list of amenities as well as the specific location. If anything specific matters to you, please check with our holiday lettings team.
As Poole’s premier holiday lettings agent, we pride ourselves on attention to detail. Our properties are comprehensively furnished and fully prepared for your arrival. All linen and towels are provided, including beach towels — we just ask that you leave them in the property when you vacate.
Yes! Our welcome pack includes Dorset tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sugar and milk sachets, with local biscuits and crisps, plus a chilled bottle of white wine in the fridge. We also include essentials to get you started — toilet rolls, soap, dishcloths, bin bags, washing tablets, and dishwasher tablets where a dishwasher is available — along with small bathroom toiletries: shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body lotion and soap.
Yes — Wi-Fi is free in every property.
This varies by property. Where a smart TV is provided, it’s listed in the property’s amenities or description.
A full set of cleaning products is left in the property for your use during your stay — we kindly ask you to leave these on site when you depart. Cleaning equipment such as a vacuum and mop is also provided should you need it.
Yes — you’re welcome to arrange a grocery delivery once you’ve arrived. We suggest scheduling it after 4pm, which gives you time to get settled in first.
Most properties come with parking included — either paid-for parking or one or two spaces at the property. Parking details are shown in each property description.
A small number do — for example Spinnaker House — and there’s a public charging point close to our office. EV charging isn’t widely available across the portfolio yet, so do check the property description or ask us.
Arrival, stay & departure
On receipt of your final payment and check-in form, before your holiday starts, you’ll receive your ‘Arrival Details’ by email (or post if requested). This tells you where to collect keys (usually Quay’s offices in Poole Old Town), directions to the property, parking arrangements, access codes, and so on. Please bring photo and address ID for the lead guest on arrival — we verify this before handing over keys.
Access is available between 3pm and 6pm on the day of arrival (3pm to 4pm on Sundays), as our cleaning staff need the time to fully clean and replenish the property. On occasion we may be able to accommodate an earlier arrival — call us on the day to check. Please remember to bring a photo and address ID for the lead guest, which we verify before handing over keys.
Let us know if you’re likely to arrive late (after 6pm when our offices close, or after 4pm on Sundays) or if you’re delayed in transit, and we’ll make alternative arrangements for key collection. Full payment and ID must be provided in advance of collecting keys.
Yes — visitors are welcome, provided you let us know in advance and the total doesn’t exceed the property’s maximum occupancy. Anyone staying overnight needs to be noted with us. Please note we don’t allow parties.
All our properties are strictly non-smoking and non-vaping, including on balconies.
We ask all guests to vacate by 10am, giving our cleaning team the best chance to prepare the property for the next guests. Late checkout to 12pm is available as standard for guests who book directly with us — an extra two hours to enjoy your last morning!
Please leave the accommodation clean and tidy, with washing up done and everything back in place, and rubbish in the outside bins. Our cleaners perform a full clean as soon as you vacate, but changeover time is limited — if a property is left in a particularly poor state, we reserve the right to charge for additional cleaning.
We operate a 24/7 emergency line for genuine emergencies. Out of hours, your call routes to our call-handling service, who will help where they can and escalate true emergencies to our standby team. During office hours, just call us and we’ll sort it. Charges do apply where the team are called out to handle a lock-out.
Guests, groups & special requirements
Yes — a number of our properties welcome dogs, subject to a small charge. Just use the pet-friendly filter on our property search to find them. Usually one dog is permitted, though we’ve often accommodated more — if you have more than one pet, give us a call and we’ll check with the owner. A few breeds are excluded in line with legislation (see our terms and conditions). Consent is confirmed at the time of booking, and pets shouldn’t be left unsupervised in a property.
You’re welcome to bring additional guests, provided you notify us in advance and your party doesn’t exceed the property’s number of bed spaces. The security damage deposit waiver will need to be applied for the additional guests.
Most of our properties welcome children and babies. Travel cots and highchairs can be added during the booking process (we don’t provide stair gates), and z-beds are available in some properties — all shown on the booking page. Cots come with linen and extra towels for baby. If you have any specific requirements, just contact us so we can check for you.
Yes. Our largest single property currently sleeps around 8, but we have properties side by side or in the same block to accommodate larger groups — we’ve done this many times, including for corporate groups needing 20 or more properties! Just call us with your dates and group size; being a local agent, we know the properties and locations and can work out what suits you best.
We don’t accept hen, stag, or party bookings. If you get in touch and explain the nature of your group, we may be able to consider it on a case-by-case basis, but our owners’ properties aren’t suited to party use.
Yes — many of our properties offer lift and level access, and you can filter your search to show them. If you have specific requirements please contact us and we’ll check the details for you.
Location & getting around
Our portfolio is concentrated in Poole and Bournemouth, extending across the wider Dorset coast. You’ll find holiday homes in Old Town Poole, on and around Poole Quay and Baiter Park, in waterside developments like Dolphin Quays, on the Sandbanks peninsula, and along the Bournemouth seafront — including Alum Chine and the East and West Cliffs — stretching all the way to Christchurch.
Many of our properties are right on Poole Quay and in Poole Old Town. Sandbanks beach is around 10 minutes by car from central Poole, and Bournemouth seafront is 15–20 minutes. Each property page shows its specific location and nearest landmarks.
Poole is well connected by car, train, plane, and ferry:
- By car: around 2 hours from London via the M3 and A31, 1 hour from Southampton.
- By train: direct South Western Railway services from London Waterloo to Poole in around 2 hours.
- By air: Bournemouth Airport is 25 minutes by car; Southampton Airport about 45 minutes.
- By ferry: Brittany Ferries runs from Cherbourg directly into Poole, and the Sandbanks chain ferry connects to Studland.
Yes — many of our properties are chosen for walkability. Central Poole properties put the Quay, restaurants, shops, and station within easy walking distance, and Bournemouth seafront properties are similarly well placed. Local buses connect Poole, Bournemouth, Sandbanks, and the surrounding villages.
Sandbanks Beach welcomes dogs year-round on its eastern end and outside the May–September restriction zones elsewhere. Branksome Chine, Studland Beach, and stretches of Bournemouth’s coast are dog-friendly off-peak. The South West Coast Path, Upton Country Park, and the heaths around Poole Harbour are all easy day trips with a dog — and Wareham Forest, on our doorstep, has fabulous walks too.
Peak school holidays and May half term are our busiest and sunniest spells, so book early. For a quieter trip with often beautiful weather and sunsets, June and September are hard to beat — the beaches are calmer and there’s still plenty going on along the coast.
During your stay & support
The vast majority of our properties are managed by Quay Holidays directly, using our own employed maintenance staff, cleaning staff, and supervisors, and our own linen and towels. This keeps standards consistently high across the portfolio, and our staff know each property well, making any issues easier to resolve. Owner-managed properties are noted on the accommodation particulars.
The damage deposit waiver provides cover for small accidents or a little extra cleaning.
Where the refundable damage deposit is paid instead, any breakages or excess cleaning are deducted from your deposit, with a summary sent to you when the balance is refunded.
We’d much rather you tell us about any issue so we can sort it promptly — there’s no need to wait in. We usually take your call straight away, or respond within an hour or two if you leave a message. With our own in-house maintenance team, we can normally get someone to the property the same day during regular hours (or the next day if a call comes in late afternoon). For anything needing a specialist, we have a reliable team of contractors; where parts are required, we’ll keep you updated and resolve it as quickly as possible.
Our office is open 9:30am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and until 4pm on Sundays, with someone usually in from 8:30am Monday to Friday. Outside these hours, we have a 24/7 call-handling service that deals with genuine emergencies. For a serious problem — no water, no power, or a lockout — call 01202 683333 and you’ll be routed to an out-of-hours emergency service. In the event of a fire or medical emergency, please call the emergency services on 999.
Please do — reviews are really important to us, and our owners love to receive feedback. They also help future guests choose with confidence, so if you’ve enjoyed your stay, do leave a review on the platform you booked through (such as Airbnb or Booking.com) and on Google, Facebook, or our own website. If anything isn’t right during your stay, please tell us as soon as possible so we have the chance to put it right for you.
Don’t panic — just let us know as soon as you can. We’ve posted many a favourite teddy bear and personal effect over the years and will do whatever we can to help, charging for postage and administration as appropriate. Perishable or toiletry items are usually disposed of, but other items are held at our offices for 28 days before disposal.
We hope you won’t have cause for complaint, but any complaint is taken seriously. If an issue arises during your stay, please tell us as soon as possible so we can put it right. Notify us by phone on 01202 683333 or in person. If you don’t feel we’ve resolved matters to your satisfaction, please follow up in writing. Quay’s full Complaints Handling Procedure can be found in the booking terms.
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Discover your perfect escape
With over 115 carefully selected properties—from chic seaside apartments to cozy cottages and spacious family retreats—we offer something for everyone across Poole, Bournemouth, and the Dorset coast. Start your search today and discover the perfect place for your next escape.