West Cork Travel Group has sold its holiday home marketing and management company, Home from Home Holidays, to a management buyout led by general manager Imelda Walsh.

Home from Home Holidays is a division of West Cork Travel created almost 30 years ago by Don Cullinane. Its aim has been to capitalise on the growing domestic and inbound market for self-catering accommodation.

The decision to sell was made to allow West Cork Travel concentrate on its core travel business while affording it the opportunity to expand and consolidate its portfolio of accommodation.

Home from Home Holidays manages and markets over 520 holiday homes in both inland and coastal regions of Ireland. Many of the homes were purchased under various government incentive schemes - BES, Sections 23 and the Section 48 Seaside Resorts legislation. All conform to Bord Failte standards.

According to Ms Walsh "Many tax-based holiday home schemes remain under-utilised across the country, which does not augur well for investors, developers and local economies. There is a golden opportunity for developers and local interests to bring prosperity and vibrancy to localities by using agencies such as Home from Home Holidays."

Her strategy to encourage more rentals will include niche marketing, targeting of societies and clubs and specific matching of clients with locations.

The properties are individually owned - many by people who purchased the properties for tax reliefs - and are managed and marketed by Home from Home Holidays. The properties are bound by regulations on letting periods - usually, they must be available for short letting periods from April 1st to October 1st.

The high season for rental by Irish people continues to be the months of July and August, school mid-term breaks and holiday weekends. Outside of these times, the properties rent well to visitors from the UK and Europe. The domestic market accounts for 40 to 45 per cent of holiday home rentals and the UK for 35 per cent, with the balance of visitors coming from Europe and the US.

Most owners can expect their properties to rent for about 26 weeks of the year. Locations in coastal and urban areas, such as Kinsale, Killarney, Dingle and Tralee, which have a variety of events, festivals and attractions for visitors, often perform better.

Home from Home Holidays also manages and markets properties in Florida, Tenerife, Portugal and Spain. Most owners are Irish or UK-based, and these can expect a higher return on investments as properties can rent for 40-42 weeks of the year - because of the locations.

Home from Home Holidays, with its links to West Cork Travel, can make all arrangements for flights, transfers and car rental for villa hirers. A brochure for the villa programme will be available later in the year.

Unfortunately, the timing for the buyout has been, as Ms Walsh puts it, "absolutely all wrong. These have been two of worst possible weeks ever with the foot-and-mouth crisis." Cancellation of the West Cork Rally, due this weekend, is affecting her new company, as many houses in the area had been let to stewards and motor clubs. St Patrick's weekend has also been affected by other cancellations.