Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / Cornwall’s Beach Retreats: The Direct Booking Blueprint for Successful Short-Term Rental Hosting

Transcript

Cornwall’s Beach Retreats: The Direct Booking Blueprint for Successful Short-Term Rental Hosting · Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights

0:00
Feature Sheets is a club. What we find is that owners want
0:04
to be part of that. We were always very clear
0:07
they're one that Feature Sheets is a collection of holiday let's
0:11
which are within walking distance to the beach.
0:14
What percentage of properties do you turn away?
0:16
Oh my, it's more than half. Absolutely.
0:19
How do you achieve a direct booking rate of 97%?
0:24
What are the key amenities you need to drive reservations and
0:28
why should you refuse to list properties which don't align
0:32
with your brand values? Andy Eastern from Beach Retreats
0:35
is the special guest on today's Host Planet podcast, and he'll
0:39
be sharing the secrets to scaling to more than 240
0:42
exceptional properties in Cornwall.
0:51
Andy, thank you so much for joining us on today's show.
0:54
You run more than 240 rentals in Cornwall and have a direct
0:59
booking rate of 97%. How do you achieve this?
1:04
Yeah. It's a very simple question with
1:06
many kind of like levels to the answer.
1:08
I think I've picked up maybe a few key points that help us to
1:13
achieve that. And the first one is that that
1:17
kind of mindset of a hospitality business week.
1:20
We are a sister going to Watergate Bay Hotel.
1:25
So we can work in very much a hotel lifestyle focused
1:29
environment, which gives us that kind of hotel mindset to looking
1:33
after guests. So we're really conscious about
1:37
looking after the importance of their time when they're down
1:40
here on holiday and making sure that everything's perfect for
1:44
them if something goes wrong. We employ a very interesting,
1:49
fascinating mix of personal and tech that that that, that that
1:54
dynamic is people. And we're talking about
1:57
holidays, which are very personal to each individual
2:00
guest. But then there's technology,
2:02
which is kind of saving us a lot of the processes around the
2:05
automation of guest messages, for example, and practical
2:10
information. But then also we do a lot of
2:13
work around understanding our guests behaviour and our what
2:17
they like to do. So we do a survey regularly
2:20
about what they like to do when they're here.
2:22
But also we look at their, their journey from look to book, which
2:26
I think is a really important part of it in that it's, it's
2:30
com, it's a leisure purchase, it's a often it's a family
2:35
holiday. And what that means is that it's
2:40
not spur the moment purchase. So when we let's consider our E
2:44
newsletter, when we consider our social media, it's pretty much a
2:48
drip, drip of Cornwall and Cornwall Cornish life and what
2:52
it means to stand on a Cornish beach and just talking about
2:57
that drip, drip. So when they are ready to make
2:59
that decision to purchase Beech Treats, the brand is foremost on
3:04
their mind. I think you can apply that to
3:06
any kind of location or accommodation type in that if
3:10
I'm looking for a city break, I have a different set of
3:14
questions to answer about what we're looking for.
3:16
Maybe my look to book window is a lot shorter.
3:19
But thinking about who is, who your customer is and what
3:24
they're looking for, it really helps us to shape that messaging
3:29
and, and really kind of like go that extra mile over and above
3:33
what what the guest is looking for.
3:37
And we also, we also talk about the digital guest guide
3:40
connecting our guests to local communities.
3:43
They really want that authentic Cornish connection to a local
3:48
business, not not Costa Coffee or Sainsbury's or where chores.
3:53
It's about the local Delhi and it's about the local coffee shop
3:57
on the beach, which isn't necessarily easier to find.
4:00
So I haven't used the technology to connect the guests exactly
4:04
where they're stopping to, what they can walk to and just really
4:08
kind of connecting. That's really what the guests
4:11
are looking for. So understanding what the guest
4:12
is looking for, not what we think they want to do is have
4:16
been a real real kind of like part of it as well.
4:19
Yeah, having the guest at the centre of all that content that
4:22
you're creating. OK, real talk now for all you
4:25
hosts out there, you know that moment when your guest messages
4:28
you again with, hey, what's the Wi-Fi code?
4:31
Or you're staring at 5 different calendars wondering if you've
4:35
accidentally double booked the cottage.
4:37
Yes, we've all been there. That's why here at Houseplanner
4:41
we recommend Housefully. It's basically your rentals
4:44
control centre. It handles bookings across all
4:47
the big platforms, syncs your calendars to ensure there are no
4:51
double bookings, automates guest messages, and even creates these
4:55
really slick digital guidebooks that stop all the repeat
4:58
questions. Honestly, it just makes your
5:01
life easier and keeps your guests happier, helping you
5:04
achieve those all important five star reviews.
5:08
And here is a little bonus. If you're a House Planet
5:10
listener, you can get $500 off on boarding for House Phillies
5:14
property management software and 30% off digital guidebooks for
5:19
life. Just hit the link in the show
5:21
notes and use the codes Planet 500 for the PMS and House Planet
5:26
GB for the guidebooks. And if you'd like a proper
5:30
walkthrough, there's also a link to Booker demo with Frank Bosi
5:33
from Postfully. He will show you how it all
5:36
works. Less stress, more bookings
5:39
sorted with house filling. If you were starting out
5:43
tomorrow with a property management business and you have
5:47
to get maybe three things right to get as many direct bookings
5:51
as possible, what three things would you focus on?
5:56
To get direct bookings, well obviously the website is key.
6:02
It's still very much a part of we spend a lot of time
6:05
developing and considering how people use our website for
6:08
having that easy to book like with live and a sense of simple
6:12
things. It's live availability, removing
6:14
all the obstacles that a guest might see.
6:18
Does it make it make it easier that the book with confidence,
6:22
knowing that you are credible, but then just having kind of
6:27
understanding good social media, good search engine optimization.
6:31
Google is still important. It's called Gemini or Google
6:34
Local and the different elements of Google Now being visible on a
6:39
more long tail search term, which is likely to convert and
6:44
just having making it easy for people to answer the questions
6:47
that they're looking for. I mean, we're a marketing
6:50
company, but I think our website does have a lot of I guess
6:56
functional things which are really, really important.
6:59
We talk about Brian, but if I can't see how big the garage is
7:03
to get my car in, if I can't see the steps between the front door
7:10
in there, but I can't see if the garden is enclosed.
7:12
These are the kind of details that a guest is looking for.
7:15
And if you can be spend a bit of time getting really kind of
7:18
detailed on the individual property, that really helps to
7:23
answer all the questions that allow the guests to to commit.
7:29
Yeah, so important to answer all the questions that a guest might
7:33
have. And I guess like put yourself in
7:35
the guest's shoes. I mean, how important is it for
7:39
you to know and understand your target guest and and how have
7:44
you created that avatar? It's yeah, we, we, we have a
7:49
technology, we have a Facebook look alike audiences and the
7:53
guest service are really good in that we know how old our
7:56
average, which guest is male or female, where they live.
8:02
We have a heat map for where they live as well, which we can
8:05
get actually from within our PMS now.
8:08
And it's really understanding both who they are and what
8:12
they're looking for as well. Because I say it's very
8:16
different for different types of accommodation.
8:19
Of course, it's about creating or delivering a space where that
8:23
holiday maker can get what they want, which is just relax and
8:28
escape. Is it just spending time with
8:30
loved ones? Is it work?
8:32
It could be a mix of all three. And actually just understanding
8:37
that and asking the guests the question.
8:38
Because not for me to decide what a guest wants to do, it's
8:42
what they want to do. And everybody's slightly
8:44
different, but they all want the same thing.
8:47
And that is to relax, to recharge, to spend time
8:51
together. And that's what we're striving
8:54
to deliver. We've spoken quite a few times
8:58
on our podcast series about one of the easiest direct booking
9:02
strategies is to get repeat guests, the guests who have come
9:06
and stayed and they've loved your place.
9:08
How do you make sure that your guests keep coming back and
9:12
booking with you? Well, so we have the automated
9:16
emails and I think we, we will send a message on the eve of the
9:20
departure. And it's probably that moment
9:22
where, oh, it's my last night, what we're going to do.
9:25
I don't want to go home. It's like I'm back to work and
9:29
I'm going to miss this, the sunset and the sea.
9:31
You know, it's looking fantastic.
9:33
It's probably that moment on the eve of their departure where
9:36
they're starting. Pack my bags where you can
9:38
capture them. So we have a, just a small offer
9:41
that we send out to them if you book again, but that's probably
9:46
what, 1? So we do about 30% of our
9:49
bookings before the beginning of the next year, if you know.
9:53
So booking for next year. And I think a lot of that is
9:57
just delivering on what what people want and being accurate.
10:02
And if something goes wrong that we're there quickly and we're
10:06
fixing dishwashers, hair dryers, providing extra bedding very
10:13
quickly. That hotel mindset, again,
10:15
remember that and that really helps.
10:18
But underlying all that is of course, it's a brand and it's
10:21
that walk to the beach. It's being in a good location
10:24
with a good quality kitchen, bathroom, furnishings and
10:30
knowing that if I book again then I know that I'm going to
10:34
get that mix of quality and premium location, but I'm going
10:38
to be looked after as well. When it comes to selling the
10:43
experience on your social media channels or on your website, how
10:48
do you sell the experience of staying in your properties
10:52
rather than just showcasing the actual property itself?
10:56
Well, this is I think this is a trap that many of us fall into
10:59
in the sector in that I can take AI can share a photograph of a
11:03
living room or a nice kitchen or a bedroom, which it looks
11:07
lovely, stunning, well, well photographed.
11:10
But for our guests, that's what they've got at home.
11:14
So it's kind of well, that's nice.
11:16
But we we talk about like, you know, moving your house down to
11:19
this by the sea for a week, for example, with our messages.
11:23
But then what what the guests want to do is when we survey our
11:27
guests, it's people do spend time in the property.
11:31
So they want to be away from their their dip 9:00 to 5:00.
11:35
Just look at sitting relaxing. So it's actually kind of like
11:39
the activity while I was in the fact that this is a nice sofa to
11:43
relax on or a nice, nice view. It's what I'm doing when I'm
11:47
there. So, and that extends outside the
11:51
property. So we'll, we'll do a lot of
11:53
content around walking the coastal path, which is
11:56
particularly relevant to where our properties are.
11:59
But I mean, the one thing that I, I still struggle to capture
12:03
in terms of social media is to be stood on the Cornish beach,
12:09
to be surrounded by cliffs and the roaring surf and the sound
12:13
and seagulls. The space that you've got and
12:17
the senses. How that impacts you, how you
12:19
compare that in social media is really, really difficult.
12:22
But that's really what it's all about.
12:25
And to give that tell that story about what it means for your own
12:29
mental health, whether you're in the water, surfing or swimming,
12:33
you all go on the beach or whether you're just walking with
12:35
a dog and your family and the kids are in the rock pools.
12:39
It's just those kind of micro moments like say we're not
12:42
setting the four walls. We're helping people make their
12:46
own memories. And that trying to remember that
12:49
in amongst your content plan is really helps us.
12:55
How important are word of mouth recommendations and in terms of
13:01
guests sharing that the experience that they've had with
13:04
beach retreats, do you encourage them to share photos on social
13:08
media and tag you and things like that?
13:11
I think that that happened naturally.
13:12
It does happen where they are. It's bragging rights, isn't it?
13:16
For look at my Instagram, look at me on the beach with my, my
13:20
perfect family and having a great time.
13:24
So we've got very shareable content and that that, that can,
13:31
it's not like a quick win, a direct trackable action because
13:35
what happened is, again, we're not talking about high volume
13:38
sales here. We come up once a year,
13:41
typically maybe twice a year. So actually it's something that
13:45
my plan to seed in six months time.
13:49
So my, my, my neighbor went to this down to Cornwall six months
13:54
ago. I look back on their social
13:58
media feed and I find, I do a bit of digging.
13:59
I find that big treats, yeah, they popped up in my, in my
14:04
social media the other day. And, and it's that kind of that
14:07
top level of brand awareness that just starts that journey
14:13
going onto the website, getting a newsletter, talking to the
14:17
team, making a decision, booking the time off work, deciding your
14:21
budget. And that, that it's quite a long
14:24
journey from that initial referral to the actual putting
14:28
your credit card details in. So we, we're quite, you know,
14:32
we're not aggressive in that respect of trying to push and
14:36
push and push. It's letting people and our our
14:38
guest, you know, affluent, that educated people, they, they know
14:43
what the one they don't need to have a big yellow book now
14:46
button. They don't need to know that
14:47
seven of the people are looking at this property.
14:50
They're we're here to help them choose what is relevant to them.
14:55
That's all. That's all.
14:56
That's all it is. Have you tried any strategies
15:00
which maybe haven't been that successful?
15:05
So we've we do connect onto a few OTAs for that 3% of
15:12
bookings. We have connected to a few OTAs
15:16
which haven't worked for us, but I'm not going to name names
15:20
there. We're connected to Google
15:23
vacation rentals. There's live availability and it
15:27
doesn't track bookings, but it probably plays, you know, some
15:34
contribution to the overall conversion rate at some point in
15:37
that guest journey. So, but try, try it, see how it
15:41
goes. You don't.
15:43
You can try quickly in there, get out if it doesn't work.
15:46
But at least we've got the evidence there and it's all
15:48
data-driven, which is which is great.
15:52
Tell us about how you've built the Beach Retreats brand and
15:57
what are the unique selling points of your business.
16:01
Yeah, sure. So we're always very clear from
16:03
day one that beach retreats is a collection of holiday let's
16:08
which are within walking distance of the beach.
16:10
That was kind of the, the overarching entry criteria.
16:14
I think the average is about 260 metres from the beach on average
16:18
each property. And that's really important in
16:22
Cornwall as, as I'm sure it's elsewhere in that if I am able
16:27
to walk to a beach, I'm not in my car.
16:29
Especially in July and August, which driving to a beach in
16:33
Cornwall can be challenging when it's it's busy.
16:37
So the idea of just being able to kind of step out your front
16:39
door, walk to a beach is something quite compelling in in
16:43
our messaging. But so it was always walk to the
16:46
beach and then a good quality interior fit and finish, the
16:54
kind of kitchen you'd be comfortable cooking in, the kind
16:57
of bathroom you'd be happy using.
16:59
And then the third element was that it was a good beach.
17:02
So the idea that you could walk to a surf school, to a beach
17:06
bar, so it was on the right beaches and having those 3
17:11
criteria has been saying no to a lot of potential business has
17:16
really helped us to maintain the brand and the occupancy and the,
17:21
the Net Promoter score and the return guest percent.
17:25
I think about 5055% will book again this year.
17:31
So really high return because that helps with occupancy and
17:35
and for the owners as well. It's interesting there you
17:39
mentioned the the strict criteria really that you have
17:41
for your properties. I mean, what percentage of
17:44
properties do you turn away? Oh my.
17:47
It's more than half. Absolutely.
17:50
We're probably a bit quieter now in terms of inquiries because of
17:53
the nature of the market. But still you can almost tell
17:57
straight away which kind of property our guests will want to
17:59
book. And it's not.
18:01
Yeah. It's about retaining that brand
18:03
and that portfolio, but also it's about the kind of
18:07
properties we know that will book because if it doesn't book,
18:11
we're just wasting our time and effort on the photography and
18:13
the preparation and the like. So we, we, we then have
18:16
confidence that this property will book.
18:19
And of course, that is important for our local reputation as
18:21
well. So quality over quantity has
18:25
been one of the driving forces of, of your business And, and
18:29
what would you say to maybe other property managers who they
18:33
just want to scale and scale and scale and maybe they're losing
18:37
that quality because they're taking some rentals on board
18:40
that are just not really going to sell?
18:43
That, that's a real challenge for scaling in this sector, I
18:46
think is that we, we, we had about 40-50 properties when I
18:49
joined 12 years ago and we've grown at 1020% every year,
18:56
gradually organically and restructured the business in a
18:59
way that it had scale. But still there's a real dynamic
19:07
of growth and in the sector, which I find quite hard.
19:13
If I'm, if I'm growing, how do I ensure that each property has
19:19
got the level of detail that will help convert it?
19:22
So you really and each guest has a lot of questions which
19:27
typically require manual intervention at the moment from
19:30
the reservations team and from the owner services team to make
19:34
that booking happen, to manage that property, to manage that
19:37
owner. And it's like, say it's a
19:40
holiday, it's questions like what kind of cheese grow to cope
19:46
with a particular size of block of cheese.
19:48
And it's like questions like that which you can't really plan
19:51
for, but require that personal service that for the owner, for
19:57
the owner, it's a kind of labour of love.
19:59
It's, it's, it's a pension part. They need that that that
20:03
conversation with a person at the moment.
20:07
But for the guests, it's, yeah, it's making sure it's perfect
20:10
because it could be a wedding anniversary or a birthday and a
20:14
special birthday. Everyone's got a story as to why
20:19
they're booking their holiday. Many people, it's the annual
20:23
thing. But for a lot of other people,
20:25
it's quite of significance for many, many reasons.
20:29
And people are coming from illness.
20:31
People are having special birthday and wedding
20:33
anniversary. It's baby's first holiday.
20:36
It's a, a, a wedding proposal on the beach and that you've got to
20:42
kind of almost have that mindset to deal with those individual
20:47
unique scenarios which kind of make up a, a leisure self
20:53
catering holiday or holiday bit. In terms of being very selective
20:58
over the properties that you take on board, how has been been
21:03
quite exclusive helps you to grow your brand.
21:08
It's a good question. It's a club feature.
21:12
Treat is a club and what we find is that owners want to be part
21:18
of that. Their property resonates with
21:21
our brand, our brand values. So when they contact us, the
21:26
actual conversion sale process, it's actually could be quite
21:30
easy. There's not like a hard sell and
21:33
generous Commission offer to sign you up today.
21:36
They kind of already made them 80% of their mind is already
21:39
made-up because their property, they like our marketing, they
21:43
like how the properties look, their property fits into our
21:46
portfolio. And we're, we're just kind of
21:49
talking them through the last few questions that they have to
21:53
onboard. And again, this is not a volume
21:56
exercise. We've deliberately didn't go
21:58
into Devon. We haven't expanded outside of
22:00
Cornwall and we've we've gone sensibly and naturally.
22:05
But that just means that, you know, we know that each owner is
22:08
going to get the same standard of service.
22:12
I'm sure there'll be people out there who want to invest in
22:15
Cornwall and and buy a property that would be accepted by beach
22:19
retreats. So if you were advising somebody
22:22
who was making an investment input in Cornwall, what are the
22:26
key things they have to get right from day one to set
22:29
themselves up for success? Yeah, I think it's choosing the
22:32
right property and we do help a lot of owners to choose the
22:36
property. So it's not just a point where
22:38
they're ready for that first guest that they contact us.
22:41
We work with a lot of people who are looking to buy and we'll
22:44
help them with a rental projection, advice on ensuring
22:48
it's got parking, any kind of covenants in the, if it's an
22:51
apartment in the in the development that might impact
22:54
their ability to holiday that and making sure that it's got AC
22:58
view. It's got all the right elements
23:00
inside. So it's, it's pretty much it's
23:03
an involved long term relationship between the enquiry
23:08
and the 1st guest arriving. But I mean, probably the one
23:11
thing that is good to get right is the uniqueness of a property.
23:16
Has it got something which just makes it stand out from other
23:21
accommodation in that area. And that could just be one
23:25
particular window which has got a view.
23:28
It could be an enclosed garden, interestingly enough, that
23:32
people bring dogs or have young children that want to have that
23:34
enclosed space. So having those kind of drawing
23:38
upon our booking data to help them make sure that they're
23:42
making the right investment before they actually buy the
23:44
property is something that we've always done.
23:48
And what amenities do you need to stand out and make sure
23:52
you've got a successful let in Cornwall?
23:54
Oh well, Seaview has always been the obvious one, having a
23:59
Seaview and it has such a kind of like high value.
24:02
What we find is that we have a development where the Seaview
24:05
properties at the front of the development charge a lot more
24:10
compare the ones at the back, but still they get better
24:12
occupancy and people that have they want to have that
24:15
connection to the sea. So anywhere that you can connect
24:17
people to the sea, either by a view or the walk to the beach.
24:21
And we, we, we do a lot of small films where we're actually
24:26
filming the walk from the front door of the property down to the
24:29
beach and telling that little kind of story really helps.
24:32
So it's a connection to the sea, connection to the beach.
24:36
So whatever that looks like, I mean, yeah, we talk about on
24:40
suite bedrooms nowadays, sufficient parking and pet being
24:44
pet from the the obvious one, electric car charging points as
24:49
a feels ever more especially in Cornwall where you try and
24:54
charge your car publicly in August in Cornwall you are
25:00
probably in quite a long queue and I don't think people really
25:02
want to do that when they're on holidays to sit in a the
25:06
Commonwealth services for two hours waiting for us at charges
25:09
to become available. So having that allocated car
25:12
parking charger is a good one. Do you take part in much
25:20
upselling to your guests and if so, how do you upsell?
25:25
We we focus on the guest experience.
25:27
So really it's about that connection to the local
25:31
providers. I mean, yeah, obviously we work
25:33
with Y hungry who really can nail the in house dining
25:37
experience. We work with a few of the brands
25:41
where they can deliver the core steering, surfing all the kind
25:50
of experiences. But really for us, the value
25:53
comes in having that right network of suppliers who can
25:56
give the guests what they want, but it's not really we don't
26:01
look at the revenue stream. It's about just making sure that
26:04
the guest has that experience. And obviously, we have small
26:07
commissions here and there, but it's not part of the core
26:10
business model. And in terms of running beach
26:14
retreats, what's the essential tech that you're using to to run
26:19
a successful property management business?
26:22
Yeah, I do like my tech, James, I'll say that now.
26:24
But so we have server control, which is our PMS and we migrated
26:31
to that about 3-4 years ago and that's got great connections
26:36
now. So we're using Touchstair for
26:38
the digital guest guy. And we've got beyond pricing,
26:41
they're doing the dynamic pricing and we've got Breezeware
26:44
taking care of the operation side of it.
26:46
And then we've got a few peripheral pieces of software on
26:49
feedback and searching on the live chart on the website.
26:55
But there's a really nice way of describing it, which is
27:00
technology will take you so far in this sector, at which point
27:04
the humour will drop in to complete that engagement.
27:10
And that's a different point for every single engagement.
27:13
But we've seen great relevant the advances now in the world of
27:20
technology, in the world of holidays, which is hasn't been
27:23
there for a long, long time, but it's there now and we're really
27:26
enjoying using it. And we're doubling in AI, which
27:31
is working with a partner who will review what we do and look
27:36
at something bespoke and how it impacts a business.
27:38
But I'm, I'm very much of the mind that will will engage with
27:43
AI when it benefits the business.
27:46
And we're not just doing it because it's there.
27:49
I think that's kind of, it has to have some impact, meaningful
27:53
impact on the guest experience on internal operations.
27:57
I'm not just doing it to say that we use AI, which, you know,
28:02
you've got to be careful around that, I think.
28:05
Yeah, 100%, yeah. It's got to be, it's got to
28:07
bring a benefit. You don't just want to be doing
28:09
it to to wave the the AI flag, I guess.
28:13
Of course you've got the the tech there that's helping you to
28:15
manage the business. But we've had a lot of things
28:18
thrown at the holiday let sector in in recent years, whether it's
28:22
tax changes, the prospects of EPC certifications, new fire
28:28
regulations, we might be having a statutory registration.
28:33
It's been quite a tough time really for holiday elect owners.
28:37
How has that affected the sector and and affected your business?
28:41
I think I, I was bringing it back to one thing which
28:46
authorized everything. If you've got bookings for an
28:49
owner, if you can fill the calendar for the owner, it's a
28:52
lot easier to manage FHLEPCS and the like.
28:58
So if you do a good job and, and we've been very transparent with
29:02
our owners about what's happening.
29:05
We said that, you know, this might happen, that might happen,
29:08
but we'll talk you through it. We'll do all the HMRC reporting
29:12
which we're well advanced on for the, for this year.
29:17
I, we, we talk a lot about statutory registration for our
29:21
owners and I think we, we all are desperate for, to happen as
29:26
soon as possible and that will give everyone the informed
29:30
insight into what properties have been used for what purpose
29:33
in, in common and everywhere. But I think for me, probably the
29:37
statutory registration will help create that level playing field
29:42
and it will make everyone safe and legal.
29:45
And this is probably, it's not a great marketing message for
29:48
guests or owners. But actually my, my frustration
29:51
has always been that, you know, when you drive a car, you have
29:57
an MOT every three years, you go to a garage and it has to be
29:59
there. It's all because who I don't
30:03
know if people get on a flight if the plane hasn't been
30:05
checked, if all the kind of safety checks haven't been
30:08
carried out on the plane, who goes to, who sends their
30:12
children to a school where, which doesn't have a fire risk
30:14
assessment. So all these, all these safety
30:17
checks which have been introduced for every sector of
30:20
every section of our life seen are there for holidays, but
30:25
nobody's enforcing them, nobody cares about them.
30:27
And I can put a listing on an OTA in 5-10 minutes and I can
30:33
take a booking and I can have someone stay in that property
30:36
the next day, which is I think still which other sector of
30:42
society is unregulated like that?
30:45
Who else is allowed to continue on that basis?
30:48
And I think statutory registration, if done right,
30:52
we'll give the whole sector that shake up to professionalise it,
30:56
to make it safe and to create that level playing field with
31:02
just a simple, we've tested the we've tested the registration
31:06
tool as well, the prototype, a simple case of uploading an in
31:12
date insurance certificate, an in date fire risk assessment,
31:17
gas safety, having having an eye checking, it feels like quite an
31:21
easy piece of work to implement, which I think will just
31:26
transform the whole sector and just give it that credibility
31:29
that it needs. Yeah, professionalization, I
31:34
think is, is, is very important. So we'll we'll see what what
31:37
happens next with statutory registration.
31:39
It appears to be on the way. How has your 2025 been so far
31:46
and what trends are you seeing in the industry that hosts and
31:50
property managers should be aware of?
31:52
Yeah, sure. So also we're in Cornwall, which
31:55
I think is probably quite removed from many other many of
31:59
the parts of the countries was being so remote bookings this
32:04
year have really good pace now. So we probably started the
32:08
slightly behind last year in terms of those bookings, but the
32:12
pace has increased now when we are 5% up year on year for pace,
32:17
really good April, really good May and the run rate for June,
32:22
July and August is really good as well.
32:23
So it's starting to recover. I think I would say actually a
32:27
really tough year last year. Yeah, we've done a lot of work
32:31
around how we our marketing, how we work with owners, how we run
32:36
special offers and use the dynamic pricing to make
32:40
ourselves super competitive and feel very positive for the rest
32:45
of the year and booking to next year, which are up again on
32:48
where they were this year 2026. What's the challenges I guess
32:54
are more in the world of rising costs I think for owners.
32:58
So changeover costs are going up and it's not the actual physical
33:02
cost of the hourly waste and you go into a property and doing a
33:05
clean, it's the management of that for a company to organize
33:10
the clean to make sure that we're meticulous.
33:13
Now a checklist for a changeover clean it's a pre arrival check
33:19
of keys in the key safe smoke alarm, CO2 alarm, bulbs,
33:23
batteries, Wi-Fi, hot water getting all those potential
33:27
hazards, potential issues dealt with before the guest gets there
33:32
and that has a cost to deal with that properly and to have it all
33:36
recorded properly, you know so that when the guest arrives it
33:40
is like walking in being the 1st guest to go in that property.
33:43
I think that's probably one of the one of the kind of keys you
33:48
talk generally about running holidays and short let's that
33:52
that guest who I've driven a long way four or five hours from
33:56
London. Maybe they're in a car with
33:59
family or maybe there's children in the back.
34:01
Maybe there's been a few delays on the on the jail carriageway
34:06
driving down. So when I I find I'm in a
34:10
strange village, I find my parking space.
34:13
I've got my key at the key safe. I open the front door, walk in
34:17
and I've got that fresh smell of clean material.
34:21
I walk in, I've got it opens up to a panoramic Seaview and I
34:25
feel validated that I've, after all that desk research, have
34:29
chosen the right property for me and my loved ones, whoever I'm
34:34
travelling with. And it's going to be OK.
34:37
This week is going to be good. So that initial welcome, that
34:40
initial touch point of arrival goes a long way and all the
34:44
things we've been talking about. Absolutely, yeah.
34:47
The guests feeling like they're the first people ever to stay in
34:50
the property, That's, that should be the feeling, shouldn't
34:52
it? Fair for every single guest.
34:55
All right then, Andy, we've got a few questions to finish.
34:57
So you've mentioned a few already, but your favorite brand
35:01
in the STR industry? Apart from beach retreats of
35:04
course. I think it's been mentioned a
35:07
few times on your podcast, James, but we're using key data
35:12
and we're using it for large reports, for using individual
35:17
rental projections, for pace, for a number of applications.
35:20
It feels like they've really got that data to a point where it's
35:24
having a meaningful impact in health value to us.
35:27
Obviously we've been looking at industry data for a fair few
35:31
years now, but they've just got just feel that they've got that
35:34
momentum now what they've done and what they're doing going
35:37
forward is really it's really kind of tacking a very difficult
35:42
area of our sector to get highs. Great shout out there for key
35:47
data. An individual in the STR space
35:50
you'd like to give a shout out to and why?
35:52
Yeah, I've got two. I'm going to ask you for 2.
35:54
So we've got something. We've got Alistair Handy side at
35:57
PASC, who was invaluable during lockdown and still continues to
36:02
bang the drum. He's brought the whole sector
36:05
together in a way that wasn't there before, A tireless work in
36:09
a very, very challenging environment.
36:11
So we're big fans of Alistair and PASC.
36:14
I'm also going to mention Mark Simpson of Boostry for the
36:18
direct booking work that he does and always good to catch on
36:22
stage when he's talking about what what they're doing in such
36:25
a creative, productive mindset. For looking at how how to do
36:31
direct bookings. I am going to mention Richard
36:34
Borton as well who is a front of all knowledge in the sector and
36:37
he pops up everywhere and he's always good for good for a
36:39
coffee. 3 great friends of host planet there.
36:43
Yeah, fantastic shout outs for Alistair, Mark and Richard.
36:47
Finally, then, your number one lesson learned since starting
36:51
beach retreats. Oh, stay humble.
36:55
I think you still, I'm still learning.
36:57
I'm still learning today. And we've it's been a great
37:01
ride. We've achieved a lot, but
37:04
actually continuing to learn, continuing to talk to other
37:08
people, it really helps. I mean, it's a great sector.
37:12
I, I find myself having coffees with our direct competitors,
37:17
agencies in other, in other parts of the country and the
37:19
board. And that that openness that
37:23
exists in the sector really helps us to kind of to think
37:27
about what we do and to move it forward and to continue to
37:31
innovate and grow. Great message and really well
37:35
said. Andy.
37:36
Thank you so much for joining us on the House Planet podcast.
37:40
Thank you. Great chat to Andy Easton there
37:42
about direct bookings, selling the experience and much more.
37:46
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