Latest / Host Planet: Airbnb, Holiday Let, and Vacation Rental Insights / How to Sell a Property Management Business
Transcript
- 0:00It's really positive for the bond in the business.
- 0:02Beach retreats will derive from this.
- 0:04It was nice thing to do for me personally.
- 0:06I'll have a holiday and then see what happens after that.
- 0:09What is it like to sell a property management business?
- 0:12How stressful is the due diligence process and what do
- 0:16you need to get right in order to appeal to potential buyers?
- 0:20And the Eastern from Beach Retreats will be answering all
- 0:22these questions on today's show and looking forward to the first
- 0:26leg of the House Planet Roadshow, which will kick off in
- 0:29Cornwall on the 5th of February. Andy, thank you for joining us
- 0:37on the Host Planet podcast. Let's start with the big news
- 0:41from Beach Retreats. What was it like to sell your
- 0:44business? Well, I guess this has been
- 0:46going on for a year now since the original kind of approach
- 0:50and the journey that we went on. It's been kind of very much a
- 0:54series of highs and lows with the initial opportunities for
- 0:58the due diligence, due diligence and then to actually the day it
- 1:02happened and then the follow up with the team and the owners.
- 1:05And here we are over 4 1/2 months into the acquisition,
- 1:10business as usual and business is actually really good for next
- 1:13year. So we're kind of being left to
- 1:15our own devices to a certain degree and there'll be obviously
- 1:19big plans for 2026. Fantastic.
- 1:22So let's kind of outline this for the listeners then and the
- 1:26people watching Travel chapter, which is one of the biggest
- 1:31property management brands in the UK.
- 1:33They have acquired beach retreats.
- 1:36So just kind of take us a few step backs then.
- 1:39Did you decide you want to sell your business?
- 1:43Did they approach you? How did it happen?
- 1:46Well, it was very much we were looking at the future of beach
- 1:49retreats. We reached a really healthy
- 1:51size. We're winning awards, doing
- 1:53really well for our owners. We're mostly owned by Watergate
- 1:58Bay Hotel and they're kind of they're going in a different
- 2:01direction with a part hotels and hotel brands that they wanted to
- 2:06develop. So for them it made sense
- 2:10commercially to, to kind of sell beach retreats and for me
- 2:13personally, it was with the right time to do it as well.
- 2:17But this I the message is very much that this will give beach
- 2:20treats for the the wings to kind of fly outside of Cornwall and
- 2:25to to really grow into with exciting brands where the full
- 2:28potential can be realized. OK, real talk now for all you
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- 3:46sorted with hopefully it's a kind of what happened.
- 3:51What are the what are the nuts and bolts?
- 3:53Do you get a call from somebody at travel chapter saying hi,
- 3:56Andy, we like what you're doing down there.
- 3:57We we see you've got 240 properties and you're at 97%
- 4:01direct bookings. How much do you want?
- 4:03Is it is it that kind of a goal? We, we reached out to if, if you
- 4:07keep people in the sector, it's fair, fair.
- 4:10And the response was really positive.
- 4:12So we had a quite quick conversations around some top
- 4:17level heads of terms and from that there was a really kind of
- 4:21natural path with travel chapter.
- 4:23I think we, we, we, we felt quite excited about their vision
- 4:26and their values and that of lead into a far more detail due
- 4:31diligence process over the next four or five months and.
- 4:35What happens during a due diligence process?
- 4:39I mean, it sounds just just the sound of that phrase.
- 4:41It sounds quite stressful. Well, not stressful, just very
- 4:45detailed. So and I guess having all of
- 4:48your ducks in a row before entering into a due diligence
- 4:51period is really important. I think we, we, we, we're
- 4:54looking back at it now, having all your contracts in place, all
- 4:58your accounts up to date, all your kind of like best practice.
- 5:03Our standard operating procedures are all really
- 5:06detailed and it, we were kind of operating a really tightly 1
- 5:11ship and that really helps. So when we're kind of sharing
- 5:14documents with a, with a buyer, it meant that, you know, we had
- 5:17confidence and we had the ability to tell the story very
- 5:22accurately and very transparently.
- 5:24That was really important as well.
- 5:25There was no, no kind of sales picture such.
- 5:28It is what it is. And I think if you can do that,
- 5:31then that overcomes a lot of the hurdles during that due
- 5:34diligence process. Your short term rental business
- 5:38is evolving fast, but how do you keep up with the latest
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- 6:48available now from our website. Head to House Planner dot Club
- 6:53for further details. If there are property management
- 6:57companies out there, maybe they've got 50 a hundred, 200
- 7:00hard like you or even more and they think well I actually want
- 7:04to sell my business. What would your best advice be
- 7:07to them? I think yeah, having all your
- 7:10accounts up to date showing a healthy profit and where the
- 7:15kind of opportunities to go are, there's a lot of value in that
- 7:19where a large company like Travel Chapter can come in and
- 7:22and add value to the business. So we were just kind of like
- 7:28running, you know, running a really good type holiday letting
- 7:31agency with the right technology, the right HR in
- 7:35place, all the accountancy elements in place and making
- 7:40sure that we had a really strong brand with a well defined
- 7:43market. So we were very clear about what
- 7:45we do and how we do it. Yeah, we've spoken in the past
- 7:49about the importance of having a strong brand and strong
- 7:52marketing. How much has that helped you
- 7:54appeal to potential buyers? I think, I think a lot, I think
- 7:59it's fair to say and that the profile that we created for beef
- 8:03treats in the Southwest of England and you know, the
- 8:06contacts that we've made going to different events both locally
- 8:10and nationally really helped. So people knew who we were and
- 8:14what we stood for. So that that that notion of
- 8:16being within walking distance of a beach for all of our
- 8:18properties was really key and having a good quality portfolio
- 8:22as well. So we turned turning away
- 8:24properties which didn't do and didn't share the right vision of
- 8:27what holiday letting should be in hospitality is really helped
- 8:31as well. And so you've got really a good
- 8:34portfolio which is doing really well as well, which is getting
- 8:36good occupancy, those dialect bookings, good repeat business
- 8:40as well. Yeah.
- 8:41I mean the the 97% direct booking rate that that must have
- 8:45helped. And I know we've talked about
- 8:47this in the past, but just give us the overview of how you get
- 8:51to that 97% direct booking rate and how important that is for
- 8:56for businesses when when they've been looking to acquire you.
- 8:58Yeah, sure. It's not an overnight exercise,
- 9:02direct bookings. We, we out in year, we just come
- 9:05to the end of year 2 of a three-year marketing plan to
- 9:10drive awareness for the brand and for the holidays in
- 9:14Cornwall. And that's where we're starting
- 9:16to see fruition for next year where bookings are significantly
- 9:19up. And it's a real combination of
- 9:22all the marketing disciplines. So we do a lot of PR, we do a
- 9:27lot of influencer stays, social media activity along with the
- 9:31more traditional search engine optimization, paper click
- 9:35activity and print advertising, brand partnerships we do a lot
- 9:40of as well. So we're growing a, we have a
- 9:41very large EA recipient list for our newsletter, which goes out
- 9:45weekly. So we're creating these stories
- 9:48about what it's like to stand on a beach in Cornwall and we're
- 9:51telling them when people want to hear them.
- 9:53So it's not, it's not sell, sell, sell.
- 9:55It's more of a a gentle nudgingly reminder of when
- 10:00people are ready to book a holiday that Beech juice is on
- 10:02their mind and the go to accommodation provider.
- 10:07And you mentioned as well there you go into different events
- 10:10around the country, you're speaking at different events.
- 10:12And I know there are property managers out there thinking I
- 10:16don't have time to do that. But how important and how
- 10:19valuable has it been for you, especially when there'll be
- 10:22other businesses out there saying, well, if I am going to
- 10:24go to this event, I want to see an ROI And I suppose there might
- 10:27not necessarily be an ROI straight away until later down
- 10:30the line. That there really wasn't there
- 10:32hasn't been for us, it's fair to say.
- 10:34We've we've done the shows in Barcelona and the Como, but
- 10:39obviously London and Manchester a couple of weeks ago.
- 10:42And this is building up relationships both with people
- 10:45in the sector, other letting agents locally and in different
- 10:50parts of the country and, and the suppliers as well, talking
- 10:53to the software providers who we, we've adopted over the
- 10:59years. But it's not, it's not.
- 11:01And I came here with Manchester with about 5 or 6 different
- 11:04really valuable insights weaken action.
- 11:08And it's not, it's not a structure, it's just going
- 11:11through a talk and listen to what they've got to say.
- 11:13There's conversations, there's just kind of all kinds of
- 11:17different ideas that come up from just being in the room and
- 11:21talking to people who are attending as well.
- 11:25And when it comes to selling the business, then I mean, how do
- 11:29you feel about it? Are you, what's the process now
- 11:32over the next few months? Are are you sad that it's it's
- 11:35coming to an end or are you are you happy to be out?
- 11:38It's, it's really positive for the brand and the business.
- 11:41I think it's fair to say that beef treats will, will, will
- 11:44thrive from the, from this. For me personally, it's, it's,
- 11:48it's strange. It's, it's up and down that I've
- 11:50got some holiday book in summer next year, which very much
- 11:54looking forward to. So great people that I've worked
- 11:58with. I think it's fair to the team
- 12:00have been an absolutely amazing building up the business and
- 12:04they're very supportive over the changes that we've gone through
- 12:08so far. But sad it's the right thing.
- 12:13It was the right thing to do for me personally.
- 12:15I'll have a holiday and then see what happens after that.
- 12:18And is there? Is there a plan for afterwards?
- 12:20What happens next? Well, we're talking about a year
- 12:22away, so that's kind of like it's probably not as easy to
- 12:25define at the moment. I get it feels like the sector I
- 12:30talk about holiday letting of being a drug, he kind of can't
- 12:32get away from it. It's so addictive and the
- 12:34people, the businesses are just fantastic.
- 12:39And if there was a kind of like a place for me in the world
- 12:43after exit, then that'd be fantastic.
- 12:47Yeah, it's a bit like the mafia isn't it?
- 12:49Sometimes Easy to get into, hard to get out of.
- 12:52Let's move on then. So away from the the acquisition
- 12:55of Beech Retreats by Travel Chapter, we're obviously looking
- 12:59forward to the host Planet Roadshow, which kicks off in
- 13:03Cornwall in collaboration with Beech Retreats on the 5th of
- 13:06February 2026. Tell us, what can people expect
- 13:11from this event and why should people be coming along?
- 13:15Very excited to be involved as the first one and the perfect
- 13:19place to have it in Cornwall where we have so many of us
- 13:22based down here doing fantastic jobs for, for guests and owners.
- 13:28What, what can we expect? Well, well, I go to a national
- 13:31event, I hear some great inspiration like I've just been
- 13:34talking about. So bringing all that expertise,
- 13:36enthusiasm and knowledge to Cornwall is very exciting.
- 13:39And it can be quite lonely down here when you are winning a
- 13:43holiday agency and your day, your day is full of emails and
- 13:47phone calls and challenges and opportunities.
- 13:50So to kind of come out of that, that day-to-day into a room full
- 13:54of people who are experts in the field from across the UK and,
- 13:59and the board and hear what they've got to say, saying the
- 14:02kind of the, the new technology, the new software that is
- 14:06available and how it can help me win my business, that support
- 14:11network, a lot of value in that. So to be in the room talking to
- 14:16my peers and some really kind of like industry leaders is a
- 14:21fantastic opportunity and doing it to corn, like I say is, is
- 14:25very exciting. How, how important is it for
- 14:29especially like property management businesses, anybody
- 14:32involved in the sector really, especially in a place like
- 14:34Cornwall where short term rentals is, is so prevalent, How
- 14:38important is it for those businesses to collaborate, to
- 14:41join forces, to share kind of lessons learned and I guess
- 14:45stick up for the industry together?
- 14:48Especially in 2026, we've got plenty of challenges at the
- 14:52moment with rising costs, government in legislation, what
- 15:00do we do with AI, how do we adopt it and how can it make an
- 15:03impact on our business? There's never been more
- 15:06important. And of course, the challenge
- 15:07we've we've lost to visit Cornwall, hopefully temporarily
- 15:10down here as a, as a DMO. So then there were some really
- 15:13good people working to get that back up and running in a new a
- 15:16new a new format. So hopefully we'll have an
- 15:19update on that as well at the event.
- 15:21But Cornwall, the destination has been a fantastic one, but it
- 15:27has some negative perceptions now about being expensive and
- 15:30being kind of not as welcoming as it used to be.
- 15:33But it's still a fantastic place to come and people are still
- 15:36going to come to Cornwall. So getting together, working
- 15:39together as a as a group and sharing experiences is ever more
- 15:44important. You know, people still will come
- 15:46on holiday in instead of the number one destination in the UK
- 15:50and Commonwealth should be kind of leading the way in terms of
- 15:54innovation and quality and guest experience.
- 15:56And this is exactly the kind of place where we can make that
- 16:00happen. And what's it been like in
- 16:02Cornwall? How's it been in 2025?
- 16:04And you mentioned earlier that you've got plenty of bookings
- 16:07already for for 2026. So So how's it looking and what
- 16:11are the main challenges in Cornwall at the moment?
- 16:15Lots of mixed messages in terms of how well everyone's doing.
- 16:19Some attractions are reporting quite a difficult year.
- 16:22There has been some negative stories about some major holiday
- 16:26parks as well, which have struggled.
- 16:29Like we've had a good year. We're about 10% up for 2025 in
- 16:32terms of bookings. So that's again that, that
- 16:35three-year marketing plan, that investment and that in the PR
- 16:39and influencing all the social media work that we do.
- 16:43But yeah, it's, it's hard. You know, it's hard out there.
- 16:47I mean, change over costs are a particular challenge for owners.
- 16:51I think at the moment that that's, that's not going to go
- 16:54away. But then you know, we see
- 16:57technology which has improved our business, our efficiency and
- 17:00our communication a lot over the past couple of years.
- 17:03So there are many positives as well.
- 17:04We shouldn't be kind of like down about the challenges that
- 17:07exist all week. And I think there's plenty of
- 17:10demands still out there to go around for people who want to,
- 17:14who want to make their business work.
- 17:16And what do you expect that people who come along to the
- 17:19event on the 5th of February, what do you think that they'll
- 17:22get out of it? What do you think that they'll
- 17:24walk away with? I think some, there must be some
- 17:28really good, there will be some really good outcomes for this.
- 17:32I think we talk a lot about AI and I think many of us are still
- 17:35trying to work out exactly how we adopt it in a way which
- 17:38doesn't add an extra layer of cost, but returns the guest
- 17:41experience. What's going to happen with
- 17:45statute of registration? So an update on that, what's
- 17:48happening with Visit Cornwall? There's lots of things happening
- 17:51at the moment and an update on that will be really key.
- 17:56But then just to make to make contacts to sit on a round table
- 18:01with 678 of your peers, sharing ideas, sharing best practice and
- 18:08engaging in an open and positive way is is what we're looking to
- 18:14do. Absolutely, Yeah.
- 18:16And just for those of people out there who are maybe not aware of
- 18:19the the format of these events. So there'll be a round table
- 18:23approach for the majority of of the roadshow events depending on
- 18:27the size of the venue. We will be doing that in
- 18:29Cornwall. We will have a limited number of
- 18:32panels and talks probably right at the start involving industry
- 18:36leaders in Cornwall and the people involved in lobbying and
- 18:40and legislation and that kind of thing.
- 18:42Price Labs, our title sponsor for the event, will then be
- 18:45sharing data about exactly what's happening in the region.
- 18:49And then we'll have a lot of round tables.
- 18:51There'll be Ice Breakers, there'll be competitions,
- 18:54there'll be opportunities to learn from each other and really
- 18:57drive the industry forward. And we want to make sure that
- 19:00there are real, true outcomes as well.
- 19:01So we'll be asking people to kind of write on board, you
- 19:04know, what they're going to commit to after the event, what
- 19:07they've learned. And then we'll take that away
- 19:10and we'll turn that into an infographic.
- 19:11And then everybody who comes will received that infographic
- 19:15post event so that they can commit to what they've to what
- 19:18they've committed to. So I think Andy, a really kind
- 19:21of a new type of event for the industry and 1:00 that's going
- 19:24to be really engaging for people because like, I mean, we've
- 19:27hosted events in the past and we've both been to events where
- 19:29there's a lot of information being thrown at you.
- 19:31But I think here's a real chance to collaborate and and share
- 19:35your own story, you know, whether you're running one
- 19:37property or hundreds. Well, as an attendee, I'm very
- 19:40aware of that dynamic and that we can hear some great speeches
- 19:43on stage where you have write stuff down, you go back home and
- 19:46you've got emails and everything to deal with.
- 19:48So it's actually kind of having something which is easy to
- 19:51implement, is measurable, is inspirational as well.
- 19:55And quite often I've come away and easy end up listening to
- 19:59brilliant people talking. But.
- 20:01You actually kind of writing down notice that I should be
- 20:02doing so it gets you away from your desk.
- 20:05It gets you into a room full of people who are also thinking
- 20:08like you about he's an opportunity and he's something I
- 20:12can do to address the challenges and make the most of the
- 20:14opportunities that are going to arise in 2026.
- 20:18So I think if you're in Cornwall, and especially if
- 20:20you're running any business that's associated with holiday
- 20:23letting, don't cocoon yourself in your office, come out and
- 20:27meet us and, and be part of the community.
- 20:30Because I think it's, it's an easy excuse, isn't it, to say,
- 20:32oh, all the events are in London or somewhere else around the UK.
- 20:35But this one, if you're in Cornwall, it's, it's right on
- 20:38your doorstep. So please do come along and join
- 20:41us. If you're interested in getting
- 20:43a ticket, it's £40 a ticket. So we've kept it as low as
- 20:47possible. Go to host planet dot club
- 20:51forward slash host Dash, Planet Dash roadshow.
- 20:55If you don't remember that full web address, just go to our
- 20:59website and you'll see everything on the homepage, all
- 21:01the links there. As we said, the strategic
- 21:04partner will be the short term Accommodation Association.
- 21:07The title sponsor is Price Labs. We're also working with the
- 21:11women in short term rentals community headed up by Lisa
- 21:15Rhodes. They will be there as well.
- 21:18Other brands fans that will be sponsoring include host away,
- 21:23beyond super Control, Zeal tax. So if you need to know more
- 21:27about the FHL tax changes, great opportunity to chat to Matt and
- 21:31the team, a guesty group accommodation convert your stay
- 21:36and also a couple of local businesses, Andy, the Cornish
- 21:39Food Box Company and Sea space. And I think this is another
- 21:44reason to come along is that we're trying to involve local
- 21:46companies as well to showcase their their wares to to the
- 21:49wider sector. And I think it's really
- 21:51important that each event of the roadshow is is for that
- 21:54particular reason. And Cornish Food Box, it's great
- 21:57to have them along with they work with many of the agencies
- 22:00providing really kind of customized and high quality
- 22:03Cornish produce direct to the holiday let for the guests to
- 22:07order. So you're actually getting the
- 22:09best of the local produce all kind of sauced in Cornwall ready
- 22:14for when you arrive on holiday. So that's kind of again, we'll
- 22:18be talking about a lot about the, the, the market in Cornwall
- 22:21demands for Cornish holidays in 2026 and of course visit
- 22:27Cornwall as well, which would that be a part of conversation.
- 22:31I'm sure a lot of people will be chatting about that.
- 22:33So yeah, it's the Thursday, the 5th of February from 9:00 AM to
- 22:375:00 PM. We'll be serving a bit of lunch,
- 22:41tea, coffee as well. And it's at the Oceanside Hotel.
- 22:45So go to the website, houseplanet dot Club, and you'll
- 22:49get a link through to where you can get a ticket.
- 22:52We'll also put the ticket links in the show notes.
- 22:56Andy, it's been a real pleasure. Thank you for joining us again
- 22:59on the Host Planet podcast. Welcome.
- 23:01Enjoy it. Thank you.
- 23:02Great to chat to Andy Easton there from Beech Retreat.
- 23:05Remember to get your ticket for the Houseplanner Roadshow, head
- 23:08to our website Houseplanner dot Club.
- 23:11Tickets are just £40 each and be quick because they're selling
- 23:15fast. That's just about it for today's
- 23:17episode. Remember this podcast is brought
- 23:19to you in collaboration with House Philly, which is trusted
- 23:22by short term rental professionals across the globe.
- 23:25As a Houseplanner listener, you get 2 exclusive offers, $500 off
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- 23:32Just use the code Planet, 530% of digital guidebooks for life.
- 23:38Use the code Houseplanet GB. To grab these deals, click the
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- 23:45For more free education tips and trends from the STR industry,
- 23:49visit Houseplanet dot club where you can sign up for our
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- 23:56of ebooks for hosts and property managers.
- 23:58That's it for today's episode. Until next time.