StayCotswold strengthens team as growth accelerates

Published by

Peter Davison

Allie Smith, Sarah Parker and Ellie Smith of StayCotswold's owner and guest services team

A Cotswolds holiday home rentals business has bolstered its team with a series of key appointments in line with its rapid growth.

StayCotswold saw year-on-year growth in booking revenues of 35 per cent between July and September. August was the busiest month in its history for revenues and guest arrivals.

The company, which last year moved to new premises in Stow-on-the-Wold, has expanded its portfolio of holiday homes by 48 per cent in the past 12 months to 214, and expects the figure to reach around 230 by the end of 2023.

Managing director Tom Burdett said StayCotswold has now become the largest independent holiday home rentals business in the region in terms of the number of properties on its books.

Its portfolio includes cottages, houses, luxury converted barns, manor houses and farmhouses as well as a growing collection of shepherd’s huts and lodges. The properties can cater for two people all the way to groups of up to 28.

StayCotswold is forecasting a rise of 42 per cent in gross booking revenue for the financial year to
March 31.

In line with its growth, StayCotswold has recruited Steph Searle as marketing manager and Sarah Parker and Allie Smith have joined the owner and guest services team, following on from the appointment of Ellie Smith to the same team earlier in the year.

StayCotswold was founded in 2009 by Fergus Mitchell. In April 2021, a team of professionals with vast experience in the holiday cottages sector – comprising Tom, Mat Faraday and Tracy Archer – acquired the business. Fergus remains a director and shareholder.

The business had just three staff when the trio acquired it and the team has now expanded to 15, with further recruitment under way.

Steph Searle has joined StayCotswold from Cheltenham marketing agency 10 Yetis Digital, where she was head of social media. She has held marketing roles across various sectors, including fashion, fast-moving consumer goods, financial services and construction.

Tom said: “We have recruited additional staff to ensure we continue to provide the best possible personal service. They all live in the Cotswolds, know the area well and have extensive experience in the sector, so they are very well-placed to help and advise our property owners and guests.

“They are all welcome additions to the team, and we look forward to making further appointments in the coming months.”

Tom said forward bookings for 2024 are ahead of target as the business benefits from the continuing popularity of the region for staycations and overseas tourists, as well as its variable pricing model and targeted marketing strategies.

“Bookings for October have exceeded our expectations and the Christmas and New Year period is also looking very positive,” he added.

“We have brought on some stunning properties in recent months, many of which are traditional Cotswold stone cottages, as well as contemporary barn conversions.

“We are constantly responding to market trends. For example, there has been an upsurge in requests for dog-friendly accommodation and, to meet this growing demand, we now have 124 suitable properties on the books. We are also seeing a rise in bookings for town centre locations, not just rural properties.

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“The growth in our overall portfolio means we are now the largest independent in the Cotswolds in terms of the number of properties on our books.”

In the 12 months to March 2023 – the second year of trading under the new management structure – StayCotswold secured over 6,000 bookings. This was more than double the figure for the previous 12 months.

The number of delivered bookings per property increased by 24 per cent and letting income per property was up nine per cent.

Peter Davison

Peter Davison is deputy editor of The Business Magazine. He has spent his life in journalism – doing work experience in newsrooms in and around Bristol while still at school, and landing his first job on a local newspaper aged 19. By 28 he was the youngest newspaper editor in the country. An early advocate of online news, he spent the first years of the 2000s telling his bosses that the internet posed both the biggest opportunity and greatest threat to the newspaper industry and the art of journalism. He was right on both counts. Since 2006 he has enjoyed a career as a freelance journalist. He lives in rural Wiltshire with one wife, two children, and three cats.