The hardest thing was keeping on top of everything. It’s quite a tension because you don’t want to be behind a computer all the time. That’s always a challenge when you are manning things by yourself.
Optimising listing at Ballylinny Holiday Cottages
Read how TravelNest has helped Ballylinny Holiday Cottages expand thanks to better visibility, optimised listing content, and effortlessly day-to-day management.
About Ballylinny Holiday Cottages
- Ballylinny Holiday Cottages are situated a stone’s throw from the Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the north coast of Northern Ireland.
- Established in the 1990s with just a few properties, Ballylinny has grown to comprise eight traditional whitewashed cottages and two modern barn loft apartments.
- Owner Alan is supported in the day-to-day running of Ballylinny by Claire and Rachel.
The challenges
All of Ballylinny’s bookings were previously managed via their Booking.com listings and the Ballylinny Cottages website.
This was becoming time-consuming and manual. The team spent a lot of time going through bookings, correcting errors and updating multiple calendars. This reduced the time they were able to spend with guests.
The Ballylinny team wanted to expand the reach of the business and boost revenue. They wanted the cottages to be found by a much wider audience, and attract more international bookings.
How TravelNest helped
Increased visibility
With TravelNest, Ballylinny Holiday Cottages are now listed on Airbnb, TripAdvisor, HomeAway and TUI.
Easier day-to-day management
The day-to-day running of the business has become much quicker and smoother. TravelNest eliminates much of the previous manual effort, so Alan and the team can focus on what’s most important – the guest experience at Ballylinny.
Streamlined calendars
The calendar synchronisation and automatic updates across all of Ballylinny’s properties provide a clear overview of booking status in real time. It also reduces anxiety about potential double bookings and saves time.
TravelNest’s knowledge and expertise helped us create better profiles for our properties to make them more appealing, and improve our occupancy rates.
Listing optimisation expertise
TravelNest worked closely with Ballylinny Holiday Cottages to review their property information. We made a number of targeted recommendations to optimise their listings on every channel. This aimed to showcase each of the 10 properties in the best possible way.
This included:
- Amending titles and re-writing descriptions
- Organising professional photography – image score improved from 15% to 100%
- Reviewing pricing compared to local competition
- Advising on calendar flexibility
Our occupancy has increased since using TravelNest, they’ve given us exposure to more guests and more sites. We are getting more bookings through different sites that we weren’t using before.
Alan and Claire
Ballylinny Holiday Cottages
