© TravelNest 2022 - All rights reserved
Nethermill Luxury Lodges is a farm diversification project set up by owners Richard and Alison on their farm near Glasgow. They established three luxury lodges in 2019 and decided to join TravelNest soon after launching their new holiday letting business.
Starting out in the vacation rentals industry was a step into the unknown for the couple. Discover how TravelNest has helped them get set up for success and achieve a steady stream of bookings.
Before taking the plunge into holiday letting, the couple thought carefully about the type of customer they wanted to attract. They decided to go for high-end, super-luxury lodges, aimed specifically at the couples market. All the lodges have high spec fixtures and fittings, hot tubs and a very private outlook.
As well as luxury hotel-standard bathrooms and king size beds, every detail has been carefully thought through to give guests a super-luxe experience. They also decided to allow dogs, as the area is popular with walkers and they realised that allowing dogs would attract more bookings.
The lodges are secluded and very private. They also have great amenities – they’re all equipped with a hot tub, decking area and BBQ, and have really nice views over the Firth of Clyde and the Argyll hills which our guests seem to really enjoy.
TravelNest’s vacation rentals industry knowledge and channel specific optimisation expertise was of huge benefit during the onboarding process. TravelNest’s experience in listing thousands of properties on the world’s top booking sites helped Richard and Alison’s new business venture get off to the best possible start. Advice included:
Richard and Alison initially listed the lodges with a competitor. Things were OK bookings wise, but they wanted to do better and be on more of the bigger channels. With TravelNest, their lodges are listed on over 30 of the world’s most popular booking sites including Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Vrbo (formerly known as HomeAway), and Tripadvisor.
All enquiries, bookings and payments for the lodges are handled by TravelNest. This alone saves the couple a huge amount of time and hassle. Richard and Alison run Nethermill Lodges in their spare time and also have a young family. Working with TravelNest helps take the pressure off.
The responsiveness of TravelNest’s software is particularly useful for managing their booking calendar and filling any gaps in occupancy. With full control over their property information, Richard and Alison get an instant overview of occupancy gaps, and can amend pricing their pricing to boost revenue.
Since joining TravelNest in 2019 Richard and Alison have enjoyed an impressive 90% consistent occupancy for their lodges. The lodges are almost fully booked throughout the current season, and are already attracting bookings well into 2021.
© TravelNest 2022 - All rights reserved