How do you build a holiday let business where 97% of bookings come direct?
In this Host Planet Playbook feature – powered by Hospitable – Andy Easton from Beach Retreats shares the story behind one of the UK’s most successful holiday let brands.
Managing 240 short-term rental properties in Cornwall, Beach Retreats has built a reputation for exceptional guest experiences and a powerful direct booking strategy.
In this conversation, Andy explains:
* How Beach Retreats scaled to 240 holiday lets in Cornwall
* Why rejecting the wrong properties is essential for long-term success
* The tactics used to achieve 97% direct bookings
* How to build a direct booking website that converts
* The realities of running holiday lets in Cornwall
* How to keep property owners happy
* Andy’s top tips for delivering a standout guest experience
We also discuss the recent acquisition of Beach Retreats by Travel Chapter and what it means for the business moving forward.
If you’re a holiday let owner, Airbnb host, or property manager, this episode is packed with insights on building a sustainable short-term rental business.
1:39 Beach Retreats manages 240 holiday lets in Cornwall
1:54 Andy’s journey into short-term rentals
3:12 The story of Beach Retreats
4:33 How Beach Retreats stand out among the competition
6:08 The importance of rejecting the wrong properties
7:26 Getting to 97% direct bookings
10:06 The tactics required to achieve a big percentage of direct bookings
11:27 How to build a website that converts – it starts with simplicity
13:07 The challenges and opportunities of running holiday lets in Cornwall
15:00 How Cornwall deals with the media coverage of short-term rentals
16:08 Andy’s top tips for delivering an outstanding guest experience
16:56 Listen to your owners to keep them happy
18:02 Biggest lesson learned: stay humble
18:50 What Andy loves most about hosting
19:34 Quickfire questions
25:10 Beach Retreats has been acquired by Travel Chapter
Download a free copy of the Host Planet Playbook: https://www.hostplanet.club/host-planet-playbook
The Host Planet Playbook was created in collaboration with property management software, Hospitable. Interested in using a PMS which will help you manage your rentals on autopilot? Get 25% off Hospitable for the first three months: https://hospitable.com/partners/hostplanet
Andy Easton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyeaston/
Beach Retreats: https://www.beachretreats.co.uk/
The Host Planet Playbook series is presented by James Varley, Founder and CEO of Host Planet. Connect with James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdsvarley/
Host Planet: https://www.hostplanet.club/
The Host Planet Podcast is where Airbnb hosts, Booking.com hosts, Vrbo hosts, and short-term rental operators come to learn what actually works. Each episode features expert insights from people actively building, managing, and scaling short-term rentals, covering everything from Airbnb hosting fundamentals to advanced rental strategies. Whether you’re focused on guest satisfaction, rental management, or smarter automation tips, the show delivers practical advice you can apply immediately to improve performance and increase Airbnb bookings.
Across the series, we explore Airbnb host tips, listing optimization, price optimization, and Airbnb listing optimization – alongside real-world investing insights and behind-the-scenes Airbnb secrets you won’t hear elsewhere.
The show is presented by James Varley, a holiday let investor and property manager who is also the Founder of Host Planet. Before founding Host Planet, James spent 20 years in the media, including a decade leading corporate communications for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Contact the show:
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