About Sleeps12
Why travel abroad when you can stay with your family in a beautiful property with wonderful facilities right here in the southwest? This is the ethos of Sleeps12, a holiday letting business with 65 stunning large holiday homes in the southwest of England, managed by Oliver Yiend. Oliver says, “we want the property to be the destination.” His team focus on really getting to know the property owners, and having an in-depth knowledge of all their rentals. Through this they are able to deliver a more personal touch to booking a stay, he says “our team have spent time at all the properties and know all their intricacies, in addition to having a fantastic understanding of the local area”. Oliver explains “we want our guests to make memories at our properties and visit time after time, so that their family milestones are celebrated here. So often our guests describe never leaving the house, as they have enjoyed the swimming pool, games room, cinema and all the other facilities so much, combined with having a professional chef come to the property to cater for them”.
Oliver’s role in the business is to oversee the general running of the company, which means he gets to be involved in everything, from signing up new properties, deciding upon and delivering the marketing campaign, even through to running the payroll. Oliver says “the challenge of running the business is never knowing what might happen next! As well as keeping up to date with all the relevant legislation, I also need to make sure that we have a happy team and exude positivity to attract new customers.”
Thrive Programme
It was clear to Oliver that the business needed a good marketing plan. He explains, “our previous strategy was very reactive and we did not have good control of what was happening, nor could we easily interpret the results of our marketing to understand if it was effective”. On the Thrive programme, Oliver signed up to four modules, Google AdWords, Email Marketing, Marketing Strategy and Google Analytics. This gave him a well-rounded overview in the different areas of marketing that he was already using, putting him in the driving seat. Oliver says, “I can now make decisions and measure the results of these decisions, which helps in refining our approach, doing exactly as we planned, giving us control and making us more efficient.”
Marketing Impact
Would Oliver recommend Thrive to other businesses? “Yes definitely, I gained some useful tips and tools to help the business move forward and be more successful.” The next challenge for Oliver is to ensure that he always has a marketing plan for the year ahead, fine-tuned each week. Key to this is understanding the impact of his marketing, by staying on top of the analytics. “My enjoyment of running the business comes from having happy owners and guests, enjoying the properties that we have to offer”
Growth Hub Support
Looking for support for your business? Our advisors at the Growth Hub have the resources to link you with numerous business support programmes and organisations that can help you start, run or grow your business. Get in touch today.
