Hello

I’m Karen a holiday home expert/coach/mentor/consultant(call me whichever word means the most to you). I’m also a wife, mum to two teenagers, tea lover, Prosecco drinker, cat rather than a dog person, big fan of Strictly Come Dancing and a bit of a tidy freak! Do you want to earn more from your holiday home? If so, I can help you.

My background

I’ve always been a “people” person. In my previous life I worked as a department trainer for a multi-national company. Nuturing and developing new team members to reach their potential was something I thoroughly enjoyed.

I subsequently became a full-time mum, bought a holiday cottage in North Yorkshire and spent many a happy holiday there (so much less stressful than going abroad with young children).  It was very much our second home.

During this time I worked part-time for a luxury self-catering holiday agency, speaking to owners and guests and I gained a real understanding and insight into what it takes to run a sucessful holiday home.

Seven years ago, I decided that I wanted to turn my lovely cottage into a holiday rental.  My initial goal was to cover the annual running costs and then to make a profit.  All the while knowing we could still holiday there as often as we wanted.

So, I had to first create a holiday rental then grow it.

Creating it

I knew I wanted to offer a luxury product. Defined not just by the quality of the holiday rental itself but also the service I was going to offer my guests. I wanted to make each booking count and justify earning as much as I could per booking. That’s where my profits would lie.

So I set about turning a lovely, but bland cottage into something special.

I knew I couldn’t afford an interior designer so I headed to college. I qualified as a Home Staging and Styling Professional so I now have all the tips and techniques needed to style and present a holiday cottage to look its best for minimum spend.  It’s about working with what you’ve got!  I achieved Visit England 5* Gold so my studying wasn’t for nothing!  But crucially I styled the cottage on a budget and that is what home staging techniques and skills are all about!

Growing it

I knew I needed to run my holiday home as business, not an expensive hobby or a sideline.  It was time to get serious.

I researched and I read and I studied.   I taught myself how to use social media and how to build my own website, how SEO works and how to market my holiday rental and ultimately how to earn more and more from my holiday home.

I wanted a one-stop-shop to take me through this process of creating and then growing a holiday cottage business. But there wasn’t one!

There is now!  The Business of Holiday is born from my needs as a holiday home owner and my life experiences and my knowledge.

I understand your needs because I’ve been there.

I had to learn the hard way and yes I made some mistakes along the way, but I learned from them.  And yes I had some serious moments of self-doubt but I can say it was so worth it. And yes I did have to spend some money on the cottage but throughout I stuck to my budget.

That’s why I am now a Holiday Rental Consultant, to help and advise fellow holiday rental owners who are now on the same journey that I’ve been on.

I love being a holiday home owner.  It’s so rewarding, plus I know I’m lucky enough to have this amazing asset that’s not only a long term investment (my pension pot) but is actually working financially for me now.

So join me in The Business of Holiday Rental and make your holiday home work hard for you!

I look forward to working with you.