Mastering Hospitality: Adapt, Market & Thrive with Ger

[00:00:00] Liam: Hi everybody. Welcome back to the Boostly podcast. This is the podcast that gives you

[00:00:03] Liam: the tools, the tactics, the training, and most importantly, the confidence to go out there and get yourselves more direct bookings. We do a behind the host podcast, and this is where we dive into real stories. Real hosts is the stuff which they can tell you about their journey and their experience, which you can then take and put into your business, your hospitality business.

[00:00:22] Liam: So it'll save you time, save your money, and ultimately. improve your business. And the key thing is the reason we do this is so it makes you realize that you're not alone with hosting. Other people go through similar challenges, similar successes, and as a community, being in hospitality is one of the best things to, to be in.

[00:00:40] Liam: So hopefully you'll agree. And ladies and gentlemen, today we have a friend of mine. He's an amazing host. from Wales. Gur is a top Welsh host. He's somebody who truly embodies a mindset of continuous learning and adaption. Um, he's been in hospitality for over 20 years. He's co authored a chapter in hospitable hosts, a bestselling book.

[00:01:06] Liam: Uh, he's known for his motivational posts and action. driven within the community. He takes on board all of the information and he goes and implements it. And if there's one thing that you can take away from today's podcast, it's going to be that you can't rest on your laurels, that hospitality is always changing and, and so should you, you know, be, be ahead of, of the curve.

[00:01:26] Liam: So Gur runs, uh, Roisad back, um, It's a collection of, uh, luxury holiday cottages. And we're going to dive into his business. We're going to see what he's learned and the things that he's done in his business that can help you too. So we're going to dive in. Welcome along Gur. Thank you for joining me today.

[00:01:45] Ger: Good

[00:01:46] Liam: morning. So I, I know I probably murdered the name of the business. There is, uh, obviously based in Wales. It's a, it's a Welsh name, but just cover the name of your, your business and where you are in the world.

[00:02:00] Ger: Yeah, our business is called Rosyth Bach, um, Rosyth being Heathland, Bach being small. Um, we, we actually live on a property called Rosyth, so the, um, the natural progression was to name the business Rosyth Bach.

[00:02:12] Ger: Um, Wales is a, is a lovely place, uh, but it's quite, it's not large, but it's got different sections to it. We, we basically are based on the North West, a place called Llyn Peninsula, which is lovely, Pen Llyn in Welsh. And it's just off Yr Uri. Uh, which again in English is Snowdonia. Um, so we get lots of people coming here who've been to Snowdonia, or Aruri as we're supposed to call it now, they've changed the name, been to Anglesey and never been any further.

[00:02:38] Ger: So they just, they just carry on going and they end up in an absolute oasis of beauty here. Um, again, we, we sell the place on its coastline, 60 miles of lowly coastal path. Some call it like a mini Cornwall, but not as busy.

[00:02:50] Liam: Nice. Nice. And it's a beautiful part of the UK and ultimately it's a place where a lot of people go to for tourist reasons.

[00:02:57] Liam: But as we'll talk about today, you know, you have got other markets there, which I'm eager to dive into. Before we really get stuck in, what is the one thing you want people to take away from listening to this episode on the Boosley podcast?

[00:03:12] Ger: The one thing I think to take away is to be confident about running hospitality business, especially in today's climate.

[00:03:19] Ger: There's an awful lot of negativity out there, especially in Wales with, um, with tourism tax and one eight, two day rolls, this and that. But you know what at the end of the day, you've got to look through all that. Um, Potentially, every business has issues, be it in sort of exports, imports, manufacturing and hospital is getting it now.

[00:03:36] Ger: So just be confident and believe in yourself and believe in the fact that you can actually run a very successful business.

[00:03:42] Liam: I like that. I like that a lot. There's that motivation I was talking about for everyone listening. I did, uh, I did say you're, you're very positive. So you've been in hospitality for, you mentioned before we started recording for, for 20 years.

[00:03:54] Liam: Um, but before we, we dive into some of the lessons you've learned, can you just give me a couple of minute version of how you got started and what drove you into the hospitality industry? Thank you.

[00:04:05] Ger: Yeah, you could say Penllyn is very, very much hospitality driven. We've got some lovely beaches.

[00:04:10] Ger: Aberystwyth is a very popular place. Bwllheli is world renowned for sailing. Um, so since I was like 10, 12 years old, I've been involved in it. When I was about 16, um, I went to work at a local attraction. It was a local shooting school, uh, which I helped run and I actually taught people how to shoot there.

[00:04:28] Ger: And I very, very quickly got to understand that Dealing with people who are on holiday is much easier than dealing with people who need stuff and it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a pleasure for them. They enjoy it. So that was that. And in about 10 years later, when I was what, about 30, the opportunity arose to buy quite a rural property, an old farm.

[00:04:49] Ger: So I bought this. No intention of opening a hospital business. But three years later, there was a set of outbuildings, which we didn't buy, which are adjacent to the farm, and they went on the market, uh, 20 years ago, believe it or not, 18,000 pounds. We only paid 40,000 for the house. It's hard to believe. So we bought it.

[00:05:07] Ger: Uh, wife wasn't too happy because, um, I spent all the money we had on restoring the house, on buying the buildings. Mm-hmm . And we thought, right, what should do afterwards we actually bought them to stop anybody else buying them and, and opening a big barn there or something. So, yeah. Cut a long story short, we converted them into, um, at that time, three units.

[00:05:24] Ger: One sleeps six and one sleeps five, one sleeps four. Uh, it used to be an old pig farm, so they're all joined together, which was quite nice. And, uh, yeah, I did most of the animation myself. I've got background in, in flooring and interiors and I'm quite practical. So I, I could do most of that in between working as well.

[00:05:41] Ger: Um, yeah, then at that time we set it up, um, things would change a lot. Um, I can remember going out and buying my, uh, I had to have a laptop. Duke. To do some work in and out of this and that and buying an Acer Ferrari, which cost me a thousand and a half. And you know, you think how much a laptop costs you nowadays.

[00:05:58] Ger: You know, I invested what, two and a half grand in a website 20 years ago. And there was lots of money. You had to have it because we were rural as well. We were about 10 minutes from any beach or the coastline. Um, I think it, it gives you more drive. You have to work harder to make it work. So, so 20 years later, we're still here.

[00:06:19] Liam: Brilliant. And do you know, it's, it's funny, the decisions, when you look back on you go, I'm so glad I made that decision. And like you say, you, you, you made the decision based on other reasons, not to necessarily set up a hospitality business, but ultimately a lot of people find themselves in hospitality and some of the decisions that you've made in the past ultimately lead you to, to the success you're into today.

[00:06:41] Liam: So that's really,

[00:06:42] Ger: I think it was, it was always in the back of my mind. And I'm a great believer in you've got to work hard at what you do, but. I think fate does play a big part of it as well, and it's just, it's a huge coincidence that I bought this place and this came up to sale, and I bought it and I developed it.

[00:06:57] Ger: That's what all, that's what I always wanted to do. So, you know, you've got to, you've got to, you've got to follow your heart and believe in your dreams.

[00:07:03] Liam: And especially in such a beautiful part of the world, it just, you know, it makes sense. So, Across those 20 years, what's been the biggest shift that you've seen in the hospitality industry?

[00:07:15] Ger: I'd say that the biggest shift has been the, the timescale that people actually come on holiday for. Um, when I first started, I joined a local, um, sort of local group, um, basically 14 housewives and me, and it was like a farm stay thing. And, um, I, I joined in and brought some new ideas, this and that. And it's quite strange in, down the road, there's a place called Abersoch, which most people have heard of.

[00:07:38] Ger: And, um, I think 50 percent were from that area and they literally, in the summer, they only let for a minimum of 14 days. First two weeks of the holidays, middle two weeks of the holidays, and last two weeks. Easter and wit, and that was it. And when I said I, I let for, going back 20 years, I'd let for three or four nights.

[00:07:56] Ger: They just, they They looked at me in amazement. I said, well, that's not even worth it. We wouldn't do it. Um, so after three years, I left the group and, um, strange enough, I'm, I'm still in contact with a few of them and I help them out, uh, with, with, with their marketing and they're now taking two and three day bookings.

[00:08:14] Ger: So the market, the market shifts, I'm not saying it's right. I'm not saying it's wrong. Um, you know, it's nice to have long bookings. I've just taken one literally this week for three weeks in August, which is amazing for me. But then they, things change and you, you know, and you've got to. Embrace that change as well.

[00:08:29] Ger: No point staying on the same spot, otherwise life just overtakes you.

[00:08:33] Liam: Oh, 100%. And talking about that change, what was some of the things which are available now to you as a host that people listening to this might be taken for granted, which would have been a game changer back then. So what are some of the things which we should should be considering doing in our business?

[00:08:47] Ger: Bearing in mind 20 years ago, um, website was the only way you could do it. Sort of contacting people. Otherwise, we'd be putting adverts in newspapers, um, radio times. I never got that far. Yes, we used the local agents as well, who spent a fortune on it. Um, social media. Social media is a big game changer.

[00:09:05] Ger: People just take it for granted. The fact that you can take a photograph and put it out there today. Mobile phones. Cameras, um, going back 20 years ago, you're looking at sort of a 35 millimeter. Remember at the time you used to have to, you used to put the film in the camera, take a roll of photograph, then post it off to TruePrint and it would come back seven days later.

[00:09:25] Ger: It's hard to believe that you can take so many photos and they're there. And with

[00:09:28] Ger: technology now you take a photo and you can upload it and you know, it just makes it so much easier to showcase your property. Whereas back then it was just a website. That's the only thing you had to showcase it. You

[00:09:39] Liam: Yeah.

[00:09:40] Liam: And the quality, like you say, as well, this is the other thing, like even your phone in your pocket, although we recommend you to get professional photographs, ultimately the tools that we've got right now on us, able to just take some pictures. And I mean, nowadays, when I go to the properties and, and look around, uh, if there's something cool or the light's just right, I will still film a little video or take a few pictures.

[00:10:03] Liam: And ultimately that stuff is great content. So that's a really good. point Ger that ultimately that's one of the big things which has changed and if people are listening to this now going actually I don't take full advantage of it then why not because like you say it would have been a game changer back then.

[00:10:19] Liam: So looking at that the other day what's one outdated practice that used to happen a lot 20 years ago that you still see people doing now which they probably shouldn't be and they need to let go of?

[00:10:30] Ger: Um, as most people will know I'm a big supporter of. Customer persona, customer avatar, um, I'm also studying for a degree in marketing.

[00:10:39] Ger: So I've looked into that side of things. Um, years ago, I think people still do it nowadays. It's a case of one box ticks all. Uh, they just like, we've got a holiday cottage. We don't care who we take. We'll take, People, families, couples, whatever. But now people must have a much more targeted approach to it.

[00:10:58] Ger: Um, again, imagine it to having a net and throwing it just at standard nets and in the sea and dragging it up. And you'll catch, you'll catch a few fish, a bit of this, bits of that, but it's quite low value rather than having specific nets going out and targeting certain species and then, and catching them.

[00:11:13] Ger: Catching that certain species, which is of greater value. Now, I'm not saying you only take one customer. What you've got to do, you've got to look at two or three types of customer and target them accordingly. And, and that's, that's the way forward. Um, be it retired people, be it couples, be it contractors, as we discussed earlier.

[00:11:31] Ger: Um, but people have got to get out of the mindset and thinking, yes, we'll just take anybody. Because anybody inevitably is nobody.

[00:11:39] Liam: Yeah, and especially even that moment of just getting that down on paper, like, Hey, who do we actually want to come and stay in our property? And when are they most likely to stay?

[00:11:49] Liam: And there's a lot of, uh, a lot of confusion, isn't there about that? And I know, um, you've presented, uh, uh, some of the summits we've talking about persona and how important that is. And for anyone listening to this, you can go on the Boostly channel, you can check out Uh, Boostly YouTube, and you can go and find Ger's video on Persona.

[00:12:07] Liam: It is, um, it's really good. It's just good to get an idea of how we identify who comes to stay with us and what they're really looking for. Cause as soon as you've got that, you're much more likely to be able to market the key pain points that they need in, in your properties, which is cool.

[00:12:23] Ger: And when, when you do connect with that, the right persona as well, it's a strange one, but people arrive at your property saying, Oh my God, look at this.

[00:12:30] Ger: It's amazing. Just what I wanted. Yeah. Great. I connected and those type of people as well will, uh, will be repeat bookers, you'll find. 'cause they like the place, they will come back time and time again. That's why people rely on Sykes horse seasons. Um, these big OTAs, they don't get a lot of repeat trade because it, they're just throwing anybody there.

[00:12:51] Ger: But you connect to the right person, you'll have them for years. So it's not just the one booking. It could be booking for 10, 20 years. 100%.

[00:12:58] Liam: So the next question I've got for you is a two part question really, which is, I can see that you're constantly adapting. I'm on your email list. I don't know if you know that I'm on your email list.

[00:13:07] Liam: So I see your emails, which come out from your hospitality business. I see that you do an email marketing. I know you're involved with AI. I know you're always, um, looking to implement the stuff you learn, which is, is, is really cool. And you're really positive about it. So. Your mindset when it comes to change, how do you, uh, what advice would you have for people who maybe don't have that same change mindset?

[00:13:31] Liam: And what advice can you share of, of how you deal with change when it comes to business?

[00:13:37] Ger: It's just difficult because we all do what we've always done. And then so if you do that, you will get what you've always had. Now you've got to, you've got to change. Change is inevitable, isn't it? So my logic is you, whatever the change is, you've got to embrace it or give it a chance, um, by bracing it, look into it.

[00:13:53] Ger: Now, again, there's a lot of changes like there's, you know, with the CRM, I'm not even started with that yet. I will get to it. But sometimes if people. A, a, a, a, a falling change. They're try and do everything together now. Cut it into bite-sized pieces. Um, if you're not, ha you know, people never, ever gone on social media before, fine.

[00:14:10] Ger: Just set to a Facebook account and do it slowly. Um, make emailing lists. Just, just, just start off slowly. One email every six months. Do it in bite, uh, bite-sized chunks. Don't. try and do everything together. Otherwise you'll get overwhelmed. When you get overwhelmed, what happens? Nothing. You just give up and salt can go away.

[00:14:28] Ger: And then in three months time, they'll come back again and try it again. Just again, just embrace it. You know, be positive about it, but do it in small, small chunks.

[00:14:36] Liam: Yeah.

[00:14:36] Ger: And that's for the people that plenty out there, which will help.

[00:14:39] Liam: I think you make a really good point about just mindset and people just go, Oh, I need to do everything all at once.

[00:14:44] Liam: And then quickly they just go, do you know what? I can't do this. I'll stop doing everything. Whereas what you've just mentioned there, even if it's just one email, every, whenever you can do that, or even if it's a one social media post, whenever, uh, whenever you can, when you're at your properties, that's all it takes to just nudge it in the right direction and get into the habit of, of them doing it, isn't it?

[00:15:03] Liam: And not being so, so worried about it. So how do you. stay ahead of the curve? Um, in particular, is there any kind of resources or how do you embrace some of the newer things when others just get stuck doing the same things?

[00:15:19] Ger: I think it's, it's also important to, to, to speak and I have discussions with other people in the same industry.

[00:15:26] Ger: I've, uh, my background is, is flooring. Uh, and it used to be like a, a, a dog eat dog industry. Nobody spoke to anybody at all. And when I came into the industry, I thought to myself, you've got to work with others. And so, as you know, I work with quite a few. Uh, I, I know you, know Mark. I've got about 50 people in our groups, which we discuss and have a chat.

[00:15:45] Ger: And, um, you know, you see what other people are doing. Um, follow their examples. I've just recently joined an AI group, as you know. I'm not posting anything in there, but I'm just learning so much about, about stuff. And it is, it's about sharing resources. And don't feel that other people, even in the same area, are competition.

[00:16:02] Ger: Because, you know, we need to get rid of that word. You know, we're a collective together. And it's together we learn.

[00:16:08] Liam: Yeah, I think it's great having that shared interest and also sometimes I've got to be honest with some of the new stuff. I'm not interested in it, but the sheer fact I'm in communities which talking about and they can actually there's an opportunity.

[00:16:19] Liam: You kind of go, Oh, hang on. Am I going to miss out if I don't spend, you know, maybe 30 minutes listening or reading something, which is about it. And at least then you're a little bit more informed than you would be. If you weren't part of that community, part of that group, then you simply wouldn't even know about it in a lot of cases.

[00:16:35] Liam: And this is why it's so important for. Um, I mean, everybody listening to this right now, if you're not part of the hospitality community on Facebook, you can go and search hospitality community and come and join a free Facebook group, which talks about, um, all sorts of hospitality related things. It's a free group, uh, started by Mark Simpson and just being part of these communities and these Facebook groups, like you say, do make a big difference to, uh, trajectory in, in our businesses.

[00:17:01] Liam: So what is one tool strategy or software that you've. implemented say within the last 12 months, which has helped you a lot in your business.

[00:17:11] Ger: I would say one of the, the downside of technology is that everything's automated, which is fair enough. It's great. But then when people actually come to your place, they want to see somebody and meet somebody.

[00:17:23] Ger: So I say one of the biggest things I've done, it's not technology based, is Adding that huge, big personal touch when people arrive, go and see them, have a chat with them, ask them, what do they want to do? What do they want to see? And that, that, that, that works well because they, they, their journey up to now, the customer journey has been everything, you know, automated emails, So this and that they like to see somebody and then by seeing you, you tend to stand out as well.

[00:17:49] Ger: So that's, that's the, that's a big one. Um, another one, which I have done, which I'm quite proud of in a way, again, it's simple to a lot of other people, but there's maybe they don't have them at all. Um, I've just put QR codes in all the cottages, um, offering a free, free weekend if they join my VIP mailing list.

[00:18:06] Ger: And, um, and that's, you know, that's quite something in a way. Uh, and, and tell people, and it's amazing how many people. Don't know what to do with that QR code. Now you and me think that everybody do. So I tell them all the time when they come in, by the way, if you want, if you want a free weekend, just click on that.

[00:18:20] Ger: There's no catch. You go on to our mailing list. So it's a small thing, but I'm quite proud of that as well.

[00:18:25] Liam: That's very cool. And let you say that personal touch. We talk about all these strategies and, and often people are talking about, you know, the latest technologies and the new PMSs and the new dynamic software, but ultimately people buy from people and that personal touch are going across there and actually being memorable.

[00:18:44] Liam: First of all, it increases the quality of reviews, I'm sure, but also, um, it's memorable. People remember people. Not just the places, which is super cool. So going slightly off, off piece there, you, you mentioned automation, you mentioned personal touch. So what's more important to you in your business? And I expect, I know what you're going to say is automation more important, or is the personal touch more important?

[00:19:09] Liam: And if so, why?

[00:19:11] Ger: Personally, I think it's, it's the personal touch, but I'm only a small operator, I've got four cottages. Um, because although I've got automation in there, I do think that to retain Clients or customers. Um, it's important that you give them the personal touch. Uh, that's the difference between us and booking.

[00:19:31] Ger: com or Sykes cottages. They, they, they, one part of automation I do not like is lock boxes. I know they're going to come and it's easy for people, but there was an interesting piece by Debra Labby, um, a few months back about how she, she has lots of lock boxes in her properties, but when they arrive, um, There's a, there's an automated video of her welcome to the property, or she sends somebody over there to welcome them and show them around what to watch.

[00:19:57] Ger: And again, I know it's not. That is personalization as well, isn't it? People go around holiday and they want to buy into the place. They want to know what to do, where to go, what to see. So I think that, that, that, I do that because it drives repeat customers. And to me, that, that, that is, I would never, I would never ever drop that over automation.

[00:20:15] Liam: Yeah, I like that. I like the answer. Do you know, it's interesting. Um, you got me thinking about my places now is for a few of the places we do meet and greet. And I gotta be honest, the reason we do meet and greet wasn't any other reason than the building. It's an old 1800s convert factory. And it's really difficult to know where you're going.

[00:20:33] Liam: Unless you know where you're going and where to park and everything like that. So we've, we've operated a meet and greet system for, for years. There's a, um, she's a host herself. She hosts people within our own home, but, um, she's also our meet and greet cause she just lives around the corner and happy to, um, to pop out.

[00:20:47] Liam: And when she goes and meet and greet people in general. They now, uh, they say Donna was in the reviews. They say Donna was great. They consider Donna to be the host, which absolutely fine. Um, you know, I'll take the five star no matter what. Um, but the thing that I've noticed over a long period of time is that when you do look at the scores, um, these meet and greet ones do have a higher level of consistent.

[00:21:11] Liam: High scores compared to some of the others where people have had a faceless experience. I guess the challenge there for many hosts, including myself and many people listening to this, like you say, is how do you do this at scale or how do you do this, uh, um, uh, distance, but things like a recorded message, uh, there's technology hit now, which can certainly help with that.

[00:21:32] Liam: And ultimately, if not, it's not ever so much to, to find somebody local to go and do a meet agree if, if you're, um. Unsure. You can always test both. You can have a key box and a meet and greet option for people. Can't you? Which is cool. So you do email marketing and you've been part of a Boostly group for a while and one of the ambassadors and and now one of the speakers.

[00:21:57] Liam: What strategies do you use to keep people coming back? I know you've mentioned the QR code. Is there any other strategies you'd like to mention which helps people to come back again and again?

[00:22:09] Ger: I'd say my main strategy, and it does account for a good 25 percent of my return to trade or business, um, is email marketing.

[00:22:17] Ger: But, beyond doubt, it really is. People say email is dead, email's dying. I think it's still up there with things. Um, so yeah, so basically when they, every bit, Somebody stays and they ask them to join my mailing list. Um, they, they do get perks. They, they get, um, uh, free hampers. I give everybody a, um, a 5 to 15 percent discount on anybody on my mailing list.

[00:22:41] Ger: But obviously I've uplifted the prices anyway by that much. So, you know, I'm not really losing out. And people love it. And, and, and, Yeah, I, every time I send an email out, my list isn't that big now, it's about six, seven hundred. I might lose one, but I always get a booking answer. Always get a booking and it's, it's regulars and it's strange.

[00:23:01] Ger: I don't understand why sometimes there's people come every year, but then they won't book until they won't book. And except in the back of an email, I think we all lead such busy lives. Oh, we're going to go there again this summer and they forget to book today. They forget to book tomorrow and they get a prompt by email saying, Oh yeah.

[00:23:19] Ger: Um, what about us? And they were, they were booked the following day. Um, other things I do. I have a weekly blog, uh, ramblings of a quirky Welshman, which is quite good. Uh, I just ramble on about different things. Uh, as you can see now, I can ramble a bit about local, local, uh, sort of restaurants, places to go, beaches, this and that.

[00:23:37] Ger: And, um, it's difficult to measure how successful that is, but that's again, out of the blue, I do get emails or people saying, Oh yeah, you mentioned that place there. Um, how far are you from it? So obviously people are reading them all the time. Um,

[00:23:53] Liam: People who lurk and they read and then they'll, they'll come and message you just out of the blue.

[00:23:57] Liam: And there's

[00:23:58] Ger: a lot, there's a lot of lurkers in there as well. I went the other day, I had a blog ad that did 12 months ago. And, uh, and about some, it was a local place called Lawn Goid. And there's an old disused chapel there. And he asked me, do I know who owns it? So I said, God, this is 12 months ago, you know, but it amazes, what people don't realize is when they do a search for an area, um, your blog will come up.

[00:24:20] Ger: In it, which is quite good in it as well. So it's all, it's all coverage, isn't it? You know, it is.

[00:24:25] Liam: And that stuff that you put out, this is, this is why everybody listening to this. If, if you're going to put out any information, ultimately, it's not just about the immediate return, right? It's not like, Hey, I'm going to put one blog and I want five bookings to arrive tomorrow, it is that slow burn where people.

[00:24:41] Liam: You reach out to you. And especially now. So I was reading, um, about how a lot of the time now, obviously, AI is searching for answers on the internet. And a lot of the time you'll see, um, when you search on Google in general, at the moment, you'll often see Reddit or you'll see, um, some of the forum type.

[00:25:02] Liam: Answers come up and those forum type answers come up first because they're obviously from real experience. And this is the one thing that AI doesn't have and search engines don't have is real experience. And this is why you see a lot of the time that written blogs and real experiences is coming up in answers.

[00:25:18] Liam: And this is why. Like your blogs, which you may have done 12 months ago, like say somebody will search that one word and all of a sudden that'll be suggested. Well, you've got people reading content that you don't even know is reading it. And perhaps then considering coming to stay with you. That's really cool.

[00:25:34] Ger: It's again, it's not really relevant for us because we don't have a lot of American state, but if you go after the American market, Americans, well, as you know, search for everything on YouTube. So somebody's only on, best thing you can do is have two days and drive around all the area making videos of every single beach and just popping up there with a name.

[00:25:52] Ger: So when somebody comes to, you know, when somebody is looking, we're going to Wales, we're going to go and, and search some beaches, all of a sudden you're there with 20 videos of local beaches. Well, that makes you the go to, doesn't it?

[00:26:05] Liam: It does. And I know there's a few members in the community and this is something which I haven't set up.

[00:26:10] Liam: I'm so keen to set up for two reasons, which is to go and spend more days out with with my little boy and my family, you know, like, just just to go and do that, but actually just to record short videos at each place we go, because, um, by doing so you're building content. And actually, when I look at it, I, I, I search like the Americans, if I'm going to go somewhere, I want to see a video from a real person who's been there, not the pamphlet or the website of the place, which tells me it's great.

[00:26:38] Liam: Of course, they're going to tell me it's great. They're biased, but the actual people who go there and go, Hey, this is what I like about the place. These are the things that could be improved, but ultimately that's, that's a cool way of doing it. So yeah, really good points there and, uh, food for thought. So what is one action that you think everybody listening to this right now should go and do in their business?

[00:26:59] Liam: Thanks.

[00:26:59] Ger: Embrace what they're doing and be positive about what they're doing. Do you know, sort of look at your business, look at what the pluses and what the minuses are and, and, and go with that, uh, do what you're happy in, in doing, do what you're happy in doing and, and, and just, and carry on doing it.

[00:27:14] Liam: Yeah, especially staying positive. I think your point at the start of saying there's so much doom. I saw a thing from, uh, PASC UK come out and that said all of the challenges. I mean, again, this particularly for UK, but this will affect all our listeners in U S. Canada, Australia, where regulations come in.

[00:27:30] Liam: There's so much doom out there. And let's be honest, we could really get consumed by all of that, that bad stuff. But ultimately, um, there's still markets out there. It's still thriving markets. And there's also, um, we can let it affect us to a degree, but ultimately how much power is in our own hands. Like you said, and this is why I go, you inspire myself and other hosts is the fact that you, somebody who, um, years ago, you know, wasn't using this stuff, you're now using it, you're adapting to the change, and you're seeing results from it.

[00:28:04] Liam: Uh, one thing that's worth mentioning as we're talking before we, we, we hit record is that, um, you've made some adaptions in your business of, of now hosting contractors. Just, just talk us through Uh, the conscious change you made in your business and, and, and how it's working out.

[00:28:19] Ger: Like most hospitality businesses in a tourism area, you do get your quiet periods being sort of November, December, January, February.

[00:28:26] Ger: And we used to get a few contractors staying with us. We've done a few solar panel, uh, installations, this and that, but it got fairly quiet. Uh, so somebody told me that contractors are hanging out on booking. com. I thought, well, that's worth a go, isn't it? So what we did, we set up a listing. We don't list on booking.

[00:28:39] Ger: com. Um, so we set up a separate listing. And we called it RB Contractor Stays and just whacked it on there. And I know, I know some, a lot of people won't take vans, won't take lorries. They won't take this, that, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. There's nobody else here. What's the, what's the difference with a transit van and a, and a BMW.

[00:28:56] Ger: So I thought, so I took some photos of vans and I thought, I think I spoke to you about it as well. I think, well, what the contractors want. So like anything, you package it up. So we put it on booking. com, um, and minimum two nights and people will laugh at me saying, well, it's not hardly worth it, but if you, Monday to Friday, we're basically full, out of season, and even in sort of May and June, uh, maybe two, three, like, short, short bookings.

[00:29:19] Ger: Well, you work it out. If I get two short bookings per cottage, four cottages, that's eight bookings a week. Now, yeah, there's more cleaning involved, um, but after saying that, it's another market, isn't it? Yeah, it's another market which brings in, it pays a bill, brings some income in. And when you get them for maybe a month, it's great.

[00:29:36] Ger: And what we tell them is they only do Monday to Friday. They go home with the weekends and we say, fine, okay, leave your stuff here. If we get a booking, um, somebody wants to come for the weekend, we'll bag everything up, put them in an outhouse, clean it and have people in for the weekend. And they're back in on a Monday again.

[00:29:49] Ger: Um, beauty of contractors again is people always diss them and they all saying, Oh, we don't want, This and that and the other. They tend to be specialist trades and it's amazing how far people travel. I've got people trying eight hours up here for two hours. Single people, people who work in, um, in factoring, invoicing.

[00:30:06] Ger: Um, lots of people doing sort of security systems for caravan parks, this and that. Sole people, maybe two people. They're so respectful. Never, ever a mess there. And the beauty is, on the day of departure, they've gone by seven in the morning. So, you know, whilst everybody else is in bed, I've done the changeover.

[00:30:21] Ger: Do you know? And, um, it's coming to the degree where if we could get, if they could pay a bit more, you know, I'd be happy to have contractors all year round. Yeah, they really, they really are good. Uh, so it's the stage where I will be over the next two months. I'll, I'll, I'll be taking, taking the whole business onto a separate platform, take it off booking.

[00:30:39] Ger: com, but it's still, still there to, to harvest them. Uh, but yeah, it's, it's, it's a good, it's a good business to have. And like anything, try different things and don't dismiss anything. Make, you know, make your own decisions about, you know, what works for you. What doesn't.

[00:30:52] Liam: Yeah, I like it. Again, embracing that change, isn't it?

[00:30:55] Liam: So we've talked about the past. We've talked about direct bookings. We've talked about, uh, personas. I guess one thing we need to talk about is the future. What, what can you see in what's your prediction for hospitality say in the next five years?

[00:31:09] Ger: I think the way things are going with, with marketing and with AI this now, it's going to get.

[00:31:15] Ger: Everything's going to get super personalized. People will be literally putting stuff in there, what they want to do. But now you could say you could maybe, you could cut the market down to maybe 30 avatars, different type people and people who fill into, into brackets, into boxes, that's, that's all going to go.

[00:31:30] Ger: It's going to be super, super personalized. So it's a case of, you've got to really sell your place on its merits. Um, It's be different to other people. Everything you offer, make sure it's down in black and white and just make it look pretty. Personally here, what we're going to do is there's quite a few properties around here in our holiday lefts and people come here because they like it.

[00:31:53] Ger: And we're, we're going to go down there. We're a bit quirky at the moment, but we're going to go super quirky, if you know what I mean. Uh, we're going to take it down that road, make it even more personal, uh, have, I don't know, just add, add a few bits and pieces, plant more trees and, and make it something that people can really remember.

[00:32:10] Ger: Uh, more sitting areas, maybe some statues. I, I don't know yet, but it's not going to be, it's not going to be some, you're running the mill sort of a holiday park or, or holiday cottage. It's going to be something people are going to come and they'll remember it for a long, long time.

[00:32:23] Liam: I like that a lot. You should do sponsor a tree.

[00:32:25] Liam: Yeah, you should have guests have the option to have a like plaque in front of a tree of somebody who stayed and stuff like that. There's um, there's loads of things when it comes down to uh, quirkiness and fun and experience type things, isn't there? That, that, um, that you can do. And I'm excited for, for the future.

[00:32:42] Liam: And as you mentioned at the start, just to, to bring this, this whole thing together is, is you mentioned what things were like, and some of the opportunities that we've got now that we wouldn't have had 20 years ago, or new hosts actually have now, but take for granted. And if the one thing I'm really taken away from this is that if.

[00:33:02] Liam: You're in hospitality. It's about injecting your own personality and just be who you are. But also don't be afraid to start putting stuff out there, testing the waters with all of the new tech and all of the things that you can be using in your business. Because ultimately, that opportunity is right now compared to, you know, 20 years ago.

[00:33:24] Liam: So thank you for coming on, sharing your behind the host journey in hospitality. Where can people go to check out your business and find out more about you?

[00:33:33] Ger: Uh, we're, obviously you go to my website, which is, um, prosedbach. co. uk. Um, again, on the, we're on, um, most of the socials, Facebook, Instagram. Um, if you're, if you're in Facebook, you know, I'm always posting in, um, hospitality, in the hospitality group as well as, um, Boostly.

[00:33:51] Ger: So I'm out there. Just, uh, just search for Gare.

[00:33:54] Liam: That's cool. And I encourage everyone, we'll, we'll add the link somewhere around where you're listening or watching this, uh, to go and check out his website. Some beautiful views. If you like, uh, rolling green countryside and, uh, you know, uh, really beautiful Wales, then please do go check out.

[00:34:10] Liam: Uh, girl's place and go and stay with him. You get to meet him and, uh, and see what an awesome chap he is. So good. Thank you so much for coming on the Boosley podcast today and for sharing your journey. Uh, thank you too, for listening to this on the Boosley podcast. We hope you've enjoyed this. If you know somebody else who will get value from listening to girls journey, please do share it with them.

[00:34:28] Liam: If not come and join the hospitality community on Facebook and we can continue the conversation. Thanks very much.