2021 Highlights and Moving Forward

Happy New Year! 

As we start 2022, we cannot help but reflect on the past couple of years.  Like most businesses, we were faced with challenges caused by the uncertainty of the pandemic, as well as new opportunities that presented themselves as an accelerated trend due to the changes in travel and working patterns globally.  The last two years have been the most disruptive in our generation and we are grateful that we have continued to grow from strength to strength.  The lessons we learned in 2020 prepared us for a much stronger 2021 and beyond! 

The pandemic created very uncertain times for most businesses, and in particular the hospitality industry.  We experienced challenges that seemed insurmountable, such as the time 100% of our bookings for the rest of the year were cancelled overnight when the UK went into the first lockdown back in March 2020.  The national lockdown resulted in zero demand for serviced accommodation and we had to quickly rethink our strategy.  Thankfully we saw another opportunity that was created in the form of providing safe, emergency accommodation to key workers.  Although our pricing was heavily subsidised in order to assist where we could, it was a lifeline to the business.  The government grants also went a long way in keeping us afloat.

By 2021, business was gradually getting stronger due to easing restrictions, reopened borders and more people transitioning back to work.  This resulted in a much better year than projected.  By the time we were celebrating our second anniversary in November, our team had grown by two new hires and one of our team members even welcomed a new baby! 

We have also considerably increased our social media presence which has boosted customer engagement and direct bookings, all this while delivering exceptional guest experience and customer service.