CORNISH GEMS R E F L E C T I N G O N T H E U K S M O S T P O P U L A R H O L I DAY H O T S P O T. e caught up with Julianne Shelton, co-managing director of Cornish Gems, a Cornwall based, awardwinning, tourism business which boasts a mission to ‘showcase the best hand-selected, luxury self-catering holiday homes in Cornwall’, to find out what it is like to be immersed in such a vibrant sector and how it’s evolving. The trajectory of demand for holidays in Cornwall seems on an inexorable upward trend, which must be immensely exciting to be a part of. Why do you think it is that Cornwall is so popular now? It really is. With the huge demand for staycations we’ve seen a rise in website traffic to cornishgems.com of over 100% (from 400,000 to 800,000 YoY) and our travel advisors are handling hundreds of enquiries every week for 2021 and 2022 holidays, with no signs of slowing. Cornwall has of course always been popular as we’re blessed with miles of stunning coastline, vibrant and historical picturesque villages and the general sense of a more relaxed pace of life. A combination of Cornwall generally upping its game with regards to accommodation standards and offering world class things to see, experience, eat and drink has certainly widened Cornwall’s appeal and demand. Add on the ‘Covid-effect’ and it takes popularity to new heights we never thought possible.
From when you started Cornish Gems in 2007, you have grown to now offer around 200 properties across Cornwall, with a team of 100 strong. How has the market evolved in this time? When we launched Cornish Gems 14 years ago the competitive landscape was very different. We were entrepreneurial to identify a gap in the market for an agency that specifically offered a luxury standard of selfcatering accommodation, coupled with a fully managed service - something property owners really bought into as a new concept back then. Although we’ve grown organically at a steady pace, during this time the market has become crowded with competitors all vying for a slice of the cake. There does seem like plenty of business available for us all to tuck into however the largest concern is the dominance of owner direct booking engines like Air BnB and booking.com, which although a completely different business model to Cornish Gems, have impacted the industry generally in terms of safety and quality standards whilst depleting the former abundance of accommodation to residential let. With very little cost-effective residential accommodation available to rent in Cornwall, I’m concerned that as Cornwall becomes increasingly popular, how are we all going to sustain being successful in recruiting seasonal staff and where are the many people that can’t get on the property ladder going to live if there’s very little to residential let? I appreciate there are many other factors that affect the availability of residential lets, not just AirBnB of course! However, I do feel strongly against the global giants eating into market share in our sector as they do not provide local jobs like we do, Cornish Gems employs 100 people which scaled up in context means at least 300-400 people rely on us for their livelihoods. It seems the sector is becoming less seasonal, where often a cold-water swim or an invigorating winter beach walk followed by a book in front of the fire can be just as enjoyable as a summer holiday. Is this something you have noticed?
Julianne Shelton and Nadia Macer-Wright
12 | FIND THE BALANCE
Yes it is. We’ve always promoted the year-round benefits of Cornwall as there really is so much to see, do and enjoy here, whatever the season or weather. There is nowhere better to switch-off from daily life and soak up the fresh air and nature - whether that might be lazy summer days on the beach or storm-watching from the comfort of a beautiful holiday home, a cosy pub or on the coast.
