Bethnal & Bec: A column for owners, by owners

Chris

Renovation: What we learnt the hard way when launching the Foaling Box

On October 1st we welcomed guests to our 3rd luxury accommodation, exactly 4 years after we opened and welcomed guests to our first 2 retreats.

What this rather innocuous opening sentence doesn’t convey is the absolute hell that the building process was, and the fact that our guests had to wait in the pub until 8pm as we were literally still finishing the building, and missed their scheduled checkin time by a few hours. Not the worst place to have to wait, but not what they had paid for.

For those readers who are either embarking on a major renovation or new build, (or those who are thinking about it) I am going to give some advice which we learned the hard, hard, hard way.

BEFORE: The Foaling Box

My #1 piece of advice is that no matter what, do not open up for bookings until your building work is 100% finished, even if this means you think you may miss out on a few weeks of business - it’s just not worth it, financially or emotionally.

Based on our builders estimates of completion date we gave ourselves a good 6-8 weeks leeway before we opened up our calendar for bookings. This time would be for snagging, testing, soft launch etc.

However, covid + supply issues + dodgy builders = a highly unpleasant process and a scramble to welcome our first booked guests to a lovely property.

But it was not 100% perfect as it should have been, and indeed 5 weeks later we are still having to get tradesmen in during the 5 hours we have between guests as we are fully booked every day for the first 2 months of opening!

In hindsight we wouldn’t have opened bookings until we were completely happy with a finished product. Even financially this may have been better, as we ended up paying for additional labour to try and make our open date as well as paying more for supplies that could be delivered or sourced quickly.

Not to mention that we sometimes had to compromise on what we really wanted due to time constraints.

Emotionally, how our marriage survived the stress is unknown.

AFTER: The Foaling Box

Credit: Binky NIxon

I was often doing the finishing touches and decorating, which was in the builder’s contract, at 2 or 3am, as we just knew the builders simply would not be able to complete it in time.

We are going to practice what we preach, as we have another property to renovate.

This time it’s remote to our own home in Felixstowe Ferry, and our first ever family friendly place by the sea. So even though this property may be very seasonal and we could miss out on the summer business by not opening up bookings before the estimated completion, we are simply not going to do it.

Bookings will only open when we are 100% satisfied with the project, when we have spent time in it ourselves and we have had a soft launch of guests to ensure any snagging is complete.

I think if you’re creating a great place, then even at short notice you will get bookings once you open up, especially if this is in the school holidays.

By doing this we are hoping that the next renovation will be a somewhat less painful experience, mentally, physically, emotionally and financially…... plus our marriage should be stronger!

AFTER: The Foaling Box

Credit: Binky Nixon

Vicky

Choosing which awards to enter and writing your own press releases

As rewarding as it can be to run your own business, it is always nice to have your Peers and industry recognise that hard work.

That said, I think it is important to be careful about what awards you enter, the validity of them (and the cost!)

When we first opened I entered every award going! I felt that it gave our new business credence and would help with marketing. When I look back at the time spent on applications, the costs involved of both entry and awards dinners - I definitely have a different approach now! I have decided there are certain fields that I would like our business to be awarded for - firstly our Sustainability commitment and secondly the unique business that we are. That way I can also leverage from any finalist or winner positions in those fields and pull it through to my PR and journalist contacts, reinforcing what I'm already saying and doing.

This year we have entered 2 business awards: SME Awards and The National Recycling Awards. We won both awards at the SME's: Sustainability Award and Business Hero (we offered our accommodation for free for 4 months to anyone needing respite from Domestic Abuse during lockdown). Last night we were finalists in Recycling Excellence at the National Recycling Awards. After the (nearly) 2 years our industry has had, it really has rallied our spirits to be recognised for what we have done, and what we do, and I'm busy now writing press releases to share the news and far and wide!

We write our own press releases as we've not had great experiences with PR agencies in doing it for us! Writing a press release is very easy, but many businesses think they can't do it themselves. No one but you can get the emotions and passion for what you do over to a journalist better than you!

We'll be entering Luxury BnB awards too - always enjoy being amongst and be judged against our direct peers. Will you be entering too?

Chris (Left) and Vicky (Right) at the SME Awards