8 minute read
The Enchanting Hosts
Meet Martha and Reuben Fosberry, the owners of The Moon & I near Hereford. Steph Curtis-Raleigh went to visit them and find out more about how they started with little more than passion and flair and have built a thriving business, allowing them a dream life/work balance for their young family.
Martha and Reuben Fosberry
Reuben and Martha used to be keen bikers – before they had children, ‘back when I could fit in the leathers,’ as Martha says ruefully. It was one of Reuben’s trips in France that inspired their business. He was hosted by a husband and wife team who welcomed him warmly, while their children played happily in the sunshine.
Later, with Reuben tiring of the music business and Martha having left her teaching job to have their first daughter Seren, the memory of that idyllic life returned and the pair looked for the perfect setting for their home and business. They found it on the English/Welsh border, near Hereford. “A truly magical place, steeped in folklore and history with its patchwork quilt of black and white villages weaving in and around the mighty River Wye,” as Martha says poetically.
With Martha’s background at Art College and work spent in theatre and Reuben’s practical building skills – they had the perfect ingredients to create magic in their beautiful backdrop. “We started our business on a shoe-string because we sunk all of our money into buying the property itself,” says Martha. “So to begin with we had the spare room in our house on AirBnB and a bell tent in the garden. If you start with humble spaces, they can be amazingly charming if you put your mind to it but all of those unique touches have to sing out all the more.”
The Moon & I
“We knew those spaces would be temporary, but often, it’s really important to have the courage to deploy your “means to an end” plan and know that you can make a space completely magical without clinging on to the perfectionist ideas you might have in your mind about how your business might look in ten years’ time,” she adds.
Now, The Moon & I comprises of Prothero – a stunning shepherds hut with outdoor shower loo and wood-fired hot tub and Hiraeth – a barn conversion full of upcycled whimsy and wit with its own indoor/outdoor hot tub. The stargazing bell tent will soon be replaced by a new all-season accommodation created from an old fairground stall (which we will follow the progress of in future issues). The Moon & I is represented by Canopy & Stars.
By letting their business evolve organically Martha and Reuben have learned invaluable lessons and given themselves time to evaluate what works for them. However, their main priority has always remained constant.
“Host and Enchant; that was our aim with those first spaces, it’s our aim with where we are now and it’ll be the same in looking forward to the future, whatever shape the spaces themselves take,” says Martha.
As for lessons learned – these are manifold. It’s no easy task launching a business with young children in tow.
"The best advice we could give is to pace yourself and look for practical advice wherever it may appear and focus on what it is exactly you want to provide in terms of guest experience,” says Martha. “Do you want to focus on providing families with an adventure-filled break with tons of play equipment and things to keep little adventurers busy? Do you want to focus on couples retreats and turn the volume up on the romantic far from the madding crowd vibe? Or are you keen to provide a no-frills, quick turnaround space for those seeking some low-cost stargazing?”
Then there are the boundaries – just like raising children – boundaries in business are equally important as Martha and Reuben learned the hard way.
“In the beginning, we included breakfast at no extra cost, we did one-night stays, we hugely under-priced ourselves, allowed for late checkins, I offered added extras such as freshly cooked evening meals, breakfast hampers, packed lunches, you name it. All lovely things that add to the guest experience, but with two children under the age of 4, and largely making a loss on bookings, it was exhausting and not profitable. Your guest experience won’t be enhanced by you running yourself ragged and not being able to make ends meet. Don’t be scared to put a price on things – your time being one of them,” she says.
“Now, we only offer two-night minimum stays and have set check-in days, we no longer offer meals and hampers but we do recommend amazing local producers who do (arguably better I might add!). We welcome guests with local biscuits and hand cooked crisps, some fresh free-range eggs and sometimes a bottle of Prosecco or local cider – not a free three-course breakfast! We keep boundaries with check-ins and check-outs – offering self check-in for anyone who arrives after 9pm because that is what’s right for us, while still allowing the guests freedom,” she adds.
Martha and Reuben are always on the lookout to work more efficiently so that they can enjoy their family and life outside of the business as well. “It’s super-easy to forget you have a life outside your home and business but it is so very important to take time out. You can even frame it as market research!” adds Martha. “We quite often go out for supper to local restaurants or pubs and check them out in order to recommended them, we come back having had a welcome change of scenery and feeling excited that we have something new to share with guests.” As previously mentioned – hosting is one of Martha and Reuben’s core aims and one thing they enjoy most about the business. “We have been so very lucky over the past five years so have welcomed so many wonderful guests here to share our home and explore beautiful Herefordshire,” says Martha. “We also love celebrating the county we are lucky enough to live in. We try to use and promote as many local companies as possible to guests, including recommending local fab eats out and places to visit.”
And as for enchanting – this also comes naturally to the couple, who combine Martha’s theatrical and artistic flair with Reuben’s exquisite craftmanship.
“The creativity we get to exercise when we’re building spaces is such a joy, and it’s lovely to see the guests faces when you check them in,” says Martha. “We’re certainly very proud of what we’ve built together.”
“In terms of the design ideas for our spaces, Reuben will back me up when I say I am the queen of the boot fair and charity shops. I tend to find an object that tells a story or inspires me and then a whole design concept will just grow from that. For example, I found two rusty old Great Western Railway lamps in a charity shop and so the theme for one of the bathrooms in our barn space grew from that. I began to research how once upon a time, the Great Western Railway passed through Hereford. I found ticket stubs, maps (god bless eBay!) and fed these ideas into the story of the space. I created a Pinterest board of Victorian washrooms, I learnt about Victorian tile glazing production and how to copper gild. No matter how hard I tried, no paint had the effect I wanted so I gilded the whole ceiling by hand because it was so important that it has the right feeling and finish. This is a great example of the love and attention to detail that is stitched into every inch of the business and what we feel makes us, us!”
Things that are less enchanting are changeovers in winter and social media! “Both Reuben and I are terrible at social media; Reuben is actively repelled by it in fact!” says Martha. “We are currently exclusively with Canopy & Stars and cannot sing their praises enough. We also use Instagram and Facebook to promote our business and have a website that links our listings with Canopy & Stars. Being with an agency like that and meeting people who are good at that stuff is the key.”
Despite all of this, the past 14 months have been tough for Martha and Reuben as they have been for everyone. “It’s been such a year of gifts and grief, seemingly in equal measure. We know when our girls look back at this year they will remember a summer that seemed to never end, spent outside in the sun with free rein of the place. And in many respects, we have a similar memory because we’re blessed with living where we live. But of course financially things became very tough,” admits Martha.
“We were in the middle of converting the barn which had mortgage implications and many of the banks just pulled out of the holiday let market, so we were left high and dry. We were eligible for some government support to help keep the wolf from the door which was a saving grace,” she adds. “But we missed hosting so much! Most importantly though, we are so grateful our friends and family are well and to all those on the front line who kept the country together!"
The Moon & I
