Would You Move Out and Rent Your Own Home Charlotte from The Scarlet Hen Did – and Built a Thriving Business!”

You're listening to Get Fully Booked with Sarah Orchard. Are you ready to master your marketing so you can ditch your reliance on the online agents and grow your direct bookings?

I'll be sharing with you exactly what it takes to grow your direct bookings and the simple marketing steps to get more profit in your pocket. Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Get Fully Booked podcast.

I'm your host, Sarah Orchard and today I'm delighted to welcome a fellow host to the podcast who has a very unusual business model for her short term rental holiday home, Charlotte Hughes, who runs the Scarlet Hen in Yorkshire, England.

So I've invited her onto the podcast today to share this with us and her tips really from how that works for her and also from a marketing point of view. Welcome to the podcast, Charlotte.

Hi. Thanks for having me, Sarah. I'm really pleased to be here.

Oh, it's great to have you here today and I've obviously seen recently you've had quite a lot of media coverage and, you and I have chatted and I think your business model is just so unusual. So I can't wait to dive in and share that with the listeners.

But let's start with a little intro just so that they know what your business is all about, what you do.

Okay, so we've got the Scarlet Hen at Norfolk House.

We're a four story mansion house in West Yorkshire and we mainly host girls weekends, especially luxury hen parties, but we also do wellness weekends and we also do a bit of corporate stuff as well. And we've just got a new yoga meditation studio that's about to open.

So we're hoping to branch more into that type of wellness weekend, stroke girls weekend, that type of thing.

That's a massive trend, isn't it? Wellness. So good one to tap into.

Yeah, absolutely.

So for the listener's point of view, if they haven't come across the Scarlet Hen, you have this very unusual business model. So could you tell us how you came up with the idea of moving out of your home every weekend to host group stays? Because it's such a unique approach.

Yes. So it didn't happen by design. I have to say that I don't think anyone would choose to give up their home every weekend to strangers.

So it was out of necessity rather than a plan really. And we'd got a fantastic business. We were in the music industry and we were traveling all over the world.

We were hosting all these fabulous parties and unfortunately, due to a few different circumstances, personal and business that ended up not being as lucrative as it was. And we got this huge house that we'd lived in for 20 years, and we decided that we didn't need the space anymore.

So we decided that we would sell the house. We thought that it would be a little bit tricky because with it being such a large family house, it's not really something that everybody would want.

And we did find it extremely difficult. In fact, we didn't get any buyers that came forward. So, yeah, we were left with this huge house. We didn't know what to do with it really.

There were a couple of reasons why it didn't sell. We weren't in a great school catchment. Things the energy bills were large.

It couldn't be chopped up into smaller houses because it's a listed building, we're on a main road. And so it was a friend that just said to us, you need to rent it out. You've got bills to pay.

And so we popped it on Airbnb and that was where it all started for us.

Wow. So where do you go when the guests come in?

Yeah, so we've been doing this for 10 years, so as you can imagine, it's changed a little bit over the time. So originally we decided that we would all just move into a small rental accommodation across the road.

So we hired what we called a grotty cottage across the road, and it only had two bedrooms, so we were used to all being in our own space and we moved over the road and, you know, we'd get there and it wasn't particularly that nice compared to where we were. But to be honest, it was just for two days, so that's what we did.

And we did that for quite a long time until Covid happened and we all moved back into the house and we got rid of the rental because we didn't need it because all of our guests stopped.

So at that point, I had time to kind of reflect and one of my kids said, oh, Mum, I just don't want to go back to living in that little grotty flat every weekend. And I actually read a book called Get Rich, Lucky Bitch. And it was on a podcast audio. And I listened to that while I was doing my Covid walks.

And it just changed everything for me. And I just thought, what?

How much more money do I need to earn per week to be able to not live in the grotty flat, but actually to rent an Airbnb in a lovely rural location close by? Have everything ready for me when I arrived, the lights were turned on, the fire was lit, the bottle of Prosecco was ready.

And not go to a flat where I thought, oh, God, I've got to start washing up and things. And that was a change for me and it really did open my eyes into how to do this in a different way.

Wow. Well, we'll come on to talk about that in a bit more detail.

But first of all, I thought I'd ask you a bit more about the sort of guest experience, because you touched on the fact that you have mainly girls weekends and celebrations. So what makes the Scarlet Hen so appealing for hen weekends and big celebrations?

How have you shaped the space and experience around those. Those ideal guests?

Yeah. So I am actually an interior designer and I'm very lucky that my husband has got no interest in what I do with the house.

So I have decorated it exactly as I want it. So it could be, you know, when people look at the house, it's definitely a female's touch, if you like.

So I've used all these fabulous wallpapers because the rooms are so large. It really can take these fabulous big prints and if you just do the boring kind of magnolia and beige, it just doesn't hit.

So it's decorated with me in mind and I just thought, you know, where would I want to stay? And it's just worked out that it's appealed to definitely the feminine touch.

But the other thing is, because we are a large house, we're over four floors, we've got three massive reception rooms, but we only have six bedrooms. Now, I know people might say only, but we can sleep up to 21 people. Because these bedrooms are vast, they literally could fit. I mean, we've got six.

Sorry, we've got three double beds in two of the rooms. And when the girls book, they, like, want that room.

They're like, oh, my God, we want to stay with all the bridesmaids in the attic room, where you've got the whole, you know, we can fit six. But when you've got a family dimension, that doesn't always work.

If you've got, let's say, three couples sharing that bedroom, they're not that happy.

If you've all paid the same amount per person, you don't want to spend the same to share a room with others when other people have got their own bedroom, whereas it just lent towards groups. Girls who don't mind sharing beds and don't mind sharing bedrooms, in fact, they actually prefer that.

They love it. It's like a girl's sleepover, isn't. Talking to the wee small hours and, yeah, having a giggle. So that sounds perfect now, for anyone who obviously wants to check your website out, I'll put a link in the show notes. So if you want to go and connect with Charlotte over on Instagram or have a look at the website, so you can check out these amazing interiors because they are absolutely stunning. People can go and have a look at the website and check you out as well. We touched a little bit about sort of logistics and the sort of the grotty flat. But I've got, like, so much stuff.

We've been doing some work on our house and having to move stuff from room to room and it's been an absolute nightmare because we're getting to the point where we're running out of rooms to put all the junk in. So just from a family point of view, you know, how do you manage the logistics.

I mean, you've got kids as well, so, like, people have loads of stuff, so moving to an Airbnb or a rental at the weekend sounds like great, but it's bad enough packing for a holiday, let alone moving out every weekend.

So we would describe ourselves more as hotel staff than a family now. So, yeah, I mean, I've got to say, my husband is extremely tidy.

I mean, he has got what they would consider OCD, which, you know, can be a hindrance in a lot of senses. But for us, he just likes to keep tidy. He never stops tidying up. Literally.

You open a drawer and there's nothing in it, and if there is, he'll throw it away. So we've become highly organised. We live in a very minimal way, so we've got capsule wardrobes. We keep personal items to a minimum.

We're very lucky in the sense that we at the moment, what I'm going to turn into the meditation stroke yoga room is currently our junk room. So that contains everything that's not on show.

So I don't know where that's going to go when we do that. But it's been quite refreshing to live in this way because I'm quite a person that likes to collect a lot of rubbish. So we've not been able to do that. But we've got locking wardrobes, locking drawers.

We provide our guests with hanging rails, which, when they're only coming in for two days, that's all they need, really. We've got a routine, so we, on a Friday morning, we do a five Hour check between myself and my husband. So it's almost like 10 hours.

Which basically means we check absolutely everything, every drawer, every, you know, everything under each bed, which is a lot when you've got a large house like that. And, yeah, it's just been super organised and it's actually been liberating for me as a messy person. So, yeah, it's not for everybody.

And actually the children are now at university, so we're not packing up PlayStations and teenage bedrooms, which is brilliant.

I was gonna say, like, grotty teenage bedrooms where they've got a tray of, like, dirty plates under the bed and dirty socks and stuff. You'd be having to, like, be really vigilant to make sure nothing was left behind.

Like I said, Darren almost goes in every morning and just goes through their rooms and tidies it up and tidies their drawers. But, yeah, we don't really use the drawers in our bedrooms or anything. We just work. We live out a suitcase.

It's not for everybody, but we decided that it was worth the sacrifice, if you like.

It's amazing how you adapt, actually, because we went traveling for six months around the world and we literally could just take a backpack.

And to start with, the idea horrified me because I was a bit like, well, I can only take like one pair. I didn't even take jeans with me. So to start with, we were going to hot country, so it was like I just took like this skirt that sort of zipped off.

And to start with, getting your head round the fact that you could only take such a limited amount of stuff in, like, that you could carry in one backpack was a little bit terrifying. But we were away for six and a half months and actually I never felt like, I was quite happy wearing the same clothes.

We washed as we went. You know, it was like we lived out the back of our car when we were in, like, New Zealand for three months.

So it's a similar thing, I think when you've you get very settled, don't you, into your environment and it's amazing how much stuff we do collect.

And once you make that shift and you've got your head. Yeah, and you've got your head around it. I think I'd still need quite a big shed in the corner of the garden to hide things in.

Yeah, we've got a huge garage. So we've got. We've got a garage that fits three cars in it and it no longer has any cars in it. I'll say.

But we've divided it up and yeah, at the back of that, we store a lot of our, you know, personal stuff that. That's out of bounds, if you like.

And I suppose even like food and stuff, because I remember talking to somebody else who was a fellow host, and she went and stayed in an Airbnb.

I can't remember quite where it was, but she said that it was evident that the people who lived in the house moved out just for the weekends because all the freezer space was taken up with their food and there was still their food in the fridge. So do you, like, clear all of that out or do you have to.

Absolutely.

Because.

Learned when we were doing the Airbnb experience, because not only is it wonderful for us to go and stay in there, but we learned so much, and we learned that if you open a cupboard, you do not want to see anybody's half bag of rice or anything like that. It's weird, but you just don't. And the cleaning cupboard underneath, it needs to look like a hotel, basically.

So we've got a pantry that locks, so everything that's like dry goods goes in the pantry, which gets locked. And the fridge, we just do we do minimal shopping, and then we do a takeaway on Thursday night.

And everything out of the fridge either comes with us or gets thrown away. I mean, we don't waste things, but you know what I mean.

We keep a little bit of stuff in one freezer, but they've got a whole freezer that's completely empty. They don't want to open any drawer and think, oh, somebody lives here. There's a half eaten anything, basically.

Exactly. And this is exactly the experience that the fellow host had. And she was. She was just like. She said it made me feel like I wasn't welcome that I didn't have. And also, they were going for a celebration, so very similar sort of setup.

And they had no room for all their stuff to put in the fridge because there was still like, the owner's stuff was in there. And she said it just made her feel that it wasn't a great experience. So, yeah, it definitely put.

I was told early on that people, when they live there, they want. They actually get into the zone where they think it's their home when they're in there.

So any signs that give them the idea that it's not is disrupting to their stay. You know, I often. The girls often open the door and say, welcome to my humble abode. You know, when they welcome the other girl. And that's so nice.

I'm swapping over and giving them the keys and to hear them say that, I was like, that's perfect. I want them to think it's their home for the weekend.

Well, it's aspirational, isn't it? I mean the way you've obviously, you know, it is a large property. It's very impressive.

And also because of the way that you've styled and the décor, they're, they're feeling like they've rented it for the weekend and for them it's like people often want to rent properties, don't they, and go on holiday in properties that are better than their own home because it's aspirational.

Yeah.

I mean one thing that we do, we actually pay for an eight foot balloon garland to be installed in the front room and it does actually last for quite a few months. So it's, and it's spectacular. But when they arrive I, they just said, because they say, oh, what can we do to decorate?

I said please don't try and bring any bunting or anything. It just won't touch the sides in this house. And besides that, we don't want all the tape everywhere.

So when they see the garland they literally jump up and down. They go, oh my God, can we say that we did this? I said, yep, it's your house now, you can say what you want.

That's brilliant.

So again, just thinking about those sort of guest concerns but also from an owner's point of view, like you say, people get quite nervous, don't they, about hen weekends and they, you know, they sort of think, oh, I don't want them sort of, of sticking loads of stuff like pins in the walls and Sellotape and stuff and like damaging, damaging your décor.

Absolutely. So yeah, we've, we've come up with a few solutions.

So we've got some fixed hooks so they can put up their things in certain areas, like little screw hooks that go into the window frames or whatever. But like I said, we decorate. We've decorated the dining room with a pampas grass cloud above the table.

They've got table decorations and they've got something in the fireplace. I mean to try and decorate these rooms with your own kind of DIY things just will not hit the spot.

And then we decorate the bride's bed with balloons and things as well just so they don't need to do anything.

But if they do want to add anything, we've got our specialist people that they can then hire to come in and do some extra stuff if they want to do that. And they're pretty well behaved. You know, the girls, they do quite like rules.

You know, I give them a set of rules and they're really happy because they know what the rules are. And, you know, they always ask, can we share the rules with everybody? And it's like, yeah, that's great.

And they want to know what's acceptable and what's not. So it works out well.

Yeah. And I think guests often take the lead from how they find the property and how they find the communication with the owner.

And like you say, if there are clear boundaries, we have the same with the tree house. We very rarely. I can probably, in five years, I can probably count less than five incidences where we've had disrespectful behaviour to the property.

It's like, at the end of the day, I think, because they find it in a perfect state and they they always comment about the attention to detail, and it sounds like you're very on the detail in terms of the guest experience and how you present it. And therefore, I think that often makes the guests more respectful in terms of how they behave.

Yeah. And what you've got to consider, Sarah, is I'm speaking to these girls and these groups for up to 12 months before they arrive.

So we've got a real rapport. We speak on the phone. I'm always on WhatsApp with them. And, you know, they feel like they really know me.

They've seen some of the press articles, they've seen me on Instagram, I'm showing my face. So they really feel like they've built up a rapport. I mean, if I don't check them in, they get really upset.

You know, if I say I'm not going to be there today, it's going to be Darren. They're like, oh, my God, we're going to miss seeing you. I get thank you cards and chocolates and gifts.

It's just like they really, really appreciate what we put into it. They know the story, you know, and I think that resonates with people when they know what we've had to go through to do this. And, yeah, it's just.

It's just worked out well. And we found that the groups of girls are the most respectful and the ones that love the house most.

And that results in massively great reviews as well. Knowing who your niche market is.

Yeah, definitely. And also that audience, they're probably going to be planning their own weddings and Hen dos as well.

So you've got a group of 20 girls, you've potentially got another 20 stays that might. Might occur.

I mean, if you imagine when they share that onto Instagram and they say where they are, I literally get hundreds of. Well, not hundreds. I get, you know, a lot of requests and say, Sophie stayed last week and we want to stay next year. Can we come?

So it reaches about 400 people and them doing that is better than a review, almost, because it's like it nearly always comes through word of mouth, to be honest.

Yeah. I mean, word of mouth is always is the best marketing.

And actually that leads us beautifully on because we're going to talk about marketing, because I know that you get a large percentage. I think it was almost. I might be right in saying 100% direct bookings.

It's 100%, Sarah

In the 100% club like us. Well done.

So, you know, there'll be listeners thinking, I want a bit of that and, you know, I want to stand out, you know, in a crowded market and, you know, yes, you have quite an unusual property, but there are lots of large holiday houses for people to rent for hen dos and celebrations. So how do you. How do you stand out from the crowd?

Yeah, well, I'm from Yorkshire, Sarah. I'm not sure if you know that Yorkshire people don't like to give any money away to anybody else.

So I learned very early on that I was not going to be giving that huge percentage to anybody else. I don't know if you know, Mark from Boostly, I followed that in the beginning when I first set up, and he's all about direct booking.

Do not build your home on somebody else's land. And I really took that to heart.

And so I learned quite early on as well that you can give little clues on other platforms. So we still are on Airbnb, we're even on booking.com, I think, and VRBO. Is it verbo? But we just yeah, we put the prices really high and we give little clues. Things like we say, direct bookings can check in from 2:30. Non direct bookings check in at 5pm and people go, oh, what does that mean?

Where do I book direct? And then they work it out, don't they? And so we give subtle clues like that and then people come to us direct. And that's just how it's happened.

I've worked really hard on that because it's been really important to me. There's just no way that with all the extra expenses that we all have to pay. I'm giving a huge chunk away to anyone else.

So I'm on a couple of platforms that I pay a yearly subscription to, but they don't take any money per booking listing sites.

So advertising sites rather than an agent.

Yeah. So we get the best response from Group Accommodation and we're also on CoolStays, but they've got a button where people contact us direct.

So I find it a little bit difficult to track how many people really do come from CoolStays, and I think that's the only two that we're on at the moment. I think a lot of it comes from Instagram, but a lot of it comes from Google. We're fairly high up on Google.

By doing all the SEO work, we've managed to get quite high up on there as well.

Yeah. I mean, you're so right about the huge percentage, because I did a calculation which I talk about how much we've saved.

So if we'd gone with an agent, particularly in the glamping sector, there's one in particular, it's 25% is the commission.

So in, in those five years, it would have cost us £100,000 in commission, which is a huge chunk of revenue and profit that would have been in someone else's pocket. And like you, it's like, I'd much rather have that. You know, like you, we only have the one tree house. You've got the one home to optimise. So it's like you've got to make the most of your revenue. And actually handing that huge chunk over is so destroying when you're doing.

You're doing all the work.

Yeah. And the other thing was just that scary thought of being, I mean, if you get reported whether it's true or untrue by somewhere like Airbnb, if a guest says that you've got a camera in the wrong place or that that something wasn't right, whether it's true or untrue, they can just remove you from the platform. You not only lose all the money that you're going to get, but you can't contact any of those guests. You just. You're just off the side.

And the thought of that and not being able to control, you know, what I could and couldn't say in my rules as well, was just like, no, I need control of this house. It's my home and there's no way I'm going to sacrifice my business by something that, that they've put in place. If you like, yeah, and I think.

It's similar to, relying on social platforms, the same as relying on an agent. You are, you are not in control. And, you know, they. I mean, Airbnb have just made some announcements recently about hiking the commission.

You know, they're always changing the platform rules that they're getting more clever with things like AI. So, like, your bit about direct bookings can check in earlier.

They're starting to, like, pick up when people are appointing people to come direct because they obviously do not want us to build our brands and to get the direct bookings. So they're definitely making it harder and harder.

So the difference for me is when I get caught doing something like that and they text me and say, oh, you put direct bookings, you're not allowed to do that. I think, well, I don't really care. And I've literally got about six different listings for the house on there.

So if they remove one listing, I can do it again. But if I actually get banned off Airbnb, I don't care, because nobody comes from there anyway, really.

I mean, you know, they might kind of filter through there, but that's not really where they're coming from.

Exactly. And that gives you the confidence, doesn't it? Like, we get a very we get 37% of our bookings from Google because of the SEO, and that's our biggest source of bookings. So it means that you're not feeling sort of under threat. Do you collect email addresses? Do you do any email marketing with your.

Yeah, so I'm really naughty, actually, Sarah. So obviously, anything that comes from one of these, like the Group Accommodation.

I get all the stats and I get all their email addresses, obviously. But I'm not really up on how to Mailchimp.

It's something that's been on my to do list for a long time, and I've been listening to some of the things that you've suggested on your training. So it's my next job. But I've recently got one on the website, so I know I can send emails to those.

I've started experimenting with just the ones that have signed up directly with that.

But it's just that scary bit of knowing, you know, the ones I've collected from the platforms, whether I'm allowed to email them out of the blue or whether I've got to get their permission.

Really, if they are your customer, we won't go off into like GDPR because the whole podcast episode will become about GDPR.

But they're basically, if something, someone comes to your website and they have no contractual relationship with you, you need permission, so they have to opt in.

But in a nutshell, if they are your customer in any form and obviously have paid you money, and obviously those guests have then signed up to your terms and conditions. So it's almost. that is a contractual relationship. You can, you can email market it to them.

What about if they've only enquired?

If they've enquired? No, because that's almost like a website visit. So if they're enquiries, you can't just scrape all of those and put them onto your list.

Yeah. You know, some people, they'll say, can we stay? And then they decide not to.

Exactly.

But anyone who's been a past guest and even in a bigger party, people use things like, I've talked about it in other podcast episodes about things like gated WI-FI and things like that, and QR codes that can help you to sort of capture people.

There's a whole episode, I can't remember the episode number off the top of my head, but early in the series, I did one about ways to grow your email list and basically get away from the, from the agents. So go listeners, go and check. Check, check that one out. Yeah, I think it's, the thing that like annoys me about the platforms is they, they, they take away the relationship that you have with your customers and ultimately that's what's at risk because you don't own the relationship, you don't own the ability to talk to them freely. You know, they don't want you to email market to them and they probably have something in their T's and C's that says you're not allowed to.

But ultimately, under GDPR, it's a contractual relationship with you. They've paid you money, not Airbnb. So, you know, ultimately the money has come to you. So I, I would always encourage hosts to.

Reaching out.

Yeah. To build that. You know, use subtle you don't want to be pushy, but use subtle techniques to encourage people to, to want to hear from you again, which they've had a great experience. They're going to want to.

Okay, so let's have a little wrap up about sort of lessons that you've, you've learned because that's, you shared some really good tips with the listeners today.

But if other hosts were thinking of trying something similar to you in terms of this unconventional approach and using their own home, what advice would you give them.

So the very first thing that we didn't do, which we should have done, was contact the local council to ask whether what we were doing was okay.

And we'd kind of reached out to somebody in planning, privately, not actually the council, that said it was okay, you didn't need to do it because we still lived in the house. So it's a very grey area.

And the council agreed that we didn't need planning permission when it came on top, but then they decided that they wanted us to have it and it was just such a headache, it was horrific. We actually got, what was the terminology? We got a letter through the post that said we had to cease trading immediately.

Bearing in mind that, yeah, an 18 months worth of bookings that were all worth about £4,000 each and it was brought on by a neighbour disagreement. It was horrific so I would definitely say, make sure you've got all that in place first.

But I'd also say, which contradicts this a little bit in start before you're ready. If we'd have thought about this, we would never have done it. If we could have sold the house, that would have been the ideal situation.

But if you do, if you do think about. If we'd have thought about all the things that could go wrong, there's no way we'd have done this. So, you know, that's something I would do. Another thing would be you have to detach emotionally from the house a little bit, otherwise it's just too emotional.

Like I think I've heard you say before, when somebody's broken something personal, it's real, you take it very personally. I don't do that anymore. I just think it's a cost of doing business.

If this table, bed, whatever it is, wasn't being used as it is, it would be in a skip or a charity shop and this house would be, you know, it could be, I don't know, hostel right now. So that's, I always keep that in mind when I get something damaged.

And yeah, I think those are the things that I would kind of put towards anyone that's brave enough to do this. Basically, it's not for everyone.

I think that you've made that quite clear.

And I think, you know, like you say, if it's your family home, and I think it also depends on what age, if you've got children or you've got certain pets, it might be very difficult to sort of move everyone out for the weekend, but it definitely. You have to go in with your eyes wide open. And I think you've done a great job today sharing how it's worked for you and the.

And the upsides and the downsides of it and not. Not painted it all as a completely rosy picture. It obviously has its challenges.

Sleepless nights, you know what I mean? I've had, you know, phone calls and lots of things. It's. But now, after 10 years, I must say, touch wood, it's running like clockwork.

Everything's automated. And I find it a real joy now, actually.

And also the pleasure that you've created for the guests and the great time that they have. I mean, I know that's one of the things that we really enjoy about being hosts.

Sometimes it's frustrating and guests can be infuriating and like you say, it can be hurtful when things get broken and, you know, the place isn't treated with sort of respect, but on the I'd say, like, 90% of the time, it just is. So, like, we've had some proposals recently. It's just so pleasing and rewarding to be part of someone's life and to create something so special that they, you know, they get it and they really enjoy coming here. And the experience, it's. It's a real. It gives you a real buzz.

Yeah. When they say they've created memories which will last a lifetime, they don't say that without meaning it, really.

You have a hen party like that and you're bringing together all the different generations, so you've got nans and mums and sisters and nieces and all that. You really don't forget it. I mean, I had a letter from a guest recently and her mum died between the hen party and the wedding, and she just said to me, I'm so glad we had that beautiful weekend in your home with Mum and Granny and Auntie. And she just said, now I've got that memory in all those photos, that would be my lasting memory of my mum.

And to be able to give people a place to host an event like that really is. It's lovely, isn't it, Sarah? As you know yourself, it's just very nice.

I definitely think being able to sort of create something that enables people to have those, you know, amazing memories. And hopefully, if they're getting married, they only do it once months. So it's a very special, special time.

You never know, but a very special time for them. And like you say, bringing like, multi generations together, whether it's a celebration or it's a hen weekend. It's the same, isn't it?

It's people coming together for the important things, the experiences in their life, rather than just, you know, things. So, yeah, I can see why you get a real buzz from it.

Yeah, it's great.

I have one last question for you. If you could have a famous person come to stay at Norfolk House, who would it be?

So I didn't have to think about this for too long, actually.

It would definitely be Taylor Swift, because obviously she's just been in all the press with her engagement and you've seen the traction that she's gained from that. So to have somebody like that, imagine kind of the press and the attention and the bookings that it would generate if she came, and also the amount of Instagram stuff that she'd post. So, yeah, I'd definitely welcome Taylor Swift. That would be my ideal guest for a hen party.

Well, she'll be planning one soon, so you never know. If, maybe if she finds this podcast, she might come and come and stay.

Maybe I'll link her into something. I'll tag her in on the Instagram maybe.

You might have to do a fun Instagram reel, wouldn't you, to get her attention. But I think the PR that you would get from that, that would be amazing, wouldn't it? Because I think. Is she the most followed person on so on Instagram and think she's got a massive Instagram account, hasn't she? So that would be. Definitely wouldn't do your business any harm.

Yeah, I think the only problem is I've only got 52 weekends in a year. It's like I can't make any more. So, yeah, it would be almost like we'd be turning people away, wouldn't we?

Exactly. That's. That's a great place to be, though.

So to have that demand and, and to be turning people away rather than scrabbling for bookings and feeling stressed about gaps in your calendar. It's been so good having you on the podcast today and thank you for being so generous with your tips and sharing your experience with everyone.

So thank you for being here today.

Oh, well, thanks for asking me, Sarah. I followed you for a long time and I really appreciate being on here. It's been great. Thank you.

So, hopefully the listeners have got lots out of that. And like I said, I'm going to put a link in the show notes to the Scarlet Hen at Norfolk House.

So do check that out and obviously connect with Charlotte on social media. So thank you for listening today and if you've enjoyed this episode, you know what I'd like you to do?

I'd love you to leave me a review because you know how much us hosts love those five star reviews. Next week I'm back with a solo episode on my tried and tested quick ways to build your email list.

And as email marketing generally typically creates 36 to 42 pounds return for every pound that you spend, you're not going to want to miss this episode that's coming up. So I can't wait to see you next week. Have a good week.

Thank you for listening to Get Fully Booked with Sarah Orchard if you want to see if you are ready to ditch the likes of Airbnb and grow your direct bookings, put your business to the test with my free Direct booking Roadmap quiz. Head to my website www.get-fully-booked.com/ quiz and then and let's get you more direct bookings and more profit in your pocket.