This podcast episode features guest host Lorraine Robinson from The Roost Luxury Cabins, who shares her journey through various hospitality businesses, from running a busy campsite and traditional holiday cottages (STRs), to establishing award-winning luxury glamping cabins in the Forest of Dean, UK.

Lorraine discusses the significant differences in marketing strategies across these different STR hospitality businesses, and emphasises the importance of adapting to changing market dynamics, especially with the rise of social media.

A key marketing takeaway is her insight on leveraging direct bookings, where she has successfully achieved a remarkable 96% direct booking rate for her luxury eco-glamping cabins. She also highlights the challenges and opportunities presented by platforms like Airbnb, suggesting that while they can be useful for filling last-minute gaps, maintaining direct relationships with guests is crucial for long-term success.

Lorraine encourages fellow hosts to authentically engage with their audience, using social media to share genuine experiences and behind-the-scenes from their businesses.

---

Key Takeaways:

• Building direct bookings can significantly increase profits compared to relying on OTAs, like Airbnb.
• Utilising social media effectively, especially Instagram, can help promote your unique guest experience.
• Creating engaging content that showcases the business owner and people behind the brand can attract more guests.
• Using email marketing campaigns strategically can lead to increased bookings and customer retention.
• Understanding the demographics of your guests can help tailor your marketing efforts.
• Emphasising genuine experiences and behind-the-scenes content can resonate more with potential customers.

---

Take a look at Lorraine's two STR businesses in the Forest of Dean, UK - The Roost Luxury Cabins and The Old Dairy Holiday Cottages

---

Connect with Sarah:

Website

Instagram

LinkedIn

...

Are you ready to take more direct bookings?

Take Sarah's FREE quiz here to put your business to the test!

Sarah Orchard: 00:00:23

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. Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Get Fully Booked podcast.

I'm your host, Sarah Orchard and I'm delighted today to welcome a guest to the podcast, Lorraine Robinson. From the Roost Glamping.

Lorraine has run a variety of hospitality businesses ranging from a busy campsite to traditional holiday cottages and more recently, luxury glamping cabins in the Forest of Dean. Welcome to the podcast, Lorraine.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:01:10

Thank you, Sarah. It's nice to be here.

Sarah Orchard: 00:01:12

It's great to have you here. First of all, tell the listeners a little bit about your businesses.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:01:19

e, so to speak, since October: 2006

It's when we first got a couple of old concrete storage barns and we wanted to get residential on them and we weren't able to and they said tourism or nothing. So we sort of came in accidentally really and opened one holiday cottage.

alt with it then. So that was: 2006

And then I got divorced and in the settlement I ended up with this one holiday cottage, another empty shed and a two and a half acre field behind there. And that is what I wanted. I wanted that because I had the dream. I could see that glamping was coming to the fore and that's what I wanted.

It was a long battle, but everything was a process. Everything I found myself in was a process of evolution and necessity, really.

Sarah Orchard: 00:02:40

So you've come a long way from when you started out with the, with the campsite to fulfilling your dream to creating the glamping cabin that you have today as a host. What differences have you noticed between marketing three very different types of hospitality businesses?

Lorraine Robinson: 00:02:59

They're absolutely huge. I mean, with the camping and caravan park, it's difficult.

I started in: 2007

But you didn't really have any platforms that took enormous amounts of commission in those days. You had some key players that you paid for listings and call. Camping, even those days was the biggest one, but it was more word of mouth for there.

But we did do a lot of Facebook in those days. Lots of lovely photography and shots of families and dogs and things like that enjoying themselves. And that seemed to be the main driver really.

But it was mainly paid for listings on camping and caravanning rather than the commission websites.

Sarah Orchard: 00:03:58

And so it's obviously changed significantly now in terms of marketing, the roost clamping. And what's been most successful for that in terms of your marketing efforts?

Lorraine Robinson: 00:04:10

Absolutely. Like I say, it was all Facebook on the camping caravan park. And that was such a hands on business because there was a cafe to run as well.

Was very, very, yeah, hard, hard work. So you're talking about high throughput, high numbers, low margins, which is hard work.

another one in the Easter of: 2017

But again, very, very different from where I am now with the roost, the cabins. So you've got a very distinct and very different demographic. Slightly lower, spending more what I would call traditional.

What would you call that demographic?

People at the Silver Surfers, you know, the people in their 50s, 60s, 70s, that order a Tesco delivery when they arrive and, you know, just arrive and take, go for a few dog walks. And to be honest with you, that market has evolved and I do use Airbnb on that one. I've got a lovely website, I've got Facebook.

It's not a terribly Instagrammable business. You can't really do anything incredibly sexy with some very traditional holiday cottages.

But yeah, we get some social media engagement and I do Facebook stories, but it's mainly through the website, through our local tourism association.

And I have to say it's evolved in that at one time Airbnb were doing about between 30 and 40% of my bookings and in the last couple of years it's 60%.

And I don't think there's anything I can do to get away from that so much with them, because it's where that market, that my target market, go to look for their holidays. They go to look at the tourism association or they go to have a look at Airbnb, or they just find us through a, you know, an organic search.

But the roost, the cabins are very, very different because they are so Instagrammable, you know, in Meadow, so much going on with wildlife and our conservation work and then the sexiness of the cabins themselves. They lend themselves to Instagram and social media and you know, it's much easier to put content out there.

So yeah, they're very, very distinct markets and I would say my ideal guest space and my most usual guest base. But the roofs can be surprising with the guests that come up, I have to say.

But most of the time these are the people that really focus in on Instagram, occasionally Facebook and sometimes the dreaded in my opinion, TikTok.

Sarah Orchard: 00:06:56

So yeah, I mean you've maybe hit the nail on the head there in that the sort of traditional cottages in the campsite are more a base for your holiday, whereas your glamping cabins are an experience in themselves. So obviously they've then influenced particularly with like you say TikTok and Instagram, the sort of marketing platforms that you're actually using.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:07:17

They do, I think it's true, you hear people say Instagrammers is full of show offs and I think it probably is.

And I think we have a lot of people that come here, park the car, go up to their cabin and then you don't see them again and their cars don't leave the site. That is not uncommon. The cars do not move.

They may go for a walk but you know, they sit on the swing seats, take photographs of them of barbecuing a meal. They're out in the Japanese soap tab.

So I get a lot of user generated content as well, you know, guest generated content, which is always the best, isn't it? And the same we do like a.

Sarah Orchard: 00:07:55

Bit of user generated content.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:07:57

Don't we love someone else doing the hard work for you? I mean that is, that's what it's all about.

So yeah, I think the cabins in themselves make it an easier job to drive direct bookings because you've got something that you can really tout on social media platforms. But you have to, you do have to be prepared to tout and you have to keep generating that content and you know, putting it out there.

Sarah Orchard: 00:08:21

Yes, no, definitely. And I want, that leads us on nicely actually to ask about sort of percentage of direct bookings.

You've sort of touched on it a little bit but between the different businesses, you know, what percentage of direct bookings are you, will you take, are you taking currently with the holiday cottages and obviously the cabins and maybe versus when you had the campsite I mean, if.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:08:42

You wind straight back to when it was the campsite, I would say 75% were direct bookings, but that was coming in on the back of a very, very, very strong listing. At the time it was called Camping and UK campsites, which were the. I don't know if that's the case now, but they were the market leaders.

So if you got reviews and content on there, on those listings, then it sort of drove itself. And the rest, anything that was sort of came in on the edges was our local tourism association. People would come to the area.

Okay, let's, let's find somewhere to pitch the tent and have a look at what campsites are in the area. The cottages. So I would say go back. Sorry, to the campsites. I would say, yes, 75 to 80% direct bookings. The cottages are very different. You. I do.

I end up now being about 60% Airbnb. And that's partially my fault, I think, because I don't push it terribly hard. I do put some Facebook content. Like I say, it's not on Instagram.

I have got a great website which has got some really good SEO on it, and I think I'm quite lucky to have 40% because there's a lot of people in my area that have self catering cottages and they are 100% Airbnb with some of them don't even have websites. I mean, which is absolutely crazy. That's building your house on foundation of sand, isn't it?

Because if Airbnb changed the goals or the rules, where are you? You're nowhere. And that's crazy. So. But they do, they do provide at the moment, 60%. So which is a little bit of a bitter pill to swallow.

But I'm not prepared to put that level of work in because that's not where my market is. But as for the RO, I am, I'm very fortunate to say, 96% direct bookings. I do pay for a couple of months.

Sarah Orchard: 00:10:37

That's fantastic.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:10:39

It's. It's amazing. It's amazing. Yeah, it does very, very well. But I enjoy the social media content for that. It's enjoyable.

You could always find something interesting to put out on a reel or to put out on a story, you know, grids. Much more selective with what I put on a grid, because that is your shop window, so to speak. But yeah, and if I have.

The only time I use Airbnb for the roost is if I have a few dates, say midweek that haven't sold, I may put them out about seven days prior to those dates on Airbnb and I can about 60% of the time shift them. And that would be the only time I would use Airbnb is to shift some dates that just aren't moving or haven't gone.

But, yeah, I'm very, very lucky to enjoy, yeah. 95% direct bookings.

Sarah Orchard: 00:11:30

That's, that's amazing. That's something that we can all aspire to.

And I think you've touched on a really good point there about the fact that, you know, don't be afraid to use the booking agents like Airbnb to get rid of just what we might call distressed inventory. So if you've got late availability or a cancellation that comes up, there's no reason, it's not, it's not wrong to maybe use those platforms.

But I suppose what you've demonstrated is that you're using them to help your business commercially, that you're not letting those platforms dictate and drive your business. You're using them to actually, you know, to make life easier for you when you've got some things to shift last minute.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:12:05

They are, they are my. I use them where I use Airbnb to suit me. They. Yeah, I'm driving them on that one.

So I keep a blocked out calendar for a year ahead with them and then just release any, any sticky dates that aren't moving. Yeah. So it works really well. They're usually quite different Airbnb guests, I think, from direct bookers.

There's so many micro groups within a demographic as well that I've discovered.

I've had some people check in yesterday to the roost that came in via the local tourism association and I'm thinking I may stop listing on them because they're not my usual sort and they've been already quite high dependency.

So it's already somewhere where you have to look at where those leads are coming in from and where those guests are coming in from, because they lead different types of guests as well.

So the ones that come in directly that find you, and obviously I have a source button, a source of where that lead came, that booking came in from on the booking software, you know, so the ones that find you through Google search, which is still very high, or through Instagram or through Facebook, they pretty much are your ideal customer, I would say, you know, the ones that just get it and know what they're booking.

Sarah Orchard: 00:13:22

Yeah.

So hopefully if they're coming from the right sources, like I said, they've been sort of well trained guests, whereas maybe sometimes when they come from particularly I think if you've run a more of an off grid or a glamping type or unique experience accommodation, sometimes people don't know what they're buying and that can obviously lead to problems if it's not what they're used to. And they might be slightly tricky guests.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:13:47

Absolutely. Pulled up in the lane and said, where do we go and what, what entrance do we use?

Well, there's only one and it's a gate which says the roost outside of it. And I thought, oh, okay. And I said through the gate, you know, and where do we park? I said you'll see, it's guest parking. There's quite a lot of it.

Oh, okay. You know, and then they didn't know about the key and then they could, they hadn't read their emails.

They, you know, and then when they got in the cabin we have digital guestbook in situ within the cabins and they, you know, digital guest book is like the family bible. It's got absolutely everything in it. And I still kept getting phone calls and I said, oh, can I point you in the direction of the digital guest book?

They're just not the usual kind of guests.

And I've said to you before, Sarah, you know, when they got out the car I thought, oh dear, it's just got shattered hip written all over it because the Japanese slave tubs are, they're deep and you've got to be so fairly able bodied to climb into them and climb out of them.

Sarah Orchard: 00:14:48

You're very nervous.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:14:50

So it's not just about commissions, it's about your real, your guests and who are using those platforms and how they find you. I think that's really quite relevant as well.

Sarah Orchard: 00:15:00

ou implemented I think during: 2020

And how have you found, have there been any sort of marketing benefits for you as a, as a business owner or just operationally in terms of making your life easier? How has that worked for you?

Lorraine Robinson: 00:15:25

To be honest with you, they're a big commitment to set them up and get them in place because you know, the amount of information you can add is infinite. But yes, they have, they're a driver of sales.

So I do usually ask for seven days notice but people can contact me and there are on the things that I sell that do not require seven days notice.

I put QR codes within Touch Day and via those, you know, people will decide, oh, the sun's shining, I'll go and buy a 3 kilo bag of charcoal which I make a really good markup on. Or they'll, you know, or they'll buy light in a bag or extra logs. All those codes exist and those pay links exist within touchstay.

So yeah, I do increase sales and it gets mentioned in some of my reviews.

I think people think it's really slick and it reflects the ethos that I want to give within the business, you know, when they arrive and the guest experience.

I want it to be polished and feel special because, you know, it's a little bit of a premium on the holidays that we sell in the cabins and I think it really integrates well, gives a really slick professional shop front and yeah, it can be a driver of further sales when people are on site and think, oh, I didn't order this or I didn't order that. Yeah.

Sarah Orchard: 00:16:41

And they also cut down on the paper as well. You're not printing out, you know, obviously trying to keep a, you know, the old fashioned traditional guest information folder.

You know, you've got to try and keep that looking tidy and pristine. You're not printing. I know you've got really strong eco credentials which we're not going to touch on today. But you know, that's obviously important.

Important not to be printing out paper all the time for your guests. Oh, it's awful.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:17:01

Yeah, it was awful. It was such a pain in the neck.

I had, I had some lovely folders, sort of, you know, some lovely handmade wooden ones, but each, they were, the pages were held in with cable ties and then these pages have to be laminated as well. And every time you had a small change of information that required redoing and you know, yeah, it was, it was awful.

So a, for an eco credential point of view, not having all that lamination and cable ties is absolutely great. But the ease, the ease of just updating information as you think of it. Oh, I'll just put that in touchstate. Absolutely brilliant. Yeah.

But like I say, slick product.

Sarah Orchard: 00:17:40

Yeah.

I think we probably provide more information as well, don't we now for our guests because of the ease of putting them into a digital guide rather than having to put it down. I think our guide somewhere like 120 pages. So hopefully nobody prints it out.

But you know, we wouldn't have provided that amount of information with an interactive map. If we were, you know, doing an old fashioned information folder.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:18:01

Absolutely, absolutely.

And I remember once, Sarah, you said you did a calculation on what you'd saved in commission fees, like I say, for a product, cabins like the Roost, they're sort of a bit of a premium product and it's. I've worked out that I'm saving if I was using. I think a lot of people when they first start their businesses, they can lean back on the big players.

And the biggest player as we know, is Canopy and Stars, who can charge around about 25% commission fee plus VAT. So, you know, they do some great stuff. Of course they do do all the work for you and that may work for some people.

But if you're here, you're looking to drive direct bookings, aren't you? So I would say even on a conservative, that they would be providing 25% of my generating 25% of my bookings since I've opened it.

since we've opened in: 2020

You know, that's in our bank account and not in a, you know, being charged in commission. So that's a great driver. And if you, if you enjoy, and I think you can get to enjoy driving social media content, it's a win win, isn't it?

Sarah Orchard: 00:19:21

It is a win win, yeah. And you're right, I mean the amount we calculated that in three years we've saved £65,000 in potential commission.

So if we'd been paying Canopy and Stars directly for all of our bookings, it would have been £65,000 in commission. So like you, a significant amount of revenue that is now, you know, in our bank account rather than in somebody else's.

So that's obviously the major driver. But you did touch on a really good point in that they do a lot of the work for you.

So I think if you're running your holiday business alongside maybe full time employment or it's not your main focus, you know, using an agent isn't necessarily an evil, it might be that it's a necessity for you and it works. But if you can drive the bookings direct, the rewards are huge in terms of, you know, what ends up on your bottom line versus in their pocket.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:20:12

Absolutely. I, absolutely. They do have their role to play. Like you say, if you are not prepared to put that level of work in. They really are invaluable.

But for people, you know, if you've got a nice, let's say something that's. That provides some really great images and you can think of lots of great content, which I think you usually can. You know, it's there to be had.

And of course, you also. We also say about email campaigns, don't we? You know how important it is to drive up that email list.

And recently I sent out a campaign based on a little nudge you gave on a Monday motivation. Because I'm not as hot on email campaigns, I always think I tend to look at them when things are looking a bit, you know.

Oh, things are, you know, you know, they're not knocking down a path to your door. I tend to look then. And you did something about the payday effect.

you know, so, yeah, that was: 1200

And all I've had to do is put a couple of meals in that cost me. I think they cost me £12 to put in a client meal and I make 32 out of that.

So, yeah, and that was just from a quick payday effect email through mailchimp, and it sold a couple. A couple of dates for the autumn that were in the autumn. So, yeah.

Sarah Orchard: 00:21:41

And the marketing that you're doing now is driving stays later on. The average booking window, I think, in the UK now is around about 52 days.

So activity that you do now is driving bookings potentially for two to three months down the line. And actually that brings me on to email marketing.

You know, it's something that I'm really passionate about because you just mentioned that I gave you a nudge in my membership about going out and doing an email campaign. But I think payday ones are proving to be, you know, round about sort of end of the month payday proving to be very effective.

But it actually made me think about your Airbnb guests and one of the things that they, obviously, the big booking agents do, and it's not specific to Airbnb, they hang on to the email address of the guest for a reason, because they want to control that relationship. And that's because email marketing is so important. So have you got any tips for the listeners?

Do you do anything to try and capture the email addresses of your Airbnb guests when they come and stay with you? Do you get that information off of them.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:22:37

I do, because I withhold the key information. They're not going to know how to get in to the cottages unless they give you an email address.

Now, what happens is Airbnb will take the money and confirm the booking and then you're allowed free communication.

And at that point, you can say to your guest, so that I can send you all your check in details and lots of interesting information, you know, about your stay. I'm going to need your email address.

And nine times out of 10, they give me their email address and their full home address as well, which then you can keep, you know. But, yeah, they will only release a mobile phone number after booking is confirmed. And it's tiny, it's printed in.

You have to look for it and you have to ask. Yeah. So they're very, very careful. They're very, very canny. And I have noticed actually, AI is already coming into Airbnb.

They're much more picky on the words that you use in communications. Before money's been taken, they'll call you out in case they think you're trying to circumnavigate, you know, the booking process.

So, yeah, they do hold on to it, but I have made it so that they have to give me the email address or they won't know how to check in.

Sarah Orchard: 00:23:52

I think that makes it. And actually, the information one is a really good one that you've suggested is that, you know, I, you know, sending them a WhatsApp.

So if you've got their mobile number, you can send them a WhatsApp and say, I've got a guest guide with all the information and all the things like the WI FI code and access and stuff like that in advance. And then you can get. You can get the email address because people want to have that information in advance of their stay.

So, yeah, I mean, it just shows you how valuable email addresses are.

Everyone tends to sort of dive straight into social media and we've talked a little bit about social media today, but actually, email is still a better return on your investment and actually generates more bookings generally for people than social media. So great tips there in terms of being canny and trying to get around the booking agents. Yes.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:24:38

And getting round AI now as well, because I say they're using AI and it's very sensitive to the words you're using. I would never use the word. It's awful, really.

But if someone came in with a query rather than a booking, you could sort of try and use words that would steer Them, you know, to go direct. But, oh, my God, they're picking you up on it now, you know. So, yeah, so, yeah, they're getting far more canny and it's far more difficult.

So you've got to find somewhere yourself that legitimately means you can get someone's email address. Because it's the gold. It's the gold.

Sarah Orchard: 00:25:14

Yeah, it is the gold. That's probably a topic for another.

Another episode of the podcast, actually, because it's one of those things that's tricky to, you know, like you say, AI coming in now. It's making it harder and harder to actually circumnavigate their processes and get the guest information that you need to have for your own.

Your own marketing. Okay, well, I think we're going to. Before we wrap up, I'm going to ask you one last question, Lorraine.

I want to ask you what would be your top piece of sort of marketing advice for other fellow hosts to get direct bookings?

Lorraine Robinson: 00:25:49

I would say if you're comfortable with this, put yourself out there. Sometimes put yourself out there. I think people like a bit of genuine reality and they want to see the faces behind the business.

They say people buy from people, so a lot of people aren't comfortable with it. But relax. Relax and see, everybody's your friend when you go in front of that camera and give them some interesting stuff sometimes.

I might go out for a walk sometimes and just talk to camera as I'm walking. And I first experimented when I did some.

Hired some E bikes and I decided to stand in front of one and sing a little ditty because I just think it's stupid. And I got lots and lots of comments.

Some of them, one was wtf, you know, but you get comments and, you know, and that interests Instagram and its algorithms. So. Yeah. And if you've got anything interesting to say. I do. I'm experimenting with some new composting systems at the moment using Bokashi.

And I'm going to make some content with that. And I think people love to see you with a shovel in your hand or, you know, and. Or your head in a compost bin and popping up and saying something.

That is what people like. So don't be afraid to put yourself out there. And also vulnerability is good. Vulnerability.

Don't overdo the vulnerability, but just occasionally, you know, limp up and say, limp up to the camera with sweat pouring off your brow and say, it's been a hard day. But always end up as long as you're positive. Yeah, don't be Afraid to project yourself because people will like that. People see it and they like it.

Sarah Orchard: 00:27:25

Yeah, I think that's a really good tip because obviously storytelling and actually I think, like behind the scenes, I find, particularly with Facebook and I think now we've got things like obviously stories on instagram and with TikTok, people do like the fun element. They can spot stuff that looks like an advert, can't they, a mile off.

And if we make all of our stuff look too polished, they probably don't believe it.

Whereas I think what you're suggesting is if people show behind the scenes and they actually, you know, the real people and what goes on in your business, people connect with that more because it's people to people, rather than looking like you're some big. You know, we're not big corporates, are we? We're small businesses. So it's nice to be able to do that.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:28:04

Absolutely. I mean, a case in point about being genuine.

One of my friends was eulogizing about a holistic healer that she put some great Instagram content out and she showed me stuff. Oh, look at this. This is great. I went, she's filtered it. She's filtered her face. You know, don't do that. Be real.

Don't be afraid to be real because people can sniff out if you're not.

Sarah Orchard: 00:28:28

No, that's. That's great advice. You know, we don't want it to look too, too polished and using too many filters and things like that.

Lorraine, it's been amazing talking to you today. I know that you and I could sit and, you know, as we do talk about this for hours.

So, you know, thank you for your time today and joining us on the podcast.

Lorraine Robinson: 00:28:45

Thank you very much, Sarah. I've really enjoyed it.

Sarah Orchard: 00:28:48

Thanks for listening everyone. I will be back next week. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love if you could leave me a review.

You know how much us hosts love those five star reviews. See you next time. 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, get-fully-booked.com/quiz and let's get you more direct bookings and more profit in your pocket!