Episode 3: Rowena Amos, has 5 Star short term rental properties on the Isle of Wight

A rich man's world, I have turned alone, I'm in beauty mode, when they're beauty. Hello, welcome to the full English, United Kingdom's AirBnB podcast. The place to learn how to buy, host and grow your AirBnB business, specifically in the United Kingdom, helping you to learn, grow and become an AirBnB success. Hi, Rowena, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. You're very welcome. It's great to have you on. Rowena, you've got some fantastic properties, short amounts of properties that are predominantly on the Isle of White and you're going to be telling us about those in quite a bit of detail today. First of all, why don't you just tell us just a little bit about yourself and background and then how you've got into the short-term rental space as a segue inwards. Yeah, sure. We bought the site here on the Isle of White, we're in Ventna, which is on the south coast of the island, we bought it, I think probably about 12 years ago now and it was, it had basically, the people were living there, there was one sort of story which needed quite a lot of refurb work done to it. So we kind of did it, it used to be an old hotel and it was pulled down after the war and so it had the different levels of the old hotel on it, it was sort of like a five-story hotel. And so we basically started building and we started, we refurbished what was there to start with and then we thought, I know, we'll do another level, we'll go up a level. How big is that hotel then, Rowena, just a kind of picture of, yeah, it was, it was a Victorian, quite a large Victorian hotel that was on the seafront called the Baumoral and it was sort of five stories high this hotel. So when we acquired, a detached building, it was like a town, how kind of, yeah, a kind of detached building right on the seafront, really lovely, oh, we had some, there's some fantastic, we went sort of delved into the kind of history of the building and we found all the old floors which was lovely, all the old kind of Victorian floors when we came to renovate it. So it's just been an ongoing project really, I guess, for probably, it sort of took us about six or seven years to finish all the buildings. We do one at a time. When I originally was here, we had a spa, a day spa on the site and then we gradually have moved over to do kind of accommodation. We, we started, we found there was sort of demand for people to, who wanted to kind of stay overnight. So we, we built one cabin to start with and then, yeah, we just kind of expanded from there. We just kept building really. So you've got, so what have we got on the site now then? You've got the original hotel which has been completely refurbished. So the hotels, but basically not there anymore. Yeah, that was completely demolished. So we've got like a series of cedar cabins that are sitting sat nestled into the sort of hillside on the seafront. So they are all accommodation now. So we've kind of moved over and, yeah, but we've, we've kind of just built them. So we went along. So we've got three cabins that we rent out at the moment and we've possibly got another one that we might be adding this year. We're just having a look what we're going to do to it or whether we add, add it to an existing cabin that's there. So okay. And will that be that, or after that, that be that site kind of pretty much maxed out in terms of what you can fit on to it or as they're probably maxed it out, I think, I mean, there's a little bit of, there's always a little bit of space where we can sort of shoehorn things here and there. But yeah, we've, we've kind of, it's probably it, it's kind of maximum, yeah. So just tell us a little bit about, but that thought obviously there was an existing building there, which was a hotel. And obviously that would have presumably had some kind of income revenue potential. And then you've decided to demolish it and to put the separate cabins on the sites. That's, it's obviously there's quite a thought process there that you've gone through, presumably, to make that decision. Yeah, I guess it was a kind of organic thing really. And it came out of sort of demand rather than getting the site and saying, we're going to build all these cabins on it. So that the first, it had been a residential property on sort of one of the floors. So we, we started and we kind of refurbished that. And then I think after we've done that, we thought, well, we'll, we'll do another one. How about if we do, we do that and expand the spa into this bit. And then once we've finished that, I think we thought there's enough demand, we'll build another one. So it kind of grew, I think, you know, as an organic structure, we didn't start and and look at it. And so we're going to put all these cabins on it. It's just how it's kind of evolved, I guess, over the years. So you mentioned the spa there a couple of times, just how that kind of plays into the overall picture. Yeah, I mean, we've we've moved more into the sort of accommodation side of it now, I guess, because it's easier. And so we do, we still do some spa treatments for guests, but we run it sort of fairly low key now. So it's kind of swapped, I guess, we used to, used to just be the spa. And then the accommodation side is kind of taken over as we've kind of built it. And it's quite the, we found doing this sort of short term rental market down here. It's, there's quite a demand in vent, no, obviously, it's a, it's a tourist town. So and vent, no, itself has seen quite a lot of regeneration in the last few years, which is really great. It's got some really lovely restaurants here and pubs and everything. So it's been quite a draw over the last few years, we found with sort of people coming. So, yeah, and these cabins, I mean, I'm looking at them on the internet now. And they're, um, they're quite high spec, aren't they? They're sort of a, they're a, what I would call a, they're high end products, aren't they? I think it's fair to say. Yeah. Yeah, it is. We wanted to do the high end market. We tried to, um, have them a sort of five star cabins, um, really, I guess my kind of, my passion for sort of doing buildings, I didn't want to do something at the, the lower end. I wanted to sort of give people an experience that they kind of come away. Um, and when we had the spa, it had a sort of Japanese theme to it, and we've kind of run that, uh, we've, we've stayed with that theme really, and we've kind of run that through the buildings. Um, so we, yeah, I, I guess it's kind of pride, you know, want people to turn up and have the kind of wow factor when they arrive. Um, and then also, I guess, from a financial point of view, it's, um, it's almost easier in a way to do a really, really high end spec, uh, accommodation, um, you know, and to kind of keep it at that level. So I, yeah, I guess we naturally wanted to do something that was going to be, um, a draw for people. Um, yeah. I mean, I, I'm going to run the risk now of kind of getting, getting lots of messages from, from people from the island of white, but I always much more have the, sort of the opinion, not the opinion, perhaps not the best word of the island of white is not so much like a high end. It's much more like kind of, sort of, homely traditional, um, perhaps slightly old fashioned that the accommodation, certainly the accommodation that I've experienced in the island of white, maybe I've not experienced a full cross section of accommodation there. Um, but how does it, I suppose the question is, how does your accommodation fit into, uh, do you think in general into the context of other accommodation available on the island of white? Do you think it's markedly different to what else you can get? Um, I'd say we're at the, we're at the sort of top end, um, of the accommodation, but the island of white has had a real kind of resurgence of, um, of accommodation that's been built over here. There are some, there's some fantastic stuff now. Um, there's always going to be a kind of cross section and there, there's naturally, as you would get with any area, there are some pockets which are, you know, a more affluent than others. Um, but, uh, we, I'm not actually from vent or I'm from Oxford originally, um, and we came over here, uh, and we really love vent and there's been a lot of investment here recently. So there's a lot of, um, that there are now, um, a lot of sort of five star choices, I'd say, for people who want to have accommodation over here. Um, it, it's sort of trying to change its narrative, I think a little bit on the island, um, and to make it more of an attractive prospect for, um, you know, people who want to kind of high-end stay. So that's what we're trying to, to cater for really. And also you've got to have all the other things that, um, are about it. So someone, you know, you want to come for a nice holiday. Okay, yet you've got to have, you know, a nice accommodation, but you need the nice restaurants, you need everything else, um, you know, to be here as well. Um, and certainly, as I said in the last sort of, you know, in the last sort of five years here, there's been, uh, a real amount of particularly event that there's been quite a lot of investment for things sort of like restaurants and places to go and things like that. So I think it's, it, it makes for quite a nice stay and finding that out. So I think then we get the, kind of, we're lucky we get the repeat, um, the repeat business from people who want to come back. Is this part of a general trend, do you think of, of more people staying staying in the UK to holiday? Um, do you think, is it part of that sort of overall national trend? Do you think that's more, more visitors to the Isle of White and more perhaps more affluent visitors to the Isle of White as well? I think, I think it's a bit of both. I think, um, the Isle of White is trying to kind of shake up its image a little bit from being that sort of, you know, traditional, um, as you said, you know, homely sort of a little bit of fashioned holiday destination. So I think there's all that going on anyway. Certainly with COVID, there, um, there was as soon as the restrictions were lifted that summer, there was, there were lots of, obviously, people couldn't go abroad. And it became, I think everywhere in the UK was absolutely packed. Then, you know, there was suddenly a huge surge of people to, to go away. But I think generally as a trend, we, we seem to be a lot of people, um, wanting for, you know, various reasons, um, to holiday in the UK. And I think, you know, there's people are realising that is it actually quite an attractive option, you know, you haven't got to, especially someone like the Isle of White, we've got quite an advantage where fairly close to London here. Um, and we've got that stretch of water so you know, you feel like you're, um, I feel like you're going abroad slightly when you get on the ferry. So I think, you know, there's Cornwall is fantastic. Uh, you've obviously got quite a long drive to get to Cornwall. So I think people are sort of starting to discover the Isle of White. There's a lot of people have got a second home to here. And I think when, um, certainly when COVID lifted and all the restrictions lifted, we saw a lot of people relocating to the island, people where they were not so much for the short term rental, but people just who had second homes here who might have been in London thinking, you know, what I can work from anywhere. So I'm going to, I'm going to make the, make the move. So I think since COVID, there's, there's been a sort of bit of an influx of people moving, um, moving to the Isle of White. And I think as on the back of that, you know, the stays, um, people are starting to look, perhaps sort of nearer to their home, you know, going, going away for a few days. So in terms of the, the idea of why and your own properties there, you've gone kind of more high end. Is that finite? I know you've got kind of, you wouldn't, from what you're saying, you sort of almost wouldn't want to do it if it was not wasn't the high end, because that's part of the enjoyment of you to create something beautiful. Um, but is that also work out to be a good financial decision? Do you think, is it worth? Has it been worth investing that additional money to make a high end product? To ultimately, do you get the payback, the payback from that in terms of occupancy rates and what you can, what you can charge per day as well? Um, do you get a payback for that investment, do you think? Uh, yeah, I, I do. Um, and we're starting, I guess, to see it in the last sort of few years, because we've sort of finished our, our kind of main building, I, I guess. Um, so yeah, and we've started to, like we put in, uh, hot tub to one of the properties last year. So we might, again, put some more hot tubs in. Um, but definitely it's, from a financial point of view, it's been worth, uh, you know, investing more in the properties and making them that kind of five-star experience. There's, there's definitely the demand, um, for people wanting to come away. Uh, I mean, the hot tub's a good one, isn't it? Because she's specifically see how much she spend, excuse me, how much she spends per hot tub in, and you can, you can measure that against the improvement that it makes, the property and how it performs, can't you? Um, and all of the data that you see, if you look on, you know, around on the internet or whatever, it says that it's, you know, it's absolutely worthwhile to put a hot tub into your properties, and I would imagine if, with your ones, overlooking the ocean, on the cliff there, really going to be quite remarkable, isn't it, to add a hot tub to those. So I'm interested, obviously, what you tell me, but I'm guessing that you'll see quite a difference in the performance of, of the one that you've put a hot tub in, um, and it may well be that you end up putting them in all the others as well. Yeah, I think especially in the, uh, the winter, we've noticed, um, an uptaking bookings, um, where we would expect it to be sort of quieter. It's, it's been, the occupancy has been higher from putting in a hot tub. We're quite lucky in that the, the business has sort of got a good reputation, I guess, and it's got a lot of repeat guests. So we're, from terms of occupancy race, I mean, we expect to be full, as soon as it's from, you know, April to November, we expect it to be solid. We don't really have any gaps. So, uh, I think it was really something where people were saying, oh, you've got to put a hot tub in here, you know, it was something that guests were kind of asking us to do. So we, we listened to, uh, we listened to that, um, and, uh, but yeah, it's, that's worked really successfully this year. As I said, we will see over the winter how much, um, you know, how much busier it is. It's quite, quite seasonal here. So our main, uh, our main tourist time is sort of March till, sort of end of October, with a half term. Yeah. But it's funny, isn't it? If the, um, if the hot tub makes difference in the winter, uh, and when you say it, it does perhaps make sense in a way, doesn't it? Because it will all kind of long in for some sort of more outside time, aren't we in the winter? When you, if you are a bit more deprived of it, um, so to have like a lovely hot tub outside, overlooking the, uh, the ocean, um, it is perhaps quite a draw for the winter, isn't it? But it's not something you might necessarily occur to you immediately. But, um, but once you say it, it makes sense that that's the case. Yeah, I think it's, it's got a really nice location up there as well. It's in a sort of little cabana hut and it looks down the beach and it's sort of covered in, uh, it sort of nestled in. There's like lots of sort of foliage up there. It's a bit of a sort of treehouse really. So it's, it's a really nice experience and people want to go away and have a different experience. You know, they want you want to be able to give them something that they can't get at home. So they're looking for things, I think, personally, I think things like hot tubs and now other things that you can, you can kind of offer to them, which, you know, they're not going to get on their kind of day-to-day hotel experience. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, moving on a little bit, um, it's actually probably going back slightly, but it's a slightly different topic, um, planning permission and, um, obviously, you know, you've done quite a bit of redevelopment on that site and you've removed some buildings and you've put new buildings on the site. Yeah, um, what's the planning like on the idea of why and how did you, how did you navigate that process? Um, I can't say it was straightforward. We, we had to go, well, eat because we did the buildings each at a separate time. We went for planning for each one as kind of separate units. And it's always a challenge because we're, where, where we are, um, we're in a conservation area here on the seafront. And, uh, people are always sort of, uh, and quite rightly in a way, I guess, you know, you're, you're, you're affecting what the seafront looks like. You've got a kind of responsibility to put something nice there and to enhance the, um, enhance the town and the seafront. Um, but it was fine. We, we, on some of them, we had to go to a appeal. Um, we had sort of various issues, but in the end, you know, we were there to kind of work with the planners, um, and to try and, uh, try and get, on one of the buildings, we didn't quite have one of the roofs we wanted. Um, they sort of made us dumb it down a little bit, which was a bit frustrating because the, the design we had, uh, I think person would have been nicer. But, um, but that said, we, you know, we, we kind of work to, to the scope of what they wanted us to do. Um, I can't say, yeah, as I said, it, it was a straight forward process, unfortunately, but we, we sort of got there in the end. Oh, was there anything else difficult? I'm trying to visualise this, the site, um, but it strikes me that you may have had other difficulties, not from a planning point of view, but from a technical building point of view in terms of sort of services to and from, you know, waste away from the site, water to the site, and so on. Was that, was that particularly challenging? Yes, it was. Um, yeah, this is a really tricky site to build on. I mean, my, um, dad, bless him when he was alive was an architect. So I used to do building, uh, renovations and, you know, we did some property development together. And this site is really difficult. It's all kind of built into the, uh, built into the rock, and everything's can to leave it out. And it's, yeah, this was a tricky one, just logistically to get the materials on the site was really, really difficult. Um, so kind of basic things like that. Obviously, you know, there was the water and electrics and things like that, uh, which, which wasn't so bad, but I would say logistics of building it were, were very tricky and just, uh, weights and things like that. Um, because yeah, as I said, you know, the buildings are kind of can't leave it out. Everything is, uh, pinned back into the kind of rock. So yeah, it was, it was, it was an interesting project. How do you physically get into them then is what I must be quite a challenge to actually get physically to and from them? Yeah, yeah. Um, we had to build kind of stairways in. So there's, there's a lot of steps on the site that the top building, um, the crow's nest one has actually got its own entrance, which is off the road up there. The other ones, um, we had to put in stairways to everything. So, uh, again, that was logistically quite a lot being able to even get access to the property and putting all the stairs in. That was, that was quite a big job. Fantastic. Uh, I didn't realize it had been such an engineering feat. Yeah, it was an edge and it really does sound that it was. Yeah, and sadly with the last one, my, my dad passed away and, uh, he'd kind of left us all these plans and we were looking, we were thinking, how have you, how have you even worked this out? With all the sort of weights and things. Uh, and then the last building we, because all of them are done in, were done in wood and we're sort of quite complicated calculations. Um, and the last one we ended up doing in steel because we didn't figure it out. We couldn't forget how he'd done it. We're trying to work this plan out. So, yeah, so the last one we is, is, uh, is all sort of steel in force. But if you wouldn't know it to look on the outside, it looks like it's cedar cloud, but well, see which one lasts longest. Yeah, that's right. There's just one perch there. Maybe there's still one or last, maybe there's still one will last better after all. Maybe you were right. So tell us a little bit more, we touched on that a little bit earlier, but it's the little bit more about kind of repeat business and the kind of the customer experience that you like to try and create, who you like to try and attract to your properties. Uh, and also sort of the mix of terms of, you know, where you get your bookings from, um, obviously repeat business is great. So that's kind of off platform if we're talking about stuff coming from Airbnb. Um, so just talk around that for for a minute to see if you could do. Yeah, there's lots of questions in there. Yeah, there was a lot of questions that the customer experience. So kind of repeat business. Yeah. Um, I think, you know, I've run a, I've run a few businesses in my time, um, and whether it's sort of the spa or the accommodation or whatever it is, it's, it all boils down to kind of customer experience, I think at the end of the day. And you've got to really, um, that's, that's what the business is built on. We want to try and give somebody a five-star experience from when they, you know, initially contact us right the way through to the end to when they check out. Um, so we're looking to try and exceed people's expectations when they stay with us, I guess. Um, and, and we've built it around that. Uh, how'd you do that? How'd you go about doing that then talk me through the, um, the five-star experience that you provide? Well, I think we want to, obviously you've got the kind of accommodation and that needs to be at the right level. So, you know, but, um, with the customer service side, you know, we just make sure we're there, um, to be able to help people with the bookings initially if they need anything. Um, and really just being on hand all the time, um, to kind of hand hold them. Some people are fine. They just want to book, um, you know, they don't really want to get too involved. Um, other people, uh, we might be, you know, suggesting kind of restaurants to them where they want to go, um, experiences they might want to book. Um, so anything really, we just sort of try and go the extra mile, I guess, um, and help people to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible with kind of fairy bookings. Um, and then when they arrive, again, we want to make sure that people turn up, uh, they know where they're going. Uh, somebody's on hand, you know, it's a self-checking, um, that somebody's there. Um, and then also when they arrive, I think it's really important to have everything. I want people to walk into the building and go, wow, you know, and if they cry, that's brilliant. I've achieved something. Um, but, you know, we'll make sure that, it sounds, it sounds really basic, I guess, but it's, it's all to do with the sort of detailing. So when people turn up, um, we've normally got a little video playing, we've got some music playing, um, what have the temperature right? We'll have the lighting set, um, you know, so we just try to make that first impression when people walk through the door, um, you know, quite special for people. Yeah, because I think one of the things that the certainly I'd like to be able to do is to, um, if to do all of those things that you've just said, but to be able to do it in a way which is as as least labour intensive as possible, serve as much of it as automated as you possibly can. Um, wherever you got turned into your mix of, I know, you're on the island and you're close to your properties. Yeah. So I think probably you've been quite a bit of time, physically yourself doing quite a bit of this stuff, but what tell us what's your mix between kind of what you do yourself, what you outsource and how much is automated and ultimately kind of how much time do you invest into running into running the business? Um, there's, well, we automate everything that we, we can say, for example, we're talking about Airbnb, Airbnb has got some great tools on there where you can automate certain responses, um, which are really useful. Um, I always kind of tell in that with speaking to the, you know, speaking to them directly or, you know, emailing them messaging them rather. Um, but things like, you know, uh, check in details or, you know, wifi details or transport details, you know, you can have those as kind of fixed responses and they're ready to go. So that saves a lot of time, you know, you can sort of tell and say, hi, you know, can't wait to welcome you for your wedding or whatever it is. Um, and then, you know, you can, you can add that automation, um, but generally it's a, it's a tool. So, you know, you've got to, um, you've got to be there to kind of be responsive as quick as you can, I guess. Um, but, but yeah, it's, I, I guess we've, we've kind of got a bit of a reputation because we've been doing a while and we've got a lot of repeat, um, customers that sort of know us. So it's always easier to get a customer back rather than get a new customer on. Um, so we try and sort of build the, build the relationships with people, um, who have stayed here before. And a lot of people have become, you know, friends who stayed here. Um, and we get, we, you know, we get a lot of, um, we get quite a lot of celebrities who stay here, um, and we get sort of high-end people. So it's, it's nice. We're in a, we're in a fortunate position now. We've been running it a few years where we can, um, uh, you know, we've got a mix of new customers and, uh, and some lovely repeat guests as well. So just to move things on, tell us a bit more about what, um, that gives us a really good overview of kind of what you've done so far, um, what your plans for the future for the next four or five years. So if you've got big plans to, perhaps, um, you know, find some other sites similar to that one, um, on the island, um, you're very comfortable now, you've kind of redeveloped that site and you've kind of got over the, um, original expenditure, you know, happy to let it settle and, um, and continue to make money for you. What, where do you see it going in the next few years? Uh, this is a good question. I'd like to say I've got a grand plan, but, uh, really haven't. Um, I think it's nice at the moment that we're kind of enjoying, uh, I guess, a kind of fruit to the labour of, you know, uh, uh, not building for a little while, uh, but I'm always on the lookout to do stuff. So I can't really sit still for very long. So I'm, we've, um, there's another property which we might be, uh, renting out this summer. So we're just having a look at that, whether we're going to do that, um, which is, uh, not, not on this site, but it's, uh, inventor. So yeah, we might, um, we might well expand it a little bit. When you have that, when you have that capability that, that you've got through your experience, uh, to sort of build quite complex engineered solutions, I suppose there's always a temptation isn't there to, to look for things which kind of utilise that skill set, um, and there's always a balance as well with that as well isn't there, because it's great to do that if you can make it work, but you don't want to take it on just because, just because you can. Yeah, I think you've got, it's difficult because you sort of get a property might come along and then, you know, as you know, you look at it and you might get excited about it and then it'll all kind of kick off again. So it's, you know, I'm not, I'm not specifically looking for, uh, a difficult project. Uh, that's something easy to do. Um, so yeah, I guess it depends what, what comes along. Uh, we, we might well expand it a little bit and do some, do some more accommodation, but, uh, yeah, it depends what comes along, depends what comes on the market as well. So we'll, we'll have a look, but I think we'll, we'll definitely keep this site, uh, running, and then, you know, we, we invest a little bit more into it every year, just with the, the accommodation side of it, we sort of know, build extra little bits and pieces, little extra terraces and balconies and things. So, um, you know, we're always adding to it. It's, it's, and because it's on the sea front, it needs constant maintenance to have it looking fairly pristine. So it's, it's a constant job to, yeah, just really to the maintenance of it and to keep it looking high-end. Fantastic. So that's an absolute pleasure to, uh, to learn all about your properties on the Isle of White Rowena. Just, um, how can people get in touch with you? If people would like to look at your properties, like to book your properties, but just like to reach out to you for, for whatever reason, uh, what's the best way for them to do that? Sure, I guess the easiest way is probably, and we've got a website. So we're, um, www dot, the cabin, hyphen, ventna.co.uk, and then you can, you can get in contact with us by then. If anyone would have got any questions, any building questions, that's fine. Uh, but yeah, so I mean, sometimes people contact us and ask us questions about building, um, or how we did the, how we did the cabins, but yeah, obviously if people want to say that we can, we take direct bookings on our, our website, and we also use Airbnb, of course. So, um, fantastic. And if you want to know how to cancel either, uh, timber frame onto a cliff, that's the word on the isle of White, then, um, I can give them some points. Rowena is your, Rowena is your person to, to get in touch with. Rowena, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you on. I've really enjoyed it. It's, um, as with everyone I speak to, I get a different anger and I get, um, a different nuance and a different bit of expertise. So it's been an absolute pleasure to, uh, to speak to, to you today. And thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, Mike. Nice to be here. Okay, I hope you enjoyed the show. Do remember, there's new episode out every Monday, so do come back for more in-depth conversation with short-term rental experts in the United Kingdom. Also, if there are any specific topics you'd like us to cover in future shows or if you'd just like to reach out for any other reason, please do email us at the full English [email protected].