Case Study: Drumguish Cottage

Meet Drumguish Cottage

Drumguish Cottage is a three-bedroom crofters' cottage in the Cairngorms National Park, converted and fully modernised by owner Bridget Clyde. It sits three miles from Kingussie and 12 miles from Aviemore, in a large garden among the pine forests of Drumguish.

From the sunroom, guests look west to the Monadhliath Mountains, over fields where sheep and cattle graze – "and not another house in sight," as Bridget puts it. The cottage is family-friendly, and walkers and cyclists can head straight from the front door into Inshriach Forest, Glen Feshie and Glen Tromie.

Bridget runs the cottage herself. It is her only property.

Before Bookster: all eggs in one basket

Bridget wasn't in crisis when she started looking for a property management system. Airbnb had served her well.

''I was listed solely on Airbnb and, initially, it worked very well for me. However, as I became more experienced in the holiday-let business, I started to notice gaps in the calendar that I would have liked to fill.''

Those gaps pointed to a bigger concern. "I also became increasingly aware that I had all my eggs in one basket by relying on a single booking platform," she says.

She wanted to add Booking.com and Vrbo, and to have her own website where she controlled her bookings. Direct bookings were a big part of the appeal: "I particularly liked the idea of being able to take direct bookings without either my guests or me having to pay the significant fees charged by booking platforms."

So she needed one system that could host her website, connect it to the other booking platforms and keep everything synchronised through a channel manager.

Finding Bookster

"I chose Bookster almost by chance!" says Bridget. While booking a short stay near Wick, she got chatting to the host by email. Bridget liked how that host's booking process worked, and the host recommended Bookster.

Several things gave her the confidence to go ahead:

• The team. "From my very first contact, I found the Bookster team enthusiastic and helpful. They quickly arranged a video call so that we could discuss what I wanted to achieve."
• Price. With only one property, cost mattered. She built her new website from much of the same information and photography she already had on Airbnb, which kept extra costs to a minimum.
• A UK company. "I also liked the fact that Bookster is UK-based, in Edinburgh. For me, knowing that I was dealing with a local company gave me confidence that they would be dependable. They have certainly proved to be."

Getting set up

Bridget didn't want switching systems to turn into a big project. It didn't.

''The onboarding process was surprisingly easy to follow. Whenever I had a question or ran into an issue, I only had to ask and someone from Bookster would get back to me, usually within 24 hours.''

The whole system was set up and working very quickly.

Bookster in action

Bridget had a clear list of what she needed. Here is how Bookster handles each one.

• Bookings from every channel in one place. Bookster's channel manager connects Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo with her own site, so availability stays in sync without the worry of double bookings.
• Flexible rates. She can set and adjust prices easily to respond to busy and quieter periods.
• Direct payments. Payments for direct bookings go through Stripe, which she found "very straightforward to set up".
• Useful extra tools. Bookster integrates with Revyoos, which collects verified guest feedback from different booking platforms.

Day to day, the routine is light. "I regularly check the bookings page, although with just one property I don't need to check it every day and I don't need to worry about double bookings."

"Having a Property Management System has made managing the cottage much easier," she says. "Setting rates, managing availability, taking bookings and keeping everything synchronised across the different platforms is all much more straightforward."

Her direct booking website has also gone down well with guests. "I've also had very positive feedback from guests who book directly. They comment on how clear and easy the booking process is, which is exactly what I wanted from my own website."

The results

Asked about the biggest benefits of using Bookster, Bridget lists:

• Ease of use
• An increase in bookings
• Direct bookings without the extra booking-platform fees
• A better return for both her and her guests
• Her own attractive website, which is easy to update
• "The reassurance of having a helpline that actually works!"

For Bridget, the biggest change is structural. She no longer depends on one platform:

''For me, the biggest difference has been moving from relying on one booking platform to having my own website, multiple booking channels and a system that brings everything together in one place – and for a small holiday cottage business, that has made a big difference.''

Spreading the word

Bookster came to Bridget through a recommendation, and she has passed it on. "I have recommended Bookster many times, both personally to other holiday-let owners and on Facebook groups and forums for Airbnb hosts."

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bookster worth it if I only have one holiday let?

Bridget runs a single cottage and says she doesn't need a complicated system, just one that is reliable, easy to use and cuts down day-to-day admin. Price mattered to her, and reusing her existing Airbnb photos and content kept her setup costs to a minimum.

How hard is it to switch from Airbnb alone to a property management system?

Bridget found onboarding "surprisingly easy to follow", and the system was up and running very quickly. When she had questions, the Bookster team usually replied within 24 hours.

Can Bookster stop double bookings across Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo?

Yes. Bookster's channel manager keeps availability synchronised across all of Bridget's channels and her own website, so she says she doesn't need to worry about double bookings.

How do guests pay for direct bookings?

Direct bookings on Bridget's website are paid through Stripe, which she found very straightforward to set up. Neither she nor her guests pay booking-platform fees on those bookings.

Would you recommend Bookster to other holiday-let owners?

Yes. Bridget has recommended Bookster many times, both to other holiday-let owners and in Facebook groups and forums for Airbnb hosts.