Case Study: Pitmeadow Farm

Meet Pitmeadow Farm

In October 2020, Fiona Foreman and Ewan swapped Edinburgh for Pitmeadow Farm, in the village of Dunning in rural Perthshire. Six months later, in May 2021, they welcomed their first guests to The Steading, their holiday let on the farm. Guests come for the countryside, and can arrange local activities and farm produce as extras during their stay.

Fiona looks after the bookings and the guests. Like many owners, she started out on her own, learning as she went.

Before Bookster: double bookings and no one to call

Fiona and Ewan started with Airbnb, which was relatively easy to set up. They then added Booking.com and, once they had worked out how to combine the two, things ran well for a while.

The trouble started when friends and family wanted to stay. Reducing the price was complicated, and bookings made separately ended in clashes.

"On several occasions we ended up being double booked!! Far from ideal for anyone and a worry and stress for me."

After hearing about property management software at an event, they investigated several options and signed up with one that included a free website. It helped prevent double bookings, but Fiona found it "a bit of a fiddle to use."

The real breaking point was support. When a couple of difficult issues came up, getting help was almost impossible.

"When we managed to get help it was 2-3 days later for 15 minutes, not a second more! This was hopeless! We could not speak to anyone on the phone, very frustrating and anxiety inducing when unable to have help to fix issues."

Discovering Bookster

Fiona and Ewan met the Bookster team at an Agritourism conference in Perth, then arranged to meet them in person in Edinburgh. The decision didn't take long.

"Delightful, helpful team. Easy best decision to move to them. Speaking to real people who were contactable and helpful was and is fantastic!"

What they needed was clear: a system that would connect to their new website and prevent double bookings, backed by people they could actually reach.

Onboarding: "Super easy"

For an owner who had been left waiting days for help, switching software could have felt daunting. Fiona describes the onboarding simply as "super easy, great help from friendly staff at Bookster."

The support extended to the people working with them too. When their website developer connected their new site to Bookster, he was impressed by how easy it was to get through to the team and get the help he needed.

Since then, Fiona has made good use of the ways to stay in touch:

• Wednesday drop-in sessions: "easy to hop on any week to ask a question or be shown new features."
• Live chat: "The chat button makes communicating so easy and the response time is so fast."
• Phone: the team are "happy to speak on the phone and do everything possible to ensure all works smoothly for us."

Bookster in action

The diary and guest messaging

Day to day, Fiona mostly uses the Bookster diary to see who's coming and how the rooms need to be set up. Messaging guests is straightforward too, and having every conversation in one place matters.

Being able to communicate with all guests whichever platform they booked through on Bookster is a great advantage.

Read more about how Bookster helps you manage guests.

Prices and availability in sync

Bookster's channel manager links The Steading with Airbnb and Booking.com, so the double bookings that once caused so much stress are no longer a worry.

It all links with Airbnb and Booking.com so they never worry that prices and availability are different anymore.

Flexible pricing for short stays

Changing prices used to be complicated. Now it's easy, and that has changed what Pitmeadow Farm can offer. Fiona and Ewan set a price per night alongside a minimum price per stay, which means 1 or 2 night bookings still cover cleaning and changeover costs.

"Being able to change the price easily has really helped. We now offer 1 or 2 night stays because of the feature. We have been surprised how many people will pay the extra to stay for a short time."

Add-ons and extras

Fiona's favourite feature is add-ons. Guests can see a list of extras and book them at any time:

• Free items like a cot or highchair, so Fiona knows in advance what will be needed
• Paid items like bringing a dog, which shows guests the £20 fee added to their booking
• "Enquire" items for activities and farm produce, which Fiona arranges with guests and charges for on arrival or however suits them both

"It has helped us communicate extras with the guests in advance and therefore benefits us all."

See the full range of Bookster features.

The results

For Pitmeadow Farm, the difference shows up in peace of mind and in new business:

• No more worrying about mismatched channels: prices and availability stay in sync across Airbnb and Booking.com
• A new type of booking: 1 and 2 night stays are now on offer, and more guests than expected are happy to pay the extra for a short stay
• Better-prepared stays: guests flag what they need and what they'd like before they arrive
• Help when it's needed: support by chat, phone and weekly drop-in, from people Fiona knows by name

What's next

Fiona and Ewan's new website, connected to Bookster, is almost ready to go live, giving guests a direct way to book The Steading. And Fiona has already been spreading the word, recommending Bookster to friends and family, some of whom still run their holiday lets largely by hand.

"I would recommend to anyone who is looking to change or start using a Property Management Software."

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Pitmeadow Farm move away from their previous property management software?

The software was fiddly to use, and when problems came up, help arrived 2-3 days later and was limited to 15 minutes, with no option to speak to anyone by phone.

How easy was it to switch to Bookster?

Fiona describes onboarding as "super easy", with great help from friendly Bookster staff. Their website developer was also impressed by how quickly he could get help connecting their new site.

How does Bookster prevent double bookings with Airbnb and Booking.com?

Bookster's channel manager links with Airbnb and Booking.com, keeping prices and availability the same everywhere. Fiona says they never worry about them being different anymore.

Can Bookster handle short stays without losing money on changeovers?

Yes. Pitmeadow Farm sets a nightly price plus a minimum price per stay, so 1 and 2 night bookings still cover cleaning and changeover costs.

What support does Bookster offer?

Clients can use live chat, speak to the team by phone, and join a drop-in session to ask questions or see new features.