Porthcothan Bay Holiday Cottages: From Agent Dependency to Booking Success
The Holiday Cottage Booking Challenge
Porthcothan Bay Holiday Cottages were paying 20% of their takings – plus extras – to a local agent to handle bookings for their four beautiful holiday properties. As busy Cornish farmers, George and Jeff needed their business to generate strong income to support the farm, but handing over a fifth of their profits to a third party simply didn't make sense.
They also wanted to promote their other ventures: a wild campsite, glamping, and weddings – services their agent wasn't marketing for them.
The solution? Take control with their own website and booking system.
The Brief
George and Jeff needed a website that would:
Handle bookings directly, cutting out the agent completely
Showcase four distinct businesses under one roof
Be incredibly easy to use (both were self-confessed technophobes)
Launch quickly with immediate bookings to replace lost agent revenue
What impressed me most was their trust. After one brief conversation detailing their requirements, they sent over all their images and details, and let me get to work. We connected brilliantly on style from the outset, and I had great fun creating all the little icons – the dogs are by far my favourites!
The Solution
Website Structure
I split the website into four sections – Holiday Homes, Camping, Glamping, and Weddings – each with unique SEO settings to ensure visitors landed exactly where they needed to be.
User-Friendly Booking System
The booking system needed to be brilliant but simple. George took to it like a duck to water, managing availability, enquiries, and bookings with ease. Clients loved booking directly with the homeowners, and George's friendly nature made managing enquiries a pleasure rather than a chore.
WhatsApp Integration
For the camping, glamping, and wedding pages, we set up a WhatsApp link that connects directly to Jeff. As he's often out in the fields with the animals, this meant people could text him and he'd call or message back when convenient – a system that worked brilliantly for their lifestyle.
Lifestyle Photography
My photography was blended with George and Jeff's own images across the website and social media, creating a beautiful lifestyle feel that captured people's imagination and showcased the authentic Cornish farm experience.
The Launch Strategy
We didn't just launch and hope for the best. With a healthy Facebook following for the campsite and preparation work already done, we had a ready audience.
The soft launch approach:
Sent a mailshot from the website with a discount code to everyone who'd previously shown interest
This allowed us to test the booking system and iron out any issues
More importantly, it generated bookings from day one
After two small tweaks, we embarked on nine months of strategic social media – posts and stories that encouraged people to visit the site and land on the right pages for their needs.
The Results
The numbers speak for themselves:
📊 3,700 visitors to the holiday cottages landing page alone
🏠 95 bookings for week-long or multiple-week stays
📧 252 people engaged with the site following one email campaign
📉 Just 56% bounce rate – meaning nearly half of all visitors explored multiple pages
⏰ Open Easter to October only (28 week period) – maximising occupancy in their available season
The financial impact:
Zero commission paid to agents
Full control over pricing and availability
Ability to hire cleaning staff directly, keeping quality high and costs manageable
Best booking season they've ever had
The lifestyle impact:
George and Jeff manage everything themselves with ease
Direct relationships with guests create better experiences
All four businesses promoted under one cohesive brand
Freedom to run the farm and the holiday business on their terms
What The Client Said
"It's just been brilliant working with Kelly. She immediately tunes in to what you need and helped even the biggest technophobe like me get on board. I absolutely love our new website. The booking system is easy to use. She had everything up and running really quickly and without any glitches. Her eye for design is spot on. The feel of our site is colourful, beachy and farmy just like us! We could not be happier. Thanks a million to Kelly :)"
— George, Porthcothan Bay Holiday Cottages (April 2024)
When I bumped into George and Jeff on the beach in September while walking the dog, they were over the moon with how well everything had gone and couldn't stop raving about the website.
The Takeaway
This project perfectly demonstrates what's possible when you take control of your online presence. By eliminating the middleman, Porthcothan Bay Holiday Cottages:
✅ Kept 100% of their revenue
✅ Gained full control over their brand and customer relationships
✅ Successfully promoted multiple business ventures
✅ Created a booking system they could confidently manage themselves
✅ Achieved their best season ever
Ready to take control of your holiday lettings business?
Call: 07545 313994
Visit: www.cornwall-websites.co.uk
Or explore the Porthcothan Bay website: www.porthcothanbayholidays.co.uk