Behind the Host With Charlotte Balderstone-Hughes

Okay, so welcome to the behind the Host podcast. And we're back with another episode today. I'm really excited. This is the podcast where you can learn more about hosts across the industry and how we can really get into the nitty gritty of their business, how we can learn and share information and really get an understanding of their business and what makes that so successful. So, before we get started on that, I just want to give a big shout out to Katrina Hardiman. She blitzed through an Airbnb listing this week. She shared a win, and it's just really awesome to see people sharing their wins in the hospitality community. She's talking about how she managed to blitz through her Airbnb listing, and she's about to get her Boostly one page website live. And on the back of that, she's got a booking, which is great to see. So if you haven't already come and joined the hospitality community on Facebook, share your wins every Wednesday and you might get a shout out on the podcast. So over to our guest today, we're joined by Charlotte Balderstone Hughes. She's the owner and founder of the Scarlet Hen House North. Sorry, the Scarlet Hen Norfolk House. Easy for me to say. Based in Yorkshire, Charlotte specializes in hen party stays. And today I'm really excited because we're going to be diving behind the business, looking into what makes her so successful in her niche, the opportunities that there are in the industry in this area, and how it's actually helped the school. Scarlett Hen House, Norfolk House, to be the holiday home of the year 2021. So welcome along, Charlotte.

Hi. Thanks for having me. So excited to be here.

Awesome. I'm excited for this. So let's dive straight in. So tell me a bit about yourself and how you got started and what motivated you to go into this sort of niche.

Okay. Yeah. So I'm an artist and a designer and a teacher by trade, but a few. We've had Norfolk house for over 20 years, and a couple of years ago, things changed for us financially and we were in a bit of a predicament. We tried to sell the house, but we failed. So we thought, how can we kind of get through this tough time without selling the house? And a friend of mine just said, why don't you put it on Airbnb and see what happens? And I said, there's no way that I'm letting a load of people I don't know stay in the house. She said, just put it on, See what happens. And we did, and we instantly got a fabulous booking From a family that took it over the whole of Christmas and it basically paid the bills and that's how it started. We've not looked back since, really.

It's a great thing to be able to do, isn't it? Just to suddenly turn things around. So the house itself, obviously I can see, for those who aren't on the podcast listening in and has got the visual either on the live or on YouTube, you can see it says Yorkshire in the background. Tell me a bit more about the house itself. And did it start off then as your residence, your home?

Yes, we've lived here. In fact, it's a very unique situation. We actually still do live here. So we live here Monday to Friday and then on a Friday afternoon we hand it over to our guests and we pop off and go and stay in another Airbnb or a short term rental, as we should be saying. And that's how it works. And people are always amazed about how does that happen and how do you pack away all your things and everything. But yeah, we're a Georgian mansion house over four floors. We're based in West Yorkshire between Manchester and Leeds, and we've got. We sleep 21 people in 11 beds in six bedrooms. And we quite quickly realized that we were attracting luxury girls, weekends, home parties and birthdays. And I think once we realised what the niche was, that's the way we went down. We knew that we couldn't kind of appeal to everybody. So. So once we found our niche market, that was a real winning point for us, really epic.

And just to dive back a step then. So at your house, how do you manage to switch it around every weekend? And what would you advise others who see the potential in their own house? What would you advise them to be considering if they're looking at doing that?

Yeah, so nobody wants to open a drawer and find a load of empty bits and pieces or personal bits. So what we do, we've got a certain amount of cupboards that lock and drawers that are empty and we've just got down to a real fine art. We've managed to acquire a few of the supermarket, you know, the crates that you have. And basically, because I've got two teenage boys living at home that have got PlayStations and all the stuff that kids have. So they've all got a crate each and on a Thursday they wake up before they go to school, they put all the stuff in there and that goes at the back of the car and we take it with us. And it's just kind of having a capsule wardrobe that you can just take with you. And it was extremely hard to start with, but now we've got it down to a real fine art and me and my husband work really hard, just kind of get up at 6am on the Friday and we just know exactly what we're doing. We've obviously got a really good cleaning team behind us as well, so it just works.

And by doing that, has that allowed you to stay in different places then when you're over the weekend? Or is it a case of you're always in the same place that you're.

Originally we used to have a flat over the road because we thought we need to be, you know, directly on hand. And then we realized as long as we're within a 20 minute distance and we can get back to the house if we need to, you know, we've now, since the pandemic, we got rid of our rental flat across the road and we've just started Airbnb. So we're supporting other small local businesses and we choose a different place. We've got about six favourites now based around the Home Firth area, which is quite near where we are. And so it's like a little vacation for us all each weekend. And it's become great. It really has. Using that way of working rather than just going to a flat has really changed how we all feel about leaving our house. It's like a treat because we arrive at a house with a welcome pack, somebody's cleaned it, somebody's welcomed us. Whereas when we used to go to our flat used to be like, oh God, nobody's cleaned up, the fridge is full of old food. And so, yeah, that was a big turning point and it's made, you know, you know, talking with the children, well, they're not really kids anymore, but that has been something that they've much preferred. Now having an exciting new place to.

Visit each week, just being able to get away as a family is, you know, one of the great things about short term rentals is it allows you both the cash flow and you've kind of been forced to go and spend time in a different place. But how cool is that that you can make, make use of that time and go and find favorites and of course you support other people in the same industry, which is cool. So the niche, first of all, wow, what a brave thing to do, you know, to let out your own home. And the second thing is to then go down the niche of hen parties. So talk me through, how did, how did you recognize that as your niche? How did that start?

Yeah, so originally, I mean, I got married 25 years ago. In fact, it was my anniversary yesterday and hen passes back. Anniversary things back then were different. Were they people? I mean, I did actually go away for a luxury weekend with my girlfriends, but really it was more going down the pub and dressing up in tacky, you know, all the paraphernalia. But when we took our first hemparty, we soon realized that people who are getting married, the millennium, shall we say, were totally celebrating in a different way. It wasn't a mad, crazy drinking kind of thing. It was more people looking for craft events like the life drawing, chocolate making, workshops, flower crowns. And then he became our very best guest. They leave the house immaculate. They kind of really respond to when you're corresponding with them. You've got a really good rapport. And to be honest, we tried families, that didn't work for us. The house was always left in such a mess. You can never underestimate how many kind of fingerprints there are from toddlers and things. So, yeah, I mean, it was bizarre once. I mean, I know how the guests leave the house. It's absolutely impeccable. But my mum once came once we were on holiday. She said, chart, I'm sorry, but I'm really sorry to tell you, but there haven't been any guests this week. And I said, what do you mean, mum? She said, well, I've just got here to tidy up. She said, and it's just spotless. I went, that's how hemparty girls leave the house. So, yeah, it's just understanding that that is our clientele and we work well for them. We obviously also do things like milestone birthdays, so 40th and 50th and 60th. But we have leaned towards now being predominantly all female groups.

Having that ability to recognize the niche and especially being brave and going into a niche which many people listening may go, you know, well, you know, we're trying to stay away from people hosting celebratory things. You know, often people have got that switched off for their properties because they're trying to avoid parties and, you know, the celebratory groups and the perceived mess that comes along with it. So I think you'll be surprised and a lot of people listening in saying how good that they are. And it's really refreshing to hear. It's also important to, you know, sort of recognize what you're doing for attracting that niche as well, because I've been lucky enough to see your website, your Instagram, and it definitely speaks to the niche that you're after. So let's talk a bit about that. What do you do which is specific to now? Now you've got your niche, what do you do to attract more of the same?

Yeah. So the main thing when I first started this was, you know, looking, talking to local focus groups and girlfriends and things like that. Everybody said, it won't work. Why would anyone want to come to Huddersfield? And that's a little bit one of my taglines now. And I knew that the house was perfect and beautiful. I'm an interior designer, so I knew that that was top of its game. But I did have to think, why would actually anyone want to come here? And originally people used to think, oh, we'll have a night out in Leeds or Manchester. But what I needed to do was make the house in itself a destination, so that once they're here, the biggest feedback is, we wish we'd never left the house. Because the house is so perfect, it's so large and you've got absolutely everything you need here. There is no need to leave at all. And to attract people, I had to go and do one better. I had to provide everything that somebody might need. So we enlisted a fantastic team of chefs that come. We've got a cocktail masterclass, we do life drawing, makeup artists. We basically invite all those suppliers that have been carefully vetted over the last six years to come in and make sure that the whole house is an experience. And. And that's what I needed to do because it had to be. Why do people want to come to Huddersfield? And luckily, I have brought lots of people here. We've got loads of connections with local restaurants, venues, things like escape rooms. So I send a lot of business into the local economy and obviously all my money then goes back into local economy. We do some support for a local charity as well. So each time a guest stays, we donate a pound per person to our local domestic violence charity here.

What a cool thing to do and to be part of. And the part that I really love about that was that you recognized that perhaps there's not a reason for people to come to, you know, to Huddersfield and to. Actually, the. The area may not be the destination that people first think of to go, where do I want to spend my time? I'm going to go there. But so many hosts will feel that about their local area, but making it a destination in itself, because it's a beautiful house, it's a Georgian house, it's got great interior design. And then the second part, you've done there is really reached out and made it an experience through reaching out to local, local places. And that's something that everybody listening can do, but it's something that you've really made your own there. And, you know, again, looking at the website and the people often forget what you said and what you did, but they know how you made them feel. And it's obviously that feeling of having the, the amenities of the chefs there, the ability to have the life drawings, which we'll dive more into in a second, you know, and the experience is what it's about. And that's what the big thing for, you know, 2022 that we're seeing from places like Airbnb is it's about giving your guests an all as well.

And there is a real shortage on the market. When I started doing some research, there are some big companies that do a generic kind of turnout, but nothing that, you know, we do a bespoke kind of service where people don't have to book things. So you've got the ability, I know that other places insist that you have to have a package. We didn't want to do that because I know personally myself, when I go away, I might want to dip my toe in and have the chef, but I might not want all the other things because I think the important thing is to give people a bit of space. The tendency with a hemp part is to over plan things. So we kind of give out loads of helpful tips and our main thing is take away those pain points when people are booking. Just knowing I booked a 50th birthday party for myself and I just remember, you know, all the things, every time I came across the hurdle, I thought, gosh, that's really bad. I'm going to make sure that my guests don't have that journey and having.

That experience going, testing out a few places to see what the experience is as a guest and as a user of the short term rental services, then that gives you great intel. It sounds to me as though you really researched your niche and you understand your niche thoroughly. So some of these extra services, let's talk about how you manage that. So say I'm coming as part of a hen party. How would you be suggesting to myself what those extra services were and how would I go about taking those extra services?

Yeah, so we have, we're with a company called Supercontrol, so all our bookings are done through there and on there you can link you've got a guest login area. And so through there they can then Access extras. And what we do is we jump out of the middle and we let them liaise directly with the chef or whoever it is. Because we've decided that, you know, we don't want to be the one in the middle. It's their hen party or their birthday celebration. So they then design it how they want. We've got simple options where you just press a button, say, yes, want a three course meal standard. And then there's other options where you can totally customize it. But quite early on, I'm super dyslexic, so I struggle with dates and remembering things. And if I got in the middle of a booking, I would always been in bed thinking, did I say that? That we've got a celiac guest coming. So I decided to step out. It's easy, you know, at the beginning I want to take control of everything, but now got such a great team that I just say, here's our bartender, please get in touch. And we've got a PDF for each activity. So if somebody wants to know that information, it's on there. And it's also on the web. We've just done a new website and every single question I've ever been asked, I've put it on the website, either in a Frequently Asked Questions document or just under a different heading. Because I think people, you know, people don't seem to pick up the phone anymore. So I want to be able to answer all those questions without having to do it in person, if that's what they want. Yeah.

And again, that's key learning for people listening in is that if you're, if you're being asked something to save, you're being asked it over and over again and having to answer, then by adding it into one of your assets like the website, then people are able to see all the answers they need. They're more likely to book. And it builds trust as well, doesn't it?

Yeah.

So let's talk more. You touched on both the team and some of your tech there. Let's dive into the team side of things. Who do you have around you and who do you need to help you, help you run a business like yours?

I nearly do it all on my own, I've got to be honest. So I did have an assistant, which was really great, but during the pandemic, kind of, she got another job working in the doctor's surgery. My husband is hands on, so he does a lot of the. Kind of just the handy jobs around the house because it's constant maintenance as you. Well Know yourself being a host. And with a house like this, every single week there's something to fix. So he does that Monday to Friday and looks after the gardens. I do everything from social media to the bookings, but I must say, since I've got an online system, it's become so much easier. And then the kids help a little bit with social media, they help me out.

That's cool.

And then I've got a great accountant cleaning. I've just got one cleaner. When she needs extra help, she brings somebody else in. But finding her and getting her has been an absolute game changer. She doesn't do the final check, I do that. And it takes about five hours on a Friday just to do the whole check, you know, make sure all the bulbs are working, everything's plugged in, just checking everything, basically.

Do you use any kind of check, sort of written down check, or is it just a case of knowing the house and knowing, knowing what you want done?

Yeah, I used to do that and I've got a file with it in. But for me it's just, it has to be done by me. And really in the future, if I do get another house or, you know, if I want to have a bit more of a break, I need to teach somebody else to do that. But I've tried to kind of make that the kind of the housekeeper, cleaners job, but I've just noticed people just don't see it. You know, for me, every toilet, you know, all the soaps have to be filled up and everything's just got to be perfect. So, yeah, I just prefer to do it myself.

It's the attention to details as the owner, you know, that you like to give and that's obviously reflected in the reviews because you've got amazing reviews. I've seen the reviews online. So you mentioned that you have a bartender. So in terms of the team, yourself is the main hub of the business. But you've got people around you, lots of help from family, which is a great resource. And then you've got lots of contacts locally, you mentioned.

Yeah, so we, as soon as we opened the business, people, you know, we were sending a lot of people down to different restaurants and things. I mean, you can imagine that the increase in their capacity and their revenue by sending 20 people a week down to them. And at first we thought, do we do some kind of loyalty scheme or do we, you know, some kind of incentive? And we tried that and we just thought, you know what, we actually just want to help the local economy. And so we Just you know, rather than saying for each guest will you give us such and such. We just send people where, you know, we just list things and we've got a part on our website that just says basically if you're local independent business, you want to be listed on our website. Whether you do balloon arches or face painting or whatever it is, just contact me and we'll happily put you on our website. It's just giving something back really.

How cool is that that you can help and give back to the local community and people can get in touch with you and you know, you may get a few more on the back of this as well but it's just a really nice thing to do. And of course, you know, there's the old saying which your network is your net worth. So by I imagine you got very popular the second you started sending you know, 20 people down to their establishments each weekend. I bet that was probably owed a.

Few meals out cocktails. So yeah, we'll say that that's what normally happens. We normally get kind of, you know, we go to the restaurant, something to eat and they'll, they'll throw us a bit of a freebie. So yeah, but it's just nice to support local businesses and yeah, I mean because when our guests arrive on a Friday afternoon they'll nearly always head down to a place called the scullery and start their stay with like an afternoon tea or a bottomless brunch there and then they'll come to us. It's just a really nice way to start some start the weekend and their house is very much like our house, same area, same history. So it's kind of almost like an extension of us. So we, that's one of the first places we do Recommend because it's 5 minute walk as well from the house.

It's definitely something that I'm going to take away from this chat that we can, you know, we can reach out to places and really build these relationships with local, you know, other local hospitality based places, you know, food places, drink places, independent services and that's really cool. So you mentioned your tech stack. So you use Super Control as your pms.

Yeah, yeah. I don't know if I use it properly but I kind of use it. It's really been a life changer. I link that with Xero. Everything's pretty simple really now because I used to spend so much time going through things and double checking and now it's just automated really which is great.

It does make things a whole lot easier, doesn't it with messages. Do you automate all your messages and everything like that through it?

Yeah. So emails. I do. I've not quite got into the habit of using. You can use text messages, can't you? I mean, my. The first point of call, usually somebody will send me an email on a few different sites and then from that I normally connect directly on WhatsApp because I find that if people are planning a large, like a celebration weekend, you've usually got a few people that have gathered together that are trying to make a decision. So I think you need to respond instantly because if you're not there at the end of the phone, they'll go, oh, let's move on to another property where we can speak to the owner now. So I'm always available and I've got a really nice LinkedIn. You know, I can forward my LinkedIn. Is it called. No, Link tree.

Sorry, Link tree.

Link tree with everything on it. And then, you know, I used to try and send. Oh, this is our. This is our Instagram, this is our Facebook. Now it's all on one thing. It just looks very neat, very professional. But yeah, I think that is the key to when people are planning these large events. You've got to be there to answer their questions straight away.

Definitely. And, you know, there's lots of hosts who I speak to go, do I need a PMS for just one property? And just seeing yourself like using a pms, well, to do that. And you touched on the importance of how quick the replies are and people like, at the moment there's the, the stat where more people are using phones to book than any other platform. WhatsApp is increasingly popular, especially here in the UK and being able to jump on. You could even jump on a group chat with a few of the members of the group. You know, that's. That. That kind of personalization is. Is great and something that you don't get from big hotel chains or from corporate companies.

So really nice for me and for them. I see their face and they see me. So you can already get a feel for that person. I just think that's a nice touch. But Yeah, I think WhatsApp, I think I saw a post with Mark saying, get a WhatsApp icon on your website. I've been trying to set that up this morning. Perfect, because I've got a form, but you've got to add your email, you've got to say what, you know, put your dates in and that type of thing. I just thought somebody just wants to ask me, have you got Something available or can we book for such and such a reason?

There's a great plugin. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but feel free to anyone listening message me. And we use a plugin that cost me about 5, 6 pounds per month, but that allows people to WhatsApp director to our. To me and my team and that means we can get back to people really quickly. So.

I've got a really good web designer as well, so she. She'll help me put that on, I think.

Awesome. Definitely get it on there. And you mentioned your link tree there as well, and it's one of those where it's free to set up a link tree. And I looked at your link tree obviously before we went on this call and it does look amazing and being able to have all your links in one place. Yeah, just such a. Such a good idea to be able to send that to anyone. And for everybody listening, I will read it out again at the end. But it's Linktree and that's L I N K T R.E Scarlethen Go and check out Charlotte's link tree there. It's really worthwhile doing, which is epic. So how has. Obviously you started by doing this because you wanted to generate some income and over that Christmas you generated some income. And how has things changed since you've had your business that you know, the Scarlet Hen Norfolk house. How has that changed your life?

Yeah, I think a turning point for me was during the pandemic. We were really lucky that we signed up to Master Council. I don't know if you're aware of Master Council, but that absolutely saved us. Without that we wouldn't have been here now. So that was fantastic. We were so happy. That's part of Supercontrol that we signed up to that. But during that time I got to listen to a lot of podcasts and do a lot of research. Research. And I read or audio listened to a book called Get Rich Lucky Bitch. I don't know if you've heard of it.

I've not heard of it. It's not one that I've read.

I think the author's Denise Thomas Dunford or something like that. Anyway, you can share a link under it. But it totally changed the way that I thought about how I make money because I'd always kept my prices to a certain extent and it gave me the confidence to up my prices and by opening them and just having time to say if I charge an extra 20 pound per person, how much more cash would that generate and it's just been a life changer. That's what's now made it let us be able to go on these, you know, rent out the Airbnb rather than staying in a flat. And it's what's made me able to turn a profit. I mean, before it was always money in, money out, but you know, just that small increase and just realizing the power, believing in your own value. And what we offer here is, you know, when I look at the competition, we definitely are worth more. And I keep putting the price up and people keep booking it. I don't know really what the feeling is, which is great, really.

That's a good sign. How many weekends are left in 20? 22 to sell.

Yeah, so I do always struggle to shift like November and December, so as it gets close to Christmas, people kind of really busy. So I've only got, I think I've got three weekends left now, which is amazing.

I mean, people will be listening to this and there's a lot of people across the industry at the moment who struggling to get even summer and late summer bookings. So, you know, being people are quite. People kind of recognize and buy from other people and if we believe in our own products, so will they. And that's something which I've picked up from and you've mentioned about the prices. So many people are worried about always been in line with the prices. Whereas what you're doing is you're separating out from the competition through offering these experiences, through niching down through providing really top quality service and being available quick on messenger. And by doing that, people don't mind paying extra because they're confident in your offering. And also you're offering something completely unique and different. So they can't just look at your place and compare the price to somewhere down the road. Because what you're offering is completely unique, which is really cool. And by offering, by increasing your prices, you know, a small percentage, although your price might only be increasing, say 5, 10%, your profit could be increasing by 100% because that profit margin on top is what's doubling.

So, yeah, and we've just done it year on year and then this year and after reading that book, I just thought, what's the worst that can happen if people don't book it, then I can then offer incentives or money off and then they feel like they're getting something for nothing. So sometimes if a weekend's more difficult, I might offer the bride stays for free because traditionally on a hen party, a lot of the guests will pay for the bride. So to do that for free means everybody pays slightly less and just something like that, which is, you know, if they're weighing us up between are we going to go to Norfolk House or we've got another property. Once they get that incentive, it's like, no, let's go there. We get the bride goes through. So that's, you know, you can always step back from that price. But that did give me the confidence to just say, just see what happens when you do it and if it doesn't work, you can take it back again.

Well, that's the great thing. When you're in demand, you can edge that price up and then you've always got the choice, you can always come back down or like you say, offer these incentives to get people to book. So one question I've got to ask, and I'm sure people would be wondering this is how do your neighbors feel about your hosting hen parties? Has there been any, any controversy or has it always been smooth sailing?

It's been a bit of a work in progress. We've got some really lovely new neighbors and we always reach out to them and say, we're at the end of the phone. If there's any problems whatsoever, you can call us day or night and we will sort it. We, you know, when we, on our website, we always say, we're not a party house. This is not a wild, crazy party. We've got cctv. We do ask for photo ID of the lead booker. They do sign some very hefty terms and conditions and we do that because we don't want to attract the wrong people. So, you know, we learned early on, every time a problem happened, write that into the terms and conditions. We've got Arlo cameras on all of the outdoor areas and in the Arlo cameras they've actually got sirens on them and you can speak two ways. So I could actually just speak and say, listen, guys, it's time to go inside. We have a strict curfew, 10pm outside. And although we are a very large house, because we're a townhouse, we don't have much garden, so we've got a roof terrace, which is fabulous. But really, because the garden is quite shaded, only if it was like, well, a 25 degree day, would you even kind of sit at the back. And we've also made it so enticing inside and not as enticing outside, but people very rarely go outside. And just to top that, something new that we did because we realized that the only time people Were outside unless the weather was gorgeous. Were when people were smoking. So we've now said that we. It's a bit difficult how safe. But we don't really welcome groups that have got more than a couple of smokers because if we don't have the smokers we don't have people outdoors. But it's just setting out your stall at the beginning. You know, the first words are it's not a party house. If you've got more than five smokers in the group, please don't book. And I was worried again saying God, that's going to turn away people. But I'd rather be empty for the week than have the wrong group because imagine the stress to me if we get people that are booking under, you know, wanting to go crazy and have a wild party a couple of times which would. And we've been able to nip it in the bud straight away because of the audio cameras. We can hear, you know, noise levels and we've also got minutes inside the house. You know what they are?

Yeah, the audio detection.

So they're brilliant. So they're not cameras or anything but they'll just tell me what the noise readings are, they'll tell me the temperature and they can also detect a party. You know, they tell you how many mobile devices are in the house and things. So that's been quite. It's just an extra layer of security. It's like you can check the cameras, make sure everybody's okay. I think because I build up such a rapport with the guests because they book a year in advance and we have so many conversations in that time that they've got a real respect for me and my property and I always give people the chance. If they think they booked it and it's not going to be suitable then they can have a refund and they can take the money somewhere else. I think that is the key, making sure people know right from the beginning what you offer and what we don't offer.

Basically that sounds cool. And just to break that down obviously for everybody who's listening. So you're setting out your stall correctly from the start. You've got your CCTV cameras outside and able to two way talk to people as well. So that, that's a preventative measure. You mentioned before that you're quick with communication and you get to kind of vet your guests through. You get a feel for these people beforehand via the messaging. And by setting out your stall, well, you're also putting off the people. You don't, you don't want straight away. And then to top it off you've got Minut, which is a great audio detection. They're kind of things that you can plug in inside your property. They'll detect the number of devices which are linked to, to the Internet. They'll detect the noise levels which you can set yourself and of course you can set it where that either messages you or some of these. The other one is noise aware and depending on which one you go for, some will text your guest directly to let them know that.

We thought that was a bit too much. It's just, you know, the good thing about my house, if you're inside, because it's a Georgian house, the walls are about 3 foot thick. Anything outside, you know, we're just careful of outdoor noise and we like we say right from the beginning, we don't have a great amount of outdoor space. We have restrictions on noise and activity outside. But better than that, right across the road I've got a 32 acre park. So I always say grab one of our picnic baskets, grab a bottle of wine and if the sun shining, take it to the park. You know, they've got so much more space over there. So that's kind of been, you know, we've got to think, okay, the small garden that's always shady is a little bit of a down point. So rather, you know, we do alert people that right at the beginning I think it's under a section in my website called before youe Book or need to Know type of thing and it can just, just a quick little checklist, you know, and that's really helped to be honest.

I think just mentioning your website which, which people can find through linktree is, is really cool because you've got it very much set up where it is. Talking to your, your preferred niche, you know, that is the Scarlet Spa you've got as well.

Yeah. So we've got an indoor hot tub here and we've turned the old wine cellar into a treatment room. So we've got a team of therapists that will come in and you can, you can put this together, you can have a wellness weekend here which is what a lot of hens are doing. So we might have yoga in the morning, they might do like a creative class in the afternoon. We do something, we do bath bomb making where we've got a specialist that comes in and does, does that with the girls, then they'll have the treatments and finish the afternoon off in the hot tub. So, you know, that is quite a popular option now that people are going for.

And some life drawings as well, if they want to as well.

Yeah. So the life drawings. So basically, I'm an art teacher and I knew that this was becoming a popular option and I just thought, well, I can do this too. More recently, I've actually got a fantastic model who takes and delivers the class himself now, which is taking the pressure off because obviously I work all week and then to do the live drawings here and at other venues was meaning that I was working all day Saturday. So I've got a great model and choose to call Greg. So he's. He's changed things around for me. But, yeah, that's a fun element.

I mean, it sounds so much fun and so very much on niche. Your choices are huge. You sound as though you've built some really good relationships with local people who can come in and take some of that work out of needing to be there yourself all of the time and that you've built a really great project or product overall. So is there any tips that you'd have for other hosts if they're looking to get started in a similar space?

Probably don't live in the same space that you mentioned. I think the main thing that I knew was start before you're ready. Really don't get everything perfect. You won't realize what works and what doesn't work until you try it. Like I said, we started with families and quite quickly realized that we didn't want lots of little kids in the house putting fingerprints on everything. So, yes, start before you're ready. Just put it up on Airbnb and see what happens. I mean, I didn't think it was going to happen. Once you've got a booking, you then think, gosh, what we're going to do with all our stuff. How's this going to work? But, yeah, good cleaning team is obviously a definite one. And get on social media. I hate showing my face on social media, but it's something I think you've got to do, like you were saying before, to build trust, make sure. I mean, a lot of people and people still believe this, that they can book a large accommodation and it be a scam. So by putting yourself out there, that should hopefully stop that. We had had that earlier on where somebody cloned our website and we're taking bookings for our house. Luckily, Touchwood, nothing. Nobody ever got to that point. Some people might text and say, charlotte, we're just about to book the house. We've spoken to Michael. We're going to deposit the money today. Is that okay. And I go, no, I don't even know anyone called Michael. So that was what was happening. So just be aware of that really.

But being available as you are and like you say seen on social media that is so very easy for people to get in touch with your direct. And I noticed on your social media there is a picture of you on the social medias so people can really get used to who their host is. And as we say people buy from people. So that's a really good, good, good move.

Thing is to get a bit of a shock when they see that kind of nice photo that's been a little bit kind of filtered. And then they arrive and I've just cleaned the house and I'm is that the same person? But yeah, no, definitely. We used to have a logo up there but I think that's just faceless, don't you think?

I think, yeah. Logos are so, you know, early 90s or 90s 2000 corporate sort of logos. Whereas actually having a friendly face and a smile and that and that's, that's what we think of when like we say people, you remember how people make you feel and I'm sure people will, will think of you when they think of the Scarlet Hen Norfolk house and, and you know, the amazing memories they've created. So I really feel we've sort of dived into, into the business and we like to finish these, these podcasts with some quick fire questions. So you mentioned you've stayed in a few Airbnbs. Where's your favorite place that you've stayed and why in the UK or abroad?

Yeah, so I've got a couple actually. I guess I'm going to do a shout out to the ones that are locally. So stay at about five different places in Home Firth, Huddersfield. So one is Apricot Cottage which is a beautiful stone built cottage. It's on a single track. It's so remote, it's beautiful. And then another favourite house is a place called Teal Cottage which again is in Home Firth. Then we love staying at Gina's Place which is Cottage Pye in Holmfirth. And then there's another fabulous place that we've just discovered which is called the Love Cottage which is just behind. I don't know if you know about Honfirth but it's the place of Last of the Summer Wine.

Oh I can picture it because of Last of Summer Wine. I've got the image in my head of the three old boys.

Yeah, it's so scenic and so beautiful and that last place Love Cottage is right behind Sid's Cafe. So, yeah, so those are the kind of best places that I've stayed at.

Amazing. Amazing. Definitely share this with them and tag them in because they'll be happy to get mentioned afterwards.

If I mention them too many, what happens is people then book them and we can't fit in. But of course, yeah, I always do do that. Of course.

So I've got to ask, obviously, based that is kind of hen. Hen parties, what's your own favorite alcoholic tipple?

Oh, gosh. I like a margarita. Salty.

Nice. Nice. What would you say your superpower is?

I just think being able to do absolutely everything because I'm creative. I didn't realize I could do the kind of finance side of things and everything, but I think being dyslexic, I have the ability to see the bigger picture and just. I always think about the guest experience. So I guess it's just being able to put on that creative hat, but also have the business side entwined, which has been a difficult one to learn. But I think I'm just about there, really.

That's cool. That's cool. And lastly, do you have. Is there a motto that you live by or is there a favorite quote quote that you kind of, you know, sort of always admire?

Work hard, play hard is definitely mine. That's something my dad passed on to me. So, yeah, all week we work hard here at the weekend, it's all about enjoying yourself and letting your hair down. And that's exactly what I want the guests to be able to do here.

What a great way to end. And, yeah, that sounds perfect. So if people want to get in touch, what's the best way to do.

So just bob on the website or Instagram or Facebook, we collect messages and it's me, it's always me. Sometimes have a little bit of help, but really when you're speaking to somebody, it's actually me. So I know all the answers. So, yeah, just get in touch on WhatsApp even.

Yeah, awesome, awesome. And for everybody listening, definitely do go and check out, as I say, that is linktree, which L I N K T R E E scarlet underscore hen. And you'll go and check out Charlotte's awesome website. You can also follow her on social media. See a very active Instagram on there as well. And yeah, go and go and check out the awesome work that she's doing. So, Charlotte, thank you so much for coming on behind the Host podcast. I hope everybody listening has got some good sort of tips from this, especially about niching down, especially about making your guests, you know, have all these experiences at their fingertips. And yeah, there's been a lot to unpack today. So thank you for coming on on the show. And did you have any closing comments at all?

No. I just want to say thanks ever so much. I absolutely love all the boostly stuff. I've just read Mark's book or listened to Mark's book and yeah, the tips and the videos are absolutely brilliant. So thank you and thanks for asking me to do this today. It's a real pleasure. So thank you.

Pleasure to have you on. And bye for now.

Take care. Bye.

Having a blast. Gonna get it on the Bruce Lee podcast. Bruce Lee like Bruce Lee. Cause it's so hard and the T is loose leaf making up those rhymes.

Don'T write it, just do it loosely.