Expert Tips From Hospitable Host: Laura Muse

Welcome to the best hospitable hosts interview that you are going to see today. My name is Mark Simpson and I'm joined by the fantastic Laura Mewes. And we are going to find out all about Laura, her business as a hospitable host and about the upcoming book. So firstly, can you let us everybody know who you are, how you got started and where we are right now.

So I'm Laura Mewes, I'm based in Sheffield, I have fabulous holiday lets in the Peak District. I got started in hospitality by accident as I know a lot of people do. We're property investors and developers and we have been for the past nine years. And then after the C word Covid, as a young family with dogs, children, we just really struggled to find somewhere that had a five star luxury feel. We always had to compromise on some kind of amenity because we've got dogs or kids. So we thought, well, we're in property, seen this massive mansion, let's go buy it and turn it into a holiday let and underestimated the hospitality side of it. So it's been an interesting roller coaster.

So when did you purchase and where are we right now?

We purchased, we got the keys for Oxload Grange that we sat in in January 2022 and then we got our second one June 22nd. And what are we now? 24. January 24th.

So two years later.

Yeah.

What have you learned in two years?

Oh, you're on call 24 hours a day. I'm joking. What have I learned? I do love what I do, but I've learned that to do this, well, it's not a job, it's not a 9 to 5, it is a lifestyle. It is not investment strategy.

Okay, let's talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. So two years in of being a hospitable host compared to the life before, what has been the most enjoyable aspect of this business, this, this part of the industry?

Well, can I have two things?

Yeah.

Okay, so we, so, so our holiday homes, we've done all the interior design, we've renovated them. So I love that part of the process. Like, and you'll see going to this house, fox log range or candle house, there's a colour theme but every room's unique and so people can come back time and time again and get a different feel. So I love that part of it and really for me is the reviews when people have left and you've imprinted like they've had memories for a lifetime. Like there's no other industry you can really do that in where people come back and it's a feeling when you walk in. It's not. Obviously it's an exchange of money, but it's something that'll last forever.

Creating memories.

Yeah, it's something special.

Okay, so we've got the good. What's the bad? Cleaners.

I hope they're not around. Obviously you do get really difficult at guests, but they're, I'd say like 1%. And it's how you manage that. But my biggest learning curve is managing staff. Like we don't use external companies anymore because Obviously here there's 15 bedroom, 14 bathrooms. It makes no sense for me to use an external company. So we hire. And managing people's egos and expectations is something I try to navigate. I'm quite a strong character myself, so I have to sometimes have a little word with myself before I enter them. Interviews or the meetings that we have.

So how many people do you hire right now? What's the makeup of the business?

So we've got Laura, who was our full tech. Well, she's. She works 30 hours a week. She does. She's our head housekeeper. We've got Vicky, who is cleaning. Guest relation. She does about 25 hours a week. Then we have Darren, who was our maintenance manager. Hot tubs. We have hot tubs. That's also a negative. It's great for guests, it's negative for me maintaining them. So he works probably 15, 20 hours a week. And then the little old me who does everything else.

Okay, so we've done the good, we've done the bad. Let's talk about the secret sauce. So you've come at this and the reason why you bought this property, the reason why you started doing this, because you're scratching your own itch, so to speak. You can find a property that catered to your needs, family pet friendly, near the Peaks, and you've brought that into this. So what would you say is your secret sauce? What do you feel that you're doing? And maybe others in Buxton or Derbyshire aren't.

I think how it actually looks is different to a lot of other places in the Peak District. When we were looking for luxury in the Peak District, there was very limited amount of properties we could compare to. But we are really big on working with other local businesses, so we try and connect our guests with other local experiences, local suppliers and things like that. So we want people to come and spend the money here in the Peak District and stay spending it here. Not going off to Alton Towers. Like Alton towers is like 20 minutes away from here. So I'm really big on that. I've started a podcast, which is a peak district podcast, which is enabling people like myself, a holiday home host, to speak to bigger businesses like the Heights of Abraham, like the Crescent Experience, when let's be honest, really, they wouldn't normally speak to me because I have holiday lets and it's just really opened some doors. Like we've got a partnership with Buxton Opera House and I think that's what makes us special and we go above and beyond for us guests, I feel.

Yeah. I think from personally staying here. The, the secret sauce is that extra service. Yeah, the, the private chef. It's the other things that you can. Like the, the babysitters service and stuff, working with local businesses. It is scattered.

You added all them in.

I can speak from firsthand, so that is very good. Okay. And then we've talked about lessons learned. So I guess the question is if you were to sort of go back to a year, December 2021, and you could just have a little tap on Laura's shoulder from 2021 and say this is the one thing that you need to make sure you do, what would that be?

It would have the right PMS to start with. I think, like right tech. I've been through three lots, I'm not even two years in. It's literally mind blowing. And researching it properly, not just taking people's opinions because everybody's business is completely different. So having a tech and having a proper direct booking website. I'm not saying like she sat here, but obviously, you know, it's my third one. Third one. So researching the tech for what I think I need the business to run like was has been extremely painful for me, I'm not gonna lie.

Also as well, you need to do it as in you look into the future as well.

Yeah.

So if you're. It's very easy to make decisions on where your business is right now, as in starting off, but your business, you've got to look like for two years down the line, if you're planning on having one property or one property only then sound. But if your business is going to grow, you need to be looking that far down the line. It's not like making the bigger budget now, but it's thinking about where you need to be because then future you will. Thank you.

No. And especially like if you want to manage other people's properties, etc. Whereas we don't want to do, we don't want to use that model as is we would buy and run them ourselves.

Yeah.

But like, the first lot of software just didn't even have them. Capabilities, like. Well, as we all know, it was very antiquated.

Okay, brilliant. So we're now on to the Hospitable Host Fire round. Fab Five. I've got five questions that we've been asked from the team at Hospitable Hosts and I'm going to ask you them one by one. So the first one, what is the one thing that believe sets you apart from other hosts when guests stay with you?

A feeling when they walk through the door.

Nice. That is quick fire. Okay, number two, what is your favourite amenity that most of your guests give you? Great feedback on?

The brass baths. We have freestanding brass baths. Personally, I don't like them because they're a bit cold, but everyone loves them.

I gave you my top tip on this.

Go on. You did, yeah. Do you want to share? I might put that in my guest book.

So before you get in a brass bath, get a shower first because then you get into a brass bath. If your body normal temperature, you get in it, your top half is freezing, it feels a bit weird on the brass. So you get a shower, get nice and wet and you get in and it's absolutely fine. But I can give you as well a tip. Those brass baths are Instagrammable. I took a picture of it, I put it on my stories and didn't really do lots of tagging or hashtags or anything, just picture of that. Loads of people have seen it and reacted to it. And when that happens, more people see it, obviously. So the most people that have seen my stories over the last God knows how long is of that breath back. So it's Instagrammable, which is, again, a key thing is when you're doing your property, have certain things about the property that makes it Instagrammable, because if you do that and then encourage the handle, tag them. Chops are good.

Winner.

That is a very good amenity, the brass bath, because you have them as well in one of the suites in the bedroom. Okay, so now we're not so much talking about you and your business, it's about you as a traveler. So when you've traveled, what has been your most memorable experience as a guest?

Me And James did 21 holidays in one year. Like it were a bit nuts. We haven't been on one since.

Is this before kids?

This is before kids. So we went to the Maldives and the thing I loved about the Maldives was nothing was a problem. Anything you asked for was there not like nothing was an issue. And I found a lot of places that we've gone over the years, like, things are a problem if they're not pre booked or like they literally would just bend over backwards for you. And they were just the nicest people. Like, we even started texting one after for a while, like, do you want to come live in England? But just, they've just. And they're so relaxed. And that's what we try to do at our holiday homes is nothing's a problem. We can try and cater for any situation or anything that you need because I think that's what truly makes you stay.

Yeah. One of the good things that you did was in the email that was the day before checkout, there was a list of things to not worry about. So there's a list of things to do, but obviously a list of things like not worry about as in don't worry about stripping the beds. Because when you're staying in a place, you don't know if it's a requirement or not because there's no communication.

I think I may have got that from somewhere else.

But it's, it's, it is good. And you again, just got to make life for your guests as easy as possible. Tell them what's expected, what's not. Setting expectations.

Yeah.

All right then. So in the year of 21, holidays, which is amazing in itself, never to be repeated. Never to be repeated. But that's like two holidays a month. What from there was the best memory that you've had as a guest yourself? You can talk about the Maldives or anywhere else. What's the best memory that you've taken with you from being a guest diving in the Maldives?

So when we went to the Maldives, it rained for 10 days constantly. But luckily me and my husband are not. We don't sunbathing. We probably can do it for three hours and then we're bored, so. So we literally dive three times a day for 10 days. And it was awesome, the stuff we saw. And when I went, I actually couldn't dive. So I learned to dive there.

Nice.

I mean, probably the best place in the world to learn to dive. And then we saw these Hughes manta rays. And I remember sat at the bottom and James had a cold. He were fuming, so he couldn't even go diving. So we're on my own. And these big manta rays were like swooping. Yeah. That's a feeling. And yeah. That I'll never, ever forget.

Nice. Final question. What is your number one secret to.

Being a successful Hospitable host offering us guests unique experiences. Nothing's a problem, and just trying to elevate their stay and make it as easy as possible for them. There's probably a few things there done right?

If anybody wants to find out more about Muse Escapes, where should I go?

I'm everywhere. YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook.

What's the handle?

Uscape.

You said every channel apart from that.

Facebook.

News escapes amusescapes.com y by boos Lee and yeah, so well done. This is another episode of Hospitable Hosts done.