Liz runs a self-catering and B&B complex in Oxfordshire called Kingfisher Barn.
The story so far in Liz's words…
'In year 2000 the bookings at Kingfisher Barn were done by a paper bookings form being sent in the post with a cheque. We had our own website which was mainly used as the source of information about our accommodation for guests and future guests. Year later we started to take credit card payment using the Streamline system. This was mainly for people paying at reception and business stays. In September 2001 we purchased a computerized booking system. It took us 6 months to get used using it! We realized that the booking system we had purchased and were using was not good enough and decided to purchase a more comprehensive system that could do VAT invoices. Again it took time to get used to and did meet our needs better, but we found that it had too many functions and many we did not ever use.
In August 2004 we were ready to redesign our website and wanted to be able to take online bookings. We contacted the booking system people we were using and they said they were unable to do this but were considering it in the future. In September 2004 we took a very big decision to develop our own website that would have the online booking facility which would talk direct to the bookings system and availability calendar.
Six months later the system was up and running and we went life with our new KingfisherBarn.com website. We have since tested and refined this system over the last 12 months and are very pleased indeed. Immediately we saw that people were happy to use the online booking system that we were offering. We immediately, the same day, received our first booking online! Being located just outside Oxford, we had many overseas visitors and it's been very valuable to them to book their accommodation and receive their booking confirmation with clear directions how to find us. The bookings were coming in from all over the world…Australia, Canada, Cyprus Germany…
Then we thought if it worked so well for us, surely the other cottage and B&B owners could benefit being able to accept the online bookings through this system. We took the decision to develop the system further so that it could be offered to other small accommodation owners who were looking to get more web presence…that's how Your-Cottage.co.uk has been born.
In July 2005 we posted Your-Cottage.co.uk website onto the internet. We have been testing the search facilities and the systems and developed and enhanced functions (which will always be an ongoing part of the business). We placed the site at the top of the search engines and looked at generating visiting traffics. We set targets and were able to meet them with new accommodation owners joining the site.
Then not a lot happened due to the commitment of being mum of two lovely girls. The business was at the point when it needed more time and the decision had to be made to either continue with the website or just knock it on a head and leave it. With a great encouragement from the cottage owners and my own family I decided to allocate proper resources and time to it. I was then joined by my colleague Lucie, who once listened to my preparation of presentation, and who also thought the site deserves more time and skills to put in. We tested and developed the site further and divided the site, to allow better marketing, into specific Your-Cottage.co.uk and Your-BandB.co.uk.
In September 2006 we embarked our journey to make the sites the best and the most helpful that there is.
Our first job was to find and set up an office. We managed to find a little office, after few hours of driving all over Hampshire and Surrey. With no furniture and chairs to sit on first few days, we started our journey together. We spent lot of time researching and learning about the internet, design, marketing, Search Engine Optimization, linking and are ready now to move the project forward to produce an excellent resources for cottage and B&B owners as well as holiday makers and their families.'
About Liz:
Liz received her BSC in 1988 from Leeds University and continued with research until 1992. Then she worked with adults with special needs and developed Kingfisher Barn Ltd to provide Art facilities for children and adults with special needs. The Kingfisher Barn changed from accommodation for large groups to self catering and B&B for families in 1999 and continues to run as a successful site up to today.
' My life is balanced between work and family. I enjoy my family life, animals, learning to ski - 7th years of trying!, walking the dogs and my garden. I also enjoy learning about the technical aspects of the business. I do feel that if we can share the information and help each other we can all benefit and prosper. I really belive that the work should be fun.' Liz
About Lucie:
Lucie was born in the Czech Republic. She moved to the UK in 2000 taking a gap year from university to improve her English, 8th years on, still here and still much to learn! Lucie is also studying towards her Psychology degree with The Open University.
'My areas of interest at work are - dealing with the business owners and helping them to make the most of their listing. I am responsible for all the site changes and updates ( so if you see the site has gone down for few moments, please be patient!). Outside work I enjoy spending time with family and friends, beach, meeting and talking to people, travelling and weekends away.' Lucie