Provide the Best Personal Service You Can with Andrew Loyd, Director of Loyd & Townsend Rose

In this episode of How We Grow: The Vacation Rental Show, Lynell Gordon is joined by Andrew Loyd , Director of Loyd & Townsend Rose . Join them as they discuss what it’s like building a business in such a tight niche; delve into the absolute importance of good, personal service; outline why the devils are in the details, and talk about why you should always love what you do!

Loyd and Townsend Rose (LTR) is a boutique luxury rental agency providing private client concierge travel services and destination management consultancy (DMC) for the UK and Ireland, specializing primarily in castles, mansions, country cottages, and ancestral homes. He is also a founding member and the Director of The Bespoke Travel Club and previously worked for eight years managing private estates in the US and Canada.

The Devil is in the Detail

Loyd & Townsend Rose isn’t your typical vacation rental property business – it’s a luxury rental agency. ‘But my vacation rental business is a luxury too!’ we hear you say. Well, sorry to break it to you, but it’s certainly not… at least, not when compared to these folks.?

LTR specializes in castles, mansions, country cottages, and ancestral homes; in fact, one of the estates is the size of the entirety of Los Angeles! They deal with some of the most affluent people in the world, giving them a personalized service that you just wouldn’t find anywhere else in a business like this. The sheer scope of their estates in no way makes it an easy job, either. With the amount of money it costs to rent them, every little detail needs to be taken care of.?

They need to hire staff who know the properties inside and out, who have an intimate connection with them, and can make sure everything is up to scratch. If there’s just one detail that’s out of place, then it could throw the whole experience off its pricey axis.

“When I was training in the McConnell hotel in the early 1980s, it’s all about the devil in the detail - it’s standards,” says Andrew, drawing on his prior experiences. “It’s a combination of that and character, a lot of history, and they’re run by really lovely people who care and come from the area. So it’s a very personal experience, even choosing which castle you want to stay in is a personal experience. They’re not hotels, and that’s the big difference.”

Personalizing the Experience

No matter what your vacation rental business model is, personal service and experience is, without a doubt, the most important thing you can do for a guest. Whether you’re dealing in small properties or huge, massive estates, your guests need to feel special, like you’ve put time and effort into how they feel, like their time there will differ from everyone else’s. No one wants to feel like they’re there just because they’re giving you money, they want to feel like they’re cherished and valued – that’s what service is all about!

But, again, personal service may just be the hardest part of the job. When you’re a customer, it seems like something everyone should be doing, that you’re owed it because you’re paying them. When you’re actually in the position of the servant, however, that’s when it gets tricky, because it can get super tiring.?

It’s just as Andrew explains to Lynell: “Focus on the personal service, which is the hardest thing, and it’s the most exhausting, hard work to achieve. My background is in hotels, I was managing these properties in America and I was a glorified butler really. I was front-of-house, managing these incredible houses for these immensely rich families - it’s getting the service right, and that’s what, in our industry, is so hard. But if you’re going to deliver for the big boys, that’s what you’ve gotta get right.”

To listen to the full conversation between Lynell and Andrew on How We Grow: The Vacation Rental Show, follow the links here:

Apple -?https://apple.co/3Kn8xKr

Spotify -?https://spoti.fi/3OEBgNw

Google - https://bit.ly/3OEBi86