Hospitality Awards 2021

www.lux-review.com Page 23 LUX 2021 Hospitality Awards Lettings agency StayZo is committed to providing a comfortable home for corporate or family guests to stay in whilst travelling on business or pleasure. We find out more about the firm from Owner, Tom Whatton, and how it has flourished since the hospitality sector re-opened following the pandemic. StayZo Ltd Best Emerging Accommodation Experience Provider - Hertfordshire Aug21280 Launched in 2018, StayZo is changing the face of short-term property lettings, with the aim of saving people time, money and providing a great experience. Providing fully furnished houses, apartments, and even caravans, that can come with full housekeeping or part housekeeping depending on guests’ preferences, StayZo offers a level of flexibility that is unrivalled within the industry. StayZo houses offer a certain standard, like a ‘home-from-home’, and include kitchen, flat- screen smart TV, and complete Wi-Fi services. There’s fine linen, fresh towels and tea, coffee, milk, plus a packet of biscuits, on arrival. Owner, Tom Whatton, tells us more about his guests and what they can expect from their stay. “Our clients are primarily corporate guests working in the local area, such as local contractors, or others that just want a base from which to sightsee,” he explains. “We also have many families stay that have visited their extended family that live locally. This has been much appreciated as, in some cases you understand, it has been over a year since families have been together.” Tom goes above and beyond to ensure that his guests have a comfortable stay. He ensures complete communication with potential clients throughout, from the initial point of contact, to the moment they check-out. He employs a team of highly skilled and dedicated cleaners, and personally checks the properties as health, safety and convenience are his top priorities. “Proper and open communication with my team is also a top priority of mine,” he elaborates. “Listening to the guest’s requests, granting them their request, if possible – I want to ensure that they will have their best experience while staying at my property.” Over the past 18 months, StayZo has grown considerably, not only in its accommodation offering, but also in different areas of the country. This level of expansion means it is essential for Tom to work with the best housekeepers to keep his high standards met. These housekeepers are hardworking, flexible and have a keen eye for detail. “To ensure my cleaners turn up to the right property at the right time, I have a growing team of office based staff too,” he explains. “They are highly organised and not only are they working hard behind the scenes, but they also control the outward face of StayZo – from customer communications through to social media marketing.” The start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 was a very scary time for operators such as StayZo, and Tom tells us that he had a diary full of summer bookings to look forward, however this all changed overnight. “We were allowed to stay open to allow key workers to stay in our homes. During the pandemic, we took in guests that ranged from contractors maintaining the railways to maintaining the internet service infrastructure. “At this time, many of the hotels were closed but so were many of the pubs and cafes – the great thing about staying in a StayZo home is that not only do we offer a bed but we also provide full cooking facilities, plenty of room to maintain social distancing and a relaxed atmosphere. Compared to a hotel they had previously stayed in, the other major advantage was the cost – the ‘cost per person’ calculation is much less in a StayZo property compared to a hotel.” For many of these corporate customers, it was the first time that they had worked away and stayed in serviced accommodation and Tom is certain that many of them won’t be going back to a hotel any time soon! During this time, Tom also used the quieter period to concentrate on growing his business from its initial roots in Hertfordshire to further afield destinations such as London, Coventry, Peterborough, Southampton, Buckinghamshire and Bradford. “In July, when lockdown restrictions were reversed, we enjoyed being part of the ‘staycation’ boom and it turned out to be a very busy summer!” Having recently been crowned Best Emerging Accommodation Experience Provider – Hertfordshire in the LUXlife Hospitality Awards, Tom’s focus is now to continue to grow the company without compromising his high standards of excellence. Contact: Tom Whatton Company: StayZo Ltd Website: www.stayzo.co.uk