Sykes Cottages
Streamlining the owner process with a seamless mobile experience for Sykes Cottages
Services
Key achievements
High adoption rate by owners within first months of launch, with 11,000 users and counting
Excellent initial feedback from app users
320 opt-ins for Property Optimisation feature
Increased user engagement significantly by introducing further features
What you need to know
Sykes Cottages have been offering quality holiday cottages for more than 30 years across the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. With 22,500 properties and 2 million customers, Sykes is setting the standard as a leading holiday rental agency.
With an already successful customer-facing app supporting holiday makers, Sykes wanted to focus on strengthening its relationship with cottage owners. The aim was to increase retention by making simple tasks easier and removing friction from day-to-day property management.
Reducing the time spent by cottage owners on administration and looking for crucial booking information and data would be a win for everyone. Sykes wanted to make it easy for owners to run their business and focus on what they love – providing a great experience for holidaymakers.
Sykes partnered with Apadmi to bring this vision to life, taking advantage of strong mobile app development expertise, and a wealth of experience with other leading brands in the UK and Ireland.
What we did
With everyday access to important information the number one priority for Sykes’ cottage owners, the app needed to collate a wealth of data points including guest information, changeover dates and times, property queries, cleaning tasks and changeover admin.
There was also a need to facilitate easy communication between Sykes and its property owners, as well as owners and their guests. Easy navigation, push notifications and a comprehensive hub of information created easier user interactions and reduced calls made by owners to Sykes.
Improved income management was also crucial for owners. Sykes wanted owners to have more confidence in their monthly projected income. The new app enables owners to more accurately track and predict earnings, providing peace of mind on potential revenue. The app also allows owners to more effectively manage their bookings - they can now easily see when the property is booked, when guests have paid, and allows them to keep better track of payments.
How we moved the market
A focus for the Owner App has been to help owners make better choices to improve their properties, and easily opt-in to changes which will increase their bookings and revenue. This includes allowing pets, upgrading their pricing models, and exploring flexible short breaks options. This feature is called the ‘Property Optimiser’; there are five fundamental features which make a property ‘optimal’ all of which can be applied with the click of a button in the app. An optimal property receives, on average, 15% more revenue and 25% more bookings. Since providing these ‘one click’ actions at the start of February, Sykes have seen over 320 opt-ins from owners.
User feedback is already overwhelmingly positive, with one user writing, “Brilliant new app - thank you! It will make life so much easier. We can keep track of everything conveniently… Now we have all we need in one place and readily to hand. Perfect.”
Our Awards
Awards
The Sykes Cottages Owners' App has won the following Awards
- Project of the Year, Travolution Awards 2024
Ready to move forward?
Get in touch for a discovery call