Forge Holiday Group
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersChester, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Forge Holiday Group does
Forge Holiday Group is a privately held UK-based travel and holiday accommodation company headquartered in Chester, England, operating as a B2B2C holding company for a portfolio of holiday rental brands. The group owns and manages four wholly-owned subsidiaries: Sykes Cottages, one of the UK's leading independent holiday cottage rental agencies with over 30 years of operating history; Forest Holidays, which owns and operates environmentally sensitive cabin accommodations across Britain's forests; UKcaravans4hire.com, a holiday caravan rental service; and Bachcare, New Zealand's leading holiday home business spanning over 180 locations. The group serves two-sided markets: independent property owners who require marketing, booking management, and operational support, and consumers seeking holiday accommodation across coast and countryside destinations.
The group's underlying technology stack is cloud-hosted and serves multiple subsidiary brands from a shared services platform, leveraging third-party providers including Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, Yoti, and Guesty for channel management. AI tools are deployed operationally for pricing optimization, guest communication, staff scheduling, and maintenance coordination, with reported AI services expenditure of $30,000-$50,000 per month. A December 2025 partnership with Guesty expanded the group's distribution to over 60 additional booking channels including major OTAs.
Revenue is generated through transaction fees and management commissions on holiday rental bookings facilitated across the group's platforms and distribution channels. Forest Holidays generates additional direct revenue as an owner-operator of cabin inventory. Property owners represent the primary B2B customer segment as SMBs, while consumers form the long-tail demand side. The group currently employs 1,001-5,000 staff across the UK and New Zealand, with New Zealand operations employing a particularly notable share of international headcount.
Forge Holiday Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Forge Holiday Group
- Legal name
- Forge Holiday Group Ltd
- Website
- https://forgeholidays.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Forge Holiday Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Holiday Rental Services
- NAICS
- RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps (7212)
- SIC
- Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Rural & Countryside Homes (THAMAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Unique & Specialty Stays (Tiny Homes, Treehouses, Houseboats, Yurts, Castles) (THAGANAG), Nature Lodges & Eco-Resorts (THAAAAAI), Country Inns & Rural B&Bs (THAGAHAD)
Keywords
Where Forge Holiday Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Forge Holiday Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Holiday Property Rental Management Commission: The group operates as a holiday property rental agency and operator. Sykes Cottages acts as an independent holiday cottage rental agency (30+ years experience) earning commission on bookings. Forest Holidays operates and manages its own environmentally sensitive cabin portfolio. Bachcare manages New Zealand holiday homes. Revenue is generated through commission or management fees on holiday rental bookings facilitated through the group's platforms and distribution channels.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Monthly | AI services expenditure by operators |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Forge Holiday Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Forge Holiday Group is a parent company that operates and manages a portfolio of holiday accommodation brands including Sykes Cottages (UK holiday cottage rental agency with 30+ years experience), Forest Holidays (UK forest cabin operator), Bachcare (New Zealand holiday homes across 180+ locations), and UKcaravans4hire.com (UK caravan rentals). The group acts as a rental agency and operator, providing marketing, booking management, and operational services for property owners while offering holidaymakers direct access to diverse coastal and countryside accommodation.
Product overview
Forge Holiday Group is a parent company that operates a portfolio of three distinct holiday accommodation brands. The group brings together market-leading holiday brands Sykes Cottages, Forest Holidays, and Bachcare as the perfect partners to create great memories. Sykes Cottages serves as one of the UK's leading independent holiday cottage rental agencies with over 30 years of experience, Forest Holidays operates environmentally sensitive cabin accommodations across Britain's forests, and Bachcare represents New Zealand's leading holiday home business spanning over 180 locations. The three brands collectively provide holidaymakers access to the best locations from coast to country, united under shared technology, legal, and other corporate services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sykes Holiday Cottages: One of the UK's leading independent holiday cottage rental agencies, with over 30 years' experience in the business.
- Forest Holidays
- Bachcare
Products and services
- Sykes Cottages
Companies that use Forge Holiday Group
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Forge Holiday Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature2 records
Forge Holiday Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- GuestycoreForge Holiday Group has partnered with Guesty, a short-term rental management platform, to expand its distribution channels and improve booking and operational efficiency. This collaboration aims to unlock over 60 additional booking channels and enhance overall growth and customer reach. The Guesty integration serves all three Forge Holiday Group brands: Sykes Cottages, Forest Holidays, and Bachcare.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Forge Holiday Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Booking.com: Global online travel agency with substantial vacation rental inventory including cottages and alternative accommodations. One of the major OTA channels unlocked via the Guesty partnership.
- Airbnb: Global short-term rental marketplace serving as the dominant distribution channel for Forge's properties. Not a direct operational peer but a critical ecosystem partner and competitive reference point for direct-booking strategy.
- Vrbo (Expedia Group): Vacation rental marketplace owned by Expedia Group, focused on whole-home rentals in leisure destinations. Overlaps with Forge's cottage and holiday home inventory, especially in the UK and NZ.
Direct peers
- Hipcamp: US-based marketplace for unique outdoor stays including cabins, glamping and rural properties. Closest peer to Forest Holidays' environmentally sensitive cabin portfolio in terms of niche positioning.
- Canopy & Stars: UK-based curated collection of unique and unusual holiday stays including cabins, treehouses and glamping. Direct niche competitor to Forest Holidays' environmentally sensitive cabin portfolio.
- Vacasa: US-listed, full-service vacation rental management company handling pricing, marketing and operations for property owners. Highly comparable business model to Sykes Cottages and Bachcare's agency offering but with owner-operator scope.
- HomeToGo: Berlin-based meta-search and vacation rental operator aggregating listings from multiple providers. Comparable in that it sits between property owners and OTAs, and competes for direct-booking traffic with the same target customers as Forge's brands.
- Awaze: European holiday rental group owning Hoseasons, Cottages.com, James Villas and Novasol. Most direct analog to Forge as a multi-brand holding company aggregating regional cottage and villa rental brands across multiple countries.
- Cottages.com: UK's largest dedicated self-catering cottage holiday agency, owned by Awaze. Direct head-to-head competitor to Sykes Cottages in the UK whole-home rental category.
- TravelChapter: UK-based holiday lettings company operating multiple regional cottage and holiday rental brands (e.g. holidaycottages.co.uk, Canine Cottages). Closest UK mid-market peer competing directly with Sykes Cottages.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Forge Holiday Group social profiles
Digital presenceForge Holiday Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Forge Holiday Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Forge Holiday Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Forge Holiday Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Forge Holiday Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Forge Holiday Group
What does Forge Holiday Group do?
Forge Holiday Group is a parent company that operates and manages a portfolio of holiday accommodation brands including Sykes Cottages (UK holiday cottage rental agency with 30+ years experience), Forest Holidays (UK forest cabin operator), Bachcare (New Zealand holiday homes across 180+ locations), and UKcaravans4hire.com (UK caravan rentals). The group acts as a rental agency and operator, providing marketing, booking management, and operational services for property owners while offering holidaymakers direct access to diverse coastal and countryside accommodation.
Is Forge Holiday Group a public or private company?
Forge Holiday Group is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Forge Holiday Group founded?
Forge Holiday Group was founded in 2023. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Forge Holiday Group based?
Forge Holiday Group is headquartered in Chester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Forge Holiday Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: holiday Property Rental Management Commission.
Who are Forge Holiday Group's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Booking.com, Airbnb and Vrbo (Expedia Group). Direct peers are Hipcamp, Canopy & Stars, Vacasa, HomeToGo, Awaze, Cottages.com and TravelChapter.
Does Forge Holiday Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Forge Holiday Group.
What industry is Forge Holiday Group in?
Forge Holiday Group's product category is Holiday Rental Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAMAAAI, Rural & Countryside Homes, with a secondary code of THAGANAG, Unique & Specialty Stays (Tiny Homes, Treehouses, Houseboats, Yurts, Castles). Its NAICS code is 7212 and its SIC code is 7000.