StayCotswold

What StayCotswold does

StayCotswold LTD is an independent, privately held holiday cottage rental agency operating exclusively in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Stow-on-the-Wold, the company curates a portfolio of 307 hand-picked holiday cottages and homes ranging from 1-bedroom cottages to 6+ bedroom country houses, distributed across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire. Revenue is generated via commission on guest bookings arranged through its direct-to-consumer website (staycotswold.com), with dynamic nightly and weekly pricing (£285–£2,100+ per night depending on property) and discounts of 10–25% offered for last-minute stays, advance bookings, and seasonal promotions.

The technology stack is a commodity SaaS composition rather than bespoke infrastructure: a WordPress-based website fronted by Cloudflare bot management and Incapsula DDoS protection, YouTube and Vimeo for embedded property video, Mailchimp for email marketing, Google reCAPTCHA for spam defence, and the SuperControl property management system powering the manager and guest portals (including the MyStayPlanner component). The company also operates a "Let With Us" service that onboards independent property owners to list inventory on the platform. Sub-brand collections (Dog Friendly Cottages, Cottages with Hot Tubs, Luxury Cottages, Large Cottages & Homes, Shepherds' Huts & Lodges, Cottages with EV Chargers, Homes with Swimming Pools, Accessible Holiday Cottages, Barn Conversions) segment inventory by amenity for SEO and conversion.

Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer with no third-party marketplace or OTA reseller dependency. Distribution relies on SEO-optimised location and content pages, an active presence on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube, a Mailchimp newsletter, and a partner ecosystem of local Cotswold businesses offering guest discounts. Customer segments are exclusively individual consumers and small corporate groups (families, couples, pet owners, business travellers), with no enterprise B2B customers. Awards in 2024 (Cotswolds Awards winner, Central England Prestige Stay, Luxlife Resorts Award) and PASC trade body membership underpin brand credibility.

Name

StayCotswold

Legal name

StayCotswold LTD

Website

https://staycotswold.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

StayCotswold is an independent UK holiday cottage rental agency curating 307 hand-picked properties across the Cotswolds region (five counties), generating commission on direct-to-consumer bookings through staycotswold.com for families, couples, pet owners, and corporate groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stow On The Wold

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Holiday Cottage Bookings: StayCotswold operates as a holiday rental agency, facilitating bookings of Cotswold holiday cottages and homes. Revenue is generated through guest bookings at variable nightly/weekly rates. Properties span 1–6+ bedrooms across 307 properties. Discounts (10–25%) are offered for last-minute stays, advance bookings within specified windows, and seasonal promotions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

StayCotswold is a direct-to-consumer holiday cottage rental agency curating and booking 307 hand-picked cottages and homes across the Cotswolds region of England. Guests search, filter, and reserve accommodations via the company's own website, supported by phone, email, and live chat from a local team in Stow-on-the-Wold. The company also offers a property management service ('Let With Us') for owners who list and manage their cottages on the platform via SuperControl and MyStayPlanner.

Product overview

StayCotswold operates as a holiday cottage booking platform offering 307 direct-bookable properties across the Cotswolds region. The core product is the Holiday Cottage Bookings service, through which guests can search and reserve accommodations. The company also operates a 'Let With Us' property owner management service using SuperControl and MyStayPlanner platforms. The portfolio spans multiple sub-brands including Dog Friendly Cottages, Cottages with Hot Tubs, Luxury Cottages, Large Cottages & Homes, Shepherds' Huts & Lodges, Cottages with EV Chargers, Homes with Swimming Pools, Accessible Holiday Cottages, and Barn Conversions. A Last Minute Deals promotional offering provides discounted bookings. Properties span the North and South Cotswolds across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Holiday Cottage Bookings Direct booking service for 307 holiday cottages and homes across the Cotswolds, allowing guests to search, filter, and reserve accommodations for short breaks or longer holidays. Properties span 1 to 6+ bedrooms and are available at nightly or weekly rates.
• Let With Us (Property Owner Management) Property management service for Cotswold property owners who list and manage their holiday cottages through StayCotswold's platform, including tenant/owner login portals via SuperControl and MyStayPlanner.
• Dog Friendly Cottages Curated collection of pet-friendly holiday properties that welcome dogs, targeted at holidaymakers travelling with pets in the Cotswolds.
• Cottages with Hot Tubs Holiday properties in the Cotswolds featuring installed hot tubs, marketed as a premium amenity category.
• Luxury Cottages Premium holiday homes in the Cotswolds with high-end finishes and extensive amenities for upscale stays.
• Large Cottages and Homes Holiday properties suitable for groups and large gatherings, including country houses and estates across the Cotswolds.
• Shepherds' Huts and Lodges Rustic rural accommodations including shepherds' huts and lodges for unique countryside experiences in the Cotswolds.
• Cottages with EV Chargers Holiday properties in the Cotswolds equipped with electric vehicle charging facilities.
• Homes with Swimming Pools Holiday properties in the Cotswolds featuring swimming pools, marketed as a premium amenity category.
• Accessible Holiday Cottages Disability-accessible properties with ground floor bedrooms and accessibility features for guests with mobility needs.
• Barn Conversions Converted barn properties offering character accommodations in rural Cotswold settings.
• Last Minute Deals Discounted last-minute holiday cottage bookings offering up to 15% off for spontaneous Cotswolds getaways within defined booking windows.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PASC (Professional Association of Self Catering)minorOthersStayCotswold is a member of the Professional Association of Self Catering (PASC), a trade body representing the self-catering industry in the UK. Membership signals industry adherence, best practices, and consumer confidence.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cottages.com: National UK holiday cottage agency with broad property coverage across the Cotswolds. Operates a similar curated-cottage, direct-booking model but at meaningfully larger scale and brand awareness than StayCotswold.
• Airbnb: Global short-term rental platform listing thousands of Cotswolds cottages and homes. While not a curated specialist, it competes directly for both guests searching for Cotswold stays and owners choosing distribution channels.
• Sykes Cottages: One of the largest UK holiday cottage agencies with thousands of properties nationwide, including a substantial Cotswolds portfolio. Broader scale, deeper marketing budget, and a comparable DTC booking model make it a primary competitive benchmark for StayCotswold.
• Booking.com: Global OTA listing holiday rentals alongside hotels, including significant Cotswolds inventory. Competes on SEO, paid search, and loyalty programmes for the same direct-booking guests StayCotswold targets.
• VRBO (Expedia): Major global short-term rental platform with substantial UK cottage listings. Competes for guest traffic and owner supply alongside StayCotswold in the Cotswolds.
• Holiday Cottages (English Country Cottages): Long-established UK holiday cottage agency with nationwide coverage including the Cotswolds. Competes for the same high-intent organic traffic and offers comparable hand-picked cottages.

Direct peers

• Norfolk Hideaways: Independent regional holiday cottage agency in Norfolk with a curated, locally-expert positioning and direct booking website. Same founder-led DTC playbook as StayCotswold, applied to a different UK region.
• Unique Homestays: UK-based boutique holiday rental agency marketing luxury and unique self-catering properties, including in the Cotswolds. Targets overlapping high-end guest segments with similar DTC and curated-brand positioning.
• Cornish Cottage Holidays: Independent holiday cottage agency serving Cornwall with a curated, locally-expert brand and direct online booking. Closely mirrors StayCotswold's regional-specialist operating model in a different UK county.
• Cotswold Hideaways: Specialist holiday cottage agency focused exclusively on the Cotswolds region, offering curated self-catering properties for short-term stays. Direct head-to-head competitor with StayCotswold across the same geography and customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StayCotswold
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@staycotswold
• Facebookfacebook.com/StayCotswold
• Instagraminstagram.com/staycotswold
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stay-cotswold

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about StayCotswold