Staycation boom expands turnover and headcount for Northern property consortium

A Northern property consortium has recorded record results over the past year as it taps into the trend for staycations.

Turnover at The SDDE Smith Group, a portfolio of property-related businesses based in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, has risen by nearly 300 per cent during the past 12 months, from £1.7m in 2020 to a forecasted £6.5m at the end of 2021.

The group, under CEO Dale Smith, has also increased its employee headcount from 37 to 202 in the same time period.

Dale said: “Tourism is the fourth largest sector in the region and, as people have been opting more for domestic travel over the past 18 months, we’ve seen interest in our properties soar.

“Both North Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales were in the top ten most popular regions for Summer holidays in 2021, and Northumberland was the ninth fastest growing area for holidaymakers, so it’s amazing to be playing our part.”

Dale set up Host & Stay in 2018 to provide holiday home owners with a more personalised approach to help them achieve the best returns on their investments.

The company offers a full end-to-end service for property owners, from professional photography and staging, to marketing the listing globally, communicating with guests 24/7, and facilitating all housekeeping and maintenance.

He added: “The fact we can offer our owners a full service, while they sit back and reap the rewards, is what makes us so different, and we’re delighted to see that this approach is paying off. The growth we’ve seen since launching is phenomenal, which is great news for our property owners, but also the region as a whole.

“When tourists stay in one of our managed holiday homes, they pour money back into the local economy through independent retailers, tourist attractions and the hospitality trade.

“In fact, in a recent survey we found that on average, our guests spend £140 per guest per stay, which will equate to a £49m total spend in the local economy in 2022.”

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