LifecanbetoffIt’s Small Business Saturday and what better way to celebrate those that run small businesses than publish my latest issue of my Small Business Focus Series.
This week I welcome Mary from Trallwm Forest Cottages.
Trallwm Forest Cottages
Trallwm Forest is a holiday cottages business based in rural Powys, Mid Wales. When I say rural – I mean rural. Set in the grounds of their beautiful forestry estate, the cottages are the epitome of peace and tranquility.
We have stayed twice, our first visit in March 2016 and it was the first holiday for Jon and I as a couple. Our first couple’s holiday so it was a fairly big deal! Of course, the dogs came along too as the bonus with some of the cottages at Trallwm, is that they are dog friendly.
I had even wrote a blog post for Mid Wales My Way (which has sadly since been archived) about our romantic break away to my favourite part of the UK.
Not only are they wonderfully located with bike and walking trails but also within a short drive of typical mid Wales scenery.
Second time around
The second time was November 2016 and we chose to stay at the secluded Tawny Owl – set deep in the forest it’s surrounded by forest valleys and walking trails. A wonderful shut off from digital life – and something that at the time I desperately needed.
Any time anyone is looking for a getaway I always recommend Trallwm Forest Cottages. It definitely won’t be my last time visiting and I hope that I can get back there again sometime in the near future.
Anyway, less from me. Welcome Mary..
Tell us about you and how you came to Trallwm Forest Cottages?
“I have grown up on-site at Trallwm. My Parents bought the Trallwm estate in the 70s as my Father is a forester and they converted the stone barns in to holiday cottages.
Trallwm Forest Cottages started in 1981, my husband Harri and I took over the running of the cottages in 2009 after graduating from University.
I met Harri at school and we’ve been together ever since, he is from Cardiff and my Mum used to describe him as the town mouse visiting the country mouse!
Since we started running the cottages we have gotten married and we have two children; Matilda (4) and Otis (2).
We have settled in Builth Wells which is only 12 miles from Trallwm but we get mobile signal and good internet which is essential when running our business.
How did Trallwm Forest Cottages start, what is the history of the estate and who do you have helping you run 10 holiday cottages and the work they bring?
Trallwm has been in the ownership of my family since 1976. Purchased as a 400 acre commercial forest, which was planted in 1967.
After moving into Trallwm Farmhouse in 1979 the first three cottages, Red Kite, Kestrel and Raven were converted from two adjacent stone barns.
Nant Garreg which had not been occupied for 65 years was restored in 1983. It then became a holiday cottage with Siskin, Tawny Owl and Magpie cottages all converted from redundant stone out-buildings.
Trawsgyrch cottage and surrounding farmland was purchased in 1990 and converted into the largest of our cottages at Trallwm – sleeping 9 people. In 2016 we closed our café and converted it into Heron cottage.
We are a small team that run Trallwm Forest Cottages; there is my husband and I, two housekeepers for Monday and Friday changeover days, my brother runs the forest and provides us with dry firewood for all the cottages, my brother-in-law does the grounds one day a week, and my parents still help out with washing linen and rubbish sorting.
Since running the cottages we have acquired numerous skills for property maintenance and estate management that are essential whether it be plumbing in a bathroom or unblocking culverts.
What do you most enjoy about running a holiday let facility and what don’t you enjoy?
Creating a unique natural holiday for customers is really satisfying.
The diversity of the job is great, it allows us to be creative in the cottages as well as adding facilities outdoors.
We do accounting, advertising, social media, building trails, renovating cottages and lots more.Seeing guests stay as a couple and then a few years later returning with their children is very rewarding.
Returning customers always like to see the updates we are making on site and keep in touch through Facebook and Instagram.
Working as a couple can be difficult but in general it works very well for us, we know each other’s strengths. Our children love Trallwm and it’s a pleasure to see them enjoy the site.
Playing in the stream, walking the trails, everything is an adventure for them in the forest. They are also great models for us when taking photographs!
The job has drawbacks (like all jobs). Our busiest times are usually when others are on holidays; Bank Holidays, Christmas, Summer holidays.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Although the isolation of the site is a huge attraction for guests sometimes the proximity to shops or trade outlet can be frustration– a spare bulb, a pipe fitting for example.
And as we have a small team and short changeover times it can be quite tricky.
Increased competition is a constant challenge. The creation of sites like Airbnb have allowed anyone to provide holiday accommodation as a side income on-top of their normal job with glamping places and self-catering units popping up everywhere.
These providers often evade business rates, trade waste, VAT and other charges a typical trade business is forced to pay. The pricing is often hard to match as their overheads are much smaller than ours.
Weather is a challenging aspect, in particular water – freezing pipes, water shortages in Summer and too much water in Autumn/Winter with floods and blocked culverts.
As each cottage has its own hot-tub it is sometimes hard to get them empty, cleaned and filled on changeover days.
What about your biggest achievement?
Raising 2 lovely children whilst increasing occupancy of the cottages year on year.
I think we are great value for money – we offer comfortable cottages all with wood-fired hot tubs as well as 15km onsite trails, unspoilt vies and play areas for children. Having children has definitely changed the way we view the site.
As the cottages are spread out it is great for couples but we had little for children. We now have a play trail, play area, trampoline, swing, sand pit and playhouses which have been very popular with our smaller guests.
All the lovely comments in our guest books are great to read.
I’ve been a two time guest at Trallwm Forest, do you find you get a lot of return guests?
25% of our guests are returning customers, for Tawny Owl cottage 60% are returning customers!
It’s a rewarding feeling that a guest chooses to visit us again when there is so much choice out there.
Many guests return a few times per year. Some returning customers choose the same cottage every time whilst some like to move around seeing what each different cottage offers.
How do you find promoting your business in this ever changing modern world and what do you do in an effort to stand out in what is becoming a saturated holiday let market?
In recent years the holiday let market has seen a huge increase. The establishment of sites like Airbnb has flooded the market.
Fortunately we offer something quite unique with our forest site and have been doing it for decades, it’s a positive that we are a family business that was established in 1981.
Social media is key in communicating with potential customers and also show are previous guests what we’ve been up to, I make it quite personal.
One of your biggest selling points is your forest location with woodland walks and bike trails – but does the forest come with any challenges for a holiday facility?
The sheer size of the site can be challenging.
The cottages are spread out over the whole 400 acre site so going back and forth between the cottages takes time. Maintaining 15km of trails is difficult.
On a silly point – the trees needles drop into the hot-tubs!
The roads are both access for cottage customers but also occasionally for forestry vehicles too – this can make the roads messy and muddy.
Although the nature of the forest industry is that a machine may not go to a certain part of the forest for decades.
What I really enjoyed about Trallwm Forest was the peace and tranquillity, the complete shut off from the modern world with no phone signal or Wifi – I suspect this also has its draw backs too, how do you get around this?
The peace and tranquillity of the site is a major draw for our guests. On the whole guests enjoy the lack of Wi-Fi and signal.
The returning customers obviously realise this and embrace it whilst new ones start with checking their phones but soon get the benefits of switching off. There is 4G at the tops of the trails so if there is something that can’t wait till you get home then just go for a walk!
It does have drawbacks for running the business but we can get a bit of signal where our linen room is so we leave our phone there while we’re on site to pick up messages and emails.
The lack of signal is a massive draw for a lot of the guests so it’s just something we have to deal with.
Since I first stayed at Trallwm Forest Cottages (I stayed in Nant Garreg the first time and Tawny Owl the second) you have expanded your cottage portfolio by converting what was the visitor centre and are in the process of converting another building – are there plans to extend your portfolio even further?
Expansion is a key part of the growth of the business. The site is very large so has the potential for more accommodation units and more facilities without ruining the charm and feeling of isolation.
In recent years we have invested a lot in updating the cottages and facilities so finding the right time and money can be tricky but do watch this space!
Thank you!
A big thank you Mary for sharing such an incredible journey. As I’ve said above, if you’re ever seeking peace, tranquility, a shut off from the outside world and just beauty in general – Trallwm Forest Cotttages is a guaranteed to fit the bill!
Peace out!
Jangles x
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Wow, the hot tubs and the location looks amazing, and how interesting to get a behind the scenes perspective!
It sounds just the place to get away from it all! Love your evocative photos
They look so lovely. I may have to visit next year
It’s definitely worth considering as an option. There are such lovely parts of mid wales to explore from there as a base, and they are certainly reasonable for what you get. Plus Honey would love exploring the forest!
Looks so lovely and peaceful – and love the idea of being away from the internet!
Being away from the internet and 4G certainly helped me to properly switch off. We discovered how competitive we both are at monopoly 😂