As the founder and CEO of QuirkyAccom I have become an expert in Unusual Places to Stay. I have had over 10 years in experience marketing unique stays and 35 years of travel adventures. I have lived and breathed these fabulous getaways every day and built relationships with the owners. Although visiting special getaways has always been how I most like to spend my free time, I do plan to take a Quirky tour to see a lot more of them soon!
Even before I turned my hobby into a website, I had a lifetime of travel know-how from being on the road, living the dream and searching out unusual stays for my own pleasure. I then took my travel knowledge and sold round-the-world trips to others, which also meant I was a tour leader for travel agents to great destinations at times.
But it was after I started a family when we took our young children to stay in a tipi in 2011 that I realised this was 'a thing' and I decided I wanted to spread the word about it. At the time when you did a Google search for unique stays there was little help. You had to get lucky to stumble across an unusual getaway, and I wanted to change that.
What started as a niche way to travel has become more and more desirable in the UK, with flight disruptions and covid chaos augmenting that. We see new handcrafted and interesting properties appearing all the time to fill that demand. QuirkyAccom is a treasure trove of choice! Be that treehouses, huts or lodges, huge range of rentals with hot tubs, unique cottages, boats, buses, windmills, train carriages, helicopters - you name it!
Since I started QuirkyAccom I have been on The Hotel Inspector (at a naturist hotel!) and I was a VisitEngland Finalist for the Tourism Superstar Award 2019. But best of all my job has helped many guests have wonderful staycations - me included! And we have raised £200,000 so far for important charities too.
I still get the same enjoyment now as on day 1 from discovering and spending time in these extra-ordinary places and helping owners get their properties seen by lots of potential guests.