Sophie Howse, who has been with the luxury rental company since 2016, was appointed chief sales officer in February working across B2B and B2C.

She said: “We’ve introduced some really exciting schemes for our agents this year. One is a new loyalty scheme [through which] they would get an extra 2% commission if they made more than £100,000 worth of bookings for us. 

“That sounds quite high but when our booking values are so high, that could just be one or two bookings."

The company, owned by Accor, has this year seen individual bookings typically around the £17,000 mark, though for larger properties and long stays this can be much higher. Its average length of stay is seven nights, but agents booking stays over 30 nights can now receive a further 2% commission. 

“We really want our travel partners to come back and work with us over and over again,” said Howse. “It has been hard in covid, but we want to re-establish relationships and show that we do want to work together.”

onefinestay’s recently enhanced travel trade portal includes training videos explaining how agents can book, and white label content, which can be used on social media.  

Howse explained: “We want to keep developing that, definitely to make it more interactive, to potentially have all their commission information on there and my ideal is for them to be able to make bookings on there and to potentially see the back end of our system and availability.”

Accepting fewer people are now full-time office or shop-based has also prompted onefinestay to get creative to entice agents to meet ups. This has resulted in invites to everything from puppy yoga sessions in London, to facials and pizza parties during site inspections of the homes available.

Family matters

Multigenerational families are a strong demographic for onefinestay, particularly around celebratory times, with the festive period in the Caribbean, Bali and US ski resorts booking up months in advance. 

However, demand for honeymoon villas, which can include butler service, has risen since covid. 

The company shares availability in weekly trade updates. “The big houses go much, much quicker than the smaller properties,” Howse warned. 

onefinestay is also experienced at handling high net worth individuals and entertainment clients up to Hollywood level, she added. Actors needing a base during filming and musicians recording albums or meeting with their record company are among common scenarios. 

The company’s ability to book mid-term stays of over 30 days in New York is a boon, as historically, leases in the city often stipulated a minimum of six months without flexibility. “We have become a broker, and have a real estate licence,” explained Howse.

Describing onefinestay as “the polar opposite to Airbnb”, Howse said: “You can trust our brand. Our portfolio is completely curated, there’s a large inspection process that every property has to go through in order to work with us. We’re all about quality and not quantity.”

Some properties come with staff such as butlers, housekeepers and chefs. At other villas, these can be arranged on request, as can nannies, and additional security for celebrities. The company also recently announced its ability to book personal theatrical performances in some of the properties.

There’s also plenty of scope for celebrations. onefinestay helped arrange a mariachi band, margarita bar and fireworks for a birthday in Mexico, while a personalised market shopping trip with the chef happened ahead of a special birthday meal in Rome. 

It has also helped organise proposals and weddings. Some of its properties, including an Italian villa with a tower and archaeological remains, have dedicated event spaces. 

Howse said: “That personalisation is huge in a villa, because you have a blank canvas to work with.”

Paris plans

London, where onefinestay has the most properties - including a converted church in Richmond – is its most popular destination. Other bestsellers are US ski resorts, Mexico and Turks and Caicos, where clients can rent a property once owned by music legend Prince.

The south of France and Tuscany are currently trending for shoulder season. “Italy was off the charts this summer. We’re already making bookings for next year and availability is reducing very, very quickly,” advised Howse.

However, she added the brand has “amazing availability” for the Paris Olympics next year and is “very reasonably priced compared to some hotels”. Provence (where some of the events will be held) is a new destination for onefinestay.

When enticing clients who may not have considered a rental Howse suggested: “If you look at a villa or a home on a per person, per night basis, we always tend to work out much cheaper than a hotel, if you compare us to say a suite or the highest category room.”

She also advised agents to push the lifestyle and flexibility benefits of villas, particularly when young children are involved.

But she added: “I think we’re complimentary to hotels. Obviously we’re owned by Accor and the reason why they bought us in 2016 is because they saw the private rental world was increasing.”