Breathing New Life into a Coastal Gem with freetobook
When James Hunt and his business partners took on the Fieldhead Hotel in Looe, Cornwall, they weren’t just reviving a property; they were reinventing what a hotel could be for today’s independent traveller. They’d spotted a gap in the market that they intended to fill.
“It was a complete wreck,” James explains. “It had been empty for five or six years.”
After an extensive refurbishment, the team made bold changes, out went the traditional restaurant and bar, and in came 19 beautifully redesigned bedrooms, most featuring their own kitchenettes and self-catering facilities.
“We’re more of an ‘aparthotel’ now,” James says. “Except for a couple of single rooms, each one has its cooking facilities. No one else in our part of Cornwall is doing that.”
And clearly, the team’s strategy is working.
“We opened in December and had 25% occupancy in January and February, which we expected. But by May, we hit 80%. It’s been a tremendous success, to be honest.”
James and his partners came from a property investment background, having worked in serviced accommodation and HMOs, but this was their first fully operational hotel.
With no legacy PMS to overhaul, they had a blank slate. That didn’t mean the search for a system was easy.
“We looked at loads of tools from the Airbnb world,” he recalls, “but they’re just not set up for hotels. They’re great at renting out an entire flat, but the day-to-day reality of hotel operations is totally different.”
A local marketing contact – also a former guesthouse owner in France – recommended freetobook, and it quickly became clear it was the right fit.
“We wanted three things: a channel manager, a diary, and our own booking engine. Freetobook was the first system that ticked all three boxes, for hotels, not just hosts.”
Getting started with a new PMS while simultaneously launching a hotel isn’t for the faint-hearted.
“It wasn’t easy,” James admits. “But that’s not freetobook’s fault, it’s just a complex business. You’re learning by fire.”
Fortunately, the freetobook onboarding team (especially Heather!) helped them break it down step by step.
“We took a phased approach,” he explains. “First, we got the website integrated and the channel manager working, then the full functionality of the diary, and finally, we started layering in the features like Messaging and Reputation Suite.”
Within six weeks, James says the team was “very proficient”, though he admits they’re still discovering some of the more nuanced features.
Among freetobook’s many features, the Diary stands out.
“It’s intelligent,” says James. While the Fieldhead Hotel was setting up its channel manager, the team encountered the rare case of an unallocated booking which the system handled with ease. “It identified when a guest couldn’t stay in the same room for their full booking but offered smart options. It’s really well designed.”
The reporting features have also proven essential, especially for a new business:
“We spend a lot of time in the reports doing occupancy and booking analysis. Super helpful.”
And being able to manage all their channels – Booking.com, Expedia, Google Hotel Ads – and speak to guests (through Messaging), no matter how they’ve booked, from one place? Crucial.
“Having a single place that rules everything else is killer. We’re on too many channels to manage it manually.”
Currently, around a third of bookings come in directly, with most of the rest via Booking.com and other OTAs. The features they’re starting to implement from freetobook is helping increase that direct traffic, with extra exposure from Google Hotel Ads integration.
In just a few short months, the Fieldhead Hotel has transformed from an empty shell into a stylish, high-performing hotel, and freetobook has been at the heart of it all.
This project proves what’s possible when thoughtful investment meets smart technology. With sharp positioning, intuitive systems, and impressive early results, the Fieldhead Hotel shows that the independent hotel model isn’t just alive, it’s evolving. And with freetobook, even those without a hospitality background can launch and grow with confidence.
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