London: Premium short-term rental firm Stay & Escape is launching a bespoke concierge service to enhance its five-star position and create unique experiences for its travel-seeking clientele.
The London based agency, with a portfolio of luxury homes across Prime Central London (PCL) locations, will open up its black book of contacts across the luxury, leisure and entertainment worlds to offer exciting experiences to its clientele. This includes overseas high-net individuals and families; from tickets to the British Fashion Awards or front row seats at the X-Factor Live shows – to a private in-home chef, glamour squad, personal shopping appointments and supercar hire.
Since its inception in 2018, Stay & Escape is seeking to cater increasingly for high-net worth individuals from Asia, the US, Canada and the Middle East, from both a host and clientele perspective.
Following a lucrative summer season, during which its customer base participated in a pilot concierge scheme, the offering has now been officially integrated into its core business model. Its hotel-style services also include a meet and greet service, professional housekeeping, private airport transfers, fridge stocking and luxury linen, towels and toiletries.
Co-founder Anna Lancaster-Hedman said: “When people come to us for a short-term let, we recognise that they want so much more than a place to stay – they want a meaningful travel experience from start to finish.
“There’s a hidden world in every great city and London is an unrivalled cultural hub for music, theatre, film and the arts – we want to unlock this for our clients and no request is too absurd or unachievable.
“We’ve had requests for fridges to be stocked full of wine corresponding to birth years, in-home personal shoppers armed with couture, spa experiences and top chefs catering for intimate dinner parties. These personal touches set us apart from anything else that’s out there right now,” she added.
Co-founded by two female entrepreneurs with backgrounds in property and luxury lifestyle management in the shape of Kelly Donovan and Anna Lancaster-Hedman, Stay & Escape has set out to create a five-star luxury hotel experience yet with the comfort and intimacy of home and at an affordable price point.
Spanning prime locations across central London, properties range from luxury duplex and triplex apartments in Primrose Hill and Notting Hill, the homes of a luxury shoe designer and media mogul, to an urban warehouse belonging to a BAFTA-winning producer, a contemporary Marylebone apartment, right through to a 3000 sq ft, five-bedroom maisonette in South Kensington.
With its ‘affordable luxury’ brand ethos, Stay & Escape wants to appeal to a diverse clientele. This ranges from overseas families who need space, comfort and flexibility, and businessmen wanting a more personal touch, to actors, musicians and politicians who require privacy and a fully-integrated service.
The firm claims its key differentiator is that it offers a full, 360-degree service for hosts who want to generate additional revenue without the stress and logistics management.
Stay & Escape designs and dresses the interiors of a property within an allocated budget to create an attractive space, while working with thoroughly vetted suppliers on details ranging from photography to yield management and cleaning and property maintenance.
It also optimises dynamic pricing and occupancy rates for property bookings, to ensure the homeowner has the added peace of mind that their property will generate maximum return.
Co-founder and Airbnb Superhost, Kelly Donovan, said: “We have several clients who live overseas and have never even had time to visit their devastatingly empty properties.
“Working within an agreed budget, we create stunning interiors that we know appeal to the Airbnb customer. The devil is in the detail and we’re meticulous when it comes to the little touches,” she added.
Currently, Stay & Escape is raising investment to roll out a franchise model across key cities in the US and Europe within the next 12 months. Within the company’s ambitions in the sharing economy, co-founders Donovan and Lancaster-Hedman have a shared vision to enable women everywhere to generate a side-line revenue through Airbnb.
According to recent research2, women make up nearly 56 per cent of all Airbnb hosts and have collectively earned £25.4 billion worldwide since Airbnb launched a decade ago, £9 billion of that in the last year alone.
For more information, visit the Stay & Escape website here.
