Six years, a pandemic, a staycation boom and a team that grew one brilliant person at a time. Here is how it all happened.
In the middle of a global pandemic, we launched YorGuest. The timing was not exactly ideal, but the vision was clear: a personal, hands-on holiday let management company right here in York. We got on with it.
The day hospitality was allowed to reopen, we were ready. Around 8 properties, one cleaner and a lot of enthusiasm. Our first guests arrived and we got stuck in doing what we love.
We launched our first Wakefield properties, expanding beyond York for the first time. Then almost immediately the country went back into lockdown. We took a breath and kept going.
Lorraine’s daughter Phoebe joined as Guest Experience Manager, bringing with her real knowledge, experience and a genuine passion for hospitality. The start of a brilliant partnership that continues to this day.
The nation discovered the joy of holidaying at home and Yorkshire was in high demand. We barely had time to breathe. Our cleaning team grew to around 8 people to keep up and our portfolio and reputation grew with it. A brilliant, exhausting summer.
As the business grew, so did our ambitions. We got ourselves a proper base in the heart of York. It felt like a real moment for a business that had come a long way in a short time.
After two years of rapid growth we shifted our focus inward. Less about adding properties, more about making sure every stay, every owner relationship and every process was as good as it could be. That commitment to getting the detail right has never left us.
Rache started out helping with guest communications but it did not take long to see she had a lot more to offer. A previous business owner herself, she naturally found her home in finance and has kept us on the straight and narrow ever since.
Having grown into every part of the business, Phoebe stepped up as Operations Director. A role she had already been doing in all but name, and one she was made for.
Another Wakefield property joined the portfolio, further cementing our presence beyond York and across Yorkshire.
Michelle became part of our team in September 2024. She’s a superstar at keeping everything running like clockwork behind the scenes, making sure every property is well looked after and that every guest query is handled promptly and with care. We genuinely do not know what we did without her.
When other businesses were heading back to the office, we did the opposite. We have always believed we are more useful out in the world than behind a desk, and working remotely means we can be wherever we are needed most.
Nine beautifully designed apartments in central York, and a project we had been eagerly anticipating since 2021. The development was brought to us by one of our existing owners, and we were so proud that their experience of working with us on their other property gave them the confidence to trust us with this one too. Worth every bit of the wait.
Six years in and we are still here, still growing and still loving what we do. A small, brilliant team, properties across Yorkshire and owners who have been with us since the very beginning. Not bad for a business that launched in a pandemic.
We believe that says more about how we work than anything else we could write here. Long relationships, built on trust.
