Our story
We had the same problem you have: too much of every booking going to someone else. We worked out how to change that on our own house, and started Pinabo to help other owners do the same.
Richard spent his career advising businesses. As he came towards retirement he bought and developed a house on the beach at Middleton-on-Sea, Sun Beach House, and started letting it.
Like most owners, he listed it on the big booking sites, and found that around a fifth of every booking was going to them. On a five-bedroom house that adds up quickly. So he did what he'd have told any client to do: treat it as a proper business. He went VAT-registered, got the books in order, and started building bookings that came straight to him.
Then he met Nick. Over a pint, they talked it through. Nick is a bookkeeper; he sees holiday lets the way he sees any small business, through the numbers. Between them they could see that most independent owners face the same squeeze, and very few have the time or the know-how to do anything about it alone.
So they set up Pinabo: a club for holiday let owners who want to take control, run by people who've done it themselves.
Where the name comes from. Pinabo joins our surnames: Piner and Abbott. Its three syllables, in three colours, stand for the three things we care about: pi for the independent owner, na for the club, and bo for the community.
Who you'll be working with
Chairman · owner of Sun Beach House
Richard brings a career of advising businesses and an owner's experience of growing direct bookings on his own house. He leads the Business Reviews: the conversations about your figures, your channels and what your house could earn.
Chief Executive · bookkeeper
Nick runs Pinabo day to day. He's a bookkeeper on the West Sussex coast, and he builds and looks after the systems behind every member: the websites, the booking set-up, the reporting and the books.
What we believe
Somewhere along the way, independent holiday let owners lost control. The platforms took the guests. The fees went up. The rules got tougher. And the owner, the person who bought the house and chose every cushion, became just another listing.
Our values
Owners stay in charge of their homes, their prices and their guests.
Clear numbers, fair prices, costs under control.
Owners share buying power, know-how and guests.
Compliant, insured, safe and above board.
We support local trades, businesses and people.
We publish what we deliver, for owners and for communities.
A free 20-minute call, by video, phone or in person. We'll look at how your guests book today, what that costs you, and whether we can help. No obligation, and no hard sell.