Luxury BnB catches up with three of the businesses who recently appeared on Channel 4’s popular TV series, Four in a Bed. Editor Juliet Horner finds out if the show is worth applying for and how it might benefit your business.
Four in a Bed is one of the nations most watched tea-time tv series and never fails to provide entertainment.
But as fun as it is to watch, is it worth putting your business through the trials and tribulations of national exposure?
There’s no doubt that the participants scrutinise every tiny detail of their competitors’ properties, but they’re also being scrutinised by the public, which can result in some major consequences, for better or for worse.
So the question is, is it worth it?
This time last year, we spoke to Sue Brierley, owner of Gables Pod Camping, who won her week’s competition.
They had that many booking requests that their booking system actually struggled to cope with the demand.
A year on, Luxury BnB catches up with three more businesses who appeared on Four in a Bed at the start of 2022 to find out how they were affected and whether they would recommend it to other hospitality businesses.
Distant Hills Guest House
- Four in a Bed block aired: Week commencing February 7, 2022
- Distant Hills Guest House Episode: Wednesday February 9, 2022
- Instagram: @distant-hills-spean-bridge
Dani Mackinnon appeared on Four in a Bed with husband and co-owner, Cameron Mackinnon.
Dani and Cameron own Distant Hills Guest House in Spean Bridge, Scotland, and won their week’s competition.
“We’re really lucky because we’ve had really positive feedback,” said Dani.
“I’d definitely recommend it to other owners if they have a strong business.”
“We’ve seen huge benefits. We filled 10% of our annual occupancy within the first five days of our episode being aired.
“The average length of stay has also increased. Typically, guests would stay for one or two nights, but now it’s increased to three or four night stays.”
Dani also explained that within a week, they had picked up 650 new followers on Facebook.
Winning against such “stiff competition”, they were both “beyond shocked to win”.
Dani said: “It reassured us that we do have a quality guest house and offer good value for money.
“We are so proud to have the winning plaque on show in our hallway and our guests love to chat with us about our time on the series.”
But would they recommend applying to other business owners?
“We really enjoyed it and I’d definitely recommend it to other owners if they feel that they have a strong business,” said Dani.
“You’ve got to be confident in yourself as well as your business because it’s a risk. It could all go wrong quite quickly.”
The Masons Arms
- Four in a Bed block aired: Week commencing January 31, 2022
- The Masons Arms Episode: Monday January 31, 2022
- Instagram: @masonsmeyseyhampton
Husband and wife team, Greg Toogood and Vicki Small, own The Masons Arms in Gloucestershire.
“One thing you do have to do is make sure you’re always open and honest.”
Greg and Vicki came third in their round of the competition.
“We genuinely didn’t go on it to win it,” said Vicki.
“We just went in to have fun and hope we’d get some good feedback from people who’ve done this longer than we have.”
Despite coming third, they still believe Four in a Bed is definitely worth applying to.
“We’ve had a lot of people inquiring about us,” said Greg.
“We’ve also had a lot of old customers and people we’ve known in the past come and see us because they know where we are now.”
The Queens Arms
- Four in a Bed block aired: Week commencing January 31, 2022
- The Queens Arms Episode: Wednesday February 2, 2022
- Instagram: @thequeensarmseastgarton
Freddie Tulloch owns The Queens Arms in East Garton with his wife, Sue, but appeared on Four in a Bed with his cousin, Ben.
“It was incredibly good fun and we made some really good friends.”
At the end of their week, it was revealed that The Queens Arms came fourth, but this hasn’t stopped them benefiting from the show.
“My wife was sceptical about the whole thing at first,” said Freddie, “but she’s realised it was a good decision to take part and has seen the rewards.”
As soon as their episode had aired on tv, Freddie had people calling to book themselves a stay at The Queens Arms.
“The lunch bookings have also gone through the roof,” said Freddie.
“It was incredibly good fun and we made some good friends. I think [our competition week] will be shown again because it does get heated at some points.”
Although it would be amazing to win the Four in a Bed Winners plaque, you don’t have to win to see the benefits of appearing on the show.
“The camera crew tried to explain to me that it wasn’t about winning, which I couldn’t really get at the time because I’m really competitive,” explained Freddie.
“They just kept telling me not to worry if something went wrong or if somebody finds fault with it, because the people who watch it will see through that.
“If they like it, they will come, and it’s totally true.”
