Phil Hayward, Blueriver Cottages
Phil Hayward and his Blueriver Cottages agency has been a neighbour of By The Dart on Hauley Road in Dartmouth for the last three years.
Phil established the business eight years ago, in October 2008. The company manages an impressive array of properties, from luxurious and elegant waterside apartments to old fisherman’s cottages.
He said: ‘As a portfolio Landlord I drew from my experiences of letting properties and developed Blueriver from these experiences to form the successful company it is today.
‘Business is excellent and has grown year on year since 2008. We had our first office in Anzac Street, with three staff, and then expanded to our office in Hauley Road three years ago. We are predominantly a holiday lettings agency but we also have a small residential portfolio too.’
Blueriver Cottages now manages over 135 properties in Dartmouth and the surrounding areas of the South Hams and Torbay. The company launched another office in Kingsbridge in December last year which has already seen significant growth since its opening. Each month its website receives over 15,000 hits and is always high up in Google rankings for searches for holiday cottages in Dartmouth and Devon. The company is due to launch its new website in mid August which promises to be a fantastic site with features such as parallax scrolling and high definition photography - watch this space!
The company recently won a Herald Express Travel and Tourism Award for the best small self-catering agency. This year they have entered the British Travel Awards and you can vote for them now by logging onto their website.
There are five members of staff at the Hauley Road office including Mel, Vanessa, Amy, Christie and Phil and two staff at the second office in Kingsbridge’s Anchor Centre including Kate and Sophie. Phil describes them as his heroes and is very proud of his team.
Phil has lived and worked in Dartmouth for the last 25 years. In 1991 he was drafted to the Royal Marines Band based at the Britannia Royal Naval College. He has brought his family up here including two children, Natalie and Tim who’ve since gone to university and are now spreading their wings. His mum lives here too.
‘I love this town and area, it’s my home,’ he said. ‘I still have links with the BRNC and currently play trumpet in the Naval Volunteer Band and Big Band.
‘I also love being on the water and I am one of the kayak coaches at the Dartmouth Canoe Club. I enjoy all sorts of water sports and I’m a keen runner too.’
He is also a fan of the air and regularly flies ‘NONI’, a Grumman AA5 low wing trainer aircraft, out of Exeter airport. He’s often to be seen flying down the Dart Valley with family, friends and even members of staff on board.
Phil grew up in a forces family and has lived in Singapore and Cyprus. He served in the Royal Marines for 23 years before working for blue chip companies in project management roles and then Blueriver Cottages.
Blueriver prides itself on going the extra mile for its customers.
Phil said: ‘We have our unique selling points including our arrival gift sets which are very popular including wine and homemade local goods such as jam and fudge and add a welcome personal touch after a long journey. Our privilege card scheme is also very popular with over 45 local businesses subscribed to it. Each business we’ve approached offers a generous discount to our cardholders, giving them fantastic savings and creating a lot of inward investment for the towns and villages across the South Hams.
‘People’s expectations are so much higher nowadays and we have raised our game accordingly and provide a very high level of customer service.
‘Before every booking we carry out a 15 point check of the property including the lights are working, oven is clean, garden is tidy etc, so all our guests arrive knowing the property is spotless and ready for them to enjoy their holiday.
‘We donate £1 for every booking to Children’s Hospice South West, our chosen charity. My mum’s a big supporter and bakes lots of cakes for them for the various money raising events in South Devon.’
The company supports many local charities, festivals and events, including Dartmouth and Salcombe Regattas, Kingsbridge Show, Dartmouth Music Festival and Dartmouth and Kingsbridge in Bloom.
Phil and his team enjoy living and working in Dartmouth and are big fans of the town.
He said: ‘South Devon is a special place to live and we are very lucky to enjoy the beautiful coast and countryside that surrounds us. This makes it a perfect destination for holidaymakers looking for a relaxing yet fun place to be. Self-catering offers you the chance to step out of being a tourist and step into the lifestyle, real community and culture of our beautiful and welcoming part of the country.
‘I love the whole of the South Hams and particularly Dartmouth because I consider it home. I had my military career here, brought my children up here and I love the river and the scenery. It’s such a special place, a great place to live. It’s very difficult to go away on holiday from here.’
First published By The Dart magazine August 2016