Alan's blue sky thinking
I am sitting with Alan Taylor in Blue Chip's Brixham office staring out at soggy gusts of wind and lashing rain — just another August in the UK then.
The company's latest, debatably wise, business proposition is to provide 10 per cent cashback to customers if it rains for more than five hours on two consecutive days of their holiday.
"We decided to introduce the scheme to encourage more late bookings.
"It was very much a business decision," explained Alan.
He has been managing director of the company for the last three years having previously worked for various giant corporations, Churchills and Abbey National, to name but two.
The Cambridge graduate, who oozes business intelligence and a London demeanour, said: "The self-catering market has changed a lot in the last few years.
"A lot of people now wait to see what is available last minute, which is down to the internet.
"It used to be that people would book their summer holiday in January.
"Now, with the internet being so accessible, they will wait and see what is available and what the weather is like.
"We still have vacancies for August so we thought offering to pay money back for wet weather might attract people."
The decision has certainly not been made on a whim.
Several successful business minds back the company, which has now been operating since the turn of the millennium.
Alan explained it was now-retired estate agent, Sylvia Cutting, who came up with the original business concept.
He said: "The idea for the business came off the back of a Midas homes development in Brixham, called Maureen's Reach.
"Midas had redeveloped a group of old financial buildings and Sylvia Cutting had a small estate agency. She recognised the fact a lot of the flats could go as holiday homes.
"She decided to go ahead and start up a self-catering agency, specialising in four or five-star properties.
"I think she was one of the first to look at new build properties as a potential self-catering business opportunity."
At a time when budget airlines and package holidays were making trips abroad not only easy, but incredibly popular, Sylvia managed to secure a progressively successful business venture.
Since 2000 the company has gone from strength to strength and now manages and lets more than 650 properties.
"At the moment we are taking on about two extra properties every working day and have grown by approximately 70 per cent year on year," explained Alan.
"Sylvia identified a gap in the market.
"She realised there was an opening for people looking for high-quality accommodation.
"The people who like coming down to Grandma's old cottage by the sea are still around but Sylvia wanted to appeal to the sort of people who are used to holidaying in the Med and in Florida where there is a much higher quality of accommodation.
"She thought there would be a desire for people to experience that quality here in the Bay."
She was right. The company has successfully, and cleverly, disregarded the sometimes unsavoury reputations of their holiday locations, by tempting customers with high-quality properties.
Alan said: "Newquay and its nightlife are in the press a lot. It has a bad reputation.
"But there are two sides to Newquay. There's the young party side and the more established grown-up side.
"We aim to emphasise the grown-up side by working with the airport and local tourist attractions.
"In doing so we aim to emphasise that passive side of Newquay."
But though the company's properties now stretch across Devon and Cornwall, Alan describes Torbay as the company's 'heartland'.
"We have about 250 properties in Torbay and we do consider it our heartland, or homeland.
"The business was started here in Brixham."
Alan considers the property at Maureen's Reach to be his most 'special'.
"I suppose that would have to be my favourite as it has been so important to the business," he said.
For a man who has spent the majority of his life in London, Alan speaks of Blue Chip's many coastal properties and locations with a fresh admiration.
"My favourite spot in Devon would have to be Blackpool Sands. It is a lovely looking place with great facilities and a nice cafe," he said.
Devon's rural charm is evidently working its way into the life of the former London businessman.
Though Alan admits his move to Devon to strike a healthier work/life balance has become a bit of a distant fantasy.
The company is even remaining untarnished by an ever unstable economic climate.
Alan said: "We may be in the middle of a recession but we are continuing to invest and are recruiting more people and technology all the time, I think you need that freshness to stay afloat."
Alan confidently admits the pound's struggle has attracted many more Europeans to the Bay.
"We have seen a massive increase in the number of Europeans here, particularly Germans," he said.
But the company's ambitions don't stop with foreign visitors, Alan and the whole company are looking to increase their properties and extend throughout the South West.
"We are looking to consolidate the business in Devon and Cornwall.
"We would like more properties in areas such as the South Hams and Dartmoor and are looking to extending to cover the more of the South West, such as Dorset."
Looks like those trips to Blackpool Sands could become even more few and far between.
