Meet the Team at StayCotswold

Tracy Archer
Owner Director

Tracy spent most of her career working in marketing agencies in London, Leeds and Manchester where she worked with brands like Best Western, ITC Classics, Sandals, Eurocamp and Centreparcs.

She joined the senior leadership team at the Pure Cottages Group, as Sales and Marketing Director in 2018, which is where she met Tom.

She is delighted to have joined the board at StayCotswold and is focused on making the brand even more famous as well as ensuring the bookings flood in!

Tracy has relocated to the Cotswolds and has quickly realised that it is, indeed, a foodie heaven!

Lilly Arthurs
Guest Services

Born and bred in the Cotswolds, Lilly loves where she lives.

Since finishing her A-levels she has worked in hospitality as she always had an ambition to work in a customer service role.

She thoroughly enjoyed her previous customer facing role working front of house in a popular restaurant in Moreton in Marsh and she is very much looking forward to working with guests to provide the best possible authentic Cotswold experience.

A self-confessed foodie Lilly loves nothing more than a great breakfast with good coffee in one of the Cotswolds many fabulous cafes.

Tom Burdett
Owner Director

Tom is Cotswolds born and bred and his entire career has been in property. For 14 years he worked in estate agency, progressing through one of the region’s leading independent firms. Following an approach from the Pure Cottages Group, Tom made the move into Holiday Letting and became Managing Director of Character Cottages until its sale to a larger corporate entity. In 2021 he joined the board of StayCotswold, with the ambition of evolving the well-established and much-loved brand into the leading independent holiday letting agent in the Cotswolds.

When not working he can be found at a number of golf courses in the Cotswolds.

Zoe Carnegie
Owner Services

Zoe has over 25 years’ experience in the luxury travel industry and honed her excellent customer service skills arranging bespoke holiday itineraries for City clients. After heading up the service offering for Ten Lifestyle, she joined Character Cottages in 2015. Having worked for an independent agency and one of the largest nationwide operators, she is delighted to be back working with former colleagues as part of the leading Cotswold cottage co again, being on hand to guide owners through making the most of their holiday let investment.

Zoe loves a bracing walk in the Cotswold countryside gathering inspiration from the area’s prettiest locales to share at the community garden where she volunteers.

Debbie Edwards
Debbie Edwards
Finance

Debbie has been working in the holiday letting industry since 2015 where she was an integral part of the operations team at Character Cottages. She joined the team at StayCotswold in 2021 seeing it as a great opportunity to be part of a company that offers a more personal service to both guests and owners. Over the years she has honed her skills in analysing property performance, ensuring prices are set at the optimal level to see the greatest financial results for our owners.

Debbie loves The Cotswolds and hopes to one day put on her walking boots and take on The Cotswold Way!

Tina Enders bio
Tina Enders
Guest Services

Tina worked in customer services for Rural Retreats for 12 years. She is a true advocate of providing a great service to guests so that they definitely want to return to holiday in the Cotswolds again and again. Since joining StayCotswold she has personally received some great feedback from guests.

A real animal lover she has also worked in animal physio as well as veterinary service roles. Quality customer service has always been central to her career.

Tina is a Devon girl but she’s been in the Cotswolds for many years now and thoroughly enjoys walking her dogs along the many Cotswold trails and volunteering at a hedgehog rescue centre.

Mat Faraday
Director

After a successful career in corporate finance and private equity, Mat co-founded Character Cottages in 2011, growing the business into one of the leading independent holiday letting agents in the Cotswolds, before selling it to Pure Cottages Group in 2018.

Mat joined the board of StayCotswold in 2021, and is responsible for the development of the unique, market leading pricing strategy that we use to maximise owners’ holiday letting incomes.Mat has owned two holiday cottages in the Cotswolds, and he loves the fact that this beautiful area, with its stunning countryside, villages and pubs, is so easily accessible for a long weekend away.

Outside work, Mat enjoys watching cricket, coaches rugby at youth level, and has experienced the lows and highs of more than 30 years as a season ticket holder at Manchester City.

Tasch Henderson
Finance & Operations

Natascha has over 10 years’ experience in holiday letting and over 20 years’ experience in the travel sector. She started her career working with tour operators and retail travel agencies offering worldwide travel, moving on to work with the more specialised markets of UK travel. Natascha joined Stay Cotswold back in 2019, bringing with her a vast knowledge of holiday letting agencies, systems and business development. Natascha works with the team at StayCotswold sharing in the passion of creating a leading Cotswolds Holiday Letting Agency.

 

Cassie Knox bio
Cassie Knox
Office Manager

Cassie has worked in the property industry since she arrived in the UK from Melbourne, Australia in 2013. Once she’d visited the Cotswolds she couldn’t bear to leave and has lived here ever since. She is highly motivated by providing a great quality product and service for both guests and property owners. At StayCotswold she is responsible for quality control and ensures that any problems are resolved efficiently and effectively whilst maintaining great relationships with owners, guests and suppliers.

Cassie loves to spend time with her young family walking in the ancient Cotswold woodlands and enjoying a great roast afterwards……. especially if someone else is cooking it!

Nicole Marina
Guest Services

Nicole has lived in the Cotswolds since 2012, having left Sydney, Australia in 2006.

Since leaving University, she has worked within the hospitality, guest services, administration and airline industries  and has a real love of making sure that guests are given great customer service and enjoy their whole experience. Whilst living in the Cotswolds she has visited many of our StayCotswold suggested places to see, as she too, still considers herself a ‘tourist’!. She loves to investigate new local attractions, cafes, and pubs in her spare time. Being a keen runner, you will often see her running through the green hills of the ‘Wolds’

Jennifer McCann
Business Development

Jen has worked in a range of roles including: heading up the Sales and Events team at UK Thermomix, working in recruitment consultancy, entertaining and singing for residents in care and most recently at a local estate agency as a Senior Sales Negotiator, where she gained her love for beautiful Cotswolds properties.

Jen is thrilled to now be a part of helping others discover the joy of staying in the Cotswolds and exploring what makes it such a special corner of the world.

 Jen loves reading, the theatre, to  cook with wine, and walk in the glorious surrounding countryside with her family.

Fergus Mitchell
Founder Director

Originally involved in digital publishing, event management, and property investment in London, Fergus and his family moved to the Cotswolds in 2000. He immediately spotted an opportunity to set up a property company focusing on high quality holiday lets and short lets…..StayCotswold was born!

The founding principle of customer service continues today and Fergus is now dedicated to building StayCotswold into the leading holiday let brand in the region.

Fergus is also Chairman of the Cotswold Cider Company, and has an interest in the Barkby Pub Group which has a number of fine inns around the Cotswolds.

Sarah Parker
Owner & Guest Services

Sarah started her career working in hospitality and customer services in London for 11 years then she decided to raise her family in Warwickshire.

She has worked in customer services most of her working life. Her customer services skills extend to working for high end retailers, The White Company, Soho Farmhouse and she worked in customer services at Rural Retreats for 5 years prior to joining StayCotswold. She aims to achieve excellent customer service for both guests and property owners.

Sarah loves to travel and is at her happiest walking her black Labrador along the many beautiful footpaths in the Cotswolds.

Julie Rhodes
Owner Services

Born and bred in the Cotswolds Julie has worked in the property industry for many years, starting in Estate Agency and Residential Lettings and then the Holiday Property Market.

After spending 20 years in Cornwall running her own businesses she returned to her roots and has run the office of another letting agency in The Cotswolds for 5 and a half years.

Now working in the StayCotswold Owner Services Team, Julie loves to build a rapport with our owners and help them through their holiday let investment journey.

Julie loves hunting out unique gifts from the many indy shops in the Cotswolds followed by a good afternoon tea, The Lygon Arms Hotel and Buckland Manor are her favourites.

Steph Searle
Marketing Manager

Steph joined us from a previous role in a marketing agency where she worked across global and national brands. Prior to that, Steph has worked in marketing roles across multiple industries including fashion, FMCG, financial services and construction. She joined StayCotswold in 2023 and enjoys helping people discover beautiful homes and their quaint towns and villages.

Originally from Oxford, Steph moved to Cheltenham over 15 years ago and loves exploring Cotswold villages with her husband and daughter. You can usually find Steph in her local village pub or planning her next weekend break away.

Leona Sherlock
Owner & Guest Services

Born and bred in the Cotswolds Leona began her career in banking and she has been enjoying all aspects of customer service ever since. She has spent the last 4 years working in various roles within the holiday cottage industry in the Cotswolds and is a natural problem solver.

Dog mad, Zante mad – if she’s not here in the Cotswolds she’s out in stunning Greece working with stray dogs!

Ellie Smith
Owner Services

Ellie has spent the last 7 years at Rural Retreats, working in numerous departments and focusing mainly on the North Cotswold’s with a portfolio of properties to look after. Now working in our owner services team, Ellie looks to use her experience and local knowledge of the area to be on hand for our owners at StayCotswold.When not at work, with her spaniel by her side, you will find Ellie enjoying the rural scenery, and her obsession with food leads her far and wide to the amazing eateries on offer across the Cotswolds.

Contact Us

If you have a holiday home that you think would be perfect to let with Stay Cotswold – or you’re thinking of buying one – then get in touch with the holiday home letting agency that specialises in the Cotswolds…

01451 514000
owners@staycotswold.com