Island Escapes has been recognised for its quality standards by independent assessment company QIA services.

Island Escapes, an Isle of Man Holiday Cottage agency was established in 2018. Now, nearly 5 years on the company has just added its 100th property to the portfolio, increasing the number of bed spaces for visitors to the island. With ambitious targets from the Isle of Man Government to grow visitor numbers from just over 300,000 in 2019 to 500,000 by 2032, the company is well positioned to maximise the potential that this brings.

Two of the companies directors John Keggin & Jamie Stott witnessed the development of the sector first hand having worked in the industry in Cornwall for holiday lettings firms. John returned to the island where he was born with the inspiration to set up Island Escapes, and Jamie joined him soon after as the business rapidly grew.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused major disruption to the visitor economy with the Isle of Man border closing in March 2020. It would be nearly 2 years before all restrictions on travel would be fully lifted. The company showed great determination though in surviving this difficult period, turning its attention to the local market where 85,000 residents were restricted to staying on island or face hefty periods in quarantine. The great Isle of Man staycation was born.

Director John Keggin said “This was a period of great uncertainty for us, but the way the locals got behind us and supported tourism was phenomenal. People rediscovered the island and became tourism ambassadors. It raised the profile so much that when the border reopened to visitors we were inundated with customers coming to stay on the back of locals who had discovered us during the pandemic”.

The company which employs 6 office based staff and around 30 housekeepers, as well as a maintenance technician has just undergone a lengthy assessment processes by QIA Services, a specialist verification, assessment, awards and accreditation company. The outcome of this assessment has been that the company has received a Quality Accredited Company Gold award.

Director Jamie Stott said “It is a real testament to the commitment of our entire team that we have achieved this result. A lot of hard work has gone into ensuring the service we deliver remains consistently high and which together with our robust processes, ensures we are continuously improving”.

CEO of QIA Services Deborah Heather said “Island Escapes have instigated a quality revolution on the Isle of Man. Leading from the front, they have single headedly transformed the self-catering offer on the Island. It bodes well for the future from both a community and consumer perspective; the rest of the sector must respond in view of this competition”.

So, what next for the company? As more and more people consider the Isle of Man as a destination the company continues to grow its portfolio and is currently recruiting for a general manager to lead its team based in Castletown, the ancient capital of the Isle of Man.