Emily McDonnell

Founder - Staycation Collection

If it’s not good enough, build it better….

This weeks #fridayfounders did exactly that. Welcome to the spotlight Emily McDonnell, Founder of Staycation Collection.

Mixing slow travel, beautiful locations, storytelling of the world on your doorstep and the wish to connect with real people, the physical earth and to your local surroundings - Staycation Collection’s list of Germany’s properties and experiences is pure GOLD DUST!

In a time when travel sustainability is a consideration, yet the need for taking breaks from the city’s intensity is vital, having a service for de-stressing the hassle out of booking a quick, yet high bespoke great away, is so so welcome.

Roll tape…..

Emily, welcome. Start off, how do you title yourself?

Founder, storyteller and connector of people.

Tell me about the storytelling part.

I like talking to people. We all have so many fascinating stories to tell though rarely do we have the space to share them. When we connect to a story with real depth, it stands out in our mind, it inspires us, causes us to take a decision or make change. When I bring this storytelling into my own work, it brings me a lot of joy.

Personalisation and storytelling, how did this encourage you to set up the Staycation Collection (SCC)?

I describe the SCC as The Lonely Planet meets AirBnB meets travel agency, but digital.

The idea came when I actively chose to move to Germany 5 years ago. I love traveling and adventures, so I was excited to explore the world on my doorstep, though Germany’s tourism is just not as developed as say, Spain or France.

I was looking for beautiful places to stay; unique properties maybe with interesting architecture, not just a room with a bed in it. There were so many poorly organised websites and the information was overwhelming, especially with limited time for planning.I needed to create something myself. So I did. And sharing this list with friends, they called this collection, ‘gold dust’.

The travel agency bit is the personalised part, understanding what people need from a short break, 2-3 days over the weekend and matching the energy of the property - telling the story of the owners, who are doing great things and proud of their properties

How do you pull it all together as an offering?

The membership platform has a full review. This includes property owners interviews, their insider tips of the local area, whether drinking wine watching the stars, or where and how to hire standup paddle boards.

Those little tips we thread through the storytelling. Painting the scene, perhaps of a beautiful old village with some history, or one in a forest in the middle of no-where.

The site also hosts a blog that’s open to all detailing things to do in Germany, like day trips to Munich or specific hiking routes through Brandenberg.

We have such little time for our holiday breaks, plugging into a community via a real person is how we get people to connect with this country they call home.

‘Booking Local’ and ‘Sustainability’ are important values to the Staycation Collection, please expand?

For many years in the travel sector, I saw how big businesses took large chunks of profit, (AirBnB charging 30%) meaning the independent owners only receive a very small amount of money.

I wanted SCC to distribute money locally, throughout the country, supporting independent properties while bringing together people from different cultures. How could I connect someone who's British with somebody here in Germany?

Tourism is incredibly important. I'm not saying that we shouldn't travel abroad, it has its place. But we need to be more conscious of how we do it and how often.

The Staycation Collection is more about slow travel. Finding a place to reconnect with loved ones and connect on a deeper level to your surroundings and physical earth, in that part of the world. Thinking about your country as a holiday destination means more of these special ‘little moments’.

What made you want to set this company up at the beginning of Covid?

End of 2019, I was working for a start-up and experienced a pretty big burn out. I felt like I needed to take some time for myself, and ask “What was it I wanted to do?”

I felt that I wasn't using my voice, I was wanting to play around with it; tell stories to showcase interesting and beautiful things.

I wanted to travel more, write more and wondered if I let the brakes off, how far I could go? With some experience at Start-up Meet-up groups listening to the pitches, I thought, ‘Why not me doing this?

Confidence, voice, burnouts and doing your own thing, can you expand on this time?

Obviously, burn out is a very difficult experience, though it does force you to look at how you're doing things. For me, I realized I was putting way too much of myself into the someone else’s start-up

If I was going to put this much time and energy into it, why am I not doing it for myself? What is holding me back from exploring my own power and voice?

Through setting up Staycation Collection I realised just how much I did know. I started getting outside input (mostly from men), telling me how I should run my business but actually this confirmed the decision I've made were right. I could challenge them on any part of my business, answer every question because I knew what I was doing!

This made my voice stronger and gave me a sense of confidence. I was able to set better boundaries, be in touch with my authentic self and improve my well-being.

When you speak about this new confidence, how does that show up physically?.

Even while talking about it, I feel more opening through my chest, my shoulders go back and drop, I physically want to take up more space. It's really interesting with that connection to the voice, plugged into me this gives me more energy and lightness in my head. I now feel a sense of heaviness in a positive way, connected to the ground.

As a role model for future generations for founders, what might you say?

Just try!! What’s the worst that can happen? It might not work out. Challenge yourself. Failure makes us human. Not trying and living a ‘What if?’ is the worst.

What about advice around starting actions?

Ask for help, find people in your space you admire and write to them asking for an intro over coffee. 9 out of 10, they will be flattered, and most will be willing to have a conversation with you.

Starting an idea can be overwhelming. Find people who might be your users, ask them a few open ended questions, what do they think? How might they use your product? This will powerfully informing your thinking.

Finally, get things out of your head. Externalize the mess up there in your head - POST IT notes, normal or digital. Get it out.

What do you what for the future

I want to see the business grow and blossom organically. End up with the right people wanting to take these incredible trips and travel to these beautiful properties. The practical side of that is more marketing, creating more content & showcase the benefits of the service to attract more people to the membership.

Do you have a final thought about the importance of women in business?

Women in business are incredibly beneficial to all - men, women and non-binary - because we are natural connectors and communicators.

How do people find you?

Find us on Instagram @staycationcollection. Or browse through the website staycationcollection.com and feel free to reach out to me directly - emily@staycationcollection.com.

Amazing!

Emily thank you for joining me today.