About Sykes Holiday Cottages
We're one of the UK's leading independent holiday cottage rental agencies with over 30 year's experience in the industry.
We represent 22,500 holiday homes available across the UK, Ireland and New Zealand - from cosy cottages for two to larger properties sleeping 20 or more. Whether you're looking for some peace and quiet in the countryside or a relaxing hot tub weekend away, there's something for everyone.
Our aim is to become the number one provider of UK breaks, by delivering the best choice of holiday homes and unrivalled service to our customers and property owners alike. At Sykes cottages, we help travellers make memories and experiences, and make staycationing simple for guests with quality accommodation and 'on holiday' customer service.
We are very proud to be B Corp Certified; part of a global community of businesses that are leading a worldwide movement for an equitable, inclusive and regenerative economy.
Hear from our CEO Graham Donoghue about our B Corp Certification...
Our Impact mission
Our impact on people and the planet is just as important to us as shareholder profit. We want to make sure we do our bit to create a cleaner, greener and fairer future for all by introducing new ways of working that make a positive social and environmental impact.
Our strategy and objectives will continue to evolve to ensure we’re focusing in the right places – and delivering change that’s the most beneficial and aligned with best practice scientific recommendations.
We are making the following pledges:
Reduce our carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030… and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.
Work with at least 20 biodiversity projects in FY23 across the regions we operate in through volunteering and sponsorship of initiatives.
Become a single use plastic free business and achieve Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Business accreditation by the end of 2024.
Inspire and enable 100% of our team to volunteer every year, supporting charities, community projects and social enterprises.
Enable 100 disadvantaged families to go on holiday in FY23 and work to increase this number every year.
Positively impact at least 10 community and charity initiatives every year, strengthening existing relationships while building new ones.
Partnerships & initiatives
The Sykes Impact Report 2022
In 2021, we pledged to make a positive impact on our people, planet, and communities We re proud to introduce the Sykes Impact Report for 2022.
Read More >
Climate Emergency Declaration
Sykes Holiday Cottages joins Tourism Declares in declaring a climate emergency, assuring intentional action to meet the IPCC s 2030 target.
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Better Business Act
Sykes Holiday Cottages supports the Better Business Act, calling for a change to legislation to put profit on an equal footing with the impact businesses have on people and the planet.
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Our Story
Our journey began more than 30 years ago, around a kitchen table in the Yorkshire Dales, and we’ve come a long in that time.
We secured private equity investment in 2015 and under the leadership of our CEO Graham Donoghue, have become a fast-growing, award-winning, technology-driven business, hosting more than one million holidaymakers each year.
The company now employs more than 1,000 people across more than 20 regional brands; working with tens of thousands of owners; and taking more than 3 million people on holiday each year.
While our head office is based in Chester, the Sykes Holiday Cottages family spans regional brands with local offices throughout the UK and in New Zealand. We have successfully integrated more than 20 regional businesses into the Sykes Family to offer a local service-led proposition, backed by Sykes' technology, and we are proud to work together as a family.
Our sister brands include Abersoch Quality Homes, Best Escapes, Best of Suffolk, Carbis Bay Holidays, Character Cottages, Coast and Country Cottages, Coast and Country Holidays, Cornish Cottage Holidays, Dream Cottages, Heart of the Lakes, Helpful Holidays, Hideaways, Hogans Irish Cottages, John Bray, Lakes Cottage Holidays, Lake District Lodge Holidays, Lakelovers, LHH Scotland, Lyme Bay Holidays, Manor Cottages, Menai Holidays, Northumbria Coast & Country, Underscar, Welsh Coast and Country Cottages and Yorkshire Coastal Cottages, and our family extends as far as Bachcare in New Zealand.
We believe in teamwork, a commitment to excellence and treating our colleagues, property owners and holidaymakers with the same respect as if they were sharing our kitchen table.
Our Values
We value our customers, owners and our people, and we live by five key principals that are at the heart of everything we do, providing us with the foundation to achieve the right results in the right way:
Be one team - we believe in what we do and we do it together as one team.
Own it - we care about our business as if it were our own.
Communicate honestly - we communicate openly to ensure we all deliver against our goals.
Learn, grow and innovate - we are a place where nothing stays still
Awards
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'Top 100 Fastest Growing Technology Companies' and 'Top 15 Largest Companies' - Northern Tech Awards 2022
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'Best Large UK Holiday Cottage Company' - British Travel Awards 2013 - 2022 'Top 100 The Sunday Times Fast Track' 2020
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'Top 100 companies to work for in the UK’ - Sunday Times Fast Track 100 - 2020
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‘Top 1000 companies to inspire Britain’ 2019 – London Stock Exchange Group
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Graham Donoghue winner of a CEO Today United Kingdom Awards 2018
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Judges' Leadership Award in the 2018 Northern Tech Awards
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Feefo 'Gold Trusted Service Award' for 2018
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Rated ‘Excellent’ by Trustpilot