Press pack for Quality Cottages

1. After one brave conversion by Leonard Rees of the family farm into
cottages, a small office in a caravan, a favour to a friend (to rent their
conversions), a lobster lunch on TV with Wish You Were Here in the
family farmhouse with a light bulb moment that created Wales’ first
quality self-catering agency, an extension to the office (a second
caravan), a series of loyal cars (punished with weekend tours of Wales
to find more renovations), children, a growing extended family of
colleagues, a lovely new office in the old stables, a few adorable office
dogs, sand-buckets full of sweat and tears, laughter and fun......
.....Quality Cottages is proudly in its
sixth decade as a family business.

2. • We are a 100% privately owned and privately run family
company, now in its second generation of family management.
• 400 years of the Rees family’s history in Pembrokeshire
lies behind Quality Cottages. 200 of these are at the seat
of Quality Cottages in our converted farm, Cerbid.
• We are proud to have grown organically. As a private
company we are not bound by investors’ requirements.
We just stick to taking on the right property.
• Over 50 years in the business must surely make us the
leading Welsh self-catering expert?
• We started before the Welsh Tourist Board came into being.
Could we be the first Wales-wide, Welsh owned holiday
cottage agency?
• We won the first ever Gold Tourist Award for services to the
self-catering industry.
Who
are we?
We are 100% privately
owned, privately run
and represent close to
300 stunning houses

3. • The adage ‘Quality not quantity’ echoes through
the corridors of Quality Cottages. 80% of properties
offered to us are respectfully turned away. We are
very fussy. That makes about 1 or 2 in each 10 offered.
• We personally inspect every house we represent
and professionally photograph each one. We take
time and care to know the house well.
• 17 of our team have been with us for more than 10
years. Erene has been here for 40. That adds up to
250 aggregate years of knowledge about Wales and
its amazing properties.
We have tempted
over 3/4 million
people to holiday
in Wales

4. Where do
we work?
• We represent over 300 stunning quality houses across
the whole of Wales
• Nearly 50% of our houses are within 5 miles of the
sea, but we don’t discount the rest. The Brecon Beacons,
Snowdonia, the hidden waterways. The list of ‘wow’
places our houses have the privilege to be in is amazing.
• 72% of our holiday cottage visitors take their pets.
80% of our
holiday cottages
welcome pets

5. What can we
offer to journalists?
Photography:
We have a library of over 9000 photos of Wales, where to stay,
what to do, mood shots. (Available in high and low resolution)
Let us know what you want and we will send it to you in your
chosen format.
Styles:
Our properties represent a fascinating range of quality
architecture and interior design . Ask us for our top bedrooms
bathrooms, contemporary, old world charm, views - we will be
happy to help with a selection.
What’s on:
Sign up to our daily blog, (with RSS feed), facebook and
twitter updates. Our social media team keep these resources
up to date with great news on Wales and, of course our new
properties and exciting offers.
In country help:
We have a genuine pan-Wales guide that mentions over 3000
places to see, things to do. Available as an App from itunes.
That something extra:
We know the story of many our houses which often helps to tell
a great story. We also offer journalist trips.
Knowledge.
We know Wales
inside out and
have assisted with
local knowledge
for articles on
many occasions.

6. Leonard Rees
Founder and Joint-Chief of Quality
Cottages. Ex-farmer, passionate
social-historian, fount of knowledge,
above-par amateur photographer,
superb speech- writer, just don’t ask
him how to boil an egg!
Margaret Rees
Joint Chief of Quality
Cottages, entrepreneur
extraordinaire, founder
and chief of Quality
Villas, renting luxury
villas in France, Italy
and Morocco
(www.qualityvillas.com),
Secret kiteflyer!
Tim Rees
Son to Leonard and Margaret.
General Manager of Quality Cottages
since April 2013, taking QC into
its second generation of family
management. Passionate eco-
advocate. Pioneer of Quality Cottages
latest venture, Quality Unearthed
(www.qualityunearthed.com).
Juggling superstar.
Hayley Gerry
Daughter to Leonard and
Margaret and responsible
for making sure people
know about Quality
Cottages. (PR!) If you
would like to know more
about us, she is the girl
to talk to. She would like
to be reincarnated as an
architect! (Houses must be
in the blood!)
The Team
Over 30 people keep the cogs of Quality
Cottages well oiled. 250 aggregate years of
knowledge make Quality Cottages quite a
formidable fount of knowledge when helping our
customers choose the best location and house
for their holiday. Our local teams are on hand for
any queries during customers’ holidays.
The Team

7. Press
Coverage
Title: UK cottages: a guide to leading rental companies
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/jan/19/uk-cottages-scotland-wales-self-catering?newsfeed=true
Title: 20 Great Gardens ...with cottages
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/travel/wheretostay/article3417305.ece
Title: Britain’s 50 best cottages, beach houses and rural retreats
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/travel/bestofbritain/article3660251.ece
Title: A Great British Break
http://www.qualitycottages.co.uk/media/media-publications.php

8. No embargo
Quality Cottages presents two amazing, authentic thatched
cottages, oozing charm and offering an historic experience. Ty
Twt (“Little House’” and To Gwellt (“Straw roof”) are two adjoining
whitewashed thatched cottages with authentic crog lofts.
A crog loft is a traditional bedroom open to the living area below,
often accessed via a ladder style staircase. They can
be quite den like and offer a quirky experience.
The charm in these 250 year old cottages cannot be overstated.
At one point in time, the properties were used as the local shop
- the old shop door still exists! The sink is from the old dairy, the
zinc roofed extension remains and the wattle and daub chimney
breast completes the magic, whilst sitting for cosy nights around
the log fire under the original wooded beams that hold the
exposed thatch. The artistry shown in these exposed beams is
beautiful.
This is the opportunity for a true, authentic experience in
a property that evokes such classic ‘Welsh’ style
Sleep under thatch
in two traditional
crog loft cottages
Ty Twt is impossibly romantic for 2
(£355 - £680 per week)
http://www.qualitycottages.co.uk/quaint-thatched
-holiday-cottage-west-1255.php
To Gwellt sleeps 4 in 3 rooms
(£475 - £890 per week)
http://www.qualitycottages.co.uk/welsh-thatched
-country-cottage.htm#areainformation-tab
To book please
E: reserve@qualitycottages.com
T: 01348 837871
June 2013

9. Son, Tim Rees keeps the
family tradition going,
taking Quality Cottages
into its sixth decade as
a family business
No Embargo
In its 6th decade, Quality Cottages
is proud to still be privately owned.
Leonard and Margaret Rees still own
the business, and their daughter
Hayley and son Tim work with them.
Tim, 28 has now taken the reins
as General Manager of Quality
Cottages, a role he happily steps
into.
Quality Cottages grew in the first
instance from a bold step made
by Leonard Rees. Inheriting his
family’s ancestral farm in his late
teens, Leonard took the dramatic
step away from farming into
tourism, converting the family farm
into Cerbid hamlet - a stylishly
converted collection of historic
ex-farm buildings, dotted around a
classic farmyard.
A few years later, ‘Wish you Were
Here’ filmed at Cerbid, and with one
airing on TV, launched the Rees’ into
a new chapter in history. Quality
Cottages Wales was born. 50 years
later, with the hard work put in by
Leonard, Margaret and their team
Quality Cottages now offers over
300 Quality properties across the
whole of Wales.
Tim brings a three pronged
approach to his new role, firstly
with a degree in Management
and Psychology from Leeds
University, secondly from various
less traditional learnings gained on
a incredible 3 year world trip, from
learning about Permaculture in India
to shamanic learnings in Peru and
Nepal, and thirdly from a further
three years work experience under
the tutelage of his father, Leonard.
Brought up in the business, Tim Rees
says ‘” knowing how to find the right
house is natural to me. My sister and
I travelled the length and breadth of
Wales as children viewing properties
with Mum and Dad. My parents
have worked tirelessly to promote
the best cottages that Wales has to
offer and it it is a great privilege to
keep our family company going and
ensure the legacy my parents have
built continues.”
Tim and his family have many
anecdotes and photos to support
this brief story. They would be
delighted to share these with
journalists interested in a modern
story of a continuing family
business.
For more information
please contact Hayley
on 07980920690
or hayley@thequalitys.co.uk
Quality
Cottages
now offers
over 300
Quality
properties
across the
whole of
Wales.

10. Public Relations Manager:
Hayley Gerry
hayley@thequalitys.co.uk
07980920690
01348 837871
media@qualitycottages.co.uk
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Twitter: QualityCottages