TrustedStays

In March 2020, lockdown was a new concept. Fast forward to now and lockdown, home schooling, travel bans and masks are all too familiar. However, there are people who need to travel for work purposes, or other essential reasons. With many hotels closed and travellers now more conscious than ever about social distancing, hygiene and public transport, homestays have become a more popular option for accommodation. But how can you be sure of the quality, safety and consistency of a home? That’s why TrustedStays is here! While it works perfectly during the pandemic to help our amazing NHS staff and all key workers in general, it is also a great solution for any worker needing to stay away from home for work purposes. At TrustedStays, we are really proud of our story, so we thought you’d like to see how it all started!

It all started with the Homes for NHS scheme, which launched back in March 2020, successfully accommodated thousands of key workers during the height of the coronavirus crisis. The initiative involved more than 30 partners donating accommodation with a value of more than £20m, providing over 10,000 nights’ free accommodation in total. And demand has not slowed. Indeed, as the pandemic has continued to take hold, it’s become increasingly clear that safe accommodation is still a vital requirement for many government employees (demand on the Homes for NHS website was consistently high, with a spike in demand just before the transition into TrustedStays). The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a downturn in bookings for the short-term rentals industry so some property partners have switched their attention to opening up homes that might otherwise sit empty over this period to NHS Key Workers, who want to stay close to their place of work or away from the rest of their families to reduce possible infection.

Knowing this we decided that the platform will still be beneficial going forward and so created TrustedStays! Via this site, the UK Short Term Accommodation Association will provide the government with one single, consolidated platform through which to book accommodation (at discounted rates) in quality homes across the UK. The scheme is only open to STAA members who have accreditation from Quality in Tourism’s Safe, Clean and Legal scheme. This is so that you always have peace of mind that the homes are top quality! Major players in the short-term accommodation industry - such as UnderTheDoormat (who provide luxury homestays across London) and Sykes (who represent thousands of properties around the UK) – flocked to take part.