Over the past few months, we’ve been working tirelessly to fine-tune our automated month-end reporting system, powered by SuperControl. The move to this platform was a big step for us — designed to provide faster, more accurate data and greater transparency for our owners via the online portal.
As with many major system upgrades, the rollout brought its share of teething issues. Behind the scenes, our team has spent countless hours working with SuperControl to resolve these, ensuring our reporting now runs far more smoothly and efficiently.
The Discovery
During a deep-dive review between our team and SuperControl’s data specialists, we uncovered a significant issue affecting bookings imported from one of our key partners, Sykes Cottages.
Here’s what happened: when Sykes processed a booking, they correctly deducted their commission before paying the balance to us. However, the data being transferred into our system incorrectly recorded the full booking amount rather than the payout amount after commission.
This meant that for each Sykes booking, our system effectively showed the wrong figure — wiping out our own commission. In practical terms, this meant that for a large portion of Sykes bookings, we had been working for free.
The Impact
Sykes is our second-largest source of guests, and the discrepancy affected around 80% of their bookings, resulting in a financial shortfall of roughly £61,000 since August 2024. For a small, independent company like ours, that’s an enormous hit — equivalent to over 20 months of our basic running costs, excluding salaries.
The only silver lining was that the issue was eventually identified through the rigorous forensic review we carried out alongside SuperControl. It’s now been fully resolved, and our systems are aligned correctly going forward.
Doing the Right Thing
We recognise that this situation could also have caused confusion or delays for our owners. After careful discussion, we decided on a solution that we believe reflects our values of integrity and partnership.
We have chosen to absorb the entire loss relating to bookings from August 2024 to 31st May 2025 — covering 169 bookings and a £42,250 loss in total. We will only adjust figures for bookings taken from 1st June 2025 onwards, which represents around 75 bookings and £18,750.
This decision has a real financial cost to us, but we made it because we value the trust of our owners above all else.
Looking Ahead
While this episode has been challenging, it has strengthened our systems and our commitment to transparency. We’re confident that the lessons learned — and the improvements made — will ensure smoother reporting, greater accuracy, and stronger communication for everyone involved.
We’re proud to have navigated this issue with honesty and accountability, and we deeply appreciate the ongoing support and understanding of our owners. Challenges like this remind us why we do what we do: to create an operation built on trust, integrity, and genuine partnership.