Meet the Team
Hello, we’re Coolstays. We love finding extraordinary places to stay in the UK and around the world.
Directors
Tim Wills
- Director/Co-Founder
- Brighton
Tim has a double life (no, not that exciting) as the Coolstays “Master of Coin”, managing the company finances, as well as heading up the marketing department. His happy holiday place is either on a mountain bike in the Alps or watching the Atlantic waves from a cosy pub in Cornwall. Diving in the Seychelles and exploring India are travel highlights so far - next up is hopefully Japan!
Claire Wills
- Director/Co-Founder
- Brighton
Claire is all about comms - speaking to owners and journalists, and finding ways to show off our hand-picked collection. She loves exploring new places, hiking and swimming wherever she goes. Some of her fave trips have been diving in the Seychelles and hiking in the Andes - but a pint in The Ship in Mousehole Cornwall is her happy place.
John Stables
- Sales Director
- Manchester
It’s John's job to build and manage the Coolstays team. Out of work he enjoys long dog walks, live music and watching AFC Wimbledon tread water in the lower reaches of the EFL. His most memorable travel experience was his first visit to Kanchanaburi in Thailand, where his father was a prisoner of war in World War 2.
Nick Wills
- Co-Founder and Technical Director
- Reading
Nick is in charge of planning, developing, debugging and supporting our platform. He’s an avid follower of new music and loves gardening. Travel-wise he enjoys simple pleasures: a good walk ending with a climb down to a beach. It doesn't really matter what the weather's like - but a pint at the end is essential.
Sales
Belinda Myers-Fordham
- Account Manager
- Winchester
Belinda finds us amazing new properties, and helps our property owners make the most of the site. Out of work she enjoys going to gigs, illustration, festivals, walking the dog, cycling and swimming. Her most memorable holidays so far have been Rio in 2004 and North Cornwall in 2024. She’d love to visit Argentina, Jamaica, Australia and the Isle of Skye.
Rachel True
- Account Manager
- Manchester
Rachel’s job is searching out wow places to stay in some of her favourite locations and talking to owners about their properties. Outside of work she enjoys dancing, long walks and sailing. She loves anywhere with sparkly sea, mountains and big skies. Sri Lanka, Cuba and the more easily achieved Western Isles of Scotland are next on her travel list.
Rachelle Bell
- Account Manager
- Chorley
Rachelle spends her time talking to property owners, monitoring property performance and uncovering new hidden gems for our site. Outside of work she loves treasure-hunting through charity shops, dancing at gigs and attempting to garden. One of her best travel moments so far was riding through the Alps on the back of a motorbike.
Olivia Brown
- Account Manager
- Newcastle
Liv’s in charge of approving new properties and finding new leads. Her favourite adventure so far has been a boat trip stopping at remote locations along the west coast of North and South America. Japan and South East Asia are next on her travel hit list.
Elle Power
- Sales Support
- Lincoln
Elle’s role is assisting our property owners, talking to potential new owners, and finding new stays for the site. Her best travel moments include waterfall walks and learning to surf in Bali. Outside of work she loves family adventures like hikes in the Peak District and bike rides in Sherwood Forest.
Development
Kier Wills
- Web Developer
- Manchester
Kier writes us lots of code, as well as designing and building new features across the Coolstays platform, fixing bugs and maintaining our systems. His favourite holiday was Marrakesh in 2019 - mosques, palaces, camels and markets, with scuba diving in Zakynthos a close second.
Arran H
- Web Developer
- Reading
Arran works on developing and maintaining the Coolstays app, and helps make sure our website is running smoothly. Outside of work he loves DIY projects, producing music, painting, and a pint in the pub. His best trip so far has been Paris, for the tasty croissants.
Kit Boothroyd
- Web Developer
- Manchester
Kit’s role includes maintaining the Coolstays website and working on exciting new features for our site users and property owners. Outside of work he enjoys cooking, record shopping and visiting country pubs. His favourite holiday was hiking in Albania with friends during Summer 2024 and he’s got his eye on Japan for his next big trip.
Support
Joe Bennett
- Team Support
- Brighton
Joe is here to help make the customer experience as smooth as possible, answer queries and provide assistance to site users and property owners. His favourite sort of holiday is anywhere with friends and family, and good food and drink. He loves travelling to the USA, visiting the southern states and used to live in Texas.
Jo Shardlow
- Team Support
- Brighton
Jo puts together our marketing blogs and mailers, as well as answering enquiries from site users and property owners. Her favourite sort of holiday is anywhere peaceful, with a hammock. Her most unforgettable trip was visiting the beautiful city of Hoi An in Vietnam.
Marketing
Jemima Churchill
- Social Media Manager
- Deal, Kent
Jemima is in charge of finding the best ways to showcase all the amazing properties we list across different platforms. Her best ever trip was to Masseria Silentio in Puglia, where she celebrated her birthday and got engaged in the same weekend.
Vic Smelt
- Social Media & Content Executive
- Brighton
Vic is our video content creator, making films of our beautiful properties. Her perfect holiday is anywhere out in nature, having adventures. She loved her trip to the Rockies, where she went hiking every day with her camera. Next on the cards are visits to Scotland, Canada and Indonesia.
Editorial
Adam Rowden
- Web Content Editor
- Brighton
Adam writes our listings and also turns his hand to blog posts and other website copy. His favourite travel experience so far was spending 9 months travelling from Uganda to South Africa on public transport, seeing lots of amazing things along the way. Next he’d love to visit Japan or Mali.