This is a guest post from Juan, who owns and manages guest houses in the beautiful Asturias region, located in the Northern of Spain. I met Juan and his family on a trip to Valencia, I was really interested in his story and wanted to share it with you.
More than fifteen years ago my family owned a cottage in a sunny village, Antrialgo, in Asturias. The cottage used to be rented from time to time but it was not prepared to receive many people. We`ve always liked the countryside and thought restoring a typical Asturian house with its wood and stones would be a challenge!
We aimed to build a typical Asturian rural house, while considering the design of a hotel, so we made two houses into one. When we started to restore the house the whole family helped out, even during the weekends we were working hard to be able to have it open for the summer. (When building a house to rent to travelers, it is important to know that August is the peak season and it must be ready to welcome customers at this time.)
Even harder than building the property was finding the name for our website, but we chose for the area where the house is settled, Campón de Antrialgo: Campondeantrialgo.es or at Huertasanbenito.com.
We`ve done our best to create a quality brand and we`ve already met a lot of people. This business allows you to be nearer to your customers and they even become friends. Our tourists are mainly domestic, and we have always thought that the real challenge is to make us well known in other countries. Every time we have German, Dutch or British customers we realize that we would love to be known across the borders and attract more travelers from all over the world.
Our business has become one of the most important businesses in Asturias, we`ve been in several interior decoration magazines and we are one of the 180 charming houses classified by the prestigious “Guia El País Aguilar”.
Currently we`re focusing on social media. Being in rural surroundings does not mean that you can’t use the internet in a professional way with your customers. Many of these customers have their own blogs, Twitter or Facebook accounts and they speak highly of us through these channels.
I`m proud of what my family and I have accomplished and we would love it if you come and check out our guesthouse!
More on this Guest Blogger
Juan Otero Rionda was born in nearby Arriondas, and used to work for a large multi-national business before turning his passion to developing and managing the rural houses.
As well as looking after the growing business Juan also founded Ruralvalue, the first franchise of Rural Tourism in Spain and is the founder of Turismo.as, a forum to discuss Tourism and Technology that had its first meeting in Oviedo in April 2009.
When he is not working hard Juan can be found travelling around Asturias, constantly learning more about this region while enjoying its diverse gastronomy and beautiful landscapes. You can follow Juan on Twitter.
Read more posts on Spain:
- Where to eat in Valencia?
- Relaxing at Retiro Park in Madrid
- Visiting Barcelona
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