Whether you are enjoying a weekend city break, a rural staycation or are travelling for work, many people now opt to stay in an Airbnb rather than a hotel. Not only do they tend to offer more privacy and space, but you can often find unique and quirky stays that make for a more personal experience.
In recent years more people have turned to Airbnb to rent out their spare rooms and unused spaces in a bid to make an extra bit of cash. One couple from Greater Manchester have recently launched two Airbnbs in Bury town centre under the name Suite Dreams Bury, after converting a Grade II listed building.
In 2020 Louise Jackson, who is originally from Bolton, and her partner Ben bought the 1860s Victorian site which was previously used as a Nationwide bank. The couple bought the four-storey building as a new premises for their independent record and coffee shop Wax and Beans and, after buying it, they decided to make good use of the vacant space on the top floor.
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Set in a prime location on Market Street in the thick of the town centre, the building was the perfect new spot for their business, which sits directly opposite The Met music venue and theatre.
“We started the record and coffee shop around the corner in a really tiny little building. We got a lease for that but then after about six months of running the business, we quickly realised that we needed somewhere bigger," Louise told the Manchester Evening News.
"I was then on the hunt for a new premises and came across this. It was an old Nationwide bank and it had quite garish purple colours and didn’t look particularly pleasant.
"I had to kind of twist my partner's arm because he found it difficult to see the potential and how it would work. I explained to him how if we had the money available at some point, we could convert upstairs.
"Once we started to run through those plans and ideas then he was able to understand the vision and he was really on board with it. We put in an offer in October and then everything got finalised the week before lockdown."
The pair got the keys to the four-storey building and soon began working to install their shop. They spent lockdown renovating it and then opened when shops were permitted to reopen in the summer.
After their shop was complete, Louise and Ben then decided to transform the top floor of the building with the idea to create two suites available to rent on Airbnb.
"The building has a cellar, the ground floor and the first floor which are taken over by the shop, and then the second floor," Louise explained.
"When we bought this building we were thinking how we could best make use of the space, and as I had put my house on Airbnb before, we thought we would try and give that a go.
"The top floor used to be offices which were really old fashioned and ugly. There was wooden cladding on the walls, suspended ceilings and horrible strip lighting.
"We had a building company who did all the structural work. We had it completely gutted out, all the walls were taken down, the floor was taken up, the ceiling got redone and we had to rebuild a structural wall in the middle. It was quite a big effort and it took around 16 months."
The couple started work on Suite Dreams in November 2021 and have recently launched their first apartment, Side A on the site - with Side B set to open soon.
"Ben suggested the name Suite Dreams and once he said it then it just stuck and that was it. The suites are called Side A and Side B, which plays off the fact that we’re a record store," Louise said.
"We wanted the suites to have a link to music without it being too in your face. There’s some music related artwork, turntables and some records in both suites so people can play them if they choose to.
"In terms of the interior I wanted the two suites to be completely different. One's got quite a lot of bold colour and the other is more neutral."
The two apartment suites come with one bedroom, a bathroom and a separate living area with some kitchen amenities.
"I travelled whilst working in my corporate job before having this business and it really annoyed me being stuck in a small hotel room where you can’t sit anywhere to relax apart from the end of the bed," Louise explained.
"Our suites have a cosy lounge, which features a sofa bed, and a separate bedroom so you can come and put your feet up and watch some TV before going to bed.
"The bedrooms have king size beds with double pocket sprung mattresses, plush, down-like filling pillows and motorised blackout blinds."
Louise added: "When I was travelling with work, I also didn’t always want to go out for a meal but sometimes it’s your only option in a hotel because you don't have any facilities to eat.
"We've put in a mini-fridge, kettle, coffee machine and a microwave which means you can keep some food in the fridge whilst you're staying here and make any microwaveable meals.
"There's also a dedicated workspace with good Wi-Fi that’s well suited for working."
The suites, which are also dog friendly, are priced at £132 per night, which includes a breakfast and a drink of your choice for two people.
The Airbnbs sit a convenient two minutes walk from the Metrolink, bus station, shops, restaurants and the East Lancashire Railway.
“As we’re opposite The Met theatre there are a lot of music goers that come from far and wide, so we are hoping people who are going to those music events would come to us rather than going to a hotel," said Louise.
"We started working with The Met through our shop so we’re also hoping to offer some of their artists the ability to stay here too.
"There's quite a few businesses as well around here so we hope to reach out to that kind of market as well and maybe get some people staying during the week who are travelling here for work.
“We’ve had a real mix of guests so far, we’ve had a couple, a family, someone here for work, a group of friends and two brothers. We have quite a few bookings for the summer, mainly during weekends."
You can view the Airbnb listing and book a stay at Suite Dreams Bury here.
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