i-escape in
10
1. A curated blend of 1,000 small independent hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses
2. Plus 500 boutique villa, cottage & apartment rentals
3. We select places with style, soul and stellar service; ideally owner-run, often newly opened
4. We visit them all and write our own detailed reviews
5. We have a loyal clientele of discerning travellers from UK, Europe & worldwide
6. Founded in 2001, we have 20 staff in Bristol (UK) and over 30 roving reviewers
7. Our expert sales team gets to know each property, advises guests and helps them book
8. Our marketing team runs curated social, newsletter, PR and online ad campaigns
9. Our reservation system is tailored to suit you: instant-book (via channel managers) or on-request
10. We charge a commission of 12-20%, and a participation fee of £0-1500
- Exact terms will vary according to connectivity, rate parity, size, and – for rentals – naming strategy.
“Being on i-escape is crucial to differentiate ourselves from the thousands on Booking.com and Airbnb“
Jo Sinfield, owner of Explorers Club
Our Portfolio
small, stylish & very special
- We feature our favourite boutique hotels, B&Bs, villas, apartments, eco-lodges, chic cabins & more
- With a focus on small to mid-size: 5-50 rooms (hotels) or 1-4 bedrooms (rentals)
- Prices run from under £100/night to over £500/night; we pick the best in each price range
- We look for: passionate hosts, chic or quirky decor, great locations, fab food, innovative services
- We avoid: hotel chains, identikit rooms, wedding venues, vast TVs, plastic chairs, overpriced extras
- We have special collections for honeymoon, gourmet, beach, city, spa, ski, eco, budget, pet & more
- And an award-winning Kids Collection with 900 truly family-friendly properties
“i-escape is one of the first websites I turn to“
Joanna Symons, The Telegraph
Our Detailed Reviews
the most trusted on the web
- Our authoritative, first-hand reviews are frequently praised as one of our strongest USPs
- Crafted by our team of professional travel writers & local experts, with authority and insight
- Our Highs & Lows, written with scrupulous care, help guide the right guest to the right place
- We show additional detail on Rooms, Eating, Activities, Family provisions and Location
- We include feedback from our guests, all checked and curated before publishing
- The galleries showcase 20-50 of your best photos, supplemented (if needed) by our own
- Our experienced in-house editorial team will update your review as necessary
- Like you, we want to ensure that our guests have the right expectations when they arrive
- Your i-escape review is an asset in itself: read and trusted by over 10,000 people each year, many of whom will book directly with you
“The text was spot on! I always love reading i-escape – just so many miles better than anything else“
Sarah Robinson, owner of Caserio del Mirador
Our Readership
- Clients from UK, Europe & worldwide
- 150K monthly visitors on i-escape.com
- 125K followers on our social channels
- 170K subscribers to our newsletters
- 33% open rate (twice the industry average)
- 35K booking requests per year
Our Readers, Your Guests
Discerning travellers wanting to find and book their accommodation independently
- Average annual income is £120,000 per household
- High % of doctors, teachers & finance / creative professionals
- Most travel 4-8 times per year (75% leisure, 25% business)
- Average stay of 4 nights (hotels) or 7 nights (rentals)
Travelling As
Couple
Family
Solo
Group (6+)
“You have a huge database of lovely customers who clearly trust you and who are a pleasure to welcome“
Bleigh Russum, owner of The Manor
Our Marketing Activities
with PR & promotions
- Weekly e-newsletters to our highly engaged mailing list of 170K
- 33% open rate and 8% click-to-open rate, far higher than industry average
- Monthly family newsletter promoting our dedicated Kids Collection
- Targeted ads & campaigns on Instagram & Facebook (115K combined followers)
- Highly respected blog, 'The Edit', bringing great SEO, timely content and additional visibility
- Partnerships with like-minded brands such as White Stuff and Hush and smaller independents
- High organic search rankings (often #1 or #2) on 'boutique hotels' + country
- SEO & PPC work on your behalf, bringing more visibility and traffic
- Our directors are regularly approached for expert travel pieces and industry awards
- Our PR team advises key travel press and arranges journalist & influencer trips
“The best there is for pinpointing special places to stay”
“Our first port of call for gorgeous boutique accommodation”
“Un site très confidentiel qui répertorie des petits cocons intimes, de vrais havres de paix”
“Ausgewählte Unterkünfte für Individualisten, von schicken B&Bs bis zu teuren Villen”
“A one-stop shop for stylish places”
“Top marks for its social-media profile”
“Reliably stocked with the world’s hottest properties, i-escape is crucial to any search”
“The travel website I have recommended to friends more than any other”
Our Booking System
flexible & fair
- We connect to 30+ channel managers* for live availability & rates, and instant confirmation
- Or link calendars using ical feeds (one- or two-way) e.g. from Airbnb, VRBO etc
- Or reservations may be processed on a completely manual basis (on request)
- In all cases, we ask for rate parity** - rates offered to our guests must match your own site
- We support special offers of almost all types (% discount, free nights, hidden behind sign-in etc)
- We cater for fully prepaid bookings, fully flexible bookings, and everything in between
- You collect the net amount from the credit card supplied, or using another payment method
- Add a personal message to the guest - their phone & email are supplied upon confirmation
- Our dedicated rates team will assist with channel connections, loading rates & special offers
- And our friendly bookings team is on hand to help if you get stuck with a booking
Two-way integration with the following (plus one-way ical connection with Airbnb, VRBO, Supercontrol and many others):
| Avirato | FNSrooms | RoomCloud |
| Beddy | Guestline | Room Raccoon* |
| Blastness | Hey Travel (HostPMS) | SimpleBooking |
| Booking Expert | MyAllocator (Cloudbeds) | Siteminder |
| Cubilis | Nightsbridge | Staah |
| D-Edge (Availpro) | Octorate | Su |
| Dingus | Omnibees | Synxis (Direct Connect) |
| eGDS | Primalres | Vertical Booking |
| Ermes | RateGain* | WuBook |
| eZee (ipms247) | Rate Tiger* | Yield Planet |
*Due for integration in 2025
- We ask for rate parity with your site i.e. the same prices, promotions and perks as those which are publicly available to your direct bookers. Why?
- We promise our readers that they won't find a better price for the same room (on the same dates and terms) on your own site
- We ask you to honour that promise, in order to maintain the trust and reputation which we have built up over 20 years
- To help share the burden, we are open to reduced commission on special offers, especially exclusives
- We can help promote late availability and offers through our social media and newsletters
- Rate parity works as a win-win: if you honour it, we'll promote you more!
Direct Bookings & Other Benefits
In a survey of 12,000 i-escape users, 67% said that - after finding somewhere they like on our site - they prefer to book directly with the property. Either because they hope to get a better deal, or because they prefer direct dialogue, or because it's widely perceived as the savvy way to book. So, for each i-escape booking, you can expect an additional 3-4 direct bookings from people who found you here. Also:- Tour operators use i-escape to advise their clients
- Journalists use i-escape to research their articles
The i-escape stamp of approval on your site- An extremely low cancellation rate of 1-2%
- We supply guests' email addresses (unlike other OTAs) so you can market directly to them
“Your booking system is the best: flexible, reliable and user-friendly“
Adam Dorrien Smith, Number 38
Next Steps in
10
1. Sound good so far? Then please go ahead and apply to join
2. Our expert selection team will carefully assess your application within 2 weeks
3. If you’re selected, we’ll revert outlining the commission & fee terms that will apply to you
4. There’s a short agreement to be signed (in English), detailing our and your responsibilities
5. We’ll then request photos, questionnaire and dates for our visit
6. Our experienced editorial team will craft your review pages
7. Our rates team will load your prices, or help with the channel / calendar connection
8. You’ll be invited to check it all for factual accuracy
9. Once you’ve paid any relevant launch fee, we’ll publish your pages and start promoting you
10. Throughout our partnership, our sales, rates, editorial & marketing teams are here to help
Questions?
Call us on +44 (0) 117 946 4635
or email applications@blog.i-escape.com
“We think you’ll come to consider this as one of the best investments you’ve ever made”
Michael Cullen, Director of Hotel Partnerships
“I’m here to guide you through the joining process from here to launch”
Nadine Mellor, New Hotels Editor