About the School

Coppetts Wood is an inclusive nursery and primary school in Barnet that also runs a children’s centre supporting parents in the community. Among their incredible spaces are a large hall, a dining hall, and children’s play areas including play cabins (like the Blue Cabin – perfect for kids’ parties!) and adventure play areas. It also has wild woodland and green fields.

The challenge

Last year Coppetts Wood’s school business manager Raquel Vieira spotted an opportunity to raise money for the School by letting their spaces. But to succeed she needed support in several key areas. First, the School hadn’t let to the public before, so she wanted help from a seasoned lettings expert.

Secondly she needed a way to find new customers. Finally there was lots of admin to be done: scheduling bookings, answering customer queries and handling payments. After researching several lettings solutions, Raquel solved these problems by partnering with Sharesy.

The strategy was simple: Leverage the Sharesy marketplace to find more bookers in the local community.

Sharesy’s ability to find lots of new customers, handle booking-related admin and give guidance and support equipped the School to let their spaces. Raquel said:

"We definitely wouldn't let to the public without something like Sharesy! I would not be prepared – on top of everything else that I have to do – to deal with bookings admin as well."

Trusted guidance and support

From the moment Coppetts Wood signed up with Sharesy, a friendly account manager was available to help. They visited the School to meet Raquel, photograph the School’s spaces, help set up their listing pages, and show them how to use their Sharesy calendar.

Later, when the bookings began rolling in, Sharesy’s Account Management and Customer Support teams worked together to help the bookings go smoothly and solve any issues. They continue to support the School by giving regular sales performance updates and fixing any problems that crop up.

Reaching new customers

Sharesy created listing pages for the School’s spaces on Sharesy.com with photos and important information that “look very professional” and “answer a lot of people’s questions”. The pages also have an ‘instant book’ button allowing customers to book in minutes, which Raquel said “makes it really easy for the public to just book”.

Getting set up was easy. Raquel filled in a quick form, Sharesy’s Account Management team visited to take photos, and the School’s spaces were online and available to book within hours. As a result they now reach a diverse customer audience – from parents throwing kids’ parties to people planning 65th birthday parties, they’ve been netting £1500/month so far this year.

Smart scheduling

When setting up her space listings, Raquel’s Sharesy calendar allowed her to specify availability that worked well for the School. And when customers began booking, she could ‘accept’ or ‘decline’ each event, giving her complete visibility and control. As a bonus, Raquel’s Sharesy calendar integrates seamlessly with the School’s Outlook calendar. Bookings are added and updated automatically, so staff can see them alongside the School’s other appointments.

Delightful customer service

When considering whether to let the School’s spaces, Raquel worried she’d have to spend lots of time speaking to customers. So it was a big relief that Sharesy has a dedicated team who “are amazing at helping our customers”.

Payments, sorted

Raquel also values Sharesy’s ability to charge customers on the School's behalf. This means she doesn’t have to worry about arranging and processing bank transfers, cheques or cash. Instead the School receives their earnings straight from Sharesy at the end of each month, along with an update on their earnings performance. To Raquel, a key benefit is that Sharesy takes on “a lot of the administrative burden before it comes to the day of the booking” which “saves us a lot of time”.

From zero to one with school space lettings

With Sharesy’s help, Raquel and her team were able to let Coppetts Wood School’s spaces to the public for the first time. In 2022 they averaged over £1700/month, and over £4000 in August alone. With earnings growing month-on-month they hope to go from strength to strength in 2023. Raquel credits Sharesy as a crucial element of the School’s success:

“The Sharesy staff have been fantastic in helping us generate income for our school from our facilities. Their platform makes it easy for prospective hirers to book our spaces. I would absolutely recommend Sharesy to others!”

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