Here’s Little Story 1 of 13. Each considers (some of) why, I think, Old Post Office Riverside Holiday Cottages have spiking occupancy and 95% perfect 10/10 reviews.
1. Brown Paper Bags.
We buy little bags. Sized for, say, a quarter of Cola Cubes. 6p each.
We buy bigger bags. Sized to comfortably hold a favourite paperback. 12p each.
We seal both with a branded sticker. 6p each.
Both have a zig-zag, pinking sheared top edge. And each little bag, in its own little way, has shaped how guests (and their friends and family) think about, and talk about Old Post Office in Northumberland.
When guests arrive, the smaller brown bag awaits. Handwritten on this bag, is:
– 100% Arabica Coffee Beans
– 50g / 1 Cafetière (hand weighed)
– Mary, John and Ziggy
– Garden Cottage
– Thursday 5th November 2026
Good Morning! Want more? Just ask!
What this means (to them) is:
– Try something new!
– We’ve been arsed to weigh beans. For you. By hand.
– We know all your names. Dog(s) too.
– Your cottage (helps us remember who is where).
– They’re fresh. It’s dated the day of arrival.
– We’re generous.
The bigger brown bag makes an appearance on the final morning.
Each is hand ink-stamped with ‘Bye For Now Bag’ and our logo. It contains a bottle of water, a sweet snack and a savoury snack – one per guest. And a dog treat. It costs us £1 per guest. What this says (to them) is:
“This’d cost two of you £10+ at a service station. Don’t worry. We got you covered.”
ENDNOTE.
When we paid £8,000 for a new boiler to make heating instantaneous and showers gain new powers, nobody gave a shit. Not really. It’s expected in a luxury space.
In guest books and reviews, we have more written and verbal references to Bye for Now Bags and hand weighed coffee beans than just about anything else. Not because of what they are. But because of what they stand for.
Each little brown bag, in its own little way, has shaped how guests (and their friends and family) think about, and talk about Old Post Office Riverside Holiday Cottages in Northumberland.
I am not sure if this kind of thinking is called creativity. Or empathy. Or just… being bothered. But what I do know is that it is noticed, remembered, and spoken about.
Good for them.
Good for us.
Seriously though, if what we (you?) do matters – and I am asking people to spend the most important times of their lives, their downtime, with me, then this kind of thinking is – I think – a duty.
Go for it.