Early in our relationship, my husband and I bought a little motorboat on a whim and spent a blissful summer pootling up and down the Thames. That innocent little purchase sparked a love of boating – and we needed to find a way of financing a bigger boat!  We decided to take our qualifications and try our hand at chartering.  This lead to a new love – hosting.  First through our charter business, then a string of holiday lets in Spain, and eventually Brick Kiln Barns in Norfolk. By the time we’d weathered a few dodgy builders and a global pandemic, we’d built a thriving direct booking business… and I’d found a new passion: helping others do the same.

The eureka moment came when a few local hospitality owners asked if I could help them build a website and sort out direct bookings. Listening to their frustrations about OTAs, confusing software, and “tech stuff” that never quite worked, I realised there was a real gap — and Ditch Your OTA was born.

After 25 years as an IT consultant, I’d spent my career bridging the gap between people and technology. I’ve led countless projects where my job was to make complex systems simple and user-friendly — often championing the users while the developers rolled their eyes at me. That mindset runs through everything I do now.

From the intuitive WordPress layer I’ve built (so clients don’t have to fear their own websites) to the PMS Selection Tool that applies the same balance-scorecard principles I used to evaluate enterprise software, everything I create has one goal: to make life easier for independent hosts.

Ditch Your OTA isn’t just about websites — it’s about helping owners take control of their business, understand their tools, and build something that truly works for them.

When I’m not busy building websites and helping owners I can be found either on the current boat or walking our beloved Spanish Water Dog, Ted.

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