BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Cycle accommodation site ‘Beds for Cyclists’ has celebrated one year running with the launch of a refurbished website.
12 months after launch, the site features 650 hosts of bike friendly accommodation, where riders and their cycle paraphernalia are welcomed.
The relaunched site has been remoulded following feedback from cyclist users and the site has formed partnerships with the likes of the Youth Hostel Association and Cycle End to End.
“From working for Sustrans for several years I became excitedly aware of this huge void of such a comprehensive accommodation service for cyclists,” explained founder and marketing director Sam Howard told BikeBiz. “Many people would ask me on the phone where they could find cycle friendly places to stay along major routes and all to often the answer was, sorry I don’t know.”
According to Howard, the hotel and hostelry trade is waking up to the potentials of welcoming the cycle community: “I think the accommodation industry, in part thanks to Beds for Cyclists, is realising that they can quite easily become cycle friendly and therefore opening themselves up to this expanding market.
“We are certainly finding an increase in cycle friendly accommodation as the website becomes better known nationally. Many of our hosts have said, "what a great idea, I can’t believe no-one has done this before.
"We have in part, prompted accommodation providers to enter in to this market. I think the demand for cycle friendly accommodation has always been there but is steadily growing in-line with the increasing number of leisure cyclists and people taking cycle holidays.”
