Beyonder founder and director Haley Saunders. Photo / Boundless Vision
Beyonder founder and director Haley Saunders. Photo / Boundless Vision
Mount Maunganui entrepreneur Haley Saunders went from cleaning apartments to establishing a “boutique” holiday home management business within 10 years.
The 34-year-old established Beyonder in 2021 which takes care of “everything” for about 40 holiday homes in Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa.
Saunders - who grew up in Ohakune- said she was cleaning apartments and “having a bit of fun” in Cardrona in her early 20s. She was also travelling back and forth to the United States for ski seasons.
“[I] ended up really loving the whole apartment managing and the guest side of things and just seeing people on their holidays was awesome and I wanted to help facilitate that ... ”
The self-described “organised freak” started working for a company in Wānaka that managed holiday homes.
After a promotion, she was “running the show”. She then decided to start her own business in Mount Maunganui, where her father is from and where she studied travel and tourism at Toi Ohomai after finishing school.
“We pretty much started from nothing and built up to around about 40 holiday homes ... ”
Saunders said the intention was to remain a “boutique size of business”.
“So we can still know our homeowners by name and know everything about the property ourselves.”
Properties ranged from one-bedroom apartments to five-bedroom homes on the beach, she said.
Beyonder founder and director Haley Saunders. Photo / Boundless Vision
Saunders said Beyonder’s small team and cleaners took care of “everything” for homeowners who listed their property with them, including property maintenance, changing linen, cleaning, guest vetting, communicating with guests, marketing, rates, payments, and listing the property on agent channels such as Airbnb, Bookabach, and Holiday Houses.
She has helped organise accommodation for the AIMS Games for the past two years by providing a “matchmaking” service between guests or schools and homeowners who wanted to list their homes exclusively for the Games.
“We obviously fill all of our own homes as well for that event.”
She said 24/7 support was available.
“We’re local, we’re here on the ground ... we’re literally around the corner from most of our houses ... ”
‘Live like a local’
Saunders said the business provided “breakfast bundles” for guests which could include local businesses’ products such as Wildflour granola, Nicki’s Free Range Eggs, and Mount Sourdough Bread.
It also used Little Drum Coffee and could organise cakes from Spongedrop.
Saunders said the business used eco-friendly toilet paper, bought Ecostore products in bulk to refill containers and did not use single-use plastics.
“It’s really important to us to support local, do our little bit to be environmentally friendly and provide those thoughtful touches for guests as well.
“I know that when I go travelling, I always want to know what it’s like to be a local so we kind of want our guests to live like a local and explore the area like we do every weekend.”
She enjoyed reading “heartfelt” reviews from guests and helping her team grow professionally.
One example was promoting one of her cleaners to a property manager, she said.
Saunders - who lives with her partner James and 1-year-old son Ollie - said she enjoyed walking up Mauao, going to the beach, and dining in Mount Maunganui in her spare time.
“We live in a place that we don’t need to holiday from so we can literally walk out our door and go down the beach and just relax down there.
“A 1-year-old keeps me very busy ... and this business obviously keeps me busy, especially around summer.”
Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.
