Our Valuation. And We Love It.

The startup world is going crazy. Even in the travel space. Mad growth – often with poor service and no soul, crazy valuations, and increasingly unsustainable models, pricing and discounts to drive numbers that justify this frenzy for a little longer.

Can’t deny the pressure doesn’t get to us, despite all the things we hold dear and believe in. But nope, we’re not changing all that.

So we decided to recount our blessings. And realized our valuation comes from all the trust, love shared and the true value that people see in us. Here’s a short list of some of the stuff that’s happened in the past that gives us courage to hold on to our beliefs in this sea of insanity:

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One of our regulars helped setup rooms and moved furniture with us!

Someone came back to the same place and got gifts for all the staff there.

Another made a lovely painting.

A guest made and sent us a custom-made calendar as a thank you note after the trip. That was super sweet!

A regular and now our art mentor came and painted a wall at Coorg. Plus lots of gifts.

We regularly get loads of books from folks who’ve been to our places – “for your libraries”.

We get lots and lots and lots of used wine bottles in support of our stand of not using plastic bottles for water.

A regular made a poster for us.

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(The awesome capture of what Gokarna is, thanks to Maitri)

Another sends us beautiful poetry regularly.

Folks keep sharing instances of “do nothing” now getting used regularly by others, with a sense of pride about Linger!

We get ideas, connects, advice from all of our guests on a regular basis.

Our guests have been our strongest brand ambassadors, and keep telling other like minded folks they should try out a Linger vacation.

Many, many have become friends now 🙂

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We feel blessed, and highly valued by those that really matter. And that is the single most important thing that keeps us going, sticking to the path we’ve picked.

Thanks, all of you. You know who you are.

 

What a great start to a week. Thank you!

The last weekend was a long one – and we were pretty packed across locations. It was pretty tight, with some last minute cancellations and bookings too. We almost ran out of sheets at a couple of properties, despite a huge extra inventory  (partly thanks to the rains)!

But Monday made it all so worth it!

This ->

[Guest’s name] and I would like to thank all at Linger cottages, Coorg, for the phenomenal holiday we had. The property is beautiful beyond belief, and the splendid solitude was such a manna to city dwellers like us. We loved the food, the walks, the sit-out meals, the songs of the birds and the toads, the unbelievably green landscape, and the brilliant light works of the million fireflies.

A special thank you to Harish and Uday. Their ever-smiling faces made the delightful stay even more pleasant. Uday was kind enough to take us to see the Cauvery in the rain.

We would highly recommend your place to friends and family, and would love to come visit other Linger holiday spots.

Thank you,

[Guest at the Upper Cottage in Chettimani, Coorg]

Then, more ->

We got back yesterday after having a great time.
I must compliment you on the way the place is setup !
Thanks again,
[Guest at Bavikodla, Gokarna]
And apart from this, one phone call about a happy time at the campsite in the Devarayanadurga Hills, and one more delighted response from a couple at Gokarna.  Last weekend’s guests at Gokarna had called in a couple of days earlier to tell us it was one of the best beach vacations they’ve ever taken!
(There’s surely some constructive feedback – and as always – plans are already being drawn up and instructions being sent out to respond to those by way of process, infra and other fixes.)
We’re facing an uphill challenge for gathering the bottles we need to deliver to replace plastic bottles – that saw a much-larger-than-anticipated-response. But despite that, accounting hassles and other minor battles we’re fighting, we’re on cloud nine!
Thanks everyone – this feeling is a huge reward!
And may be humbly submit – “Yay, baby!”