Carhire Hebrides
Car hire with style...
A completely new car hire firm has been launched in Lewis, building on the success of the five-star Braighe House Guesthouse near Stornoway airport, which has just won gold-star status from Visitscotland.
Braighe House and the self-catering Hebridean Cottages in Aignish are run by John and Alison Cunningham and provide very high-standard accommodation for visiting businesspeople and holidaymakers.
But the couple decided they needed to expand their service to their visitors. What was needed was a complete package involving car hire – and van hire – to enable visitors to get straight on with their work or their holiday from the moment they arrived.
However, rather than merely offer this service to their guests, they have expanded the project and set up a separate company, Carhire Hebrides.
John explains: “Carhire Hebrides operates to the same high standards as the five-star guesthouse in that we offer a superior quality of vehicles and service. Our vehicles are always new or nearly new and range from classy compacts to prestige saloons.”
John had extensive connections with a range of companies and areas of businesses – including financial services, fish farming and Harris Tweed – before deciding in 2004 that he would rather run his own business. “We wanted to start working for ourselves and control our own destiny,” he recalls.
So in 2004 they bought what is now Braighe House and extensively renovated it. It was launched, providing innovations like wi-fi capability, the following summer with a four-star rating and has been upgraded since then as they strove for the highest quality service which has given them the top local rating on Tripadvisor. Later they also bought Hebridean Cottages to widen their business offering and then in April this year they extended again to provide car hire. They are planning to renovate a property in Harris to provide self-catering accommodation and hope to offer car hire there as well.
The new service in Lewis includes pick-up and drop-off at either Stornoway airport (which is only just around the corner from Braighe House) or Stornoway ferry terminal to ensure minimum hassle for visitors. “We want to provide a complete package for them,” John says.
In addition, aside from their own guests, John says: “We think there’s quite a requirement for high-quality car hire.”
Vehicles available include Nissan Note, Citroen C4 Picasso, and a Nissan Qasqhai – and the aim is that all cars will be new or nearly new, with none kept longer than three years. They also have a Transit van available for people who need to transport more bulky equipment or materials.
At the moment, they have six cars available and they are intending to develop the business further over the next three years.
Contact
Carhire Hebrides
Tel: 01851 705 287 Mob: 07810 697 905 / 07810 353 225
