Mum tells how she went from bankrupt to MILLIONAIRE in 18 months after listing her house on Airbnb and using her interior design skills to transform 'terrible' properties

In the summer of 2020, during the peak of Covid, Nicky Bright thought this was the end. The mother-of-two from Cardiff was going through a divorce and had lost her job and then her car, while her house fell into the hands of the bank.

Devastated and bankrupt in one of Britain's worst economic times, without government help, she took matters into her own hands, renting out her family home while staying with friends and family.

Renting her five-bedroom family home was more successful than she expected. And by renting out a family caravan and helping other Airbnb hosts and property owners improve their rental listings, she made over £1 million in her first 18 months of business.

Since she had no experience with short-term rentals, she used Eviivo as her property management platform, allowing her listing to appear on any OTA for free, such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia.com and Vrbo.

In the first few months she averaged around £400 a month. Furthermore, when she rented out her caravan, she earned over £50,000 within the first year.

Then she used her passion for interior design (her “dream job”) to make even more money and created a website to showcase her talents.

Following her success, Nicky, 52, began contacting property owners on Airbnb, looking for listings that looked “terrible” along with “terrible reviews,” with the aim of transforming them.

She charged a fee for styling, setting up and managing it, which included doing the photography, interior design, video content and anything that made a better impression and generated more income for the property owner.

Nicky said: 'A holiday home or Airbnb is like Tinder: you have three seconds to impress potential guests.

“I love the challenge of a failed business and seeing the shocked faces of the owners and the 'wow' thinking after I transform it.”

Nicky earned an extra €20,000 per month by 'saving' these properties.

Word of mouth in the short-term rental industry started moving her way. Nicky said: 'I received emails and phone calls from property owners from Sweden to America telling me they had seen the transformations I was making. I would help train them, let them know the best ways to improve their listing and design and increase profits.”

The rescue of holiday homes and Airbnbs eventually expanded to pubs.

She said: “I took a commercial pub and turned it into an Airbnb. Two pubs I saved went bankrupt. I went in and hand painted the furniture, mirrors, tiled table tops and bar, giving the pubs a whole new life for a different type of pub guest – now guests who rented them could “manage their own pub for the weekend” ” and pour their own pints in an experience that their friends and family can enjoy.”

Because of her success, 'everything happened so quickly'. She started an experiential vacation company – Nicky Bright Holidays – and then got Nicky Bright interiors Off the ground.

In 2022 she managed seventeen properties, from Cardiff to Pembrokeshire.

“All of these properties were underperforming,” she said. 'They lost money and had low standards. I took over and now they are all fully booked and receiving awards from booking platforms and even recognition from the Welsh Tourist Board, which I was so happy about!'

She uses Eviivo to launch Nicky Bright Holidays, and Eviivo Mobile, a short-term rental app that allows her to control and monitor all her listings and run her business from her phone. “You can't grow in this industry without a platform like Eviivo,” she said, “because it has all the benefits and tools in one place.”

Nicky now has 21 properties to her name, with 10 more to be added this spring.

Her properties showcase her unique interiors, such as a beautiful hammock hanging from the ceiling in one property and a pet-friendly 'dog hotel' in another.

At her properties, guests can purchase items she has handpicked, such as candlesticks, floral pillows and lamps. “If you like it, you can buy it,” Nicky said.

Her success allowed her to personally purchase her own properties worth a total of one million pounds in just two years. She is still shocked by how she went from being bankrupt to now being a property owner, turning over more than a million pounds a year, living a great life – and having the dream interior designer job she always wanted.

Nicky said: 'We were homeless. I went through a horrible divorce where I had to force my children to live with their friends while I rented our family home to survive. It was rock bottom, and I just can't believe how it all changed in less than two years.

“I'd go to the bank and they'd be scratching their heads and telling me they have real estate investors who have been in the industry for 30 to 40 years who are making 10 percent returns, while I was doing 3,000 percent.”

She is close to her children, who were 16 and 19 when her divorce began. They were not happy with the situation at the time, but 'now I am their greatest source of inspiration!'

She added: “People will tell you it's not possible to do what I did, but it is possible. I am the proof. I had nothing. I had no choice but to pass and it was the best thing that happened to me. I have a new life and am happier now than when I was married. I feel amazing. I feel like I'm 16 again.'