How Stable Quarters Turned Ease into an Edge with TWICE

The Customer

Stable Quarters at Smiths Farm is, at heart, a family operation shaped by one clear idea: invest in assets that enrich home and life — and make them available for others to enjoy. Director and co‑owner Alasdair Walker‑Mitchell, a trained accountant who spent nearly two decades in finance, stepped away from corporate life to focus on the farm’s growing slate of offerings and runs the day to day with the help of other family members.

What began with a single horsebox — bought to make equestrian life possible on a young family’s budget — has expanded into a neat constellation of bookable experiences: two to three horseboxes depending on the season, a vast sand‑and‑fenced arena with jumps available seven days a week, a five‑pitch campsite, and a two‑bedroom holiday cottage. The audience is broad but devoted: equestrians who value great facilities, speed, and clarity, and travelers and workers who prefer a cottage to a hotel.

It’s a business built on reputation, responsiveness, and the quiet power of getting the details right.

From Frustration to Focus

Before TWICE, the rhythm was familiar to many small operators. Bookings lived in spreadsheets and Google Calendars. Availability checks required phone calls and email back‑and‑forth. Each horsebox hire meant complex identity and insurance information to chase and track. With more assets coming online, the time cost compounded.

Alasdair saw a market reality too: customers increasingly expect to see availability, book, and pay in one go. Every friction point — having to call to check a slot, waiting on a confirmation — risked a lost booking and another late night of admin.

As the farm’s offerings multiplied, so did the need for a single, reliable way to manage time, assets, and customer experience without adding headcount.

The Turning Point

Alasdair discovered TWICE Commerce (then called Rentle) via a search for rental booking systems. What stood out wasn’t a perfect match to any one category — but rather the opposite. TWICE treated time and assets as a universal language. Whether booking a horsebox, a ring, or a campsite pitch, the logic stayed consistent: show what’s available, let customers self‑serve, and keep the operator in control.

Stable Quarters started with the horseboxes. Almost immediately, the difference was obvious: customers could see slots, book, and pay without waiting on a call. Recently, the business added its arena bookings on TWICE, mirroring the way the platform flexed as the farm did. Behind the scenes, the TWICE team was present but unobtrusive — responsive, candid, and focused on getting to resolution.

As confidence grew, TWICE moved from tool to backbone. The workflows that mattered most; clear online availability, dependable booking and payment, clean confirmations, became standardized. The rest of the operation adapted around them.

Results: Simplicity as a Competitive Advantage

With self‑serve bookings replacing phone and email tag, Stable Quarters reclaimed time and won customer trust. For many, the experience itself became the deciding factor: even if a competitor’s price was lower, the frictionless path at Stable Quarters made the choice easy.

It became a differentiator for us. That it's just much easier for people to book.

- Alasdair Walker‑Mitchell, Director

Operationally, TWICE helped the farm stay lean. With bookings centralized and confirmations automated, the family team of five could run a growing multi‑asset operation without hiring an admin layer. The arena launched smoothly on TWICE while the campsite is next in line. Each new offering benefits from the same straightforward customer journey, and from the team’s ability to keep core processes consistent across very different kinds of rentals.

There’s an emotional result, too. The work is still hands‑on, but the mental load is lighter. Instead of juggling spreadsheets and missed calls, the team can focus on the experience on‑site: a well‑kept arena, a ready horsebox, a quiet pitch, a cottage that feels like home.

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The Human Shift

Alasdair’s path is a personal one: from accountant to operator, from corporate rhythm to the daily cadence of a working farm. The decision to standardize on TWICE was both practical and personal — an investment in a way of working that leaves room for family life and steady growth.

As the booking experience improved, reputation followed. Customers came for the facilities and stayed for how easy it all felt. The story of Stable Quarters is, in many ways, the story of fit‑for‑purpose systems freeing small teams to punch above their weight.

What’s Next

The near‑term goal is a steady state: finish the last bits of building and infrastructure, ensure each existing stream runs smoothly, then scale what works whilst keeping an open mind about other new assets that could also be made commercial through short-term access.

TWICE remains the operating system under the hood. As Stable Quarters looks ahead, the plan is simple and disciplined. Grow where there’s demand, keep the experience easy, and let the system do the heavy lifting.

TWICE Commerce helps businesses like Stable Quarters manage rentals, bookings, and sales from one platform. For small, ambitious teams, that clarity isn’t just convenient. It’s a competitive advantage.