Redwood Stone

Twenty-seven years after their big splash at Chelsea, Tim Redwood’s team are still wowing visitors to one of the world’s biggest garden shows, this year with their new Roman Hot Tub – the first ever at the show. “In our business, Chelsea’s massive,” Tim says.

Including Chelsea, Tim travels for work around 20 times a year – including visits to customers in Europe and the USA. In past years, when he and his team have been looking for a place to stay, they’ve made do with a piecemeal approach to booking accommodation.

“I’ve been doing the show for 26 years, and never nailed the accommodation. It’s always been a hassle,” he says. Sometimes he’d end up staying too far away from the show, other times he’d pay over the odds for something that didn’t meet his requirements.

Now, as a business account holder, he has more control over the financial side of Redwood Stone’s travel arrangements. Tim has a full picture of all their bookings in one place, as well as a detailed breakdown of their travel spend. His bookkeeper also benefits from the added control, with Tim able to pre-request an invoice for the company when making the booking.

On top of that, he’s been able to add his son to the business account, meaning more flexibility when booking accommodation for other team members. “The very comprehensive nature of all the selections, filters and reviews, enable you to get to what you’re looking for very quickly with the minimum of fuss – and when the site says they are available they really are!”

Tim hasn’t looked back. Business travel, he says, is “good, now that I’m using Booking.com”. Finally, after 25 years of disappointment with his Chelsea Flower Show accommodation, “I got it bang-on.”