Who looks after your property at Oban Holiday Lets?
At Oban Holiday Lets, we offer local, full-service property management. That means when you hand over your property, you’re handing it to people, not a machine managing thousands of other homes alongside yours.
Our team's expertise determines how your home is presented, how your guests are looked after, and how quickly we fix a problem. Which is why it matters that our team is best in class. (Don't just take our word for it: check out our case studies here).
So rather than simply listing names and faces, here’s the information you need to be confident that you’re in the best of hands at Oban Holiday Lets.
Our team at a glance
We've been managing holiday lets for Oban owners since 2017. Our founders, Natalie Welsh and Chris Thomas, have let their own holiday properties in Oban since 2017 and still own five of the properties we manage.
A team of six: two founders, three property managers and a business development manager. All our property managers and business development manager live in or near Oban.
One dedicated property manager for every owner, employed by us and matched to you personally.
All our property managers have at least four years' experience in holiday lets, tourism or hospitality.
Cover 365 days a year. At least one property manager is always on duty, including evenings.
Trusted local businesses for cleaning, laundry and trades, many of whom we've worked with for years.
Holiday lets only. We don't manage long-term rentals or operate nationally. We work in Oban and the surrounding villages.
Who does what when you work with us?
What needs doing | Who looks after it |
Your first enquiry and intro call | Chris Thomas, co-founder and director |
Your day-to-day point of contact | Your dedicated property manager |
Guest messages, before, during and after every stay | Your property manager, with an on-duty property manager covering evenings, weekends and out of hours |
Listings, pricing and marketing | Natalie Welsh, co-founder and director |
Strategy, owner reporting and legal | Chris Thomas |
Cleaning and laundry after every stay | Local cleaning and laundry companies, coordinated by your property manager |
Repairs and maintenance | Local trades, arranged by your property manager. We ask you first for any single job over £250 |
Quarterly 150-point inspections and monthly safety checks | Your property manager |
Bookings, income and statements | You, any time, through the owner portal, with a monthly statement and payment within seven days of each month end |
If you choose our online management service, you keep your own cleaning and on-the-ground arrangements, and we look after the listings, pricing and guest communication. You can read more about both services in our How we look after your property blog.
Your property manager will be your dedicated contact
Every owner has a dedicated property manager, who is your main point of contact for everything to do with your property. They're employed by us, they live locally, and they get to know your home in detail.
How we choose your property manager. We don't allocate managers by postcode or rota. We match owners and property managers on working style and personality, because this is a long-term relationship and it needs to work for both sides.
You can meet them first. As part of our free intro process, you can meet your property manager at your property before you go ahead. You can read how that works in What happens on an intro call with Oban Holiday Lets.
Cover 365 days a year. Your property manager is your main contact, but holiday lets don’t keep office hours. So we have cover 365 days a year, including evenings.
"OHL provide us with a dedicated Property Manager who ensures standards are maintained in the property and is readily contactable by guests and owners."
Janette (read Janette's story)
"Because there's a manager allocated to our property and a separate weekend cover, there's less stress for us."
Anne (read Anne's story)
Meet the founders
We've managed holiday lets for Oban owners since 2017, including five of Natalie and Chris’s own holiday properties in Oban that they still manage today. Meaning that we've already made every decision we make about your property for our own.
Natalie Welsh, Co-Founder and Director
Leads listings, pricing and marketing
Natalie was born and bred in Oban and studied Mathematics at the University of Edinburgh. She spent her career in senior commercial and ecommerce roles, most recently as Ecommerce Director at The Hut Group, and before that led business analysis at LateRooms.com, one of the UK's largest online travel agents. She knows how booking platforms think, and she brings that to how we market and price every property in our care.
Chris Thomas, Co-Founder and Director
Leads strategy, owner reporting and legal
Chris is a Chartered Accountant (ACA) with a background in commercial leadership. Before Oban Holiday Lets, he was Commercial Director at AO.com and Head of Commercial at WeBuyAnyCar.com, where he led pricing, data and commercial strategy as both businesses grew rapidly. He brings the same data-led approach to how we run the properties in our care, from pricing decisions to owner reporting. Chris is also the person you'll speak to on your intro call.
Meet the property managers
Our property managers are the people looking after your home day to day. They all live locally, and each has at least four years' experience.
Julie Baird, Property Manager
Julie spent over four years as a property consultant with a holiday let agency, walking owners through their homes, advising on presentation and safety, and carrying out property inspections. Earlier in her career she worked in holiday park reception and spent six years as senior cabin crew, so she's used to staying calm and keeping standards high when things move fast.
Christine Roberts, Property Manager
Christine has more than 35 years in Scottish tourism and hospitality. For 20 years she managed Melfort Village, a 32-cottage, 4-star self-catering resort near Oban, overseeing everything from guest service to refurbishment and compliance. She has also worked in business development for a holiday letting company across Argyll and the Islands and run her own hospitality consultancy.
Christine has supported owners through short-term let licence applications, which is part of why we can guide owners confidently through the licensing process.
Mike Knowles, Property Manager
Mike has 25 years in hospitality. He has managed a boutique hotel and a portfolio of 15 chalets in Verbier, been head chef at the Loch Melfort Hotel, and managed catering and cleaning at an Argyll and Bute Council outdoor centre. Most recently he spent seven years running his own private dining business in Argyll, so he knows what guests expect from a high-end stay.
Business development
Kirstin Asher, Business Development Manager
Kirstin spent 16 years in a senior operations role with an Oban-based digital business, overseeing business operations, customer support, project delivery and process improvement. Her earlier career in the legal profession developed her strong organisational skills, attention to detail and practical approach to problem-solving.
What "local" means in practice
Our property managers and business development manager all live in and around Oban. When something needs checking at your property, the person going round knows the town, the roads and the people, and can usually be there quickly.
That matters most when something goes wrong. A boiler that fails on a Saturday, or a guest who can't get in late in the evening, needs someone nearby who can deal with it, not a call centre several hours away.
"The surprise to us was that there is nothing that they won't cover or fix immediately."
Steven (read Steven's story)
Local knowledge goes beyond being close by. Knowing the area means knowing how local rules and costs affect holiday let owners, and passing that on.
"With advice and guidance from OHL we have moved to business rates which has made a significant difference to our income from the property."
Janette (read Janette's story)
Our cleaners, laundry and trades
Our cleaning, laundry and maintenance work is done by trusted local businesses on contract, coordinated by your property manager.
We've been letting our own holiday properties in Oban and managing them for other owners since 2017. In that time we've learned which cleaning companies deliver consistently high standards and which trades turn up and do the job properly. That network is one of the most valuable things we bring to your property, and it isn't easy to build from scratch.
Here's how it works for you:
Every property is assigned a local cleaning company and laundry company that know our standards. They clean after every guest, including back-to-back and last-minute bookings.
Cleaning and laundry are billed to you directly by the companies we coordinate, so you can see exactly what you're paying.
Repairs go to local trades we know and trust. For any single job over £250, we ask you first. Below that, we act straight away, because a delay usually means an unhappy guest or a lost booking.
Standards are checked, not assumed. Your property gets a full 150-point inspection every quarter, with a report sent to you each time, plus monthly safety checks.
"I've been really impressed with how quickly issues get dealt with by having a great team in place."
Elaine (read Elaine's story)
What we don't do
We only manage holiday lets. We don't manage long-term rentals, and we don't operate nationally. We work in Oban and the surrounding villages, because that's where our property managers and business development manager live, and where our local knowledge counts.
So we truly are the local holiday let management experts.
What owners say about our team
Our owners rate us 5 stars, and the people are what they mention most.
"I am impressed by the hands on approach from staff in dealing with my property. And I am very comfortable contacting the management with any queries or concerns I may have." Alison (read Alison's story)
"We are pleased with the way things are run at Oban Holiday Let's, very pleased with the quality of managers, they're both excellent." Anne (read Anne's story)
You can read all of our owners' stories on our case studies page.
Questions owners often ask
Will I have one point of contact? Yes. Every owner has a dedicated property manager who is their main point of contact for everything to do with their property.
What happens in the evening, at weekends or when my property manager is off? At least one of our property managers is always on duty 365 days a year, including evenings and weekends.
Who replies to guest messages? Your property manager handles guest communication before, during and after every stay.
Are your property managers employed by you? Yes. All our property managers are employed by Oban Holiday Lets, live locally and have at least four years' experience. Cleaning, laundry and maintenance are carried out by trusted local businesses on contract.
Can I keep my own cleaner? Yes, with our online management service. You keep your own cleaning and on-the-ground arrangements, and we look after the listings, pricing and guest communication.
Do the founders own holiday lets themselves? Yes. Natalie Welsh and Chris Thomas have let their own holiday properties in Oban since 2017 and still own five of the properties we manage.
How long have you been managing holiday lets? We've managed holiday lets for Oban owners since 2017.
Where is your team based? Our property managers and business development manager all live in and around Oban, and we manage properties in Oban and the surrounding villages.
How do you decide which property manager looks after my home? We match owners and property managers on working style and personality rather than by postcode or rota, because it's a long-term relationship that needs to work for both sides.
Ready to meet the team?
If you're thinking about letting your property in Oban, get in touch through our contact form. We'll reply within one working day to arrange your free 45-minute intro call with Chris.
Last reviewed: October 2026
