Around the world in...
80 DAYS is a full service creative and digital agency that specialises in hospitality, working with some of the world's most respected hotel and travel brands. Since 2002, we've helped establish brands, fill rooms, sell experiences, reach new audiences and even break a world record or two.
We're globetrotters from almost every corner of the world, but call Edinburgh, London, Málaga and Dubai home. Multilingual and multi award-winning, our team will instinctively understand your challenges and speak your language, acronyms included. Because we do love an acronym in hospitality.
Find out more about us below or take a look at our services and examples of our work.
History
Our story begins with a young Mark Forrester helping the gardener at his family-run hotel, Rufflets, in St Andrews. Paid the princely sum of 50p for a job well done, that was it for Mark - he was hooked. Helping out behind the scenes, he then turned his attention to the digital side of the business, back when the Internet was but a new-fangled idea.
The passion developed and in 2002 he formed Occupancy Marketing - an agency aimed at helping hoteliers and travel businesses establish themselves online, primarily using SEO. It caught the attention of some of hospitality's biggest names, with Gleneagles joining as a client in 2004. Momentum, and the agency, quickly grew. New faces joined the team, new clients came on board, new services were added and new offices were sought.
Meanwhile, in London, David Gardner (who also hails from a hotel background) was heading up an award-winning digital creative agency, Sedley Place Digital. Having worked together on a number of hospitality projects, Mark and David had an idea; a single full service agency to cover brand, marketing and insight-driven services, especially for hospitality businesses.
Embracing a love for travel, adventurous spirit and a creative approach to solving even the most complex of problems, 80 DAYS was born in 2014, accompanied by a London office opening. International expansion followed, with our Dubai office in 2016 to support Middle Eastern clients. Málaga was next in 2018, to better service our European clients.
Now jointly managed by Mark, David and Chris McGuire, 80 DAYS continues to support our hospitality and travel clients through some of the most challenging of times; market downturns, aggressive competition, the growth of alternative accommodation providers, even a global pandemic. We've stood, shoulder-to-shoulder, through it all.
So, as you can see, we're more than just a run-of-the-mill agency. Yes, it may sound a little clichéd to say that we're passionate about this industry, but we genuinely are. Hospitality is woven into our very DNA and we absolutely love to travel.
Where next?
Awards
Encore, Encore. It’s always nice to be invited to take a very public bow. We’ve received a few show-stopping awards over the years, but we're particularly proud of our Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade, awarded for six continuous years of international business growth.
No matter how big or small, every accolade we’ve been awarded is testament to the talents and dedication of our team and their collaboration with our wonderful clients. But before this turns into an emotional acceptance speech we'll just say a hearty sláinte! (cheers)
The Queen's Award for Enterprise
2019
Shortlisted
2018, 2019, 2021, 2023
Winner: Best Website & SEO
Shortlisted
2017, 2018, 2019
Winner: Online Excellence
Winner: Best Digital Campaign
Winner: Best Personal Website
Shortlisted
Culture
We are a team of standout individuals united by a love of outstanding hospitality. Naturally sociable, we have cultivated a working environment that encourages great relationships, both with each other and our clients.
While it may sound clichéd, we really are a people-powered business and our award-winning culture is integral to our success.
Our diverse range of different backgrounds, nationalities, skills and experience works to our advantage, coming together to form something stronger than the sum of its parts.
Industry Partners
We're proud to collaborate with a number of prestigious hospitality industry partners who represent some of the world's finest hotels.
As part of an ongoing relationship, we offer consultancy and insight to help support them and their properties.
Technical Partners
We collaborate with a number of industry leading technical partners in the hospitality sector so we can offer a range of specialist add-on services to our clients.
From paid advertising powerhouses to booking engine specialists, each partner has been hand-picked because they add an extra dimension to what we do.
Sustainability
As a business working exclusively within the hospitality and travel sector, we've always been very conscious of our societal and environmental impact.
We're investing further in our (and our planet's) future and embarking on an exciting journey to become a more responsible business, including working towards B-Corp Certification. We're motivated more than ever before to 'use business as a force for good'.
Discover how we're getting serious on sustainability.
On top of this, we're delighted to be partnering with Sustainability Coach, Dominique King, to offer sustainability coaching services to hospitality and travel businesses who would like to join us in taking a more strategic approach to this topic and realising the opportunity of using sustainability to improve profitability and overall business value.
In summary, at 80 DAYS we shape the future of our industry by delivering insightful solutions; creating a supportive and thriving community, including commitment to paying the UK living wage; and minimising our environmental impact through measuring and reducing our GHG emissions.