About Us

WHO ARE WE AND WHY DO WE LOVE HAVING DOGS ON HOLIDAY HERE IN NORFOLK SO MUCH!?

Dog friendly norfolk cottages

Sue with Ernie, a Romanian rescue and Mabel, a re-homed reactive border terrier bitch - both very much a key part of Team ERC!

Hello! I am Sue Allen and the founder of East Ruston Cottages. ERC came about because I regularly went on holiday with friends and up to 6 dogs and I knew just how difficult it could be to find a properly dog friendly holiday, somewhere that would allow us to bring all the dogs and...

not charge for them
know they were safe in a properly fenced garden
let us relax knowing they were allowed on the sofas and welcome in all areas
not have to stick to a load of rules that we didn't know about until we arrived!
not have to stay somewhere 'dog-eared' just because we had more than 2 dogs!

So East Ruston Cottages came into being because I wanted to provide what dog lovers really WANT on holiday!

Happily I live in probably the most dog friendly county in the UK! Norfolk is just SO very dog friendly - the beaches, the countryside, the cafes and pubs - and I know it all really well as I walk my own dogs here and often eat in the dog friendly cafes and pubs!

The team we have built up is the best we have ever had and ALL of them own and love dogs - and most of our owners do too! At last count we had over 50 between us!

We love what we do and are passionate about offering properly dog friendly accommodation that is truly dog welcoming and even "dog obsessed"! We understand the needs of reactive dogs particularly and can help you find the right property and advise on the quietest places to walk, visit and relax.

THE EAST RUSTON COTTAGES ETHOS

We support dog rescues and charities by donating money from each booking to our charity 'pot' Every few months we have a share out of this pot and ask our many thousands of social media followers to nominate their favourites. Check our our Charity page on the website to see just a few of those we have supported over the years. Our owners are truly generous too - donating holidays to charities for their fund raisers, collecting money in the cottages and more.

We genuinely welcome dogs. Since starting in 2008 it has been our focus to make our guests feel totally welcome with their dogs, whether it is one or 19! (our record number!) We know the properties very well, walk our dogs in the area and can recommended beaches and rural walks and we understand reactive dogs too. We want everyone to feel they are genuinely welcome here. Have a listen to our podcast from June 2024 to find out more. Dog Friendly Podcast

WANT TO JOIN OUR SMALL BUT HIGH PERFORMING, AWARD WINNING NORFOLK AGENCY?

Since 2008 we have been working hard at providing the best service to our holiday home owners. They are a well connected group who help each other out and we provide a much more personalised service for them than many of the other larger and more generic agencies. We couldn't run Norfolk's longest running, award winning agency without them after all!

Do you have a Norfolk holiday home you are marketing yourself, or through an agency and just not getting the bookings you want? We work hard to ensure our calendars are as full as possible. The holiday rental market is hard at the moment but we focus on doing all we can to maximise bookings for our properties.
Do you genuinely welcome dogs? This is a key part of our agency ethos and has put us at the top of the 'dog friendly' market in Norfolk. We are described as 'truly dog welcoming' and this has resulted in multiple exposures in the media and a 65-70% repeat booking rate. We understand dogs and help our guests choose suitable properties. We can help you make your property truly dog welcoming with just a few extra touches. AND allay any concerns you have about multi dog bookings based on 16 years of experience.
Are you tied down with onerous contracts and restrictions? We have a very simple owner contract with no restrictions for owner bookings and a flexible exit clause as well as competitive commission rates.
Do you feel you are not getting the exposure your holiday home could get? We have a dedicated social media expert (see below) who creates great content for us on social media platforms and we list with many other OTA's to make sure our properties are seen. We actively collaborate with Norfolk businesses and UK dog brands to help us get as much exposure to the dog friendly market as possible. We regularly send out emails to our 7000+ email list.
Do you feel a bit 'lost' in your current agency? We have a maximum limit of 50 properties and work hard to give them all exposure and attention.
Worried about the changes in FHL tax changes and the registration scheme coming soon? We can help you navigate these industry requirements with our agency membership of PASC (Professional Association of Self Caterers). In the same way we supported our owners through the recent Fire Risk changes.
We have very personalised knowledge about the area and how suitable it is for dogs so we can give real life, up to date information to guests to help them choose the right property for their dogs. In addition to our main page with nearly 20k followers, we have an active Facebook group where guests and owners can connect to provide information and recommendations.
Award winning: The Dog Friendly magazine national Awards for self catering - category winner for 5 years running - based on votes from our guests.
Also winner of Theo Paphitis Small Business Sunday.
IF you would like to know more, please do get in touch. We can give you plenty of information on pricing and booking levels, repeat guest statistics and put you in touch with some of our owners so you can get their view on our agency too.

George is a key member of the ERC team; with us since August 2020. Since leaving the RAF after 12 years service, George took a complete and very successful career change and now loves helping our guests to book their perfect dog friendly holiday and looking after them during the process. She works with another independently owned local agency and between us we have well over 80 cottages in the area that George cares for.

She knows the area very well having lived here for many years and customer service is her top priority! George works from her Norfolk home in Potter Heigham with her Great Dane, Polly and super cute Cocker Spaniel, Penny, as the perfect office additions and can often be seen walking them on the beaches near her home. She had her first baby, little Roberta, in January 2024 ... and was back to work just a few weeks later!

George can be contacted on hello@eastrustoncottages.co.uk

George and her family at Dunes Cafe, Norfolk

George with Polly, Penny and Roberta outside one of our dog welcoming cafes in the area - Dunes Cafe at Waxham.

Working away in the background is my wonderful partner Roger - a train driver by trade, he does much of the background work and he generally keeps both me and our dogs cared for, sane and fed! (he's an ex chef and doesn't my waistline know it!)

Into mountain biking (tricky here in flat Norfolk!), paddle boarding, squash, canal boats and camping as well as dog walks and bbqs on our great Norfolk beaches!

Kerry, Bertie and Shadow - one of the great ERC team members!

Kerry with Bertie and Shadow

Kerry Jordan does a huge amount of our social media, mail outs, collaboration work and more and is, of course, a true dog lover! She is a great dog photographer - check out her website Fur & Fables - and knows LOTS of dog people, working alongside many other small dog focused brands and businesses. She has really helped us in our collaborations with other brands and businesses and is as helpful and hardworking as you can get, whilst at the same time being creative and having great ideas. In 2023 her dog photography business was selected by Theo Paphitis and won the Small Business Sunday award - a huge win for a one woman band!

And of course we couldn't do this without YOU, our fabulous guests. We have won the Self Catering Cottages section of the UK wide Dog Friendly awards for FIVE years in a row because our amazing guests voted for us! That makes us feel very humbled and grateful!

So ask us anything you want to know about your Norfolk dog friendly holiday and between us we will be pleased to help you!

"Our first time at Hidden Gem but not East Ruston Cottages. The cottage is absolutely wonderful and has a very homely feel. We have had a really relaxing holiday in a stunning location and Hidden Gem is like a home from home. The beach and dunes are beautiful and the garden has been perfect for our two hounds! A very dog friendly holiday cottage. All the extra little touches and the welcome gifts have been much appreciated! We will definitely be back!! "

Phil and Clare with Pepo and Molly

Testimonial for Hidden Gem (Dog friendly holiday cottage in Norfolk)

"Our first stay at Red Roofs and we will definately be returning. Beautiful house and location. Garden is perfect for the dogs, house is well equipped and the welcome pack is a great gesture. We will be back next year ..... just hope you aren't fully booked!"

Vicky and Colin

Testimonial for Red Roofs

"Thank you so much for allowing us to be your first guests in Corner Cottage. My first impression was "WOW!". The cottage is amazing, you have thought of everything (even supplied fantastic weather!). The decoration is lovely, beds so comfortable. It was so nice to be able to bring the dogs so they could have a holiday with us and experience the beach for the first time."