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step by step · written for people who hate tech

Relaunching everything · in the right order.

New email · new calendar · new phone · new Facebook · new laptop · hub phone for the duty manager. We do these in the right order so each step makes the next one easier. Tap each card to open it.

Read this first

You don't have to do all 8 steps in one go. Each step takes 10-30 minutes. Most can be done on the phone while a kettle boils. Tick each one off when it's done — your progress saves to this browser, so you can close it and come back.

If you get stuck on any step · the bottom of each card has a "stuck? text me" button that opens a pre-filled message to Simon. No question is silly · we've all been there.

1
Install Bitwarden · the only password you ever memorise
£010 min· one master password

Bitwarden is a free app that remembers every password for you. You only ever remember one master password · everything else fills in automatically. Hate-tech-proof.

  1. On your phone, search "Bitwarden" in the App Store / Play Store. Install it (orange shield icon).
  2. Open it · tap Create account.
  3. Enter your email. Pick a master password you'll never forget — could be three random words like oakBluebellFire. Write it down on paper somewhere safe (in a notebook, not a sticky note on the laptop).
  4. That's it. From now on, every new password Bitwarden makes one up for you (long random gibberish) and remembers it.
◊ Why this first?
Every step after this one creates a new password. With Bitwarden running, you'll never have to remember any of them.
Stuck? If the app asks anything confusing (it might offer "Vaultwarden self-hosted" — say no, use the standard one), text Simon · screenshot helps.
2
Get the domain + Google Workspace email · proper business email
£11 + £6/user/mo25 min· chrissy@wishwood.co.uk

Right now your email is on wishwood.org, which is fine — but if you want the matching chrissy@wishwood.co.uk too, we grab the .co.uk domain and add Google Workspace. This gives you proper Gmail + Google Calendar + Drive + Docs under your own name.

  1. Go to workspace.google.com · click Get started.
  2. Plan: Business Starter (£5.20/user/month · perfect for now). You can add more users later when you need a duty-manager mailbox.
  3. When it asks "do you have a domain?": click No, I need one. Type wishwood · pick .co.uk. Google buys it for you (~£11/yr).
  4. Pick your username: chrissy → gives you chrissy@wishwood.co.uk.
  5. Pick a password — let Bitwarden generate it (long random string). Bitwarden will offer to save it.
  6. Add payment card · confirm.

You now have: a new .co.uk domain · a brand-new Gmail address on your domain · Google Calendar · Google Drive · everything synced.

◊ Why Google Workspace?
It's the standard. Calendar syncs with everything (iCal, Apple, Outlook). The email is "real" not "@gmail.com". Drive is for guest welcome packs, invoices, photos.
⚠ Don't lose access
The recovery phone + email are critical. Use your personal mobile + personal Gmail for recovery. Bitwarden will save the new password automatically — write the master password down once.
3
New business phone number · separate from personal
£0-12/mo15 min· keeps personal mobile private

You don't need a second physical phone — just a second number on your existing one. Two clean options:

  1. Sideline (recommended for UK) · £8.99/mo · proper UK landline-style number · rings your existing phone but shows the new number when you answer · texts come into its own app. sideline.com
  2. OR Google Voice via Workspace · ~£8/user/mo add-on · integrates with Gmail. Better if you're already in Google Workspace. workspace.google.com/voice

Either way: your personal mobile stays personal. The Wishwood number rings the duty phone. When you upgrade to a hub phone (step 7), the number rings both phones until someone answers.

◊ Pro tip
Pick a number that's easy to read out on a busy field over a wind — short, no repeats, no 7s-and-1s confusion. Sideline lets you pick from a list.
Sideline → Google Voice →
4
Fresh Facebook page · clean, properly verified
£020 min· keep old as backup

If your current FB page is clean (no admin issues, no flags), don't make a new one — just give it a tune-up and add the new email as an admin.

If you do need a fresh start (locked out, multiple admins gone, weird flags): make a brand new Page (not a profile) under the new chrissy@wishwood.co.uk account.

  1. From your personal FB account, go to facebook.com/pages/create
  2. Category: Vacation home rental or Glamping accommodation
  3. Name: Wishwood Glamping & Forestry
  4. Cover photo + profile photo: use the same bluebell / hobbit hut hero shot from your current page.
  5. About section: paste the description from your current Airbnb listing.
  6. Add an admin: invite chrissy@wishwood.co.uk as admin, then accept from there.
  7. Then: gradually post old content to fill the timeline · 1-2 posts a week is enough at the start.
⚠ Don't delete the old page yet
Keep the old page live for a few months. It has 2,146 likes and 9 years of reviews · valuable. Once the new page has built up momentum, redirect followers via a single post.
Create FB Page →
5
WhatsApp Business · the modern guest channel
£010 min· runs on the new number

WhatsApp Business is the same as normal WhatsApp but with auto-replies, business hours, a "catalogue" of your cabins, and read receipts the guest sees as a tick. Most modern guests message via WhatsApp · so this is essential.

  1. App Store / Play Store → search "WhatsApp Business" → install (green icon, briefcase).
  2. Sign in with the new Sideline / Google Voice number from step 3.
  3. Set up business profile: name Wishwood Glamping · category Travel · address + opening hours.
  4. Add a "greeting message" that fires when someone DMs first: "Hi! Thanks for getting in touch · Chrissy here · I'll reply within an hour during 9am-9pm UK time".
  5. Add an "away message" for 9pm-9am: "We're tucked up by the fire · I'll reply first thing in the morning · in an emergency for guests already on-site, call [your emergency mobile]".
◊ Connect to the hub
Once Simon switches the engine on, WhatsApp messages route into the same unified inbox as Airbnb, Booking, FB · all in one swipe-flow.
WhatsApp Business →
6
Set up the new laptop · open the box, do these 6 things
£030 min· then never reinstall

The laptop's been sitting unopened. Here's the minimum-pain first-boot:

  1. Plug in. Power on. Skip every "personalisation" question · click "Set up later".
  2. Sign in with the NEW chrissy@wishwood.co.uk Google account. Not your personal one. (Or for Mac: use a fresh iCloud ID with same logic.)
  3. Connect WiFi · install all the updates Windows / Mac throws at you. Have a cup of tea. ~20 min.
  4. Install Chrome (or Edge) · install Bitwarden browser extension. Sign in to Bitwarden with your master password. Now every site auto-fills.
  5. Bookmark these 4 things in this exact order:
  6. Skip everything else. Don't install Office, OneDrive, Skype, Norton, any "free trial" the laptop offers. Less is more.
◊ The "less is more" philosophy
The laptop is a window into your hub + Gmail + Calendar. That's it. Every app you don't install is one fewer thing to break.
Stuck · text Simon
7
Set up the hub phone · the shared duty mobile
£60 one-time20 min· locked to one app

The hub phone is a cheap Android (Moto G Play, Nokia, anything ~£60) that lives in the welcome cabin or at reception. Whoever's on duty for check-ins picks it up. It's locked to ONE app: a stripped-down version of the hub designed for phones · just today's check-ins, today's messages, one emergency button.

  1. Buy any cheap Android — Moto G Play £60-90 on Amazon.
  2. First boot: sign in with a new Google account (use hub@wishwood.co.uk — create as an alias in step 2's Workspace).
  3. Install Chrome. Bookmark hubphone.html. Add to home screen as an app (Chrome menu → "Install app"). Drag it to the centre of the home screen, full size.
  4. Optional: enable "kiosk mode" in Android settings (or use a free app like "Kioskboard") so the phone only ever opens the hub.
  5. Install WhatsApp Business + sign in with the Sideline number (so messages ping the duty phone too).
◊ The hubphone view is built
See hubphone.html · designed for one-handed use, big buttons, no menus. Whoever's on duty just sees: today's arrivals, today's messages, an emergency-call-Chrissy button. That's it.
Preview the hub phone view →
8
Switch on the Wishwood Engine · one afternoon with Simon
£03 hrs · with Simon on a call· then it runs forever

Once steps 1-7 are done, the engine itself takes about 3 hours to connect end-to-end. We do this together on a call · screenshare so you see every click. Here's what we'll be doing:

  1. Connect Airbnb iCals (copy URLs from each listing's "Sync calendars" page → paste into the hub).
  2. Set up Booking.com listings (your 3 cabins go live on Booking.com · est. +£8-12k/year just from this).
  3. Wire Stripe to your bank (so direct bookings pay straight in · Stripe takes 1.4%, no other middleman).
  4. Connect Gmail forwarding (Airbnb + Booking messages auto-route into the unified inbox).
  5. Connect WhatsApp + FB Messenger + IG DM (Meta API · I do the dev side, you just approve the apps).
  6. Connect the AI engine (your choice: Groq free, Claude paid ~£5/mo, or Google Gemini free 1500/day · drafts your replies in your voice).
  7. Publish your stays.json + AI agent dossier · already live · means ChatGPT / Claude / Perplexity all know about Wishwood.
  8. Go live · take your first direct booking.
◊ When you're ready
We don't need to do this in one go. Pick a quiet afternoon · book it in · tea + biscuits + 3 hours later, Wishwood is fully automated.
Open admin to wire it all in →
When you've ticked all 8

Wishwood is fully sovereign · zero SaaS · live across every channel.

8
channels routed to one inbox
~£5/mo
total running cost
~£18k
est. year-1 uplift

Then you become the blueprint. Other off-grid hosts ask you how you did it. You earn 10% on every roost host you refer · in perpetuity.