‘The location of love’: Couple host hundreds of proposals, honeymoons and birthdays at Airbnb lets with shooting stars

A couple who have hosted hundreds of marriage proposals, honeymoons and birthdays at their Airbnb holiday lets, along with baptisms in their pool, have described their properties as “the location of love”.

Jacqui Selwood, 60, and her husband Tim, 56, run two Airbnb holiday lets – both of which are set in a former railway station – in the Tamar Valley in Cornwall, and the business has gone from strength to strength.

The Signal Box opened in 2018, followed by The Sidings in 2020, and the couple have hosted hundreds of marriage proposals, honeymoons and birthdays in the one-bedroom properties, even previously calling themselves “Airbnb cupids”.

Requests from guests have included creating messages on the bed out of red rose petals, such as “Will you marry me?”; buying Krispy Kreme doughnuts, special message balloons, champagne and chocolates; and adding twinkling fairy lights.

The fact that Jacqui and Tim’s dog-friendly Airbnbs both have outdoor hot tubs, from which guests can see sunrises, sunsets and shooting stars, means many guests see them as the perfect location for a romantic proposal.

Plus, visitors can meet and “stroke” the couple’s four sheep – Donald, Boris, Francis, and Thomas – and with a pool available to hire too, Jacqui said their business has expanded to host baptisms, children’s swimming lessons and even nudist groups.

Jacqui told PA Real Life: “Old Luckett Station resonates with what’s come before, the whole place is loved up.

“Love is in the air here, it really is, and we’re seeing it all the time.

“People are free, they’re happy, they’ve escaped, and we provide this location of love I suppose.”

Before setting up the holiday lets, Jacqui had worked at Gatwick Airport for more than two decades, running the foreign exchange bureaus.

She decided to quit her job after falling out of love with the “corporate world”, and she and her husband Tim moved from Surrey to the Old Luckett Station in Cornwall in 2017.

Tim found another job working in the motor trade in Exeter and Jacqui remained jobless – but with her newfound “freedom”, she was able to launch The Signal Box on Airbnb in 2018.

“The Signal Box is incredible because you drive through the two platforms to get there, passing the old station house, the waiting room and the railway bridge,” Jacqui said.

Bookings started to come in soon after the listing went live, and the couple then opened The Sidings in 2020, with Tim eventually quitting his job so they could both focus on the holiday lets full-time.

Jacqui said the first marriage proposal took place in 2018 in The Signal Box, but she only knew of this when the guest shared the news with her afterwards.

More proposals took place, along with other celebrations such as birthdays and honeymoons, and Jacqui bought cards and prosecco when she was notified of a special occasion.

However, it was not until Jacqui received a specific request during the pandemic and she posted a picture of the results on Airbnb that the “floodgates” for marriage proposals opened.

“This chap said: ‘Could we have 50 red roses, 50 helium balloons on the ceiling with red tails, and a heart shape on the bed with ‘I love you’ in red silk rose petals’,” she explained.

“At first I said, ‘Let me think about it’, but then I ordered roses, I ordered the helium balloons, I ordered the rose petals, I bought a white bed spread – and sure enough, I did this.

“I was out of my comfort zone, I was very nervous about doing it… but they were absolutely thrilled.”

Another proposal saw the couple dot 12 clues around one of the properties, attached to gifts including sweets, drinks and a book, with the final clue leading to the “will you marry me moment” on the balcony outside.

Describing one of the most memorable proposals, Jacqui continued: “I went into The Sidings on a cold, dark night, and I put fairy lights around the bed frame.

“I put ‘Will you marry me?’ in red silk rose petals on the bed, I put a bottle of fizz and a couple of glasses out, and I turned all the lights out so they came back into that darkness.”

Jacqui said privacy is of utmost importance, and sometimes she and Tim are not involved in the proposals, but on occasion they can hear “laughter and shrieks of delight” from afar.

Or, when apologies are needed to make amends, Jacqui can leave rose petal messages, such as: “I am sorry and… I love you.”

On average, Jacqui said the couple host at least one engagement a month between the properties, which boast panoramic views over Cornwall and Devon, and the couple love making guests’ “dreams come true”.

Jacqui said she has noticed more guests booking shorter stays, as people often just want one “precious” night away to “recharge and re-energise (so they’re) ready to face the world again”.

“People say, ‘We had no idea how special this area was’,” Jacqui said.

“It offers something for those who want true escapism and true tranquillity and peace.

“When guests come, they talk about birds of prey, they hear and see owls, they see foxes, they see the farm animals, they see the songbirds, little wrens, and they love it.

“We even saw the Northern Lights here, and you can imagine how guests felt to see the Aurora Borealis in Cornwall.”

Guests often watch the sunrise and sunsets from the hot tubs, and some have even seen shooting stars.

Over the past year, the pool, which is located in what used to be the old waiting room for the train station, has become popular, with guests using it for proposals, swimming lessons, physical therapy sessions, rehabilitation and more.

Jacqui said: “A local baptist church contacted us and asked if they could they do baptisms in our pool.

“We have children learning to swim in our pool at the moment, those with special needs and disabilities, friends, couples – a whole range of people.

“I stood the other day, looked out of my window and saw a mother arriving late for a swimming lesson, with a tiny tot running into our swimming pool, and that made me emotional because we’ve facilitated something magical.”

Jacqui said she is fully booked for Valentine’s already, with requests for messages on beds, roses, chocolates and more, and she often gets “a lump in (her) throat” when she sees the requests come through.

She and Tim see guests returning, sometimes after getting married or having babies, and one couple recently shared how they got engaged with rings that have been created from their beloved dog’s ashes.

Jacqui is excited for the year ahead and to meet new guests, and she hopes to continue facilitating moments of love and happiness.

“It makes me (emotional) when I look back on it because I know someone’s going to feel like they matter, truly matter, in a world where we feel we don’t matter,” she said.

“I see love across all ages… love is demonstrated endlessly here.”

She added: “This place belongs to everyone who has visited, not just us – we’re just the gatekeepers.”

To find out more, visit oldluckettstation.com or search @oldluckettstation on Instagram.