Cheltenham homecoming for oil expert turned holiday rental franchisee
Summary
Former Middle Eastern petroleum expert Matthew Holden has returned home to help oil the wheels of Gloucestershire’s tourist industry. The Cheltenham businessman has launched a local franchise of holiday rental firm Pass The Keys.
Details
It offers clients in Gloucester, Cheltenham, and the Forest of Dean management services for short-term rental homes including, listing properties, guest vetting and communication, check-in, cleaning and laundry. The Gloucester and Cheltenham short-term rental market had 7,446 active listings as of June 2026, according to Airdna.
Holiday rentals generate an estimated £200 million annually in visitor spending for Gloucestershire, while anchoring a broader tourism industry that brings £1.3 billion into the county’s economy. Matthew has entered the industry after moving back to his hometown of Cheltenham, fulfilling his long held dream to open his own business here.
He originally intended to do so after completing a Master’s degree in Business Management in 2011. But the pull of working abroad, and later the joy and demands of family life, put those plans on hold. Instead he moved to Saudi Arabia to join oil company Aramco as a compliance coordinator, a role he remained in for over a decade.
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“I kind of got side-tracked,” he said. “I went there intentionally just for a year or two to get the money together to start a business, and then I met my wife in Bahrain.
We later got married and had our kids there, so it took me a lot longer than planned to move back to the UK.” Matthew returned to Cheltenham in April 2025, taking a six-month career break to help his wife and two boys – now aged eight and four – adjust to life in the UK. He then finally began to pursue his long-held ambition.
“I started to look into the same work as I’d been doing in Saudi, but then I came across Pass the Keys, and I’m so glad I did,” he said. A part-time landlord since 2017 with properties in Cheltenham, Matthew said the franchise model was “perfect” as it is less time-consuming and risky than building a business from scratch and allows him to be around for the school run.
He was also impressed by the firm’s use of AI-powered technology, which streamlines daily tasks and allows franchise partners to focus on scaling their business. He now has ambitious plans for the franchise. “I have a target number of hosts in mind that I’d like to get on my books,” he said.
Report source: Punchline Gloucester