When Charlotte Hughes bought her dream home 20 years ago she imagined bringing up her children and growing old there.  

She didn’t imagine sharing her bed with 20 strangers each weekend while she packed up and moved to a tiny cottage down the road.

But that’s exactly what the mother-of-two does.

Every Friday, the 53-year-old former interior designer packs her wardrobe into a suitcase and, along with her husband Darren, 58, and their two sons Hugo, 22, and Jasper, 19, heads to an Airbnb for the weekend. They return on Sunday morning.

Their home in Holmfirth, Huddersfield is a Grade II* listed Victorian mansion, spanning four storeys, which Charlotte and her husband, the founder of the dance and festival brand Cream, purchased in 2003.

And as well as being a family home, it’s now an events venue which Charlotte rents out to large hen parties for luxury weekend getaways.

From Monday to Friday, Charlotte and her husband occupy the 26-room house. However, on weekends, it turns into a hotel offering bridal parties activities like painting, yoga, hot tubs, and even a DJ.

And while the business is booming with the house booked every weekend until March 2026, this wasn’t always Charlotte’s dream. 

Charlotte Hughes, 53, makes this move every Friday, relocating to an Airbnb with her family for the weekend.

While they’re away, their Grade II* listed home in Holmfirth, Huddersfield, is rented out to hen parties for luxurious weekends filled with craft evenings, pizza parties, and yoga.

The family moved from Islington, North London, to Huddersfield to raise their children. They fell in love with the six-bedroom mansion, built in 1866, and purchased it for £575,000.

The family decided to relocate from Islington, North London, to Huddersfield to raise their children and fell in love with the six-bedroom mansion, built in 1866, buying it for £575,000 after selling their Georgian townhouse in the capital for £795,000.

And while the property seemed like a bargain at the time, over the years it’s proved expensive to maintain and after the family fell on hard times Charlotte turned to drastic measures to keep the lights on. 

Initially Charlotte put their home on the market but being near a main road, in a poor school catchment and with a small garden, they were not inundated with offers. 

And Charlotte explained she had become so attached to the property she couldn’t even contemplate selling it to a developer who wanted to subdivide it’s spacious rooms. 

The businesswoman explained: ‘We’ve had this house for 22 years and it’s huge but it’s not in a great catchment area and it was just too big, people wanted to divide it up and we didn’t want to sell it to someone who would just carve it up. 

In a desperate bid to divest themselves of a house which was quickly becoming a financial headache, the couple decided to offer their home in a raffle after Charlotte saw an advert on Facebook.

But she confessed even then, with a price tag of just £1 she couldn’t give their beloved house away. 

The couple then turned to Airbnb in 2015, offering a single room for just £50 per night and found they were quickly booked up and over Christmas the following year earned £3,000 in just five days. 

But the house became a financial burden and in a bid to divest themselves of it, the couple decided to offer their home for £1 in a raffle without success

After failing to sell their 26-room Victorian mansion, Charlotte started up Scarlet Hen to offer luxury hen parties and now makes £4,000 per weekend 

Now Scarlet Hen is a family business with Charlotte’s sons Hugo, 22 and Jasper, 19, helping out their parents when they come home for the holidays

As part of the experience, Charlotte offers a pizza pyjama party with karaoke on Friday, a private chef, yoga and craft night on Saturday before seeing the guests off on Sunday morning at 10am

After that Charlotte and Darren realised they could turn their home into a business and five years later during the first Covid lockdown they seized the opportunity to do some much-needed renovations and Scarlet Hen was launched.

Now, Charlotte say, it’s a full-time job and the family don’t have to worry about paying the bills.

The entrepreneur explained that they make £4,000 per weekend with just one hen party and generally charge £250 per person per night.    

As part of the luxury experience, Charlotte offers a pizza pyjama party with karaoke on Friday, a private chef, yoga and craft night on Saturday before seeing the guests off on Sunday morning at 10am. 

Other activities include life drawing, chocolate-making classes, bottomless brunches, laser tag and vineyard tours. 

And after all the fun Charlotte and Darren move back in, cleaning up after the guests, sorting out admin and getting ready for the next booking. 

But the business owner emphasised that for her it doesn’t feel like a huge chore. 

She explained that she often returns to her home to find very little mess.

After all the fun Charlotte and Darren move back in on Sunday afternoon, cleaning up after the guests, sorting out admin and getting ready for the next booking

Charlotte described sharing her house – and her bed – with strangers each weekend as a joy and is over the moon her business is booming

Charlotte explained the family even prefer their strange living situation and described moving out each weekend like having a weekly mini breaks

‘They often leave it spotless and I’ll look in the bin and there’ll only be one or two bottles of Prosecco,’ the Scarlet Hen owner explained. 

And that’s the reason Charlotte only accepts hen parties, having had some unpleasant experiences with stag-dos at the start. 

‘In the early day we did have stags but they weren’t great. With hens they have bigger budgets and they’re just better to have in the house.’

She also described getting in trouble with neighbours after a particularly rowdy party tried to hire their own DJ and damage caused to their immaculately presented mansion.

‘Sometimes [stags] have wrecked the house and damaged the wallpaper,’ which is why Charlotte now has strict rules including no beer pong, no DJs or live bands and a 10pm outdoor curfew. 

But the business is doing so well Charlotte has a whole team to get the gorgeous mansion back in to shape. 

With two cleaners along with herself, Darren and her two sons, a gardener and a window cleaner, the house is ready for its next booking in just a couple of days.

And the former designer explained she loves sharing her home.

Charlotte also revealed that they have locks on their personal wardrobes to stop guests snooping and extra storage space in the basement for all their personal items

Charlotte said: ‘I’ve become quite detached now and we have to make it work but I do feel it’s a joy to share the house.’

And she doesn’t mind the idea of people sleeping in her bed.

She explained the family even prefer it and described moving out each weekend like having a weekly mini breaks.     

‘We almost prefer it,’ Charlotte said, ‘We rent out a couple of little cottages and when we get there there’s a bottle of Prosecco and everything is there.

‘We pack up on Thursday, check in guests in Friday.

‘When we move out now it’s just part of the routine. And my husband has OCD and is very efficient but we have a capsule wardrobe to make things easier. 

‘And it’s flexible – I can work when I want and on my own time.’

Charlotte also revealed that they have locks on their personal wardrobes to stop guests snooping and extra storage space in the basement for all their personal items. 

And now Scarlet Hen is a family business with Hugo and Jasper, who are both studying events management at Manchester Metropolitan University, helping out their parents when they come home for the holidays. 

But the house is till their home and the Hughes family make sure to take off at least two months around Christmas.

In the future, Charlotte confessed they may buy a cottage locally and move out of their mansion but for now they’re happy to live the best of both worlds.