The Day We Said Goodbye to AirFreedom: A Rebrand Story

Every journey has its fair share of bumps in the road, but some bumps feel more like an asteroid collision.

In our last post, I shared the personal inspiration behind AirFreedom – those paragliders soaring above Abergavenny, a symbol of unburdened travel and boundless vision.

We’d grown from a simple idea in Newport, helping local property owners with their hosting, into a name that carried deep personal meaning and a growing reputation.

We were building something special, brick by brick, guest by guest.

Then, the email arrived.

The Day the Music Stopped

It landed in my inbox like a lead balloon: a formal letter, stark and uncompromising, from the legal team of a major online platform.

The message was unequivocal: our cherished name, AirFreedom, infringed on their trademark.

We were instructed to cease and desist, to change our branding, and to do it swiftly.

The world tilted a little.

It wasn't just a corporate dictate; it felt like a personal attack.

This wasn’t some generic business name; this was AirFreedom. It was born from a specific, heartfelt moment. It carried the echoes of Welsh mountains, the lessons of hospitality from a bustling Crickhowell hotel, and the quiet determination that built our business from the ground up in Newport. Every logo, every piece of marketing, every conversation with a property owner or guest, was imbued with that sense of aspiration and vision.

To be told it had to go, simply because a colossal global entity felt it was too close for comfort, was a punch to the gut.

It felt profoundly unfair.

After years of hard work, of pouring my heart and soul into building this brand, it felt like being forced to abandon a part of my own story.

The Weight of a Name

For a small business, a name is everything. It's your identity, your promise, your rallying cry.

It defines you.

To be faced with the prospect of letting it go, especially under threat of legal action that a small business simply can't afford to fight, was crushing.

There were sleepless nights, endless worries about what this meant for our team, our clients, and our future.

It's difficult to convey the sting of that moment.

It wasn't just about losing a name; it was about the forced relinquishing of an identity that had become so much more than just words on a page. It was a setback that felt deeply, almost painfully, personal.

We knew we had a choice: buckle under the pressure and simply fade away, or find a way to navigate this storm. The idea of giving up was fleeting, quickly replaced by a fierce determination to protect what we had built.

We needed guidance, a steady hand to steer us through these uncharted and frankly, intimidating, legal waters.

In the next chapter, I’ll share how, in our hour of need, a local expert stepped in to offer not just legal protection, but a path forward. He helped us turn what felt like an insurmountable challenge into an opportunity to build a stronger, more resilient Guesture.

Don't miss the next chapter of our rebrand story. Follow Guesture on social media and subscribe to our blog to see how we navigated this unexpected challenge and ultimately transformed our brand.