How Autumna works and why the profile matters
A guide to the editorial-led approach of Autumna and its appeal to the self-funder market.
Autumna lists every registered care provider in the UK and describes itself as the most detailed care directory available. Around 85% of the families using it are self-funding, which means they have a choice, they are comparing homes, rather than checking availability. The quality of what your profile says, and how completely it describes your home, has a direct effect on whether a family shortlists you.
What makes Autumna different
Most directories are primarily ranking engines, they display providers in an order determined by subscription and reviews. Autumna is more editorial in approach. Families are presented with detailed narrative descriptions of each home. They can filter by food accreditation, pet policies, environmental commitments, activities programmes, and specific care types. The result is that families arrive at your profile with a clearer picture of what they are looking for, and they are making decisions based on the quality of your description as much as your rating.
OpenScore
Autumna developed OpenScore as an aggregated quality indicator that appears on premium profiles. It pulls in the CQC rating, the Food Standards Agency rating, whether a registered manager is in post, and a range of self-accrediting data points. It also incorporates live visitor feedback collected through digital sign-in systems.
The live ratings element is relevant. When a visitor signs out of your home through a compatible digital reception system, they are invited to rate their experience across eight areas. Those ratings update your Autumna profile in real time. One home reportedly received 182 live ratings in 30 days during a pilot. That volume of current, real feedback affects how families perceive a home before they have even called.
What the profile needs
The written description is the primary differentiator on Autumna. Unlike Carehome.co.uk, where ranking is largely formula-driven, Autumna presents homes in a way that relies on the quality of the narrative. A description that reads generically, using phrases like "person-centred care" and "welcoming environment" without specifics, fails to do the work. Families on Autumna are researching carefully. They read.
Specifics that convert better: what the food is actually like, what a typical day looks like for a resident, what the home does differently in its activities programme, and how the team interacts with residents on a day-to-day basis.
Autumna and the self-funder market
As Autumna avoids referral fees, it positions itself as genuinely independent. That matters to self-funding families who are often spending a substantial amount of their own or a parent's savings. The trust that positioning creates means families using Autumna tend to be more engaged and more willing to read detail. A well-maintained premium profile on Autumna is reaching a more considered buyer than most directories.