Visit Scotland Quality Assurance Scheme

Up, down, could be better? How to get more bookings is our number one obsession. Talk shop here.
newtimber
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Post by newtimber »

charles cawley wrote:" But a self-catering cottage posting a star sign on its gate will not get much business, if any, compared to Internet advertising with photos and feedback.
Not necessarily true as it depends on location. Next to a church or wedding venue or if it's on a walking route to the shops and a local wants somewhere to put up friends for the weekend...
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charles cawley
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Post by charles cawley »

I see your point but, even then, self catering normally involves more planning and preparation.

Where people will happily daisy-chain using hotels or bnbs, self catering guests will be less prone to hope, on the off-chance, of finding a place on spec based on an ad hoc chance of spotting a star sign.

It is a different sort of purchase and a different niche.
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zebedee
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Post by zebedee »

This is an interesting conversation. We are rated and achieve a happy number of bookings. I do believe that the rating helps us to stand out from our local competitors, most of whom are not rated by Visit England. I think the rating, as Edinburg says, does appeal to a certain client group, and that group just happens to be what our property is most suited to.

If you are signed up with a reputable agency such as yours, Charles, then guests will feel secure that they have some intermediary if any problems arise, so the rating system may not be as important, but for owners who offer their properties independently of an agent, the rating offers potential guests the security of a current independent objective assessment of what the property provides. Being rated with a good (ie high) rating and signed up with a large agency will help your property to stand out from those with no rating or a lower rating.

It is noteworthy that a number of agencies advertise their own "rating" or "Stars' or equivalent on the properties on their books, so there must still be something in it that meets public demand (other than any charges the agency may levy for undertaking the assessment visit).

I have read some threads in this forum, though, in these days of many photos on websites, of people arriving and being immediately unhappy with the accommodation they have booked. Surely, with so many photos to scrutinise before deciding to book, this should not happen?

A new cottage has entered the market in the same village as mine, and I know for a definite fact that the rooms are smaller than in my cottage, but professional photos have been used on the website which make the size of the property appear considerably larger than it actually is. i don't think that this is an unusual occurrence. There is a fine balance between wanting to show your property at its best potential and pushing the boundary into possible exaggeration. Perhaps in due course some sort of ethical standards should be considered that owners can sign up to?
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

Location is an interesting one. We're remote but our entrance is directly onto a passing bridleway which gets used by walkers. Some are locals, but a lot are staying in the area at a B&B or hotel for a night or two - and are quite likely to be interested in quality s/c accommodation for a longer stay.
Hence we not only have our VE 5 Star rating signs prominently displayed, but also a box with that most ancient of advertising material, the printed leaflet. I'd be the first to admit that there are few instances where a leaflet serves a purpose, but our location is one - they do get taken from our gate and will end up in a pocket or bag as a reminder (or just get thrown away of course). We also have our leaflets in the local hotels; we get a number of conversions from guests staying one or two nights in a hotel looking to return for a longer stay another time, and most of them will return to one or both of the hotels to eat while they're staying with us. Everyone's happy!

However, the majority of our bookings do of course come from our internet presence, word of mouth recommendation and repeat guests.

I'm completely in agreement with the idea that guests aren't going to look for s/c accommodation on an ad-hoc basis which is one reason why s/c accommodation is highly unlikely to get bookings from a local TIC (if one still exists in the area), but they are a valuable source of same night bookings for B&Bs, hotels and guesthouses.
zebedee
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Post by zebedee »

We have a TI!!!
The sc accommodation providers leave leaflets there and we do get bookings do occur as a result !!!

(I wouldn't like to depend on this alone though, but an extra couple of bookings a year is welcome!) :D
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charles cawley
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Post by charles cawley »

Zebedee. Wide angle lens abuse has been discussed elsewhere. It is a real curse. You do need the lens for certain rooms... that's true; but when used to deceive, it is offensive.

Stars can do the business, particularly if you are the only star rated place locally. But the risk of buying a lemon if you decide on a non star rated place is much lower, now, than it was 20 years ago. The point of stars is not to guarantee quality but to limit the risk of making a bad buy.

For all their problems, pictures and feedback are a massive change. We have one holiday let with 35 pictures. Short of taking a shot of the underside of the loo seat, it covers virtually every aspect.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

charles cawley wrote: Short of taking a shot of the underside of the loo seat, it covers virtually every aspect.
So what are they trying to hide...........? :wink:
Probably a timely reminder to get some more and new shots for our website; I doubt I run to 100 for our three properties, although the general landscape and local stuff would be shared of course.

I'm sure that good pictures sell, along with good information; on the odd occasion when I look at a property on some of the agency sites I'm astonished at how few (often poor quality) photos and how little information is provided, yet someone is expected to book purely on the strength of that. :?
In the bad old days we'd have to book a s/c property pretty much on the basis of an entry in an agency's fat brochure with one or two photos and half a dozen lines of text - and hope. How much extra effort are some long-standing agencies putting in to their websites? They seem to be little further along the road from taking their erstwhile fat brochure approach and bunging the same stuff onto the internet - which raises the question of whether discerning guests would use those agencies.

So more power to the local and specialised agencies who know and care about "their" properties and Customers, and of course to us individuals trying to raise the standards.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

zebedee wrote:We have a TI!!!
The sc accommodation providers leave leaflets there and we do get bookings do occur as a result !!!

(I wouldn't like to depend on this alone though, but an extra couple of bookings a year is welcome!) :D
When the nearest TIC in Kirkby Stephen fell under the cost cutting axe it immediately revived with volunteer help. Interesting to hear that you get the odd booking from that source; we could have leaflets in the local TIC and last time I checked I think they wanted the princely sum of £1 a week - which doesn't sound much but is fifty quid a year for which I can be listed on two local websites each of which generates a worthwhile amount of traffic to my website. They're minnows, but are likely to turn up in a search for a specific town or village - or even a geographical area whose name isn't widely known beyond a walkers' niche.
When it comes to budget allocation I reckon that's a better choice - but of course I could be wrong........ maybe I should chuck some leaflets in the TIC and see if I can run a 4 week trial for £4........ :?
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edinburgh
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Post by edinburgh »

Of course then you'd need to produce a leaflet that doesn't look like crap - and I can't be bothered with that :D
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

edinburgh wrote:Of course then you'd need to produce a leaflet that doesn't look like crap - and I can't be bothered with that :D
Yeah but I've already got them............
(see previous post - no, wait, I'll save you the effort :wink: )
greenbarn wrote: Hence we not only have our VE 5 Star rating signs prominently displayed, but also a box with that most ancient of advertising material, the printed leaflet.
In full glorious colour too, complete with Red Squirrel Of The Month.
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edinburgh
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Post by edinburgh »

Can't you just ring me up and read the posts aloud to me instead :)
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

edinburgh wrote:Can't you just ring me up and read the posts aloud to me instead :)
I've heard about what happens to people who ring you........... :wink:
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