Hello Could any one advise me on their experience with the Tourist board.
it appears a lot of money to get graded and then to be signed up for 5 years. I have 10 holiday cottages and it will be a big decison for me.
Tourist Board Guide
Hello and welcome. Personally I wouldn't waste your money - the reason being we were 5 star then everything changed grading wise in 08 and a friend was downgraded from 4 star to 1 star because of this, her cottage is immaculate, so we didn't take the chance. We only had 1 booking from them and they left it in a state. We have got more than enough bookings from holidaylets mainly so my advise is to go it alone - although others may disagree. As you say it is an awful lot of money for what I think is very little return.
www.northwalesholidaylets.co.uk
www.northwalesholidaylets.co.uk
-
jane reed
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:45 pm
- Location: tetford,lincolnshire,england
- Contact:
I am in Tetford, Lincolnshire. We are quite busy, but always like more business. About 60% of our customers return. Most of our customers are fishermen/women, then bikers (near to cadwell park) and then people that like the countryside, families in the village. Our website is below.
www.tetfordcountrycottages.co.uk
you are welcome to give feedback.
we have been here 5years and are still improving when funds allow.
www.tetfordcountrycottages.co.uk
you are welcome to give feedback.
we have been here 5years and are still improving when funds allow.
I think it depends on whether it gives a competitive advantage.
We have one of only two 4* graded lodges on our site - there are about 10 graded 3* so i think it serves two purposes for us
1. It differentiates us
2. It is one of those validation things that shows we really exist and are not a scam site (it can be easily checked by looking on the ETB site)
Is it value for money - well it's only £150 odd so I don't lose too much sleep.
I only bothered for one of my two lodges though.
Frankly if you get enough bookings why bother?
And if you aren't getting bookings I don't think a star rating is going to help you much. Never had a single enquiry from our listing on their web site.
We have one of only two 4* graded lodges on our site - there are about 10 graded 3* so i think it serves two purposes for us
1. It differentiates us
2. It is one of those validation things that shows we really exist and are not a scam site (it can be easily checked by looking on the ETB site)
Is it value for money - well it's only £150 odd so I don't lose too much sleep.
I only bothered for one of my two lodges though.
Frankly if you get enough bookings why bother?
And if you aren't getting bookings I don't think a star rating is going to help you much. Never had a single enquiry from our listing on their web site.
-
Christine Kenyon
- Posts: 623
- Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:58 am
- Location: Glenridding, Ullswater Valley, Lake District, UK
- Contact:
Hi Jane. I'm not going to add anything new to the debate, but just wanted to say that I don't think it's worth the cost of getting graded and being on a tourist board website/brochure.
We're in the Lake District and would just one of many in the Tourist Board "blurb". We've found it much more cost effective to advertise on listing sites.
Hope you have a good season.
We're in the Lake District and would just one of many in the Tourist Board "blurb". We've found it much more cost effective to advertise on listing sites.
Hope you have a good season.
Christine
holiday cottages in Glenridding, Ullswater
http://www.stybarrowcottage.co.uk
http://www.grisedalelodge.co.uk
http://www.grisedalecottage.co.uk
holiday cottages in Glenridding, Ullswater
http://www.stybarrowcottage.co.uk
http://www.grisedalelodge.co.uk
http://www.grisedalecottage.co.uk
-
Ben McNevis
- Posts: 846
- Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 10:07 am
- Location: Scotland (for) The Brave
- Contact:
Jane,
Hello! We looked into getting graded and listed with the Scottish Tourist Board about 15 years ago and decided against. There were two reasons.
First, though I can't remember what it would cost to join the scheme and to get graded, I remember that the charge for inclusion into the regional brochure was huge. As it turned out, about 5 times our annual advertising spend - a bad deal.
Second, we looked into the grading criteria and came to the conclusion that it was all about ticking boxes and nothing about quality. We didn't like it one bit. One example was that if the bathroom has no shaver socket, you can't get higher than 2 stars. Which century are we in for Christ's sake? There's no way we're going to put 1960's-style fittings into our bathroom.
Well, that was 15 years ago and you'd have thought that the criteria would have been updated by now. Funnily enough we had the bathroom completly refitted last year and the electricians ignored my instructions and wired the lighting outlet above the basin from a fused spur instead of from the lighting circuit. When I asked why, they said they assumed that was what we really wanted as they knew it was still a requirement from the Tourist Board to have a shaver socket!
Hello! We looked into getting graded and listed with the Scottish Tourist Board about 15 years ago and decided against. There were two reasons.
First, though I can't remember what it would cost to join the scheme and to get graded, I remember that the charge for inclusion into the regional brochure was huge. As it turned out, about 5 times our annual advertising spend - a bad deal.
Second, we looked into the grading criteria and came to the conclusion that it was all about ticking boxes and nothing about quality. We didn't like it one bit. One example was that if the bathroom has no shaver socket, you can't get higher than 2 stars. Which century are we in for Christ's sake? There's no way we're going to put 1960's-style fittings into our bathroom.
Well, that was 15 years ago and you'd have thought that the criteria would have been updated by now. Funnily enough we had the bathroom completly refitted last year and the electricians ignored my instructions and wired the lighting outlet above the basin from a fused spur instead of from the lighting circuit. When I asked why, they said they assumed that was what we really wanted as they knew it was still a requirement from the Tourist Board to have a shaver socket!
Cheers, Ben
www . scotland-cottage.com www . scottish-cottage.com
Visiting Glenrothes? It's one of your Fife-a-day
www . scotland-cottage.com www . scottish-cottage.com
Visiting Glenrothes? It's one of your Fife-a-day
-
Stephen
- Posts: 141
- Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 4:33 pm
- Location: Northumbria/Cumbria Border / Florida
- Contact:
We used to be with the English Tourist Board but never renewed last year, I don't think they are worth the money, the only thing we miss is advertising in the Hadrians wall guide, which Tynedale Council insist you must be graded with the Tourist Board... We we awarded 5 stars, but hey we don't need them to tell us we are 5 stars....
-
jane reed
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:45 pm
- Location: tetford,lincolnshire,england
- Contact:
tourist board
thank you for all your replies. 
Reading this thread is timely for us. Here in Spain they are looking into grading all Casa Rurals with a similar system to the French Gîte system. However the problems seemly arise in that each community here in Spain has had the accommodation constructed to rules that vary or are non-existent. (A community here in Spain is like Galicia or Andalusia etc). So we don’t think it is going to work very well. We have some difficulty in comprehending how they are going to measure some of the requirements.
We have found information about what the diamonds stand for if you are a customer, but we would like to know is how do they measure, what seems to us, quite vague standards like décor or levels of service. Is there a web link we can read?
We will be asking the same on the French section too.
We have found information about what the diamonds stand for if you are a customer, but we would like to know is how do they measure, what seems to us, quite vague standards like décor or levels of service. Is there a web link we can read?
We will be asking the same on the French section too.
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
Hi Casasa........ (sorry, my typing's not good enough for the rest 
!!)
The full detail of the UK Standard for s/c can be found here if you don't already have it.
Some of it is, er, slightly wooly thinking, but there you go.
We went through the whole process for our three cottages mainly because we were starting up from scratch, and it seemed like a good way to demonstrate a standard.
We haven't had any business directly as a result, but we do display our grading etc on all the independent sites we use.
Measurements in some areas are, as you suggest, subjective, but applied against certain perceptions, based, I suppose, on the inspector's experience. Most of our decor is fairly simple - wall colours are neutral, but she appreciated that was in keeping with the original nature of the building, and also the fact that we had used trade paints to allow the plaster to thoroughly dry - which tends to be white or magnolia! We'll do more at the first crack filling and redecoration session.
Some of the pine bedroom wardrobes we had scavenged from relatives who had moved - okay, but maybe a little dated in style and would need replacing to reach five star (inspector's opinion). The crazy alternative was that it wasn't a requirement to provide wardrobes, so by removing them we'd increase the standard......... Work that one out. (Yes Mr and Mrs Guest, we realise that you have to chuck your clothes on the floor, but if we'd left the wardrobes in we wouldn't have been charging you as much. Oh, you're leaving....... Will we see you again......?)
The inspector also had a fixation about drawers having dovetail joints - perception of quality again - which I struggle with a bit as modern wood glues provide for stronger and simpler construction, if not as pretty. (All our drawers have dovetail joints so that after a day on the local fells you can relax by taking all the drawers out and admiring the workmanship before your meal, after which you'll have to wash up by hand as dishwashers aren't a requirement in the standard even if everybody does have one at home.) 'Scuse me I'm getting a bit cynical here, which is not my normal persona
.
Generally the inspector was helpful, and she had some useful advice for us. We could have elected to make some minor changes and go five star, or take a four star rating. We chose the latter, for a number of reasons.
I doubt that it's something we will continue indefinitely, once we have built our repeat business and word of mouth reputation. It is expensive, and there is little or no direct return; indirect return is difficult to gauge. I also get frustrated with all the bolt-ons, and all at extra charge. "Dogs Welcome" scheme, "Walkers Welcome" scheme, "Cyclists Welcome" scheme and so on - the implication being that without these extra ratings you would tell anyone turning up with a mountain bike or a pair of walking boots to bog straight off. I'm half expecting them to come up with a "Guests Welcome" scheme, but see earlier comment re being cynical.
By the inspector's own admission, they have not been good at carrying out repeat visits, with the result that many places have not been inspected for some years but still legitimately display their star rating, despite the fact that they have slipped well below it and places are now run down. The problem there, of course, is guests' perceptions of what they'll get elsewhere can become very wrong.
Final thought. The construction of some buildings simply doesn't lend itself to fitting in with some of the requirements in the standards, so you could have a fabulous character cottage that guests would love, but where it would be impossible to meet certain aspects for a rating that would convey the right impression. Then I would steer well clear of the system.
We asked some of our first guests, who'd been taking self-catering holidays for years, what star ratings meant to them. The response was that if a place was 3 or less they would almost certainly rule it out without looking at the detail. If it had no rating, they would read the description and a lack of any rating didn't influence them.
Plus, of course, nobody out there knows what the rating system means anyway......................
!!)The full detail of the UK Standard for s/c can be found here if you don't already have it.
Some of it is, er, slightly wooly thinking, but there you go.
We went through the whole process for our three cottages mainly because we were starting up from scratch, and it seemed like a good way to demonstrate a standard.
We haven't had any business directly as a result, but we do display our grading etc on all the independent sites we use.
Measurements in some areas are, as you suggest, subjective, but applied against certain perceptions, based, I suppose, on the inspector's experience. Most of our decor is fairly simple - wall colours are neutral, but she appreciated that was in keeping with the original nature of the building, and also the fact that we had used trade paints to allow the plaster to thoroughly dry - which tends to be white or magnolia! We'll do more at the first crack filling and redecoration session.
Some of the pine bedroom wardrobes we had scavenged from relatives who had moved - okay, but maybe a little dated in style and would need replacing to reach five star (inspector's opinion). The crazy alternative was that it wasn't a requirement to provide wardrobes, so by removing them we'd increase the standard......... Work that one out. (Yes Mr and Mrs Guest, we realise that you have to chuck your clothes on the floor, but if we'd left the wardrobes in we wouldn't have been charging you as much. Oh, you're leaving....... Will we see you again......?)
The inspector also had a fixation about drawers having dovetail joints - perception of quality again - which I struggle with a bit as modern wood glues provide for stronger and simpler construction, if not as pretty. (All our drawers have dovetail joints so that after a day on the local fells you can relax by taking all the drawers out and admiring the workmanship before your meal, after which you'll have to wash up by hand as dishwashers aren't a requirement in the standard even if everybody does have one at home.) 'Scuse me I'm getting a bit cynical here, which is not my normal persona
.Generally the inspector was helpful, and she had some useful advice for us. We could have elected to make some minor changes and go five star, or take a four star rating. We chose the latter, for a number of reasons.
I doubt that it's something we will continue indefinitely, once we have built our repeat business and word of mouth reputation. It is expensive, and there is little or no direct return; indirect return is difficult to gauge. I also get frustrated with all the bolt-ons, and all at extra charge. "Dogs Welcome" scheme, "Walkers Welcome" scheme, "Cyclists Welcome" scheme and so on - the implication being that without these extra ratings you would tell anyone turning up with a mountain bike or a pair of walking boots to bog straight off. I'm half expecting them to come up with a "Guests Welcome" scheme, but see earlier comment re being cynical.
By the inspector's own admission, they have not been good at carrying out repeat visits, with the result that many places have not been inspected for some years but still legitimately display their star rating, despite the fact that they have slipped well below it and places are now run down. The problem there, of course, is guests' perceptions of what they'll get elsewhere can become very wrong.
Final thought. The construction of some buildings simply doesn't lend itself to fitting in with some of the requirements in the standards, so you could have a fabulous character cottage that guests would love, but where it would be impossible to meet certain aspects for a rating that would convey the right impression. Then I would steer well clear of the system.
We asked some of our first guests, who'd been taking self-catering holidays for years, what star ratings meant to them. The response was that if a place was 3 or less they would almost certainly rule it out without looking at the detail. If it had no rating, they would read the description and a lack of any rating didn't influence them.
Plus, of course, nobody out there knows what the rating system means anyway......................