Author: Carol Jones

Could you take advantage of the rise of glamping?

Posted on by Carol Jones

If you have ever searched for self-catering holiday accommodation, or are already ‘in the business’, you won’t have helped but notice that more and more proprietors are offering unusual ‘glamping’ holiday lets aimed at those looking to be more in touch with the outdoors on their holiday breaks.

The most popular structures to have emerged on the scene in the past few years include: lodges, yurts, pods, gypsy caravans, shepherds huts and tree houses.

As long ago as 2010, Sawdays, one of the first and leading directories offering handpicked and inspected Special Places to Stay, for example, saw the potential in this month.  They created their own spin-off website canopyandstars.co.uk, a collection of inspected and selected, quirky places for glamping.  They offer hundreds of different options for rustic-style holiday lets aimed at anything from honeymooners to families.

Here are just a few examples to give you a flavour of what can be done and how their owners ‘sell’ the proposition:

The Coombe at Penhein – Nomadic Tents in Monmouthshire

One of six Persian-inspired tents on a family farm, with woodlands for den-building and a stream to splash.  These are dome-shaped alachighs (pronounced al-la cheeg) of Persian design traditionally used by nomadic tribes in northern Iran. Nestled in a 3 acre ancient woodland in the Monmouthshire countryside, each has an individual colour scheme, a private flushing loo in a separate adjoining pod, its own fire pit and outdoor sitting area.

The Nancy Blackett – Shepherd’s hut in Somerset

A Shepherd’s hut for 2, the Nancy Blackett is perched on its own tiny island, completely surrounded by nature with a little wooden bridge to the mainland.  Guests can wake up on their own island, cook breakfast on the camp fire before rowing across for a swing in the hammock or to take a soak in the hot tub.

The hut’s footprint is small but cosy with its own wood burner; and guests also have the option to cook dinners and take hot showers in a separate wooden cabin on the mainland where there is even a wood fired pizza oven available for guests.

In Herefordshire, the New Inn Brilley offers a converted gypsy caravan – a completely original gypsy wagon full of unique touches located at the top of a wild hilly meadow with breathtaking mountain views.

The Roundhouse at Bodrifty Farm, Cornwall offers the romance of sleeping in an Iron Age Roundhouse.  Guests also have exclusive use of the Treehouse during your stay at the Roundhouse, built around a living tree, which has a kitchen, sitting room and bathroom.

Have you spotted a glamping business opportunity?

If you have land available in a beautiful location or setting, it could well be worth considering investing in providing suitable accommodation to offer glamping, as a useful way to earn additional income.  Purchasing tents, yurts, pods or huts  will involve some up-front investment so if you are looking for hospitality finance to fund your project our team at Stewart Hindley and Partners are here to help.

We understand the hospitality business through and through and are long-established specialists in securing hospitality finance and can offer you friendly and informative advice to help you build your glamping business.

Browse our site for case histories and more information about the process involved in securing hospitality finance or call us now to speak to our team of experts.

How Important Are Your Reviews?

Posted on by Carol Jones

With the increasing prominence of online holiday and travel search/booking engines and the rising power of the customer review across all industries, just how important are reviews and how can proprietors respond to them?

Our hospitality finance team of experts at Stewart Hindley and Partners take a look at the current trends and have put together their thoughts, to help proprietors get into the heads of their potential customers.

  • With so many hotels to choose from, trying to make a decision about where to stay can be daunting for people. Hotel reviews are therefore a valuable way to determine if a particular hotel is a good option and should not be under estimated.
  • The hotel’s rating score – astute customers will look at the rating score and sort their options to show them the highest ones at the top. A higher score means past hotel guests generally liked the hotel and enjoyed their stay with few, if any, problems. If you limit yourself to these hotels, you have a better chance of enjoying your stay as well.
  • But a few extreme reviews may not be as significant as people think. The number of reviews of the hotel on the booking site will be listed and it stands to reason that a hotel’s overview will be more accurate, the higher number of reviews it has.
  • Remember, what might be essential for one guest is completely different from that of another. Your potential guests will almost certainly look at both the positive and the negative things people comment on in their reviews, and look for things that might bother them.
  • People are now getting used to ignoring those that protest too much. If 30 people are raving about the hotel and one person says it was horrible for whatever reason, it was probably just a fluke. For genuinely good establishments, these days, one negative review is likely to be outweighed by a sea of positive reviews.

The common sense conclusion is for 21st century hoteliers to be mindful, but not dictated to, by their reviews.  It is worth monitoring them and responding in just a few cases – where relevant and in brief – to overly negative comments.  This is perhaps particularly the case, when it was perhaps a genuine issue for the customer, that has since been rectified your end.

That being said, it is definitely worth promoting and encouraging customers to leave feedback, but  there is a fine balance between encouragement and overplaying your hand.

Once guests have researched their shortlists they will more than likely visit your hotel website for further information which is why it’s also worth investing in a professional website and keeping it up to date.

If you are looking to invest in upgrading your facilities in response to reviews, or need to boost your marketing spend, you may need hospitality finance to fund your initiatives. Contact our friendly team of specialist advisors now for advice and information on the latest hotel finance and other hospitality finance packages available today.

Source:
http://travel-made-simple.com/how-to-read-hotel-reviews/

Five Key Factors To Consider When Converting A Home To A B&B

Posted on by Carol Jones

If you are thinking of running a bed and breakfast business from your UK home, this will almost certainly involve significant finance considerations.  Our specialist team of b&b finance advisors, here at Stewart Hindley, have identified 5 key factors which will come into play:

  1. Planning Permissions

Whether or not you will need building planning permissions will depend on the amount of building work required and will be subject to the local authority’s usual residential planning guidelines.

If you are converting more than one or two bedrooms, you may also be required to apply for ‘change of use’ and your local council should be able to provide advice.

  1. Building Regulations

The building regulations which apply to bed and breakfast establishments change quite regularly, particularly with regard to health and safety regulations, so it’s vital to refer to an up-to-date source of information.

Different regulations will apply depending on the size of your house and the number of guests you want to accommodate.  At minimum, you are likely to have to install things like fire doors, emergency lighting and fire safety signage, and the kitchen will probably need some work too.

Bed and breakfast businesses are also required to offer separate washing and toilet facilities for your family which won’t be used by guests and you may find that this involves quite a lot of unexpected work.

  1. Fitting Out Costs

Furniture and fittings will need to be of good quality to withstand constant use, and soft furnishings and beds etc will need to comply with current fire regulations.

To attract guests in a very competitive UK b&b market, allow enough in your budget to make communal areas like dining rooms and lounges, clean, bright and fresh.

  1. Advertising and Marketing costs

The hardest part of advertising and marketing is to come up with your image and style.  We would advice setting some money aside to commission a graphic designer to come up with a logo and brochure material to give a professional look to your website and promotional materials.

Spend time researching the local market and the search engines, like Trip Advisor, which are likely to be most effective at attracting the clientele you are seeking to attract.

  1. Do you have a b&b mortgage?

If you are thinking of running a b&b from home, you are legally required to advise your current mortgage provider of your intentions.  Most residential mortgages do not allow you trade rooms, so you would need to re-mortgage onto a commercial mortgage –  but don’t worry because our team at Stewart Hindley & Partners can advise you.

There are a limited number of lenders who will allow 1 or 2 rooms to be let on a residential mortgage, but it has to be done in agreement with the lender.  If a lender realises that you are trading on a residential mortgage they can call in the loan due to breach of covenant.

Trading on a residential mortgage can have serious consequences.  You could be forced to re-mortgage and in some cases, if your trade income is not enough to cover the amount of debt involved, this may not be possible. The worst case scenario may be that you lose your home as well as your business.

We strongly recommend that you don’t wait until it’s too late and look to take out a commercial b&b mortgage from the start.

Contact us now for friendly and professional advice based on many years of experience in the bed and breakfast and hospitality finance sector.

Sources:

http://www.startabedandbreakfast.co.uk/b-and-b-how-do-i-convert-house.html

Devon Spotlight: What makes these the best family-friendly hotels in Devon

Posted on by Carol Jones

Devon is one of the UK’s most popular tourist destinations and many hotels there have worked hard to promote themselves as family-friendly hotels. Could you learn from them?

The Telegraph’s expert panel listed the following as their Top 8 Picks for families in Devon, each scoring 7/10 or above.

  1. A beach paradise – Watersmeet Hotel – Woolacombe Bay: 8/10

  • Sublime beachfront location, with mesmerising views looking out onto the North Devon coastline and Lundy Island
  • Private access onto Combesgate Beach, a small, sandy cove that’s fantastic for body-boarding and rock-pooling, but rarely gets busy, even in the height of summer
  • Fresh and airy décor
  • Rare combination of friendly and romantic at the same time

  1. Gardeners Heaven – Hotel Endsleigh, Tavistock: 9/10

  • Grade I-listed Eden between Dartmoor and Exmoor
  • Set in verdant gardens and grounds – perfect for family games and picnics
  • Summer gardening activities run by Chelsea Flower Show gold medal florist, Amanda Randel
  • Has its own potting shed where the green-fingered can start growing their own plants to take home at the end of their stay
  • Baby monitors, meals, bottle warmers and babysitting are available

  1. Rugged Isolation – Soar Mill Cove Hotel, Salcombe: 9/10

  • With a rugged Devon cove and beach all to itself
  • All rooms either face the sparkling triangle of sea or look up the valley.
  • Host of activities including: snooker, board games and a rocking horse, golf clubs, boogie boards, crab lines, buckets and spades for outings to nearby Soar Mill Cove
  • Magicians, lawn games, cupcake decorating and cinema nights are laid on in the summer
  • Indoor saltwater pool, tennis court and games room with table tennis and pool
  • Resident golden labs Farley and Daisy are popular with young guests.

  1. Reminiscent of The Famous Five – The Cary Arms, Babbacombe: 8/10

  • Spectacular location beneath the cliffs on the beach at Babbacombe
  • On arrival, children are given a bucket, spade and fishing net with which to go rock pooling on Babbacombe Bay, a quiet beach by the hotel that has calm water and a friendly local seal.
  • The hotel also had four self-catering cottages which are well set up for families, with board games and children’s books, as is the Captain’s Suite one of the main hotel’s 10 bedrooms.
  • Local family attractions include Paignton Zoo and Splashdown Waterpark.

  1. Outdoors – Bovey Castle. Moretonhampstead: 9/10

  • Extensive castle grounds with tennis, croquet and a playground
  • Good choice of outdoor children’s activities organised as part of Bovey Rangers club, including survival skills, archery, reptile and owl encounters, rock climbing, raft building, canoeing and golf lessons.
  • Their indoor playroom, costing £20 per session, has painting, pottery, biscuit decorating, mask, puppet and badge making
  • Babysitting services can be arranged in advance, as well as hire of baby equipment.

  1. Walking and Watersports heaven – South Sands Boutique Hotel, Salcombe: 7/10

  • The hotel is right on the beach, with wonderful views across the estuary
  • White sands and calm seas are a beach ball’s throw from the hotel
  • Complimentary buckets, spades and beach bags are given to families on arrival
  • Family events organised in school holidays, including a summer solstice beach party
  • Five beach suites designed for families of up to six.

  1. Classic Devon – Thurlestone Hotel, Salcombe:  8/10

  • Rugged coastline in front and backing on to sheep-filled pastures
  • Black and white yachting photos on the walls and displays of vintage sailing memorabilia give this seaside hotel a nostalgically nautical feel
  • Indoor playroom and outdoor playground which includes mini golf, family badminton courts, a nature trail
  • A ‘Close Encounters’ shed where young visitors can learn how to handle stick insects, praying mantis, scorpions, tarantula and snakes
  • Children’s school holidays arts and crafts club, teddy bears’ picnics in the grounds, and entertainers.

  1. Gothic /Luxury – Highbullen Hotel Golf & Country Club, Umberleigh Bridge

  • A luxury, gothic-fronted country house hotel spread over a 125-acre Devon estate
  • Prides itself on being a ‘multi-generational’ hotel, catering for extended families with children aged eight and over
  • Dedicated rooms for families of four have sofa beds and pull out beds, while large families can hire out lodges exclusively
  • Children will particularly enjoy the giant outdoor chessboard and games simulator
  • Spread over the estate are two swimming pools – one indoor and one outdoor – seven tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course, a private fishing river, croquet lawns, snooker rooms and a fully-equipped gym with regular exercise classes.

Need to look at your hospitality finance options?

If you are looking to purchase or start a family friendly hotel or guesthouse, or are considering upgrading your existing facilities to increase your family appeal you may well be needing finance.

At Stewart Hindley & Partners, we specialise in the hospitality finance sector.  So, whether it’s hotel finance or B&B finance you need, we can advise you on the best deals to suit your individual business circumstances.

To find out how much hospitality finance you might be able to raise call our friendly expert team now to explore the possibilities further.

Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/devon/articles/best-family-friendly-devon-hotels/

Is your guest WiFi offering good enough?

Posted on by Carol Jones

Recent research across the UK and USA consistently highlights how vital it is for hotels and other tourism businesses to offer free, good WiFi.

A few research findings

  • The poll of 2,000 people for online retailer Pixmania revealed that 31 per cent of Britons regard access to WiFi as the second most desired ‘comfort’ while on holiday, ahead of having a clean room!

In fact, the top Top Five most desired holiday ‘Comforts’ were found to be:

  1. A nice view
  2. WiFi access
  3. Clean hotel
  4. Good mattress
  5. A Great hotel restaurant
  • HotelChatter found that 94% of people cite WiFi as the most important amenity with 38% of hotel customers say they would book elsewhere if there was no WiFi available.
  • A similar survey amongst Americans found that WiFi was more important to hotel guests than breakfast and parking; and here WiFi came in second only to cost when choosing which hotel to book.

Business travellers want WiFi in order to stay connected on the road; whilst millennials like to stream music or play video games – so whichever way you look at it, high speed WiFi is an important attraction for guests, whether you are offering hotel, B&B or self-catering accommodation.

Are you WiFi savvy?

If you are engaged in a hotel property search, researching the quality of the local broadband available is a must these days and should be researched thoroughly.

And once, your hotel is up and running then good connectivity will allow you to be pro-active about communicating with (and promoting your services to) your guests, including:

  • Using social media channels to promote your business, research your customers to make your marketing more targeted and effective, identify your repeat customers etc.
  • Using your WiFi to see where your customers spend most of their time e.g. café, reception, gym, garden, restaurant etc.
  • Encouraging social media referrals – create a simple way for customers to provide referrals through Facebook or Trip advisor with the aim of increasing word of mouth.
  • Make sharing easy – encourage customers to share pictures and experiences with friends via social media promoting your company and raising brand awareness.
  • Keeping your customers up to date through your WiFi landing page. Use this to publicise upcoming events and offers e.g. timetable of kids activities, evening entertainment, restaurant offers

Need to look at your hospitality finance options?

Whether you run a hotel, a B&B or self-catering accommodation, if you are looking to purchase a upgrade your WiFi offering to guests (and/or invest in digital marketing) you may well be needing to source finance and we, at Stewart Hindley & Partners, specialise in the hospitality finance sector.

So, whether you are needing hotel finance or B&B finance, we can advise you on the best deals to suit your individual business circumstances.  Take a look at our online Business Mortgage calculator for an initial guide to how much hospitality finance you might be able to raise or call our friendly expert team now to explore the possibilities further.

Sources: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2654182/WiFi-access-important-holiday-requirements-British-tourists.html

https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article90435.html

 

Top 10 English Hotel locations

Posted on by Carol Jones

Last month a panel of experts for the Daily Telegraph put together a guide to 10 of the best places and cities to visit in England, highlighting their attractions for family holidays and couples, providing a host of learnings for anyone looking at taking over, or starting/locating, a hotel business in the UK:
Continue reading “Top 10 English Hotel locations”

Are you dog friendly yet?

Posted on by Carol Jones

If you run a hotel or B&B and you don’t currently allow your guests to bring their dogs, you are potentially missing out on a rapidly growing market in pet travel. British dogs are increasingly regarded as a member of the family, with many owners seeking to take their four-legged friends with them when they go away.
Continue reading “Are you dog friendly yet?”

Are you dog friendly yet?

Posted on by Carol Jones

If you run a hotel or B&B and you don’t currently allow your guests to bring their dogs, you are potentially missing out on a rapidly growing market in pet travel. British dogs are increasingly regarded as a member of the family, with many owners seeking to take their four-legged friends with them when they go away.
Continue reading “Are you dog friendly yet?”

Top tips to keep a family guesthouse business running smoothly

Posted on by Carol Jones

Many guesthouse businesses are run by partners and families, which means family conflicts can often arise. So, we have put together some useful tips, or guidelines, to help you avoid the most common family business blunders:
Continue reading “Top tips to keep a family guesthouse business running smoothly”

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