2012: the Minister calls...

More on the "20.12% offers" story (see below): the Tourism Minister, John Penrose, called me on 3rd November to flesh out the idea, ahead of another reference to it by Jeremy Hunt (the Secretary of State) when opening World Travel Market the following week.

I think he understands and accepts our point that we cannot (of course) cut our prices across the board - nor would we - but his officials will be giving the Association details of how B&B owners can benefit next year from a £3 million national advertising campaign pushing some form of headline offer based on "20.12%" - which could be confined to shoulder or low season, or to midweek stays, or stays of 4 nights plus, or to a third night, or whatever.

We are working with the Department to thrash out more detail, and will of course put this out to our members as soon as we have it. I hope the idea will now develop into something useful, harnessing some advertising millions for B&Bs in return for (say) "20.12% off your fourth night in low season" or some such formulation - each B&B can (we gather so far) use the headline figure in the publicity campaign however it likes within reason. There is a lot of work to do, and the devil will (as always) be in the detail - but this is where we can help the Minister's officials to make it as workable and effective as we can.

Of course, no B&B would have to get involved in the eventual promotion - but we will do our best to influence the idea in a sensible direction, then give our members the option of joining in or not.

And at the very least, we have now got the Ministers including B&Bs in the publicity campaign plan, rather than just hotels as often used to happen in the past. Our voice is starting to be heard...

"Attack of the Trip Advisors"

Last night's Channel 4 programme "Attack of the Trip Advisors" was depressing viewing - albeit nothing new to any B&B owner. It did not touch on the fake or fraudulent reviews or the blackmail threats, only on the run of the mill unfair reviews.
The "reviewers" on the show came across as by and large, self-important inadequates, obsessives, pedants or abusive illiterates - or various mixtures thereof. No doubt there are many fair-minded, reasonable, succinct "reviewers" on TripAdvisor who don't obsess about the enormity of finding water in their kettle - but we didn't see those.
What was depressing was the unkindness and vindictiveness, the sense among "reviewers" that their only power is the power to wound or strike back. The anonymity allows them to say anything, fair or unfair, true or false, reasonable or petty - and TripAdvisor publish it worldwide, for ever.

The Times article on starting a B&B today

A good double-page spread by Mark Bridge in today's Times (p70-71) on starting a B&B:

"Running a bed-and-breakfast is one of the most straightforward small business models, and can provide a rewarding and flexible lifestyle for naturally hospitable people.
The best B&Bs have weathered the downturn well, partly because cash-strapped Britons are
taking more 'staycation' holidays in the UK and looking for alternatives to hotels.

"The Bed & Breakfast Association provides information and support to B&B owners,
and it is also a good resource for would-be owners at the research stage."

On Radio 4's "PM" Programme

A good mention today on Radio 4's PM programme - following their correspondence about lobbying and lobbyists, they quoted our efforts - without any paid lobbyists - which helped get the Westminster and Scottish Governments to issue new, less onerous guidelines on the 2006 Fire Regulations for small B&Bs, saving (according to the Scottish Government's own figures) £100m in costs for B&Bs in Scotland alone. Lobbying can be done on a shoestring, and can achieve good things...

Jeremy Hunt's "20.12% discount"

This Monday at the Conservative Party conference Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (and, though his department's name still leaves it out, Tourism), made an announcement.

He said he wants to "transform our domestic tourism industry by making 2012 the year to take a holiday at home with discounts at hotels and B&Bs up and down the country of 20.12%".

When we at the Bed & Breakfast Association heard this (after the speech, not before), we were - to say the least - surprised. (Apart from anything else, it seems to imply that Mr Hunt believes that B&Bs are overcharging by a fifth, and all we need to do is slash our prices.)

We have contacted Mr Hunt's department to ask about this interesting idea. I will keep you posted!

Government to actually cut red tape..?

The Government has just announced its response to the Tourism and Hospitality Red Tape Challenge.

There are some very welcome proposals including a revision of Energy Performance Certificates and (one that the B&B Association and the Tourism Alliance has been working on for some years) introducing a 'de minimus' approach for alcohol sales so that B&Bs (and for instance, hire boats and self catering properties) can provide small amounts of alcohol without the need for a full licence.

This is the first stage of the deregulation process and more will follow when the Minister’s Regulation Taskforce completes its work by the end of November - but encouraging. Let's hope this will be carried through, and followed up with more of the same. We will keep up the pressure!

Nationwide "consider B&Bs" campaign starts

A national PR campaign has just launched, aimed at helping persuade the public to "consider B&Bs" when booking accommodation. The Bed & Breakfast Association is delighted that laterooms.com, who are funding the campaign, will be investing in raising awareness of the fantastic B&Bs across Britain and what they offer, and showcasing some of the best B&Bs and their owners in a "B&B Lives" campaign. There is more on our news page.