It's the height of the traditional UK holiday season and many hoteliers are at their busiest. Have you stayed at a B&B or hotel and decided that running such a business is for you? There are obviously good and bad things about being your own boss and running an accommodation establishment. Join our site and find out the truth about being a hotel proprietor. There's lots of help and advice on here to help you make up your mind about whether or not this lifestyle is for you. Plus, of course, we have hundreds of properties for sale within our directory. Try it out for free today!
22nd June 2010
Looking for a hotel with larger than usual owner accommodation? Some hotel properties don't allow much space for the owners to live in, relax and escape the everyday running of their business. Here on www.hotelstobuy.co.uk, we try to help you find those properties with larger than usual owner accommodation. Once logged in to use the site, you can click on the link on our main search page, to find those businesses which may suit your family. There are currently over 160 such properties listed within our directory.
19th April 2010
We're loving the sunny weather down here in Cornwall. And the tourists seem to have come out to play over the Easter break. VisitBritain predicts that spending by foreign visitors will rise from £16bn this year to £31bn in 2020. Spend by UK residents is predicted to rise from £72bn this year to £113bn in 2020. 2010 could be the best year in a while to buy your hotel or B&B business.
9th March 2010
www.hotelstobuy.co.uk has just celebrated its 5th birthday. The site started by listing around 200 businesses for sale. With over 1200 within our directory today, we are proud of how far we have come. Thanks to all those users who have used us along the way.
The hotel and leisure department of Waycotts in Torbay are positive about the year ahead in terms of hotel sales. Sue Frost, negotiator, comments "We completed more hotel sales in 2009 than the previous year despite the fact that commercial funding is still difficult to obtain." Her tips to buyers include being aware that "funders are looking for larger deposits and buyers with experience in the tourist industry and catering." Feedback we have received from other agents backs these comments up. Sales are happening but buyers need to be realistic about what they can afford.
4th January 2010
Do your New Year plans include buying a hotel business?! Well you have come to the right place to start your search for the right property. And if you have questions about going about buying and running a hotel or B&B, we have lots of help and information to share with you. Become a member today and good luck for the year ahead.
November 17th 2009
More and more agents are adding their hotel businesses to the directory on www.hotelstobuy.co.uk
The largest recent agency to come on board is Colliers Robert Barry - adding around 120 more hotels for you to browse amongst more than a total of 1250 accommodation businesses for sale.
18th September 2009
According to online accommodation website LateRooms.com this summer saw a massive increase in visits to old favourite destinations across the country, with the biggest increases in bookings experienced in the Isle of Wight (up 407 per cent on the same period in 2008), East Anglia (up 297 per cent) and the Scottish Highlands (up 219 per cent).
Andrew Pumphrey of LateRooms.com, comments:
“Despite the recession people have remained determined to get away and have a break whether at home in the UK or abroad. Either way, we’ve found that people are really making their trips away count and enjoying the benefits of discovering or rediscovering wonderful destinations across the country. ”
LateRooms.com reveals the biggest increases in UK accommodation bookings from summer 2008 to summer 2009:
• Isle of Wight (407 per cent)
• East Anglia (297 per cent)
• Scottish Highlands (219 per cent)
• Yorkshire Dales (102 per cent)
• Bournemouth & Poole (90 per cent)
• Bath (90 per cent)
• Chilterns (62 per cent)
• Northern Ireland (52 per cent)
• Welsh Coast (50 per cent)
• Oxfordshire (47 per cent)
• Cornwall (44 per cent)
• Edinburgh (40 per cent)
• Lake District (40 per cent)
• Cotswolds (40 per cent)
• London (38 per cent)
4th September 2009
Back to school, back to work, the summer feels like it's nearly over. At this time of year, many hoteliers take stock of their business and some decide to think about moving on - perhaps to bigger premises or retirement. If you are looking to buy and run your own hotel business, now is a great time to be looking around to see what's coming on to the market. If you choose to buy somewhere with a relatively seasonal trade, you can look to buy and move in before next spring. How exciting to think you could be up and running within the next few months? As usual www.hotelstobuy.co.uk offers you the most choice in properties currently for sale throughout the UK. So login and take a browse...
24th June 2009
Accommodation websiteLateRooms.com is apparently transforming the UK into one big hotel, providing customers with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay the night in some of the UK’s most desirable, out-of-bounds destinations including The London Dungeon and The Eden Project. A great marketing idea by Late Rooms to get their brand widely publicised and a lesson to all hoteliers about the need, especially in this economic climate, for them to find a good idea such as this to promote their own business.
Throughout the summer a number of top attractions, from tropical gardens to aquariums, will be offering exclusive vacancies for a lucky few who will be given the extraordinary chance to check-in to these unique hotel rooms for free.
LateRooms.com asked their customers where they’d most like to stay the night – no holds barred. Having compiled a list of the most wanted locations, LateRooms.com has contacted all destinations, asking permission to set up a bespoke hotel suite on site. The top favourite was Buckingham Palace in equal first place with Edinburgh Castle. Then the Eden Project followed by Downing Street.
Hotel rooms available so far include:
THE LONDON DUNGEONS – 29TH JUNE
BLUE REEF AQUARIUM – 9TH JULY
THE EDEN PROJECT – 23RD JULY
OLD TRAFFORD – AUGUST, TBC
June 5th 2009 BBC Radio 4's programme You & Yours has today highlighted the problems some hoteliers have with the Visit Britain and Enjoy England websites and their frustrations with the value they receive from paying for their accreditation service. To catch up, visit the Listen Again link here.
May 15th 2009 According to tourism leaders in the south west of England, it's going to be a patchy year for business, with 2009 tourism faring worse than it did in the first quarter of 2008. Hoteliers on the www.hotelstobuy.co.uk forum members are however, generally reporting that business is holding up and most are positive about the coming summer season. See the BBC report by clicking here.
April 28th 2009 A hot topic on the www.hotelstobuy.co.uk Facebook forum is about raising finance. Members want to know where they can get loans or other financial assistance to help them in buying a hotel. Although finance is harder to raise than it might have been in the past, there are products available. Bedrock Business Finance say that they can source loans of up to 75% of purchase price and have recently rejoined us an advertiser. Sometimes it is best to find out how much you can afford before you start looking for a particular property, so why not give them, or any of our other advertisers, a ring before you start looking. Click here for more details.
March 31st 2009 Hotel.com's latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) shows the average prices charged across the UK for bedrooms in the final quarter of 2008. Please see the chart below. On average, prices in the UK paid by UK travellers for hotels across the country were down 12% year-on-year.
Average room charges in UK cities in last quarter of 2008
Bath
£119
London
£111
Aberdeen
£104
Edinburgh
£95
Cardiff
£93
York
£89
Newcastle upon Tyne
£84
Belfast
£83
Liverpool
£82
Bristol
£81
Blackpool
£79
Brighton
£79
Leeds
£78
Glasgow
£76
Manchester
£73
Birmingham
£64
Nottingham
£64
Bournemouth
£59
March 23rd 2009
The www.hotelstobuy.co.uk Facebook group - launched last week - already has 120 members within it. It's open to anyone who is looking to buy a hotel or already runs a hotel or B&B business, so please sign up. Click here to join, ask questions, give advice, etc.
March 7th 2009
This is an excellent time to buy a business say Beardsley Theobalds – the Westcountry and Midlands based business transfer agency.
A press release sent out this week says "If you are considering the idea of acquiring a ‘going concern’ business and you need to raise capital to enable you to buy, commercial finance has never been cheaper and is no more difficult to arrange now than was the case prior to the credit crunch!
"Naturally, you will need to have a certain amount of cash and/or some security (e.g. equity in property and/or, for example, in an endowment policy, etc.) – typically around 50% of the cost of acquiring your selected business – but that has always been the case. In addition, the business will need to be making substantial profits (i.e. well above the value of the owners’ time working in the business and the cost of repaying the loan) and you will need to be able to demonstrate your ability to successfully manage the business. Again, no change there."
The agent goes on to explain that "what is very different today is the cost of a commercial loan. With interest rates at an all time low, fully secured finance can be arranged typically at around 2½% to 3% over the Bank of England Base Rate (BBR) – so that’s just 3½% to 4% at the present time and could be even lower in the near future. And at these rates of interest, borrowers could (if they wish) pay off their loans much quicker – say over 5 to 7 years instead of 10!!"
How about this for a hanging basket?
The world’s largest hanging basket has today been unveiled in Paddington, London. The six by three metre (20 foot by 10 foot) structure – weighing over a quarter of a ton – took a team of designers, engineers and gardeners three weeks to construct and includes over 100 different varieties of plants and flowers including orchids, roses and ivy.
The giant basket was created to mark the opening of Hotel Indigo London Paddington and hangs 7.5 metres (25 feet) from the ground off the side of the building.
A great marketing idea from the hotel chain.
Let us know if you have any other original ideas to get your hotel noticed and give it valuable free publicity.
Sell your hotel or B&B privately.
Pundits predicting a boost to UK tourism in 2009.
According to the Association of Scotland's Self Caterers, a lot of enquiries from south of the border are due to a shortage of cash and fears about airlines or travel companies going bust. Holiday operator Hoseasons claims bookings for UK breaks in 2009 are up by at least 20%, as a strong Euro and careful housekeeping has made holidaymakers cautious about going abroad."
And according to a Press Release from Haven Holidays today, more people than ever booked their UK holiday online on December 25th this year. "Around 50 families booked a holiday on Christmas Day," said a spokesperson for the company.
So for existing hoteliers, and those considering entering the business, 2009 may not be quite the struggle that others may have thought.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
South West Tourism looks for positives from a recession.
Hotel Buyers Expect To Pick Up A Bargain
12% discount off bookings and website software
It's free to use the www.hotelstobuy.co.uk property directory, but full membership of the site now qualifies you for 12% off products from expert hotel bookings software specialist Discover Global Bookings. So, if you go on to buy a hotel or B&B, or are already up and running, you could save £100's off vital software for your business. More details available after login or click on the advert below.
UK hotels experience slight slowdown in September
UK hoteliers saw visitor numbers decline in September and, as a result of some softening in demand, room rates have declined as the fallout from the turmoil in the markets affected business travel, according to preliminary monthly figures released today by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services. The decreases were relatively small so fundamental occupancy levels still remain strong across the majority of the country.
Hotel prices have fallen by up to 18% in last year.
Asking prices for larger privately owned UK hotels have fallen in the past 12 months by around 18%. However, prices for smaller operations have remained static.
www.hotelstobuy.co.uk has seen a significant drop in the asking price for hotels with 20 or more bedrooms since October 2007. The average price a year ago was £794,000, whilst the average for a hotel with 20 bedrooms is now £654,000.
The average price of a small hotel with 12 bedrooms has fallen by just 1% from £474,000 to £468,000 and the price of a guest house with just 6 rooms remains exactly the same at an average across the country of £459,000.
Buyers are negotiating hard for accommodation businesses. Sellers need to be realistic with their asking prices but hotels and guesthouses are still selling when priced correctly for the current market.
New series of 'The Hotel Inspector' Needs Your Suggestions!
Have you recently stayed in a less-than-perfect hotel? Would you like to recommend it for TV's 'Hotel Inspector' treatment? Or have you taken over a hotel business and find you are struggling to make a go of it? The Channel 5 programme is coming back for a fifth series and is looking for businesses to turn around.
This series runs along the lines of other make-over programmes. Each show takes a loss-making business and, with advice from award-winning hotelier Alex Polizzi, helps the owners to change the way in which they run it. Previously featured hotels have apparently benefitted enormously from the advice and priceless marketing coverage.
To apply for this fantastic and unique opportunity, or just to find out more, please emailrobin.johnston@twofour.co.uk or call 01752 727 400.
More and more agents adding properties to www.hotelstobuy.co.uk This week we welcome two new agents to hotelstobuy. Adding all their hotel and guesthouse properties to our directory are Redwoods Dowling Kerr and ASG Commercial. Redwoods Dowling Kerr have businesses for sale throughout the UK, whilst ASG specialise in Scotland. We now list more properties than ever on our site. www.hotelstobuy.co.uk is by far the largest hotel property directory in the UK with currently over 1200 businesses listed for sale. Why look for your hotel to buy anywhere else?
Favourite holiday destination for British is Cornwall The end of summer is fast approaching and despite the lousy weather it appears that 2008 could have been a bumper year for British holiday destinations, as many people opted for a “staycation” in response to economic woes. But did we all have a lovely time? TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel community, conducted a poll of over 500 British travellers to find out what they think are the best and worst of what Britain’s coastal resorts, lakes, mountains and cities have to offer. Here we list the positive results, which may affect your decision about where to buy your hotel or B&B property. For more details click here.
Top British Holiday Destinations
Best Accommodation
1.Cornwall
2.Scottish Highlands and Islands
3.Lake District
4.London
5.Yorkshire Dales
1.London
2.Cornwall
3.Lake District
4.Edinburgh
5.Scottish Highlands and Islands
July 23rd 2008
Brits staying at home this summer
More people are holidaying at home this year. Good news for hoteliers and those looking to buy into the market. But we wouldn't recommend investing in a hotel built of sand...! This hotel was built in Dorset on behalf of www.laterooms.com - the popular resource for hoteliers and potential guests. Visitors can apparently stay for £10 per night. Let's hope it stays sunny!
More properties than ever
More and more agents are listing their properties on www.hotelstobuy.co.uk. But we are also seeing a rise in private sellers. Even if you are already with an agent, you may be able to advertise privately and save £££s in commission on your sale. Click here for more information. Please note that rates will rise in July so why not list your hotel or B&B for sale today!
Still the largest directory of hotels and B&B properties for sale in the UK.
www.hotelstobuy.co.uk was established in early 2005. Nothing similar had previously existed, or still exists, for those looking to buy hotels or guesthouses in the UK. Following ten years of running her own small hotels, Celia Carruthers chose to market the sale of her last hotel privately, through the internet. Overwhelmed by the huge response to her online sale of just one hotel, she set up www.hotelstobuy.co.uk to help others in their search for an accommodation business to buy. Today the site has over 16,000 visitors to its home page each month and is the Number One resource for those looking to buy a hotel or B&B business in the UK. 2008 will see continual improvements to the site with more and more agents and private sellers adding their businesses to the property directory every day.
New Article added to www.hotelstobuy.co.uk
According to research by Digital UK, nearly half of all hotel and B&B owners said that they hadn't yet done anything about the switchover to digital television. If you're buying a going concern, make sure you ask what steps have already been taken to future-proof television reception. If you don't ask at the buying stage, you may be in for an expensive shock once you take over a business and have to invest in upgrading equipment. Members can login for more information and advice.
Think a hotel property is going to cost you the earth?
Not sure how far your money will go when buying a hotel or guesthouse property? You may be surprised to hear that you can currently buy a hotel in the UK for less than £250,000 freehold. Location obviously makes a difference to the market, but if you are looking to buy in a busy, competive area of the country, like Blackpool, or in the more remote parts of Scotland, your money will go a lot further than you may think.
The average price of a 12-bedroomed hotel in our listings as of today is £441,000.
Click here for some examples of properties currently, or recently, for sale on www.hotelstobuy.co.uk
LOOKING TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY?
Have you seen our advert in the industry magazine Quality Edge?
If so, and you wish to take advantage of advertising your business for sale on www.hotelstobuy.co.uk, please click here. Even if your property is already listed with an agent, you can usually advertise privately and potentially save thousands in commission.
NEW FOR MEMBERS
Members of www.hotelstobuy.co.uk can now see, in one easy place, when property details are updated e.g. when there has been a price change to a hotel or B&B. Members login for more details.
Happy New Year!
If you are looking to buying your own hotel or guesthouse business in 2008, then you've found the ideal site for you. Join www.hotelstobuy.co.uk and find out all you need to know before buying a hotel, and browse our 100's of properties for sale today.
Throughout January we will be adding more and more businesses as they come on to the market; we'll be adding more interesting articles relating to the trade and will be keeping you up to date with any developments in the industry which affect you as a buyer.
AVOID THE JANUARY RUSH
January is traditionally a very busy time for commercial agents as many people start the new year with plans to buy and run their own business. If you have time over the Christmas period to start your search for a hotel or guesthouse business for sale, then we recommend you use it to get a head start on everyone else!
TRADE SHOWS IN EARLY 2008
Whether you're just starting out or have been running a hotel for some time, it's always useful to visit at least one trade show each year. Apart from giving yourself a day out, you can pick up deals and information about lots of services and products which may help you in your accommodation or catering business. The following exhibitions are some of the biggest events coming up in the first quarter of 2008.
Check the individual websites for times, dates and whether pre-registration is required.
FANCY RUNNING A B&B OVERSEAS?
Occasionally we include businesses for sale outside of the United Kingdom and this month have added a B&B for sale in Texas, USA. The owner, Alan Brunton, has also written an article for members about the differences between US and UK B&B operations. Other overseas properties include hotels or B&Bs for sale in Spain, Germany and France. Members login to read the article in full or browse the properties for sale.
LATEST HOTELIER DIARY INSTALLMENT
Since May 2007 we have been following the progress of new hoteliers, Peter and Ann Wright. Today we publish the latest installment of their diary in our Members' Articles section of the site. Login to read how they are getting on.
THINKING OF SELLING YOUR HOTEL PRIVATELY?
Over the past few months, we have seen an increase in hoteliers wishing to sell their business privately via www.hotelstobuy.co.uk.
There are of course pros and cons of deciding to put your property on the market without an agent. The main advantage is the thousands of pounds you will save avoiding paying a commission. But are you prepared to do all the leg-work in getting prospective viewers through the door?
Amongst other things, agents help screen out the time-wasters; can prepare professional sales details; show people around your property and handle the sales negotiations on your behalf. But many owners now feel capable of doing all these things on their own. In a position to concentrate 100% of their efforts to selling just the one business, as opposed to many in the case of an agent, owners are increasingly taking the decision to try and sell by themselves. Once a buyer is found, employing a good solicitor to make sure everything is handled legally is of course important, but this would still have to be done if you sold through an agency.
To make an enquiry about selling your hotel via www.hotelstobuy.co.uk please click here. Or if you wish us to contact an agent in your area, to come and discuss things with you, please click here.
HOW IMPORTANT IS A GOOD HOTEL WEBSITE?
Over the years we have seen some truly awful hotel websites, but the worst we have ever seen is that for one particular hotel in Newquay, Cornwall. Members can login to find out exactly which one and to also see examples of good hotel websites - which do the job they are intended to do - increase bookings!
NEW FEATURE FOR HOTELSTOBUY Today we've added a new feature to the site. Subscribers can now keep track of those properties for which they've requested further details, in their own Property Folder. More details are available after login.
TOURISM UP IN SEPTEMBER
September has witnessed a late boost to tourism for the UK after the washout of earlier summer months. The Westcountry has seen a 10% increase in visitors compared to September 2006, according to the Western Morning News and regional tourist attractions.
And across the country similar reports have appeared, such as on businessgazette.co.uk which says 'Cumbria is experiencing a record-breaking late summer online tourism bookings
boom'.
AVERAGE PRICE OF 12 BEDROOMED HOTEL IS £474K
What size of hotel or guesthouse do you think you could afford to buy?
The average price of a 6 bedroomed property within the www.hotestobuy.co.uk directory today is £459,000. Interestingly, you could double the number of letting rooms you buy for only a little more money. This is because the average price of a 12 bedroomed hotel on our site is currently £474,000. And the average price for a 20 bedroomed hotel is £794,000.
These prices are from an average of properties for sale across the UK. For more examples of properties currently within our directory click here.
HOTEL GUIDE RELEASED WITH WARNINGS TO HOTELIERS Soaring British hotel tariffs are harming the tourist trade, say the editors of The Good Hotel Guide, whose 2008 edition is out today. British hotels are among the most expensive to stay in in the world and their high charges are a serious issue for both domestic and foreign tourists.
Other issues which the Guide raises this year is that hotels can be family unfriendly and that a poor welcome is one of the most frequent complaints made by Guide correspondents. More details and advice on how to improve your hotel/B&Bs appeal to potential guests is available to members after login.
Our tips for selling your hotel include the following:
1. Don't give up running your business as well as you can. Don't get demotivated and maintain high standards to reap the best price for your going concern.
2. Get 3 or more valuations from local and national agents.
3. Get your accounts up to date. Buyers will want to see how well you have been doing.
4. Collect together all other paperwork which buyers may want to see, such as your major overhead bills, health & safety reports, licensing certificates, staff contracts, etc.
5. Compile a clear inventory of what you are selling with the business.
6. Declutter and maximise the saleability of your own quarters and the rest of the hotel.
7. Arrange viewings for quieter times of the day.
8. Broach the sale with staff if necessary. It's better that they learn about a possible sale through you than via someone else.
9. Make sure that you come across as positive as you can about your business to buyers, no matter how tired you are at the end of a busy season!
10. Don't give up hope of a sale. If you do all of the above you will eventually be on the move!
More details of how to go about selling a hotel business are available to members after login as well as tips for buyers about how to assess a hotel's potential.
August 26th 2007
HOTEL FIRE SAFETY
The recent hotel fire in Newquay, Cornwall was shocking and reminds all hoteliers of their responsibilities in fire prevention and safety precautions. If you are looking to buy a hotel or guesthouse and have concerns about the regulations that you will have to keep on top of, please take a look at the government advice for England and Wales by clicking here for the free PDF booklet. For slower download versions or to request a posted copy click here for further details. For advice in Scotland click here. More advice about your responsibilities as a hotelier or B&B owner are available to members after login.
July 17th 2007
Agent of The Year 2007 Award
At hotelstobuy we want to show our appreciation to those agents which YOU have found to be most helpful with your enquiries and search for a hotel or guesthouse to buy, or have worked hard to sell your own hotel property. Members can login and nominate for their chosen agent.
We would like to hear about your positive experiences of agents and, if they are already one of the 60+ agents who list their properties on hotelstobuy, they will go on to be considered for our "Agent of the Year" award which we hope to give out later this summer.
By nominating the good agents we hope to encourage the less than good ones to raise their game and become even more helpful to you and all the others looking to buy hotels in the UK. So please vote and help us to make a difference to the service which you are provided.
July 14th 2007
Want to know what sort of property you will be able to afford in various parts of the country? Click here for a look at some of the properties currently/recently available.
July 1st 2007
SMOKING BAN IN HOTELS
Just in case you have been living in a cave for the past few weeks and don't realise it - the whole of Great Britain's enclosed public places are now smoke-free! Members login to read how the smoking ban will affect you and your hotel business.
June 6th 2007
We've added another new article. This time featuring the experiences of a couple who have started to run a guesthouse business in Sweden, where land prices are apparently cheap and the lifestyle sounds idyllic! Members login to read the feature in full.
June 5th 2007
CREATING AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY HOTEL
Learn how to ensure your hotel or B&B can turn green; help reduce its impact on the environment; save money and attract more guests. It's the hottest topic of the moment and hoteliers need to address ways in which their business is as environmentally friendly as it can strive to be. Members login to read the feature in full.
May 24th 2007
DIARY OF A NEW HOTELIER
New Feature! This week sees the first installment of our new Diary Feature. Peter Wright is hoping to take over and run his own 15-bedroomed hotel in July 2007. He shall be giving us an insight into the challenges he faces along the way, as he reports back to us regularly about his experiences. Members login to read the feature in full.
May 21st 2007
We are proud to say that the number of properties on www.hotelstobuy.co.uk is now hovering around the 1000 mark. This is approximately 25% up on this time last year. This is largely due to more agents choosing to include their businesses within our directory.
May 16th 2007
NEW FEATURE
Just to let you know that we have added another proprietor profile to our Articles section. Members login to read the feature about the property in Broadstairs, Kent.
May 15th 2007
HOTELS AND THE SMOKING BAN
England has lagged behind the faster acting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland when it has come to banning smoking in enclosed public places. Most people are of course aware of the new smoking ban which comes into force in England on July 1st this year and but some do not realise that hotels will still be able to offer bedrooms in which guests will be able to light up.
These 'smoking' bedrooms will have to be designated as such and be clearly signed. In Scotland there must be an efficient ventilation system in place to get rid of any smoke correctly. This does not apply in England, where the ability to open a window will be adequate, as long as the smoke does not blow back into other parts of the building.
Remember that time cut down on emptying ash trays, etc. indoors may just shift to more work maintaining outside areas where smokers are likely to congregate.
And, from experience in Scotland, it does not seem that hotel insurance rates have come down as a result of less smoking within them!
Think long and hard about whether you are going to provide 'smoking' bedrooms. If you are not, but rooms have previously been used as such, then make sure all traces of nicotine and old smoke are cleaned out before the ban commences so that you can not be mistaken for having breached the law.
Members see our article on Regulations for further details.
May 5th 2007
Further to our news on May 1st, we have now also added another business profile feature for you - this time a 5 Star rated property in Carmarthenshire. Members login to read the feature.
May 1st 2007
NEW FEATURE ARTICLES BEING ADDED
Over the next week or so we are hoping to bring you more articles about existing hoteliers and B&B owners. We hope that an insight to other people's experiences of running their own accommodation business will inspire you to run your own - or give you ideas of ways in which you can improve the way you already do things.
The first new business which we are featuring is an 8 bedroomed guesthouse in Windermere. Members login to read the feature. to read the owner's story. And keep an eye on our Articles page for more coming soon.
March 28th 2007
BED TAX
Some of you may be aware that the UK government are considering plans to levy a Bed Tax on tourists and visitors to Hotels, Guest houses and B&Bs in the UK. We believe that this will do considerable damage to the tourism industry in this country and add further unecessary charges to hoteliers' tariffs. Please add your signature to the following online petition based at the 10 Downing Street website by clicking on this link: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/NO-to-Bed-Tax/
update - July 2007:
The Government have issued this reply:
"The Lyons Report, which reported in March, examined the case for a tourist tax. After careful analysis, the Report concluded that there is not a strong evidence base for the introduction of such a tax. While Sir Michael put the case for consultation on this issue, he did not recommend such a tax be implemented, the Government is not, therefore, inclined to focus on this area. The Government does not intend to introduce a tourism tax."
March 2nd 2007
We have noticed that some members' email addresses are bouncing back our weekly property updates to them. Please let us know if you have not received any updates (sent out on a Friday morning) for a while. This could be because you have filters on your inbox which are not allowing delivery of our messages.
February 12th 2007
HOTEL TRADE SHOWS
Just a reminder of the various trade shows coming up of relevance in the next few weeks. Visit the individual websites for further details.
Amongst its services, it offers viewers to post reviews of hotels and other accommodation they have stayed in throughout the world. If you are booking a hotel, we have found it quite useful and enlightening!
But there is a danger that you may find yourself on the wrong end of a bad review yourself. If you are already running a hotel, you may like to check what your guests may have been saying about you. If you are looking to buy a particular property, you could see what past guests have thought of the experience.
If you are taking over a hotel which has a bad reputation on sites like this, it can be difficult to disassociate yourself with any bad reviews from the previous owners. It's a new dilemma facing hoteliers and we thought we'd draw your attention to the fact that this is going on and that you do have some right to reply. If you see a review which you feel is unfair, or perhaps you have just taken over the business and want to tell everyone it is now under new management, you need to click on the link which says 'Write a Review of This Hotel' and then, hidden near the bottom right hand side of the next page is a link called 'Management Response Form'. If you follow this link you will be able to post your message.
And if you're tempted to write lots of glowing reviews about your own establishment - beware! Apparently the site does investigate this sort of thing and penalises anyone found to be creating fake write-ups.
