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Welcome to Our September 2021 Newsletter Hello friends, As summer draws to a close, we are aware this has been a challenging season for many of you, so well done for making it through. With Coronavirus restrictions lifting in Scotland last month we can finally embrace a return to normality. Though it comes at the end of a long period of struggle, this is a moment of celebration for all of us! The Scottish government are doing their part to boost the tourist economy – you can read about their new voucher scheme and how to get involved below. We at Private House Stays will also be doing all we can to support you in the coming months, including the introduction of our new “Insiders’ Guide” for each area, which we hope will boost traffic to your listings as we move into autumn. You can also find below an update on the short-term licence fee situation, and an exciting funding opportunity for Scottish Businesses through Digital Boost. Update concerning the calendar integration software: we have received confirmation from the directors of Everyone, our developers in Glasgow, that the work is now completed an in the final stages of extensive testing prior to implementation. We are "at the final hurdle." Thank you so much for your patience and understanding following these unanticipated roadblocks.In a couple of weeks, Cassie is travelling to East London to attend two shows: Book Direct show and the Short Stay Summit, both held at Tobacco Dock. Many industry specialists will be speaking, including Fiona Campbell, CEO of the Association of Scottish Self-Caterers. Cassie will be sure to update you on any important industry news.Over the course of the autumn, Private House Stays clients will have the option of attending webinars with Barry Clark to help with your sales process:For over 30 years, Barry Clark has been involved in the Scottish hotel sector. From an operational career, Barry soon progressed into Business Developmentand senior leadership roles and has been directly involved in managing the recovery of a number of previously under performing and loss making operations. Barry is recognised as a commercial expert, having the revenue and business management skills to drive profitability in hotels of all sizes. At the upcoming Private House Stays members event, Barry will be sharing his thoughts on the key business drivers that member owners should be focusing upon, to drive revenue, margins and ultimately to drive your profitability. You will also have the opportunity to ask Barry your own queries in an open Q&A session. Thank you for reading our newsletter and we are always on standby for your enquiries.
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Short term licence fee update |
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We understand that recent talks around the introduction of short-term let licence fees has been a source of anxiety for many of you. As you are aware, this legislation could have a disastrous impact on the Scottish tourism sector especially in rural areas. Efforts are ongoing to fight this one-size-fits all proposal: a downloadable pdf of the recent consultation response from Scotland Land & Estates (published 12th August) is available here. Key points to take away form the SLE’s report are:
- These proposals have been shaped with urban hot spots in mind and fail to consider the important role short-term lets play across rural Scotland
- The Licensing fees and administration costs (stated to be £300-£500) appear to be significantly underestimated, with some licenses potentially costing thousands
- The consultation process is potentially in breach of Scottish Government’s own best practice guidelines in terms of transparency, accountability, proportionality, and consistency
- The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) has failed in its duty to take a Scotland-wide view of the industry, and recent resignations from the related industry working group suggest it is not widely supported by affected businesses
- This is a time of crisis for the sector that will be most heavily impacted; the proposals being taken forward as secondary legislation do not offer an appropriate level of scrutiny for such a fundamental change
The Scottish Government’s consultation ended on 13th August, but you can still do your part by contacting your regional and constituency MSPs in the first instance and then local authority councillors highlighting the problems with the regulations (you can copy and paste the above response), and explaining the likely impact on your business and local supply chain etc. You can find your MSPs using the postcode checker tool on the Scottish Parliament website.
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Featured Property | Crescent House |
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A boutique Bed & Breakfast, Venue & Event Space, Crescent House is a rare gem located in Edinburgh's world-famous New Town. A Georgian Arthouse in a Grade A listed Crescent, the building was designed by the renowned architect William Burn in 1823. It has all the charm of a period property with modern luxury and designer style.
Crescent House was in 2018 by Scottish Artist Michael Worobec and his husband Paul Skrgatic and given a full refresh and a restyle in 2021. Art and style have been carefully curated to create an enchanting space to work or relax. You can rent Crescent House on a suite-by-suite basis or for exclusive use for up to 10 people (5 doubles available). All suites are bright and well-furnished with modern fitted en-suites, and rates include the signature "Buddha" continental breakfast – forever a favourite with guests. The neighbourhood benefits from a vibrant shop and restaurant scene, close to the exciting Broughton Street and the new and dynamic St James Quarter. Paul is well connected in the Scottish tourist & business scene so can help you plan your trip to Edinburgh from start to finish; Crescent House can arrange meals, onsite chefs, gin, whisky and wine tastings, or Art Tours across Edinburgh and Scotland. Check out their website here or @EdinburghArtTours for more information on tours based from Crescent House.For bookings or more information, please click here. | |
ScotSpirit Holiday Voucher Scheme |
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The ScotsSpirit Holiday Voucher Scheme aims to help vulnerable people within communities who have been adversely affected by the pandemic by offering subsidised breaks and day trips in Scotland. This will provide an injection of £1.4 million into the tourism economy, funded by the Scottish government in partners Visit Scotland. So what’s in it for you? The ScotSpirit Holiday Voucher Scheme will benefit tourism businesses by:
- Stimulating off-season domestic breaks in Scotland
- Offering business re-imbursement for day trips and overnight stays (find out more about eligibility for re-imbursement here)
- Attracting a new target market and increasing revenue potential through additional spend
- Creating a more responsible tourism industry which is socially sustainable and inclusive
- Providing marketing and PR opportunities
This is an excellent opportunity to fill rooms during the quieter off-season months while also making a real difference to the lives of unpaid carers, disadvantaged young people and low-income families across Scotland. As Private House Stays strongly believes in advocating for wellness in tourism, this is something we truly recommend you look into participating in. You can find more information about the scheme on Visit Scotland’s website HERE, sign up to join the scheme via this online registration form, or further enquire by contacting scotspiritbreaks@visitscotland.com.
You can check out other funding opportunities provided by Visit Scotland here.
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Private House Stays: The Insider's Guide |
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Starting this month we will be rolling out a new initiative, the “Insider’s guide”. This will provide an individual ‘things to do’ list for each property, containing links and recommendations from the property owners. This is part of our ongoing effort to boost search engine rankings and gain even more visibility for each property – as well as provide more information for booking customers. We’ll be contacting every property owner in turn for a short list of personal recommendations – but if you would like to jump ahead of the curve, feel welcome to contact beth@privatehousestays.com with a list of 5 local attractions your guests mustn’t miss!
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Digital Boost Development Grant: Now open for applications! |
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The Digital Boost Development Grant Fund is now open to Scottish Businesses. This 25m fund is being processed on a first come, first served basis – so get your applications in early! The development grant looks to help Scottish based SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises) who want to do more with digital – be that increasing productivity, safeguarding jobs, improving cyber security, building online booking systems, developing apps, or investing in hardware/software. This could be a fantastic opportunity for those of you who are looking to invest in a website. For more information or to check if you qualify, click here. You can view their eligibility criteria here, and their FAQ page provides handy answers to such questions as how the application process works, what documents are required, and what ventures are likely to be accepted.
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Why did you choose Private House Stays? The great thing about
Private House Stays is that it is not an avaricious on-line travel agent - OTA - those pariahs of the hospitality industry.
How has Private House Stays helped your business? Having deliberately avoided signing up with any of them I was more than cautious when PHS invited me to join in 2014. My worries were unfounded. PHS is truly a site that widened our market. Existing (and new) customers can book through our own website without any commission charges using the same PHS booking engine, and PHS generates further business at a reasonable commission.
Would you recommend Private House Stays to other owners?
If you don’t have a fully integrated booking system, then we would recommend PHS.
It's always nice to know what people are saying about our brand, and about the brand that is carrying your name. For a more complete list of testimonials from the members of Private House Stays please click HERE | | We Would Love to Hear From You
Do you have any suggestions, compliments, or complaints? We would love to hear from you! We would love to improve in our Quality, Service, and Accommodation, and you can help us do that.
Thank you for being part of the Private House Stays club. We appreciate you, and we look forward to seeing you again soon. In the interim, drop us a note. We'd love to hear from you!
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For your convenience, you may contact Cassie on +447990595895 or via email
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