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Private House Stays March 2022 Newsletter Hello friends,Welcome to our March newsletter🌷. We hope you all had a busy start to the year and are feeling energised as the days get longer and brighter☀️There are lots of exciting events on the horizon and more opportunities to learn for our growing team. We are delighted to announce our next PHS Talk with the knowledgable George McGillivray and Michelle McFarlane on 28th April 🎤 discussing 'Google my Business and #Hashtag Marketing. One of our excellent copywriters, Beth, has created a wonderful blog post recapping our Scotland Year of Stories webinar. All of our webinars are uploaded onto our site and can be found here.
We are raising funds through these webinars by charging non-members of Private House Stays £10 to attend; any other donations would be welcomed. Every penny raised by this event will be donated in its entirety to the Disasters Emergency Committee to help the residents of Ukraine and Afghanistan.
Cassie arrives in the Shetland Islands 🛩 today after her trip in November was cancelled due to storm Arwyn; she is very excited to build relationships with the Shetland Islanders and will be visiting the Islands of Fetlar, Yell and Unst. Next Tuesday morning, Cassie will be finishing her trip with a presentation via zoom, with her cohort, on Leadership and Sustainability in Ayrshire for the Destination Leadership program provided by Edinburgh Napier University🎓.
Please welcome Adam Donald and Anna Eaton, who are joining our growing team. We have never been more excited to see what the future brings us. With more staff come more opportunities to focus on providing our clients with a better experience. To ensure all of our team are fully trained for the industry, Anna and Adam are undertaking a one-day HIT Scotland training course📚, and Megan is about to complete her 8-week course. In our weekly team meetings, we are working through 10-minute training modules provided by Simon Organ. Simon has been helping business for over forty years and has worked with major brands such as Deliveroo and Loch Lomond Distillery. Private House Stays will be attending Discover Scotland: Reconnect 2022. This will give us the opportunity to meet with key buyers from all over the world, with 320 international delegates attending🌎. It aims to show the best of what Scotland has to offer and exposes the best of Scottish tourism to potential buyers from countries worldwide, including the USA, Canada, Japan and UAE, to name a few. If you are working in tourism, this may be something you want to register for. To learn more about the event and how to register, follow this link. We are deeply saddened by the events in Ukraine right now; our heart goes out to all the families who have lost loved ones and the communities who have had their lives uprooted. War is never the answer, and we are horrified that it is has come to this; every day, we hope that we are close to a peaceful resolution that does not result in Ukraine losing any of its independence. Cassie has decided to run two 10ks by the longest day of the year to raise more money for Ukraine, you can donate through her Just Giving page which can be found hereOliver/ The Private House Stays Team 🏠 |
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PHS TALKS - 28th April Google My Business |
Join us on Thursday 28th April at 11 am for our next PHS webinar. Our speakers this month are Industry experts George McGillivray and Michelle McFarlane share their tips and tricks on taking your business's digital promotion to the next level.
Things you will learn:
⭐️Why Google My Business is so important for your business
💰How Google can promote your business for free📈 How using Hashtags can increase your online exposure.If you missed out on last month's webinar with Neely Khan and Emma Greer, don't worry! You can access the full recording here.
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Finalists for the Best Commitment to Youth Development Awards from MELCC
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Cassie is delighted to announce that Private House Stays is a finalist for the Best Commitment to Youth Development awards from the Midlothian and East Lothian Chamber of Commerce. Our team has been doing great work, and she is so proud that we are being recognised for it. As a growing company with a recent influx of young talent, we are incredibly motivated to reach our goals and visions, which will lead to a prosperous future for the company.As a team, we are looking forward to continuing to work with our amazing property owners and seeing Private House Stays blossom. The dinner and awards will be held at Brunton Hall in Musselburgh on March 30th.
Our team of five, James Mullan, Megan Brown, Oliver Bayliss, Anna Eaton and Adam Donald, all joined through the Kickstart scheme to gain experience in the world of work. They have gone above and beyond the requirements to succeed in their roles; Cassie could not be happier with whom she chose to join her on this journey. Beth continues to work with us part-time, specifically on blog posts, one of which focuses on our latest successful webinar.
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In the Northernmost County in mainland Scotland sits the beautiful Valley View house, run by the incredibly welcoming Antoinette and Stephen Robertson-Carswell. This property is perfect for guests wanting to experience all the Highlands have to offer, including highly close contact with the warmest fold of Highland Coo’s you will ever meet. The hosts recommend that you meet their pet Coo’s, which will be sure to make your trip unique.
Located on an active farm in the country, Valley View offers four beautiful rooms; all are en-suite and feature a Smart TV, ironing facilities and hairdryers with access to tea and coffee. The Coo’s suite is furnished with a super king-sized bed where you can relax in the morning and use a remote-controlled blind to take in the fantastic views of Dunnet head cliffs and the Orkney Islands. Both the King-sized room and Twin room overlook the sea. The whole house receives superfast broadband, suitable for business and personal use.
Within 25 minutes of Valley View house is John O’Groats, where you can take the fantastic coastal walk to Duncansby stacks. This village is an excellent tourist location, the focal point of many visitors’ journeys, with incredible wildlife spotted on and around the breathtaking coast.
For bookings or more information, please click here. | |
Scotland is Calling Phase 2 |
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Scotland is Calling: The second phase of the £8.5 million global marketing campaign has begun. To support the revival of Scotland’s tourism industry after the damage caused by the pandemic. Visit Scotland are running a campaign to put Scotland “at the forefront of the global consumer’s mindset.” They aim to make Scotland one of the first thought destinations for tourists worldwide.
Working with brands such as National Geographic, Facebook, and Expedia, they are targeting key markets in the US, France, Germany, and the UK to show that Scotland is a suitable holiday venue. Their research has deduced that the pandemic has significantly influenced how people use their time on the internet and what they look for when considering choosing a holiday experience. Understanding these changes will help massively keep your business at the forefront of this new digital age.
According to their information, tourists wish to live like locals on holiday. They want to find their own authentic Scotland. By showcasing what you would do as someone who has fully experienced the area, you fulfil a need that has arisen due to past events. The masses no longer crave a manufactured holiday; guests want to feel the soul of a place that can only be achieved through access to inside knowledge.
Outdoor activities have become an essential part of many people's holidays; being stuck inside has led to people appreciating the great outdoors while they can. You can see what else has been trending in recent times by reading through Visit Scotland's fantastic research.
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Top 100 Women in Tourism for 2022 |
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The 8th of March was International Women’s Day. To continue the celebration of women, Private House Stays would like to introduce you to the Women in Tourism: Top 100. It was created in 2015 by a small group of passionate leaders who recognised the challenges and opportunities for women within the sector. It is designed to identify the extraordinary work being done in the Scottish Tourism Industry and with hopes to inspire, motivate, encourage, and support women across the sector. Age or experience is not a prerequisite; if you know of someone contributing toward the improvement of the tourism industry, you can nominate them. Whether they are a student just starting or nearing the end of their working life, it does not matter; these women should be celebrated for their hard work, especially considering the hardships faced in the previous three years. To nominate a deserving candidate, you need to email susan@womeintourism.co.uk with the nominee’s name, email address, and why you are nominating them (200-word maximum). This outstanding award is perfect for celebrating the women around you and showing that you are grateful for their hard work; we should be looking to build up those within our industry, and there is no better place to start than with this award. You can follow along with the journey by following WITScotland on Twitter or searching the #WITTop100 to find the latest tweets.
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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? We always have the final say on whether or not to accept bookings. It's an ethical business model that works harmoniously. Cassie provides a friendly "user interface" when needed (not often). I recommend them. No hesitation. Avoid the big bullying OTA sites.
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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