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ARE SCOTLAND’S INDEPENDENT ACCOMMODATION PROVIDERS MISSING OUT?
Less than half (48%) of the 573 guest houses and only 38% of the 1,448 Bed & Breakfast providers on www.
visitscotland.com are benefiting from offering
online booking systems,
according to recent figures from VisitScotland.
This means that a large part of Scotland’s independently run accommodation providers may be missing out on a slice of over £3 million* worth of bookings originating on the website to competitors who offer fast and easy online booking.
Although online booking has grown in popularity in recent years, Cassie Bouverie, owner of Private House Stays, one of the booking partners working with VisitScotland, believes there are a number of concerns and misconceptions that may deter providers from taking the ‘online’ plunge.
“We know that people like to be able to book online quickly. But often
accommodation providers think that if they offer this service they will lose control and people will turn up on their doorstep unexpectedly and unannounced. This is true of some systems, but not all, so it’s worth looking for a ‘non-live’ system. This means that a booking can be made online, but it has to be physically accepted by the provider before it’s confirmed.
“We specialise in supporting smaller or privately-owned providers, who are usually offering accommodation in their own homes, so we know that having this option is important to them.”
And with people spending on average 31 hours every month on their laptop or PC and 66% of people using a smart phone**, Cassie believes that providers who don’t go online are likely to miss out.
“Fears about using a computer, or not having the necessary software
skills are also holding back many providers,” says Cassie, who ran a B&B in Edinburgh with her husband, Archie, for 12 years before setting up Private House Stays. “But an online booking system is aimed at saving time and money so, crucially, it needs to be simple to operate and maintain, with no hidden costs.”
Specifically suited to smaller, privately- owned accommodation providers, Private House Stays aims to help run their business either as a main or secondary income, in a way that suits their lives.
www.privatehousestays.com www.visitscotland.com
For further information please contact Cassie Bouverie at Private House Stays: T: 0131 202 1348/1349 E:
cassie@privatehousestays.com
RUN YOUR BED & BREAKFAST THE SMART WAY WITH SMARTTRADE APP
Running a B&B is great, but the admin side can grind you down, especially if you want to take card payments. Too much paperwork, expensive card
readers and issues accepting foreign cards and bookings.
Now there’s an app called SmartTrade App to solve these issues. With 0% card fees
(optionally
roll the 2.15% and 20p per card transaction fee onto the customer bill), go totally paperless,
easily take
deposits for rooms, and easily
process
foreign cards. Even take card payments by email, anywhere in the world. The real kicker is there is NO card reader
needed, just the app. No Contract. Only £9.99 per month.
“SmartTrade App is an incredible app that I now run my business off. I take deposits with Paylinks and then guest pay the balance with zapping their card. And it syncs with Xero on my accounts!” - Isla Fullerton-Smith, Highfield House, Dornach
Visit
www.smart-
tradeapp.com for further information. Just search Apple, Google Play App stores for ‘SmartTrade App’
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