ASSC Annual Conference 2015: Committed to Excellence

Hilton Hotel Glasgow, 10 November 2015

211 delegates attended the 2015 Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition at the Hilton Hotel Glasgow. 107 ASSC businesses were represented, alongside industry representatives and delegates from Ireland, Spain and Germany. 21 Trade Suppliers provided a wide range of services and products tailored to the self-catering sector. 5 Key Sponsors supported the event: MyRentals, Booking.com, Scottish Cottages, HomeAway and SuperControl. It was motivational, engaging and thoroughly inspiring.

It was a fantastic day. Thanks to all those who attended: delegates, speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and of course our fabulous Host, Willie Cameron.

For feedback from the conference, click here.

Nick Nairn: Exceeding Expectations

• Nick’s father was a founding member of the ASSC. In 1973, he had 10 log cabins at Lochend. He recognised the professional standards required in self-catering. Nick used to help clean to log cabins – occasionally sleeping off a hangover, apparently! Self-catering is in his blood. His brother and sister are still Members of the ASSC and have successful businesses.
• Nick decided to expand his horizons, and went travelling. This is where he learn his love of food.
• He doesn’t have any formal training to be a chef, but he has a passion for food.
• The key to success is to exceed expectations.
• You must know your market and continually invest in your product and reinvent.

What does Nick want to see in a self-catering property?

• A proper espresso machine
• A smoothie machine
• Good knives
• Bluetooth speakers
• Connectivity – wifi
• Hospitality / conviviality / personalisation
• The opportunity to feedback

Charlie Smith: Marketing Scotland – The Next Chapter 2016

• Presented the marketing approach for 2016
• Their new theme – The Spirit of Scotland – represents a change in in approach for their marketing campaign. It also represents the new spirit of working together.
• VS are the guardians of the Scottish brand, rather than the owners of it.
• Customer behaviour has changed and VS are changing accordingly.
• The most efficient form of marketing is advocacy.
• VS is asking for content from partners and businesses, recognising that user generated content is huge. It is a great opportunity to harness all the great content out there.
• They are adopting a mixture of traditional marketing methods and working with partners, association and businesses to generate content.
• They are looking at markets where the best conversion rates can be predicted: Scotland, England, North America, France and Germany.
• They have a date driven approach to Google searches to ensure Google ‘loves them’.
• They have carried out extensive consumer surveys into how they can engage with customers.
• Changes to the VS website to be launched in 2016 include:
  • It will be fully mobile optimised
  • There will be better navigation
  • There will be new mapping
  • Enhanced listings
  • Itineraries  – suggestions of what to do
  • Trip planning and scrapbook elements
  • Greater prominence of events
  • A community platform – forum including local ambassadors who can help the visitor experience
• Trust You – VS has partnered with TY which aggregates all review sites
• They will be mobilising VICs to increase reach to the places where visitors are.
• The new strategy launches in the UK in March, aligning with STA Tourism Week.

Ali Campbell: Find Your Place in Social Media

• The importance of social media in tourism.
• The various channels available, and which ones are most important.
• How to build a personality for your business.
• How to advertise your business.

Joel Lumsden: Right Message, Right Time: Excellence in the Online Customer Journey

• People trust brands.
• Google now trusts brands.
• Google continues to outsmart us, changing algorithms that we have to keep up with.
• The importance of doing something better than everyone else.
• How to appeal to different personas.
• A Guidance Sheet has been generated from this presentation and can be found in the Members Area.

Paul Saunders: It Was So Much Better Than I Thought It Would Be

• 10 tips on how to improve your video and photography content.
• A Guidance Sheet has been generated from this presentation and can be found in the Members Area.
• A film accompanies this, click here to view it.

Pablo Zubicaray: Economic impact of holiday rentals in Spain

• The issues being faced in other parts of Europe: restrictions in Paris & Amsterdam.
• Regulations are being tightened all over Europe and European cities.
• As restrictions come in, hoteliers take advantage and take over the market.
• The EHHA was founded 2 years ago with a view to understanding the market throughout Europe, sharing knowledge and experiences.
• Fevitur needed to have some real data to prevent discreditation: they wanted to understand the market, customers and economic impact of holiday home rental in Spain. Pablo presented the study which was fascinating.

David Paton: Homelands – A Break By the Sea with Access for All

• David offered a background about the Homelands Trust.
• He introduced the growing accessibility market and how Members can tap into it.
• The importance of having an access statement.
• A Guidance Sheet has been generated from this presentation and can be found in the Members Area.

Cathy Craig: Expanding Horizons and Innovation

• The importance of innovation
• Continually changing your product and improving it
• Not being scared to try something new, even if it fails
• Don’t worry about not getting it right
• How can you exceed expectations and add unexpected value.

10 tips emerged from the Conference to help market your business *

1. ‘It was so much better than I thought it would be’ – Are you underselling yourself? Whilst this is a lovely comment it really means that you must be underselling what you have to offer. Look carefully at your proposition.
2. Invest in good photography – Make your cottage website stands out from the crowd: Use high quality photography to showcase your property & views; Many websites don’t even show the amazing scenery that is nearby; Show off your ‘Unique Selling Points’ – The views, location, hot tub, wood burning stove, four poster bed, free boat, etc; Highlight your key living rooms and bedrooms – use natural light or sidelights to give warmth & colour; Present the ‘special touches’ that you have to offer i.e. welcome pack, DVD’s, games, local produce; Invest in aerial imagery if possible to give clear location perspective.
3. Bring your cottages or location to life with a professional short video. This can make a big difference to your business and the cost can be covered by just one extra booking as a result.
4. Customer Testimonials – Showcase and highlight some of those lovely comments and reviews you get in your guest book onto your website and on your Facebook page etc.
5. Know your market and also what sets you apart – Why your cottages, lodges or holiday location? Make sure your website and marketing material convey this clearly. Make sure your website highlights 5 main ‘key points of interest’ as a minimum.
6. Use ‘Instagram’ – Fast growing, very popular and well worth setting up an account to show off your best photos & imagery. The most popular business sector using Instagram is ‘Travel and Tourism’.
7. Be flexible with your bookings and start dates – Particularly out of season, more than 80% of bookings in the off peak season are for short breaks with the majority wanting Friday or Monday starts.
8. WiFi – do you have it yet? If not make sure you can where possible, this is becoming a must have feature.
9. ‘Good quality’ is now the standard – Customers are becoming more demanding and expect high quality and guests want to feel they are being ‘spoilt a little’.
10. ‘Don’t be a best kept secret’ – Be brazen and show off all your best features and make sure you tell everyone who needs to know.

* Thanks to Waterside Breaks for this insight!

 

 

With thanks to Crescent Events for organising such a successful Conference.