Advice and next steps for tourist accommodation providers
Contents
- What do you need to consider?
- What are the different accommodation categories?
- Legal considerations
- Developing booking terms and conditions
- Tourist Accommodation Quality Grading Scheme
- Hotel Accommodation
- Guest House Accommodation
- Bed & Breakfast
- Guest Accommodation
- Self-catering Accommodation
- Hostel Accommodation
- Bunk House
- Campus Accommodation
- Camping, Caravanning and Glamping
- Grading of Caravan and Camping Parks
- Glamping Accommodation
- Advice and next steps for tourist accommodation providers
- Insurance and Risk Management for Tourist Accommodation
- Creating a Guest Information Pack
- Welcome Schemes
- A Welcome Hamper - the best way to welcome your guests
- An insight into Exempted Camping
- Temporary campsites & the ‘28-Day rule’
- Tourist Accommodation Associations
Contents
- What do you need to consider?
- What are the different accommodation categories?
- Legal considerations
- Developing booking terms and conditions
- Tourist Accommodation Quality Grading Scheme
- Hotel Accommodation
- Guest House Accommodation
- Bed & Breakfast
- Guest Accommodation
- Self-catering Accommodation
- Hostel Accommodation
- Bunk House
- Campus Accommodation
- Camping, Caravanning and Glamping
- Grading of Caravan and Camping Parks
- Glamping Accommodation
- Advice and next steps for tourist accommodation providers
- Insurance and Risk Management for Tourist Accommodation
- Creating a Guest Information Pack
- Welcome Schemes
- A Welcome Hamper - the best way to welcome your guests
- An insight into Exempted Camping
- Temporary campsites & the ‘28-Day rule’
- Tourist Accommodation Associations
Advice and next steps for tourist accommodation providers
Now that your accommodation has been certified, you may be wondering ‘what next?' There are many ways you can promote and grow your business. The aim of this guidance is to help you take the next step and access the support you need to succeed.
Discover Northern Ireland
The Discover Northern Ireland website (DNI) is the official tourism website for Northern Ireland, receiving over 3 million visitors each year. Translated into 5 languages, DNI includes accommodation listings and offers, events and experiences and inspirational content about holidaying in Northern Ireland.
The website is the call-to-action for Tourism NI’s marketing campaigns in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and features in all our marketing activities in both markets across online and offline channels.
Once your property has been certified, you can avail of a free, bookable business listing on DNI. It is important that your listing remains up to date with good quality content and photography.
If you would like to list your business on the Discover Northern Ireland website, you will need to complete a one-off registration Getting your tourism business listed on discovernorthernireland.com (tourismni.com). Once complete, you can update your listings 24/7 using the Product Manager platform.
Becoming Bookable on Discover Northern Ireland
Many visitors to Northern Ireland will plan and book their trip online. Ensuring that your accommodation is bookable is vital as visitors will use the Discover Northern Ireland website both to look and to book.
Tourism Northern Ireland have partnered with Tourism Exchange /TXGB to make listings like yours bookable on the Discover Northern Ireland website, reducing the commission that you will pay for online bookings and providing you with access to other niche and global distributors.
Please visit TXGB and select 'Apply Now'. A Booking Fee of 2.5% is payable to TXGB for bookings made via the platform.
Tourism Northern Ireland does not charge commission for bookings made via the Discover Northern Ireland website.
Tourism Ireland
Your listing will also be displayed on Tourism Ireland’s consumer website, www.ireland.com which gives you an opportunity to reach a global audience of 23 million users. You can showcase your experiential offers on the dedicated Northern Ireland pages which are translated into German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.
For further information, visit www.tourismirelandindustryopportunities.com.
Your listing can also be shared with several of the local Councils and other partner organisations for publication on their websites, helping to further amplify the reach of your business.
Online Travel Agency (OTA)
Online Travel Agents (OTAs) are often a go-to for visitors before they make their final choice about where to stay in Northern Ireland. These third-party booking agents allow you to list your rooms on their sites and facilitate the bookings through their platforms as well as local operators.
Examples of popular OTAs include Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia.com, Trivago.com and AirBnB. However, always ensure that you are comfortable with their commission rates, and terms and conditions.
You can also access and manage many of the leading OTAs through TXGB.
For further information, or to arrange a demonstration please visit TXGB | Tourism Exchange GB | Booking Channel Management.
Online Presence
Using social media and creating your own website is an important way to advertise and market your property to a wide audience. You can also install booking engine software on your website to allow visitors to book rooms. Tourism NI has designed toolkits to help you with getting online, social media channels, Google Analytics and search engine optimisation.
Accommodation - growing your business (tourismni.com)
Google My Business
Set up a free Business Profile listing on Google My Business. This will enable you to take charge of what people see when they search for your business and give you a business listing on Google Maps. www.google.com/business/
Quality Grading Scheme
Visitors increasingly demand high accommodation standards, and the quality of your product will influence the future success of your business. For 75% of consumers, a star rating will influence their choice. The TNI Quality Grading Scheme is designed to give visitors a clear idea of the standards of accommodation, service and cleanliness, which they can expect during their stay.
The scheme is open to hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, self-catering, hostels and guest accommodation; with premises having the ability to achieve a grading of between one to five stars, Tourist Accommodation Quality Grading Scheme (tourismni.com).
How to apply online:
Visit https://forms.tourismni.com/forms/Grading/ and click Applications. You can also:
- Apply and renew membership.
- Apply for reassessment.
- Once certified you will automatically have received an email with a username and password which you will need to access the above tasks.
Welcome Schemes
Tourism NI's Welcome Schemes are designed for accommodation providers who are participating in Tourism NI's Quality Grading Scheme. They are provided to help visitors find somewhere suitable for their needs e.g. Pets or Walkers. Visitor online searching habits have advanced and people will often now search for e.g. a walking or cycling holiday in Northern Ireland and having your property listed in the relevant Welcome Schemes may make your property more appealing to these visitors. Click here for more information.
Welcome Pack
You should consider providing guests with a welcome pack of locally sourced goods to welcome them to your accommodation. Find out more here.
Guest Information Pack
You should also consider providing an information pack to assist your guests during their stay. To include:
- Your contact details.
- Emergency services contact details.
- Fire escape routes.
- Rules for stay e.g. no smoking, loud music etc.
- Instructions on the use of all appliances.
- Wi-Fi codes.
- Useful local information, websites and maps e.g. local taxis, bus/train timetables, supermarkets, coffee shops, bars, restaurants, proximity to local towns, Visitor Information Centres etc.
- Information on visitor experiences and attractions within the area e.g. historic sites, beaches, forest parks, walks, tours etc. You can visit your local Visitor Information Centre for leaflets/maps etc. on attractions in the area.
Public Liability Insurance
Public liability is an essential part of any accommodation business if someone gets injured or their property damaged through your fault or no fault of anyone while on your premises. Click here for more information.
Tourism Northern Ireland
Through our corporate website www.tourismni.com you can access various resources, advice, toolkits and training programs to assist in growing your business and knowing your customer Build your Tourism Business - Support | Tourism NI
To keep up to date on industry news and events sign up to Tourism NI and receive the latest news and insights. Sign up here.
This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable
efforts have been made, Tourism NI cannot guarantee that the information is accurate and up to date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate.