Booking.com "protecting" guest identity

It appears that this message is rolling out across European markets currently and I was wondering if any businesses in the UK had received it yet?

An extra level of security? This from the very company that made a habit of sending out hundreds of thousands of customer details by fax to unmanned machines in hotels across the world with full client details, address, credit card, security number.

Now they don't want you the provider of the customer service to have access to your clients' contact?

Security. Yup. Sure.

Borthwick Castle to Reopen in July

One of the best pieces of news I picked up at Expo in Aberdeen was that the wonderful Borthwick Castle was approaching completion of its refurbishment and will be open again in the summer.

Of all of the refurbs going on in Scotland just now I cannot wait to see how this is going to come out. I have personal and very fond memories of this place as a student at Queen Margaret College when I was employed there over the summer on my first year placement.

And what an education.

I recall the total fear when I approached the castle (my little red Peugeot 104 having suffered a puncture en route as I recall) to be interviewed by the "chatelaine" Helen Bailey.

From the outside the structure was just awesome. A twin keep castle rising to 110 feet with long drive, old church and graveyard to the right and the wall and gatehouse entrance. This was amazing I thought and considerably more impressive than the Stakis Station hotel in Ayr where I'd spent a week chopping turnip for three hundred every night!

Up the stairs to the massive and very solid wooden door. You could not help but be impressed as you entered into the small entrance hallway that lead up to the rooms and halls, down to the dungeons and directly into the Great Hall.

It was one of those things that I learnt to build up to as I welcomed the almost exclusively American guests that summer; I learnt to build the expectation of opening that door. Hold them for a second while welcoming, let them take their breathe from the wonder of the outside, and then, and only then, blow them away by inviting them into the main hall.

The Great Hall was simply breath taking and remember no Internet or TripAdvisor reviews. These guys had NO idea what they were about to discover.

Huge vaulted stone ceiling - and I mean enormous, apparently the highest in Scotland - leaded windows, enormous fireplace (burning with logs cut by yours truly after breakfast that morning), huge dining tables set with silver goblets, crystal and cutlery (polished by yours truly that morning after breakfast and log cutting) and invariably Vivaldi's Four Seasons playing in the background from a Stereogram set in a traditional piece of furniture.

Then the tour of the rooms. Sorry bed chambers. Red Room, Scott, Borthwick, Bothwell and of course Mary Queen of Scots. That was the romantic one and I do recall catching a little kiss in that room from someone rather special some time later!

Wow factor? You bet.

So there was me at 19 witnessing all this for the first time and being interviewed underneath a six foot portrait of herself in the minstrels' gallery by the aforementioned Ms Bailey. Intimidated? Not a bit!

So I got the job. I experienced how to deliver personal customer care like never before, learnt how to recite horror stories and make up history (which really stood me in great stead for my subsequent student political life) and simply fell in love with a building like I had never done before nor ever will again.

For a summer it was my castle.

I look forward to revisiting and oh god, it would be so good to do some work for them again. Who knows.

Good luck Borthwick Castle, it's so good to know you're back.

Open Rooms to Develop Top B&B Group Website

Following on from Expo, the team at Open Rooms can confirm that they have secured the work to build a new content managed and responsive website for Scotland's Best B&Bs.

Scotland's Best B&Bs is a membership organisation made up of small independent bed and breakfasts with a minimum four star rating. The website has been live for a number of years with strong traffic through it and Open Rooms has been employed to build this further and increase the DIRECT sales back to the owners' own business.

The site has benefited from the FreeToBook booking engine and availability search and Open rooms will be working with the FreeToBook team to ensure that increased business levels can be achieved.

The new website will be developed using Claymore, the in house built Content and Destination management System, which will allow the site members to easily update everything from content to images, offers and news directly into the site from their own easy to use management area.

The news of the development comes hard on the heels of the announcement that the Scottish Incoming Golf Tour Operators Association have also chosen the destination management software and design skills of Open Rooms to build their new members site.

Ian McCaig from Open Rooms was delighted.

We've spent a lot of money over the past six months developing new functions for Claymore to ensure it was keeping up with the demands of the sector and we have seen some great results during that time from large destination sites such as Ayrshire Golf Scotland and luxury travel company Executive Golf and Leisure in Stirling. Securing both of these sites in the same week is affirmation of what we're doing and look forward to working on two great and challenging projects.

Open Rooms is the recently re-branded name for the online marketing and web development arm of Claymore projects Scotland offering cost effective and creative solutions to the tourism sector from B&Bs to destination sites.

Find out more at the new Open Rooms website

Come and see us at VisitScotland Expo in Aberdeen

We are heading up to Aberdeen for a couple of days to promote our new Open Rooms On-line marketing packages so if you're heading to the Exhibition Centre please come and visit us on Stand H10.

Whether, like many, you are concerned about the visibility of your site following Google's changes to its mobile search strategy or looking for help driving more DIRECT online business or perhaps advice on your booking engine we will be delighted to see you. We also have a range of easy to understand briefings that can help your business for you to take away

We have got some great on-stand offers for new websites and offering all visitors to Expo a six months listing on our Scotland's For Me portal site.

So whatever you are looking for from your on-line marketing campaign in the next twelve months we think we can help.

Is Your Website Mobile Ready?

Good online and digital marketing businesses have been emphasising for several years the need for hospitality business to be mobile ready. Increases in mobile technology, new devices and improvements in booking software have all pointed towards the need for hotels, attractions and hospitality service businesses to be mobile ready. However it has taken a warning from Google to focus attention.

Website and news site around the world have been labelling the changes as "Mobilegeddon" and for many hospitality businesses this description is not far wrong. A random testing of thirty sites this morning found less than 20% ready for the changes and with so many searches on mobile devices for travel it could have major impacts on site traffic.

We have been building responsive websites as the norm for over a year now for tourism businesses and destination groups of all sizes. Most recent to go live over the weekend was an upgrade to a long term client Rosemary Young at Inveran Lodge in Nairn.

From the graphics above you can see just how well the content works on different devices but why is it now so important?

Google Search Changes

Recent announcements by Google seem to have terrified the hospitality sector into acting on their mobile strategies. Changes to be implemented in April 2015 indicate that Google searches done on mobile devices will be affected by whether a site is mobile friendly or not. It appears but is not certain that it is only searches actually undertaken on a mobile advice that will be affected but with estimates indicating search traffic on mobiles being up to 60% in some tourism sectors, non-compliance could have a devastating effect.

Your site must be responsive!

Responsive Web Design

Google are looking for your website to respond to the device it is being viewed on. The way we use the internet on a mobile device is entirely different from a laptop or desktop and intuitive drop down menus and easy to click buttons are essential. All websites built in the past year using our own Claymore Content Management System are already fully responsive and pass this test. Some older sites that have dedicated mobile version sites still pass.

Test your site with Google

However, now is the time to look at ensuring that your website is fully responsive and will work across all platforms and not just for the search engines. The customer is now used to sites that work on mobile and will simply leave one that isn’t – you must continually reduce friction for your site visitor. The easiest and most cost effective way to do this is to upgrade to one of our Open Rooms XV websites all of which have a responsive solution built in.

Send us an email message or call 01294 233713 for more information and a surprisingly affordable mobile ready solution!

Amazon set to expand its hotel offering?

This article is well worth reading if you happen to be an independent hotelier.

It is being reported that Amazon may be about to supplement the dicounted room offer that they currently offer through Amazon Local to general hotel room availability in an area setting the potential for a head to head with the likes of Booking.com at some point in the future.

According to the full article on Skift.com there is some activity in the States that indicates changes in Amazon Local to offer live availability in a selection of hotel properties.

If nothing else the article goes to underline that the dynamism in hotel distribution channels is unlikely to slow down and that hoteliers must maintain a strong relationship building strategy to drive DIRECT bookings wherever possible.

There will always be a secondary market for hotel rooms that must be integrated into strategic thinking but NOT at the cost of abandoning an even more aggressive DIRECT booking campaign.

Read Full Article here

Arnold Palmer Confirmed as course designer for second Castle Stuart Layout in the HIghlands

The legendary Arnold Palmer is to build his first golf course in the Home of Golf in a partnership with the world renowned Castle Stuart Golf Links in the Scottish Highlands.

The Arnold Palmer Group has confirmed it is joining forces with Castle Stuart’s managing partner Mark Parsinen and his team to collaborate on a spectacular new 18-hole links course on the Moray Firth near Inverness.

The new venture will complement the existing course at Castle Stuart, built by Parsinen and Gil Hanse and which has achieved worldwide acclaim since opening in 2009.

Plans for the venue’s second iconic course will be submitted within two months and it is envisaged work will get underway early next year, ahead of the return of the Scottish Open to Castle Stuart for the fourth time in six years. It is planned to have the new links open for use by 2019.

The partnership deal was announced by Arnold Palmer at his Invitational tournament which is being held this week at the golfer’s Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Florida.

Discussions on the project have been ongoing for some time and members of the Palmer team have visited Castle Stuart several times recently.

Arnold, himself, commented: “I have had a strong affection for Scotland since I first went there in 1960 to play in the Open at St. Andrews. I have returned many times since, including a memorable victory in the Open Championship at Troon in 1962.

“The opportunity to build an iconic golf course in Scotland would be the culmination of all these great experiences.  I am looking forward to my visit to Castle Stuart in a few months’ time.”

Mark Parsinen, who also co-designed Kingsbarns Golf Links in Fife, said; “We have been in discussion for more than a year now with the Arnold Palmer Group and we are delighted that it has joined the partnership at Castle Stuart Golf Links.

“We are working with his design team on the routing of the new course with a view to beginning construction this time next year.”

The new course will be similar in length to the existing 7,193-yard links and will feature spectacular views across the Moray Firth as well as the 17th century castle which gives the course its name.

Stuart McColm, Castle Stuart Golf Links’ general manager, added: “This is fantastic news, not just for Inverness, but for the Highlands and for Scotland. We at Castle Stuart have focused on working with other partners to promote the Highlands as a world class golfing destination and this announcement that the Arnold Palmer Group wants to partner with us can only enhance that reputation.

“Having two world class courses in Inverness, together with all the other great courses in the Highlands, will undoubtedly drive more people to this area and have a significant economic impact.”

The development is another major milestone in the short but spectacular history of Castle Stuart Golf Links.
It has achieved global acclaim in its first six years and was placed at No. 56 on Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the World in 2013.

It staged the Scottish Open for three successive years from 2011-2013, with the 2013 championship, won by Phil Mickelson, reaching a worldwide television audience of more than 500 million, including weekend live coverage on NBC USA.

The championship, sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management and the Scottish Government, will return to Castle Stuart in July, 2016.