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On webinar 15 from 1/7/20:

We were very pleased to welcome this week Alistair Handyside, Executive Chairman of the Professional Association of Self-Caterers and owner of  Higher Wiscombe Holiday Cottages in Devon. Alistair shared his wealth of knowledge on what the constantly evolving guidance on reopening means for self catering and other accommodation providers, and tips on how to keep up to date with changes.

We were also pleased to welcome Tony Brennan of Tower Guest House, York’s top B&B, and developer of an app to help with remote check-in, to hear about how he is gearing up his business ready for an eagerly awaited reopening on 4th July.

On webinar 14 from 24/6/20:

This week we took a more detailed looked at the key elements of the official UK Government guidelines for re-opening with David Weston, Chair of the B&B Association.

Simon Numphud, Managing Director at AA Media talked about how important instilling guest confidence will be encourage guests to book as businesses reopen, and how The AA’s new COVID Confident scheme will help.

David Brown, Director at Farm Stay UK and the owner of Hoe Grange Holidays near Matlock, highlighted how he is preparing for the return of guests, and the support the group has been offering Farm Stay members.

On webinar 13 from 17/6/20:

Sue Clarke, Sales and Marketing Manager for Cumbria Tourism joined us for this webinar. Sue highlighted how the official tourism organisation for the county is gearing up for the return of tourism post-lockdown, and the actions they are advising accommodation businesses to take do to be ready to welcome visitors once more.

Then Karen Thorne, owner of Hopton House B&B near Ludlow, highlighted how she is preparing her property to welcome guests again. Karen also runs the B&B Academy, to help people set up and run a B&B, and we discussed what she is supporting her Academy graduates to do now to ensure they are ready to open too.

On webinar 12 from 10/6/20:

In this edition we talked with Melinda Beckett-Hughes of Ayuda House in Bowden, Cheshire, whose tailor-made retreats give guests a stress-free stay. Melinda is also an experienced life coach and counsellor, so we also explored the psychological impact of COVID-19 0n guests and businesses.

Karen Wells-West talked about how your property can be both clean and green, offering tips from her Green Tourism Gold award property, The Sanctuary Eco B&B, in Golant, Cornwall.

Then GuestTalk’s Karen Foster highlighted how managing elements of operations remotely can be of real benefit in a post-lockdown age of travel.

On webinar 11 from 3/6/20:

This week, Janet Uttley from Visit England brought us up to speed on the new industry standard being developed to help with consumer messaging and reassurance for when hospitality businesses begin to open up again.

We also heard from Lyn Martin of Dorset House, Lyme Regis, on how they are have been successfully communicating with guests and keeping them keen to come back as soon as they can, as well as finding out about new processes being put in place to keep their guests safe.

Finally, Sapphire Stein showed us how high-tech tools from Wishbox are helping business tackle challenges such as contactless check-in and guest registration.

On webinar 10 from 27/5/20:

Our 10th Share webinar! This week we welcomed Gemma Elizabeth Conway of Cotswold Cottage Gems, an award-winning agency offering boutique Cotswold holiday cottages and leaned about their ambitious expansion plans.

We also spoke to Wayne Jones from No.27, one of Brighton’s top B&Bs about the impact of coronavirus on the city’s visitors and about how the hospitality industry will be welcoming them back.

Our third guest was Anthony Davies of Welsh serviced accommodation agency Cosy Dragons, about what re-opening will mean for their properties and guests post lockdown.

On webinar 9 from 20/5/20:

We talked linen – quality, care, and COVID cleaning with Marc Wynne, International Sales Director at Vision Support Services, one of the country’s leading linen suppliers to the hospitality industry. Marc offered insight and advice on getting the best from your bedding and on the concept of clean room marketing.

Popular tourist destinations such as the Lake District are among the hardest hit by the impact of COVID-19. This week we were also joined by Kate O’Donovan of Maple Bank Guest House near Keswick to hear about changes to their business, preparations for re-opening, and on managing guest expectations and communications.

On webinar 8 from 13/5/20:

In future, guests will want to be sure that their accommodation is safe to stay in, and that will mean COVID clean. But how do you ensure your property meets expectations, and how can you show it?

On this week’s webinar, Durk Johnson, founder of Cleaning Solutions Team and Executive Director of Vacation Rental Housekeeping Professionals in the US, shared his knowledge and answered questions on cleaning considerations for rental properties and B&Bs.

Then Liana Stevens, of Wester Dura B&B and self catering, in Cupar, Fife (and a qualified bio-chemist!) discussed separation, self check-in, servicing of rooms and soft furnishings.

On webinar 7 from 6/5/20:

We couldn’t go to the pub…so the pub came to us! On this webinar we heard from Paul Nunny, founding director of Stay in a Pub, talk about how pubs are dealing with the lockdown and how they can prepare for the recovery.

We were also joined by John Pickup from community-run pub The Pheasant at Neenton, Shropshire to discuss changes they have made and are planning to be able to welcome guests once again.

Jim Jones, of Palmers Brewery in Dorset, was also with us to talk about how their pubs with rooms are keeping on the front foot, and how they’ve stopped brewing only once in the last 226 years!

On webinar 6 from 29/4/20:

Our guests this week were Jason Jones, of Boscudle Manor, near St Austell, who took ownership of his property just before lockdown and is now preparing to open under very different circumstances.

Charlotte Goy, Interim CEO at Visit Lincoln joined us to talk about how the organisation is supporting its members across Lincolnshire with targeted help and advice and how the city is planning for when it can welcome visitors once again.

And Liam Walsh & Christy Doherty of Station  B&B and Bridge B&B in Derry/Londonderry discussed accommodating vulnerable guests what future visitors will be looking for, such as cleaning certification.

On webinar 5 from 22/4/20:

Guest contributors this week included Gill Craddock, of Mill Croft B&B, Goathland, who  created a Change.org petition to campaign for financial support for B&B paying council tax, not business rates.

Gill was joined by Michael Smout, Head of Marketing at the Family Holiday Association, eviivo’s charity partner, to talk about how to get involved in The 2.6 Challenge.

Plus, Penny & Gary Lowen, of Gleneagles Guesthouse, Southend-on-Sea talked about their success in setting up an afternoon tea delivery service!

On webinar 4 from 15/4/20:

This weeks’ webinar guests included Hillary Lindon, of Church Villa, Chesterfield, to talk about the key workers staying with her and tips to adapt to their requirements.

Claire Smith, B&B owner and Chair of Stay Blackpool explained how the organisation is helping members to deal collectively with coronavirus by offering advice and support, and how the usually busy resort was dealing with a lack of visitors.

Finally, Birgit Drixelius-Benjamin from The Blacksmiths Arms, near Lewes talked about the innovative ways they are continuing to serve their pub guests.

On webinar 3 from 8/4/20:

We were pleased to welcome to this webinar Chris Heayns, of Mill Meadow, Taunton to talk about the key worker guests staying at his self-catering cottages, and how Visit Somerset (of which Chris is a Board member) is supporting local tourism businesses.

Experienced AA hotel inspector, Paul Hackett, provided useful advice on how to focus on quality improvements during lockdown and Janette Likeman, Graysonside , Cockermouth spoke about how her business is coping during the coronavirus crisis.

On webinar 2 from 1/4/20:

Joining us this week was Gill Jones of Amber House, Arelwas, talking about the changes she has made to her B&B business to accommodate key workers.

We were also joined by Anne MacDonald, of The Spey, Grantown-on-Spey, discussing how she is using this period of time without guests to effectively make changes to her business, identifying new suppliers and looking at new ideas.

On webinar 1 from 25/3/20:

For our first webinars we were pleased to introduce David Weston, Chair of the B&B Association. David updated on his involvement on the Tourism Industry Council (TIC) and discussions with the Tourism Minister and the Department of Culture Media & Sport to ensure B&Bs are represented in Government considerations.

David joins us every week for up to the minute updates on developments