NEWS

THE RISE OF THE STAYCATION

By Mike Hardman at Alliance Online

With the introduction of the government enforced holiday ban, travelling abroad seems unlikely this year. As a result, Alliance Online have been analysing the likelihood of Brits journeying to U.K. hotspots as an alternative. As restrictions are set to last until earliest 30th June, families across Britain are leaning towards a break much closer to home. According to research put together by Holiday Cottages 84% of U.K. residents are planning to take a staycation in Summer 2021, which is a far cry from research found in 2019 stating Brits on average took 1.9 holidays abroad every year. In addition to this, Wyndham Hotels recent survey found that 44% of respondents plan on visiting a U.K destination they’ve already been to, while 39% plan on visiting a new British destination. Locations were also ranked in order of

where they sit on Brit’s bucket lists. At the top of the staycation list with 48% is Cornwall, followed closely by The Scottish Highlands (43%) and Cumbria/Lake District (41%.) With such an increase of custom set to take place this summer, it’s crucial to stand out within the hospitality and rural accommodation industry. Setting yourself apart from the masses can be the difference

between being fully booked and not. Whether you’re flaunting your eco-credentials, enhancing client experience with complimentary gifts, or just reassuring guests that your safety and hygiene procedures are second to none, it will be well worth the preparation for potentially the busiest Summer ever for the U.K tourism sector. URL: allianceonline.co.uk

REOPENING - OUR "ASKS" OF GOVERNMENT

By David Weston, Chair of the Bed & Breakfast Association

After over a year in crisis, much of it in closure, B&Bs and guesthouses are now at least planning for reopening – on 26 April in Scotland, and 17 May in England. And the best have good forward bookings for Summer. But it is patchy across the UK, and of course there is a short season left and a huge financial hole to fill for most.

The B&B Association have made these key asks of Governments as we move out of lockdown:

• To make sure remaining financial support is paid without further delay by central Governments and local authorities

• The clearest and fullest guidance for accommodation owners around reopening

• Remaining restrictions on tourism to be lifted as soon as safely possible (and ideally co-ordinated between the various UK nations)

• For other leisure sectors like attractions and events to be reopened as soon as possible (as these are often the reasons our guests come to stay with us)

• A well-funded national communications campaign around reopening, to encourage guests to get out and stay in British B&Bs and guesthouses

• The last point is vital, as a year’s saturation coverage discouraging movement and contact will need to be countered by positive messages promoting (safe) tourism, and encouraging guests to stay in Covid-secure B&Bs and guest houses.

Our best wishes for a strong Summer and Autumn season!

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING OUR 2021 MARCH READERS SURVEY

The LBNB Team would like to thank those who completed our survey at the end of last month.

We received a total of 60 responses to our survey! We really appreciate all the amazing feedback we had concerning the new branding and the wonderful comments about our content. There were plenty of excellent suggestions for future content and the LBNB team are currently working through them to see how we can incorporate these ideas into future issues of the magazine. In the meantime, should you have any further comments or suggestions for future content, don't hesitate to reach out and contact the LBNB team. You can contact Juliet Horner, the editor via email: editor@luxurybbmag.co.uk Thank you!

Entries for the Luxury BnB Excellence in Luxury Service Awards 2022 are now OPEN.

Go to the link below to enter the 2022 awards: luxurybnbmag.co.uk/2022- awards-entry-form

The winners of the LBNB Awards 2021 are announced in this issue on Page 47

2022 ENTRIES OPEN NOW

Insurance and business claims update

By Gary Hodgson at Hodgson Insurance Services

It’s been a long 12 plus months of lockdown for many hospitability businesses. One of the areas businesses have looked to help assist with losses incurred is through their business insurance policies. Although most policies include Business Interruption cover for losses occurred from physical damage to their property, very few included cover for disease or pandemic related losses. Some policies had vague wording in respect of disease related occurrences and these were rightly taken to the courts by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to get complete clarification for customers and also insurers. On 15th Jan this year the Supreme court handed down their judgement of the various test case wordings. Clarity was given, and some policies have now had to settle their customers losses, we are probably seeing about 15% of insurance policies that have to settle claims, unfortunately for the other 85% there simply isn’t any cover, even though media reports came across that all businesses could claim, this was false. However, insurers at the end of March 21 have paid or have agreed to pay nearly £500 million worth of losses. If you originally made a claim for Business Interruption losses and you have not heard from your insurer, loss adjuster or broker since 15th January then we’d recommend you contacting them as

soon as possible to get an update on whether your policy should settle your claim. Even if your claim was originally declined in 2020, please go back and check, as some insurers that are now paying did originally decline claims. If you didn’t make a claim originally but now realise you have sustained quite large losses, it’s not too late to claim. Speak to your insurance broker or the provider from March 2020 and they should be able to confirm quite quickly if you are eligible to claim for losses.

Getting Ready To Open Back Up. There’s light at the end of the tunnel and we seem to have a fairly clear path when the hospitality industry can start to open. Many guest providers are having to review the way they trade though, some are introducing kitchenettes to bedrooms, some are stopping providing breakfasts, or offering guests access to a shared kitchen. Some guest houses are opening up to the public by bringing in outside seating to cater for the latest Covid rules. You may have to bring in extra staff, so cover for employees is required. These are all major risk factors to an insurance company so if the way you trade is going to be changing to the way you run it before lockdown, speak to your insurer or broker, let them know your plans and they should be able to adjust the insurance policy for your new way of trading and avoid future issues should you need to make a claim. URL: hodgsoninsurance.co.uk