Bed & Breakfast News Issue #46 Spring 2018 | Page 3

Visit our website: | bandbnews.co.uk | 3 Editor: David Weston [email protected] A busy time for us - and hopefully for you too! The last few months have been the busiest ever for the (very small!) team at the B&B Association since we were founded 12 years ago. We’ve given detailed evidence in Brussels and Westminster (and to the CMA – see p8); we’ve had a ‘B&B Summit’ in London attended by the Tourism Minister; we’ve run conference sessions or spoken at events in Torquay, Glasgow, Bristol, Llandudno, Shaftesbury and London; had a meeting on fire safety with the Home Office and fire chiefs; planned (with huge help from the technology provider eviivo) the first-ever National B&B Day (see p15); seen unprecedented interest from MPs around the country (from the Cotswolds to the Orkneys) – and the Minister himself – visiting their local B&Bs; seen an Early Day Motion tabled in the House of Commons in support of B&Bs; helped the BBC with their investigation into the fire safety of Airbnb premises (p18); and had our best-ever quarter for new member signups. It’s been humbling to read some of your very supportive messages, like this one about our work towards leveling the playing-field with the so-called ‘sharing economy”: “The Bed and Breakfast Association are doing the most extraordinarily important work on behalf of all our businesses - thank you!” Those messages make the effort worthwhile and help us feel we are on the right track. More importantly, in the week following National B&B Day the UK ‘B&B Index’ recorded an 8.1% increase in bookings year on year (see p5); perhaps some of that may be the effect of all that national publicity (p15) for B&Bs and guest houses? We hope so - in any case, with forward bookings up and incoming tourism running high, we hope that 2018 will be a profitable year for you all. Thank you again for your membership. We will continue to do our best to inform, support and represent you. Tell us your views - email us at: [email protected] and follow us on Twitter - go to: https://twitter.com/BandBassoc Front cover: The 25 B&B, Torquay - AA “Unique B&B of the Year” (see p22 & p26) DESIGN: Tony Crowther [email protected] ADVERTISING: [email protected] Bed & Breakfast News magazine Belfry House, Batts Field, Bruton BA10 0DX Published by Special Publishing Ltd. www.SpecialPublishing.com Registered in England No. 3217188. For information about advertising, please click HERE Contents 4 News & views 6 Booking.com ‘free cancellation’ TV ad banned 11 EU to curb OTAs 12 GDPR data rules – what they mean for B&Bs 15 The first National B&B Day 18 BBC investigates Airbnb fire safety risk 22 The AA B&B Awards 26 B&B in the Spotlight: The 25, Torquay