& Views
4 | Bed & Breakfast News | Sept-Oct 2016
News
Small is beautiful (reader letter)
I do not subscribe to any OTA. This is
because I have only one guest room and I
am fortunate not to have to rely wholly on
B&B income to survive. Neither do I wish
to be beholden to anyone - I want to be
in control of my own destiny! However, I
would like to express my opinion, which
may assist colleague B&B owners who do
rely on their guest income and who feel
they must therefore be subservient to OTAs
to ensure they are using every available
method to generate business.
I detest bullying in any form - which, from
what I can gather, is the ‘norm’ for OTA
behaviour. I also feel that the OTAs are
abject in their handling of questionable
or suspect guest reviews which, at the
end of the day, can absolutely annihilate a
genuine, good B&B owner with, as far as I
am aware, no recourse to compensation.
I have just completed my 5th year
of hosting guests - the vast majority
complement me in my own Visitors Book
and I have frequent 2nd and 3rd returners.
I have never had a complaint. I rarely have
more than a few vacant days during high
season. As far as pricing is concerned, I am
free to “reward” returners with a small
discount if I so wish and why would I want
to pay an OTA for the pleasure of allowing
them to use my B&B on their site?
Why should I be obliged to charge a price
dictated by an anonymity? Why would I
want to avail myself of an automated no
contact booking system when I could, if I
so wished, apply one to my own website
independently with no strings attached.
My website appears on Google first page
on searching for B&B in both counties on
whose borders I lie, so I do not need the
so-called ‘publicity’ from an OTA.
I would never subscribe to any OTA,
and I frequently receive telephone calls
from at least one of them asking me
to join, and I feel extremely sorry for
those owners who either feel they have
to, or do not realise the effects of, the
potential constraints which it imposes.
If France and Germany, who are generally
later than the UK when it comes to
introducing any form of Regulations,
have already deemed the terms
unfair business practice then I cannot
understand why our powers
that be are still debating it!
I do hope my views can help others.
Jenny Buck
See other members’ views
on OTAs on pages 14-17