Spanhoe Lodge is located in the heart of Rockingham Forest. Today the 5 star gold guest accommodation offers eight brand new bedrooms.
Some of their trade secrets
- Using online marketing to target new visitors
- Using online booking to secure business bookings
- Gaining a star rating has helped set the business apart from others
- Offering choice and ‘thinking quality’ throughout
- Providing special ‘little touches’ to exceed visitor expectations
- Sharing the business ethos with staff and involving them in decision-making
- Always looking for ways to move forward and improve the guest experience
What made you decide to open a B&B?
As an education inspector I’d been averaging 300-400 miles a day. Steve was also working hard with a daily commute to London. We decided to quit the rat race and live a quieter existence. But after six months, I was bored! I was used to a busy lifestyle.
I’d always quite fancied running a B&B. I like people and enjoy meeting new people. You have to like people to be in this business. We started small by converting two rooms in our own home. We have since expanded and have just developed a completely new unit containing eight individual bedrooms.
Did you do any research before opening?
Yes, we did quite a bit of market research at the beginning. We looked at what others were offering in the area. At that time there were very few 4 and 5 star properties. We also visited 4 and 5 star silver and gold properties around the country to find best practice. We spoke to TICs and local tourism organisations.
As we are close to Corby our main market is 30+ business visitors Monday to Friday.
Business guests are our bread and butter. We also attract leisure visitors at weekends, particularly around key local events.
Why did you apply for a star rating?
I think visitors deserve to know what they can expect to get. Also, the feedback you receive from the assessor is enormously helpful. In my experience they tend to be very open and they give sound advice which is tailored to your business.
We use our star rating in all our publicity material and on our website. It helps set us apart.
I want more businesses within Northamptonshire to be star rated as it will help us promote the area as a quality destination. Every year we host a Quality in Tourism day with Northamptonshire Enterprise. A senior assessor takes prospective candidates around Spanhoe Lodge to explain the star rating system and criteria. It’s a great introduction for those businesses considering applying for a star rating.
How do you inspire visitors to book with you?
I do spend a significant amount on marketing and advertising.
Around 75% of our business comes through the internet initially. We’re not in a location where prospective guests are driving past, so in addition to our own website which is refreshed regularly, we are featured on more than 50 third-party websites including smoothhound, laterooms,yell and yahoo. They help us bring in new business. After an initial visit, a guest may then choose to book direct.
We work closely with TICs and all the local stately homes which I contact on a regular basis. I send them brochures and sometimes pop in and meet contacts face-to-face.
We advertise in local tourist organisation guides. We’ve also recently taken an advert in VisitBritain’s new ‘Great Places to Stay’ publication as I felt its readership had a good match with our target market.
Involvement in the local community is also important and helps raise awareness. We give prizes to support local fundraisers and we held an open day when we opened the new bedrooms.
Why do visitors choose you?
- Our location. It’s peaceful and in the heart of the countryside, but also accessible for those on business in Corby.
- The 5 star gold is our key unique selling point.
- We have good images of each of the rooms on our website.
- Value for money. Our prices are not inexpensive but they are lower than our local 2 and 3 star and unrated hotels and offer more for the money.
Why have you introduced online booking?
Online booking has been a great boost for us. For the business market I felt that we were missing out by not having an online facility. A business person might be sitting in their hotel room at 11 o’ clock at night trying to book accommodation for the next day. They want an immediate answer and without online booking it’s difficult to offer that.
Through my participation in VisitBritain’s star rating scheme we were offered free set up of the Eviivo Frontdesk booking system. It did take a bit of getting used to, but it has certainly brought us more business.
How do you continue to look after visitors during a stay?
Every morning I always go out into the Breakfast room and talk to guests. That’s really vital as Spanhoe Lodge is ‘Jennie and Steve’ and we need to interact with our guests to help make their stay memorable.
We make recommendations of good local restaurants and pubs and offer to book tables in advance. We only recommend those that we’ve tried and tested and if we have any negative feedback we take them off the list. About once a month I phone restaurants to ask for a sample menu so that guests can review before they book. I have also produced a sheet of directions of how to find each of the restaurants so we can simply and quickly give out information to guests.
In each room we have a comprehensive ‘Bedroom browser’ which includes details of local facilities and services. We also include our contact details should guests have any further questions. And even if we’re not by the office or home phone, calls divert to our mobile. We make ourselves available.
What special ‘little touches’ do you provide?
‘Choice’ and ‘quality’ are my watchwords. In each room we have created a wow factor, which we have achieved through space, decor, quality fitments and lots of extras that you don’t normally get. For example our hospitality tray is perhaps one of the most comprehensive I’ve seen. It includes 15 different types of tea, four different types of coffee, fruit juices and mineral waters. We provide an emergency survival kit containing items that guests might have forgotten. Rooms also include a trouser press, hot water bottles, robes and toiletries in large dispensers rather than portion-controlled packs. We try and do everything on a quality basis and provide as much choice as possible.
What is special about your breakfast menu?
We offer fantastic choice, use local produce and always cook to order. In recognition of the quality of menu we have been awarded the AA Breakfast Award.
I think we offer more choice than many hotels. We have ten different cereals, fruit compote, a fresh fruit platter, crumpets, waffles, muffins, cinnamon bread and different toasts. Our hot breakfast options are tailor-made to the guests’ requirements and cooked to order so that guests don’t have to pre-order the day before.
Wherever possible, we also use fresh, local produce. Many customers now expect this. Using local produce also helps us support the economy and reduce our carbon footprint.
What’s your biggest challenge?
Having the time to do everything! Hotels are lucky in that they have a team of staff to take on various tasks. As a small business you have to juggle everything – the marketing, the budgeting, and regulations.
But there is help out there. I’ve been on lots of useful tourism courses and workshops including ‘Running a successful business’, ‘Smarter marketing’, and the ‘Welcome to Excellence’ courses. It’s great to have a day away and network with people running similar businesses. If I can pick up one good idea then it has been worth it.
I’d be silly to say that I’ve got everything tied up. I haven’t. I’m happy to share my good ideas but I like to take good ideas from other people as well.
How do you maintain your high standards?
It’s hard work staying 5 star gold. We do it through sheer hard work and having a housekeeping staff that buy into what we are.
How do you share your enthusiasm with staff?
I want staff to feel part of the business and valued. We meet every six or seven weeks to discuss future plans, ask for their advice and involve them in decision-making. We also pay profit-related bonuses so that if the business does well, they do well. I want them to share in the success.
We also share responsibility for the star rating assessment. We show staff the report and let them know they played a vital part.
What are your industry aspirations?
To move forward but stay where we are! I want to retain the 5 star gold rating, but move forward at the same time and make improvements.
We do ask for feedback from guests so that we can continue to improve. But we get very little negative feedback so it can be difficult to know how to move on! I often ask if there’s one thing we could do to improve a stay and we do sometimes find ways of making minor enhancements. We always let visitors know when we’ve acted on their ideas.
What are you plans for the future?
We plan to open a restaurant as we know that there is a market for business guests that don’t necessarily want to go back out again after a day’s work. I’m also planning a new marketing campaign which will include visiting local companies and schools to tell them about our conference facilities.
What are your top tips?
- You must like meeting people and looking after them
- You must like hard work and long hours
- Think 'quality' and join the star rating scheme
VisitBritain 5 star gold award
AA Associate
AA Breakfast Award
