Self-Catering Holiday Provider of the Year

Enjoy Staffordshire

Tourism Awards 2015

Self-Catering Provider of the Year

This category awards self-catering establishments such as Cottages, Flats & Serviced Apartments etc. that have boosted their business by making the most of their distinctive appeal and quality. This category also includes Narrow Boats and Cruisers where the offer is essentially a self-catering one. Distinctive new products such as Yurts, Wigwams, Tepees and other alternative accommodation, are also eligible to enter.

Closing Date 30 September 2015 at 5.00 p.m.

Further Details of entry are to be found at the back of the form.

Contact Details

Contact Name:
Business Name:
Business Type:
Address:
Telephone: / Mobile:
Email:
Website
PR Contact Details
(if different from above)

Business Details

How long has the business been operating? / (Years / Months)
What is your Quality Rating and Award:
How many Staff do you employ: (Show proprietors/owners + Full + Part time)
Give details of any periods the property/business is closed:

Give your occupancy details

These figures are used to allow a full years figures to be included / Last 12 Months
(i.e. April 14 to March 15) / Previous 12 Months
(i.e. April 13 to March 14)
Total Occupancy: / % / %
What percentage was repeat business: / % / %
Peak Season Occupancy (Apr to Sept) / % / %
Low Season Occupancy (Oct to March) / % / %

Previous Awards:

Please list all Awards since 2012

Title of Award / Level (e.g. Gold) / Awarding Organisation / Year

Give a brief history of your business (max 200 words):

Finalists will demonstrate exceptional commitment to excellence in quality, customer care and business practices in the following areas:

1: Your Commitment to Excellence (max 300 words):

Describe your values, philosophy and commitment to excellence, and tell us what you think puts you above the competition and at the top of your sector of the industry.

2: Quality Improvements & Developments (max 300 words):

Give details of any specific Quality Improvements and Developments that you have made to your business/letting units to enhance your guests’ experience within the last two years. May include for example, refurbishments, addition of new facilities or services etc. What impact did this have on your business? For example, increase in business, increase in positive customer comments. What are the unique selling points of your business?

3: Outstanding Customer Service (max 300 words):

  1. Describe your customer care values and philosophy and give examples of how you believe that your service is outstanding. Include how you handle enquiries, visitor welcome and arrival, the visit itself and departure. Also describe how you deal with complaints. Please give examples.

4: Staff Training & Development (max 200 words):

  1. Please detail your training values and philosophy for yourself and any staff you employ if applicable. How do you ensure that you and/or staff remain motivated, feel part of the team and gain the correct knowledge to ensure that the customer receives high quality service? What investment has been made in staff training and development in the last 2 years and give examples how this has improved the services provided to guests/visitors.

5: Accessibility (max 200 words):

Give details of how your business / service is accessible to all visitors, particularly people with impairments and others with physical and sensory access needs. Give examples of;
  1. Customer service including disability awareness training
  2. Accessibility information provision and promotion (provide a copy of your Access Statement)
  3. Access facilities and services

6: Innovative Marketing and Promotion (max 300 words):

  1. Give details of your target market(s) and describe how your product fits the audience you are targeting. Have you carried out any research into these market(s) and explain briefly how you attract new and/or repeat business and any innovative marketing and promotional campaigns you have carried out. For example Traditional Food, attractive grounds etc.

7: Sustainability (max 300 words):

7.1: Sustainability. Give specific examples of how your business is embracing sustainability. In particular in the following areas (note; all areas must be covered)
  • The local economy (local purchasing, local produce. Employing local people, supporting other local businesses)
  • Residents and visitors (forging links, local community groups or schools, connecting with charities, encouraging access for all in employment and or visitors)
  • The environment (managing energy, waste or water consumption)

7.2: Sustainability. Please describe how you communicate your efforts to make your business more sustainable and how you encourage guests and employees to get involved.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Who can enter?
  • Self-catering establishments
  • Serviced Apartments that offer a number of hotel style services including, but not limited to maid service, concierge and a formal process for handling bookings, arrival and departure.
  • Cruisers and traditional style narrow boats.
  • Providers of Yurts, Wigwams and Tepees, or other alternative accommodation

Supporting evidence

Please read this section carefully as submitting the right evidence in the correct way will help the judges reach objective, consistent and equitable decisions.

Topic / Potential implications
Providing evidence or not? / Not mandatory, but will help the judges to fully understand and assess the application. There is also no need to provide evidence for every single criteria.
Referencing / Incorrectly referenced evidence will not be considered. Make sure all referenced material has the correct question number as evidence without this will be ignored.
Size of business / When considering the supporting evidence the judges take into account the size of the business. This ensures that all applicants are given the same opportunity.
Format / Needs to be in either a known Microsoft format or PDF. Please do not submit CD’s, DVD’s of Videos as they will not be considered.
Type of evidence / Judges are looking for processes and systems rather than input / output evidence. For example, providing a complaint letter and a follow-up letter of the complaint will result in a fewer points compared to evidence demonstrating a complaint handling process with tracked records and allocated responsibilities to staff members.
Relevance / Think about what is really relevant, it might be enough to supply a single photograph/screenshot in some instances rather than multiple pages of written evidence, in other situations it might be better to provide a flowchart or spreadsheet summary.
Volume / Not everything that is available should be forwarded to the judges. Sometimes less is more!

Judging

  • The first stage of judging is based on evaluations of the written applications and evidence which must be submitted on-line only.
  • A shortlist of entrants (normally five for each category) is selected from the written applications, who may then receive a judging visit.
  • Depending on the category being assessed, the judging of the shortlisted businesses / finalists may include announced visits. Announced visits may not be undertaken to all finalists if the judges deem the written submission is sufficient to determine the level of the Award. Finalists should therefore note that the lack of a visit does not mean that they are not still in the running for a major Award. Some categories may also be mystery shopped by telephone and/or email.
  • It should be noted however that for some categories such as ‘Tourism Event or Festival’ which may be retrospectively submitted for consideration, the assessment will be a desk based exercise.
  • Businesses will be notified if they are a finalist. Please note that all finalists will receive either a Gold, Silver, or Highly Commended Award, at the discretion of the judges.
  • Judges will be looking for evidence of excellence and best practice in all areas of business operations.
  • A word limit has been set for each section/question and it is strongly recommended you keep your entry to the stated word count.
  • Any claims made in applications must be substantiated and may be subject to testing by judges.

Terms & Conditions

By submitting an entry into the Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism Awards, you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions:

  • The closing date for receipt of entriesis 5pm on 30 September 2015.
  • Employees or representatives/agents of Destination Staffordshire are not eligible for entry into the Awards
  • Businesses can enter more than one category, but separate entry forms and supplementary information must be completed for each.
  • Each category may have additional eligibility criteria such as a specific Quality Rating or Quality Award. Please check the ‘Who can enter’ section above for more information.
  • Please note that by becoming shortlisted the business automatically becomes a finalist. However, the judges reserve the right to give Gold, Silver, and Highly Commended Awards at their discretion.
  • By entering the Awards, you agree to be part of the publicity if you are shortlisted in any category.
  • Please note that Destination Staffordshire or their agents, do not accept responsibility for the return of any entries and/or supplementary information, including those consisting of artistic or other material.
  • The judges’ decisions are final and they cannot enter into discussion about the shortlisting process, choice of finalists or choice of winners.
  • In the event of any dispute regarding the awards criteria, application forms, judging process or any other matter relating to the Awards, the decision of Destination Staffordshire’s appointed Judges shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.
  • All businesses entering the competition can be given written feedback from the judges on request.
  • All Gold and Silver winners will be offered the opportunity to go through to the Visit England Awards and it will be businesses responsibility to confirm all data sent on-line.