text: Last Updated on February 2, 2015 by admin
  Tourism awards; they come around each and every year, so if you’re yet to enter your holiday home and it could have been a winner do you really know what you’re missing out on?
  Here’s our look at some of the ways in which a tourism award submission or win could give your holiday home a valuable boost.
  - Time to take a step back
  No matter which award you’re entering it should be a period of evaluation, reflection and a time to focus.
  What is it that makes your holiday home great? What could make it even better?
  Life as a holiday homeowner can be a busy one, particularly during peak season. Award submissions should give you the chance to focus your thoughts and do the research that may have otherwise been left to the bottom of the pile. During this process you’ll rediscover what makes your holiday home or cottage special, you will no doubt pick up on aspects that you’ll want to improve for the future, all part of a win-win strategy for entering tourism awards.
  Reviewing your current activity, looking at previous winners and thinking about what it is the award judges are looking for and why, should all give you the information from which to make your property even better and more attractive to visitors.
  - Get great PR
  It’s difficult to put a monetary value on appearing in newspapers and magazines but the undeniable fact is that the more people that are aware of your holiday home and it’s pedigree, the better.
  An award win or shortlisting will put your property firmly in the shop window.
  - Get a search engine boost
  Your search engine rankings will also stand to gain from your newfound publicity. Links from other websites do still play a role in how your site performs on Google, meaning that when your holiday home is featured on award sites and other publications you’ll be gaining an online advantage over your competitors.
  - Charge higher rates
  It stands to reason that if something is of demonstrable higher quality, we’ll be willing to pay more for it. Think of the impact the ‘award winning’ banner could have on your chargeable rate.
  - Increase conversion
  Award wins are a great source of credibility for your holiday home. If someone visiting your website can see that you’ve won awards for your accommodation they’ll know right off the bat that what they’re getting is good.
  If a choice needs to be made between two very similar holiday cottages, the award winner may well get the booking.
  - Get advice from specialists
  Awards will usually be judged by a panel of experts, meaning that entering can provide an opportunity to gain feedback and consultancy advice from specialists in their field.
  Whether it’s online marketing, PR, general tourism and destination management or a whole host of other industries, their advice and feedback should give you ideas on where you can further improve.
  - Speak to others in the industry
  Awards give you the opportunity to spend time with others in the industry. This should allow you to share knowledge, to chat with tourism business owners dealing with exactly the same issues that you are, and to find how they have dealt with them.
  Knowing and understanding how others have navigated issues and added value to their own business can be a significant asset in developing your own offering. Developing a strategy to enter your holiday home business for tourism awards will be a win-win outcome whatever your final result.
  We wish all of our holiday homeowners the very best of luck with their tourism award submissions!
  Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to holiday letting owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.