National round-up - December 2006

Objectives of the round-up

The round-up is produced monthly by the national administration office of Bed & Breakfast and Farmstay Australia (BBFA). It will bring operators in touch through brief articles from each state outlining progress and sharing ideas in how we collaboratively raise our national profile, promote upcoming events, celebrate achievements, and address issues and outcomes that are of interest to both the sector nationally  and individual operators.

Christmas Message from the BBFA Chair

I take this opportunity to wish you a joyous, merry but safe Christmas and a very prosperous New Year. Christmas should always be a time to share with family uninterrupted by business, to reflect on our lives, to treasure the support and love of our partners and to give as best we can to those less fortunate. However you spend the festive period, I wish you well and look forward to success in 2007.

Peter Cook
Chair, BBFA

Cream of the Crop - Tourism Awards

Congratulations to our individual state tourism award winners who will represent the B&B and Farmstay sector at the national tourism awards in Sydney on 23 February 2007 in the Hosted Accommodation category.
New South Wales - Crystal Creek Meadows, Kangaroo Valley  
Queensland - Lillydale Host Farm, Rathdowney
Victoria - Woodlands Rainforest Retreat, Narbethong
Tasmania - Sheaoaks on Freycinet B&B, Coles Bay
South Australia - Seppeltsfield Vineyard Cottage, Seppeltsfield
Western Australia - Red Sky Cruises, Kimberleys
Northern Territory - Orangewood Alice Springs B&B, Alice Springs

Welcome to our new state body

We welcome Town & Country Accommodation Western Australia (TCAWA) as the state peak body for the BBF sector in Western Australia. Twelve months of positive debate has resulted in the establishment of one body to represent Farmstay and the B&B sector in the West. This is a great step forward for BBFA as a national entity and indeed, a credit to the key people involved in working steadily toward a common resolve in the interests of the industry. Congratulations to Chair, Kathleen Faulkner, Vice Chair Barry White and the TCAWA Board.

Heads meet on Industry Standards

National accommodation industry leaders, including BBFA Chair, Peter Cook met recently with tourism industry partners, Federal and State Government representatives at a forum convened by AAA Tourism in Melbourne. The future agenda of the Industry Advisory Forum will be to address local and international accommodation standards amidst an expected increase in the level of inbound traffic to ensure that the investment of the individual property owners is protected by maintaining integrity and consistency in accommodation standards and product description.

STAR Rating and Advantage Pricing

AAA Tourism recently invoiced Advantage members (star rated properties) with five rooms or less for an annual renewal rate of $300 (incl. GST). This is the revised minimum rate (up $25 on 2005) for the accommodation sector following the introduction of a sliding scale of fees for accommodation providers that varies from $300 to $730 per annum. The rate set by AAAT acknowledges small business operators by establishing a lower level fee as opposed to the previous policy of one fee for all across the broad accommodation sector.

Release of Tourism Industry Overview

CRC Sustainable Tourism in partnership with Griffith University has released the annual industry snapshot titled "State of the Tourism Industry 2006". The report containing industry statistics and input from the Chair of BBFA is available for purchase on line at www.crctourism.com.au/bookshop.

Launch of BBFA National Accommodation Gift Vouchers

A national gift voucher program has been developed by BBFA with input from members currently offering state-based voucher programs. Going national is aimed at giving greater exposure to the sector but importantly, to provide a product that is redeemable nationally. By individual properties agreeing to work cooperatively and accept a voucher, it will allow national promotion with purchases redeemable in any state thereby increasing the marketability of the product.  BBFA has invested in upgrading our national portal and sales have been very strong since 1 December 2006. A domestic and international marketing program for the vouchers is being formulated for consideration by BBFA in February. Information and online sales are available on the National Website.

Consumer Research

AAA Tourism will shortly commence consumer research to gather feedback on the importance and effectiveness of Star Ratings in Australia. The consumer is now buying very differently and it is important that BBFA supports AAAT in a rapidly changing climate across tourism. This project is endorsed by BBFA and was promulgated to the board by Nigel O'Neil, General Manager of AAA Tourism when he met with us at our conference in Canberra in August 2005.

A Future National Printed Guide?

The BBFA Board recently agreed to consider the opportunities available to produce a national guide to the BBF sector within the next two years. Our discussions have been based on the concerns expressed by individual state bodies with the financial viability of producing state guides, the feedback we receive from properties advertising in state guides as opposed to competitive commercial options, the pressures being exerted on the printed media by on line marketing options, and a range of offers that have been made to us by the producers of existing BBF publications.

Farm and Country Agri-Business Development

The Australian Regional Tourism Research Centre in conjunction with CRC Sustainable Tourism has announced a four-phase business development program for farmers and landowners interested in adding farmstay tourism to their agri-businesses.  The program has been successfully piloted in Northern NSW and will be trialled in Victoria in 2007. 

National Roundup is a publication of Bed & Breakfast and Farmstay Australia (BBFA) comprising the State and Territory B&B and Farmstay associations within Australia. Enquiries: BBFA Inc, PO Box 422, Eltham Victoria 3095.    Telephone: 1300 664 707

Disclaimer: The material contained in this publication is of a general nature only.  To the extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information.