Dear Alan
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Although a 4 Star property we are only listed as 3 Star and the omission of the web site is appalling.
I doubt whether I shall continue in membership; I mean renew my business contract. As a Tourist Board it was a partnership of participating businesses and the Scottish Executive working together to promote tourism. Now there is no concept of partnership just a very poor service and exploitation of many businesses (the providers) by one other - the contracted promoter.
Hi Alan
This is a shocking development. I run a web design company which has developed sites for many hotels in the Aberdeen area, and the Aberdeen Hotels Association website, and I find it absolutely shocking that the so-called national site to promote tourism in Scotland is now not even including links to the hotels' own websites.
It is quite obvious that they are only interested in maintaining their own commission fees and are not interested in providing their site visitors with comprehensive information about the accommodation available. There is no other logical conclusion that can be drawn from this change.
The situation with the visitscotland.com website is just getting worse and worse. It's a disgrace, and I hope you will be highlighting this change to the national media.
Why do visitscotland not simply get the government to agree that every visitor to the country has to book through them or they will not be allowed in? Surely this is only a small step from linking the quality system to forced payment of visitscotland for a non-existent service.
Best Regards,
Going by our quick go at it - it is usless, we cannot find us under anything, I've looked at a friends description they have placed her in Carradale although the address says Muasdale !!
Where is the map - even if you click on location and map, one does not appear.
I cannot find us anywhere - what the hell is going on !!
With regard to the new v/s web site..........absolutely rubbish!! It's the final straw for me, I'll not be using them again!
The site is rubbish, they can't even get the whole of the word 'accommodation on the screen!!( small point I know, but it sums them up!) As for finding yourself, well you might as well release a few balloons with your name tag on!....more people will probably find it! Yet again more & more " book with us" & less & less lets put the owners forward or at least give them a chance!
I went into the site with a direct search for my property by name & to be presented with a 'click on the letter it begins with', well, I despair, hundreds upon hundreds of places, how is anyone to chose from such a vast amount of information? they would need a holiday if they looked through the lot like that!
Just a point as well, I was on the trial of there new booking system when it came out, not a single phone call all year, since then it's got little better, the only time the call is for July/August when we can fill them ourselves without being charged again by v/s!!
Well, I'm not going to go on any more, have enjoyed slagging them off once again! I haven't really paid any attention to the web site for years as it just makes my blood boil, but always nice to moan about them again! I'm lucky I've just sold my chalet park, I'll be building a couple more next year, but I sure as hell won't be wasting my money with dear old VisitScotland, what a disgrace!!
Regards,
I completely agree with the deterioration in service from visit scotland the new online extranet is not user friendly.
I work with many online booking agents - including my own website and this site is by far the least user friendly and I believe much worse than the previous arran site.
I consider myself to be fairly experienced in IT and manage all my business online - but I hate to think what less able users are feeling at the moment. I had not realised that our website had also been removed from the Visit Scotlands site - a further deterioration.
Thank you for taking the time to contact others and voice your opinion - I wholeheartedly agree - feel free to use this email or write to me again should you wish us to back you in any way with improvement of the site and extranet.
Thank you for the update.
I have had alook at the site and I am not impressed. I found it quite confusing and if this is supposed to be better I am not convinced.
Apart from there being no web link , I found a few other things amiss.
1 Leven isn't on the map of Fife.
2. I'm a bit confused with the "5 beds" Do they mean 5 beds in one room - I haven't , multiple beds - they make it sound like a bunk house instead of a 4 Star Guest House! I have a total number of 8 beds in my four rooms.
3.They've got Vegetarian meals, Vegan meals - I only do breakfasts.
Dear Alan
Thank you for all your tireless work on our behalf. It is very much appreciated as this is not a business where there is much time to devote to righting the wrongs that we all feel about Visitscotland. I have spent a lot of time in the past writing letters to Visitscotland, as well as various MPs and MSPs, with their responses just consisting of platitudes with no real note being taken of our grievances, so I really hope that your co-ordinated campaign bears some positive results.
I am appalled at their further changes to the Visitscotland website, with the link to our website omitted. This has been the only real reason we have remained with Visitscotland. We tend not to take any direct bookings through them, as we make a loss as a result (and don't like to mark up our prices and penalise visitors) so their only value to us is that people link to our website and then book directly with us. If this is lost, we will not be renewing our membership with Visitscotland. I would very much appreciate it if you could pass on our comments to the relevant people.
I have telephoned VS.Com. They tell me web site links are being added today.
They have quoted pricing on a daily basis. This is not acceptable and state that they can change to weekly prices but would be unable to accept bookings?
No doubt there will be more points once Ive had a closer look.
Dear Alan
I just had a call back from Mr Trufelli at visitscotland.com.
It may disappoint you but he was most helpful and made quite a few things clear.
A lot of the points I covered were adequately (for the time being) explained.
Establishment website links will be shown. The site went live last night and not everything was in place. A team is checking out listings. Mr Trufelli is most happy to answer any questions or complaints.
The new website is being rolled out in two stages so that initial glitches can be ironed out first. Phase two is in the New Year.
At this point if not before, the search facility will be improved and the proximity search will be fixed in the next few days.
Mr Trufelli stated that phase two will see the development of a greater promotion of 'Green Tourism' links (lets hope so).
I did send a copy of the e mail to Patricia Ferguson and Phillip Riddle. In the main however, my points are being addressed.
I am still a bit confused about the 'web' in a box option that is due to come online in February.
Best wishes
Good Day Alan
Thanks for reminding us re VS new website. What a shambles! I cannot think of any other comment really. I tried to search for accommodation in Killin but could not, it is not as easy to use as the previous website. I realise I was used to the other website but it was fairly easy to use. The size of the print is very small on my laptop and I had to squint to read what was required. The main problem I think is, as you mention, the lack of website links, but also a big "nono" is the lack of being able to insert the town you want to stay in, or perhaps I just haven't giving it enough of a go. I have only just checked the site quickly and am sure I will find more problems. I think they (VS) must, by now, be on their way out. We are certainly considering not staying with VS after 2007 and hope you and your "mates" can get something decent up and running by then.
I am in complete agreement in your summation of the new live V/S website. I have tried to follow instruction to keep it updated but have failed miserably and I do consider myself reasonably IT literate. I had not realised that our website had also been removed from the Visit Scotlands site - a further deterioration. Thank you for taking the time to contact others and voice your opinion - I wholeheartedly agree - feel free to use this email or write to me again should you wish us to back you in any way with improvement of the site and extranet.
Dear Alan Keith,
I have just gone into the new VisitScotland website and found that there is no photograph of our property on the search page although once you go into our details, all photographs are there.
In addition when you check availability for next year, e.g. June and July, it looks as if the whole of that period is UNAVAILABLE!
When checking availability for someone else's property, they were also showing unavailable for the same months and the specific dates I had put in for my own property came up automatically on the other person's property.
In other words it had copied the request for my own property onto the other person's property.
At the moment, I fell inclined to wait a few more days to see what happens to the website although, in the meantime, if anybody tries to book accommodation for next year guests will think we are already fully booked!
I will keep in touch,
I'm still trying to get my information uploaded to the "new, efficient, website." This is day three and I'm still struggling. When Visitscotland say "Easier to use" I presume they mean faster for them as it seems a very clumsy interface.
It was a foregone conclusion that once the dust settled and we had been divided as a group, they would do what they always intended and remove all contact details.
The sooner we realise that Visitscotland.com is a private booking agency, being funded by public money and therefore has no interest in us as individual business any more, the better!
What sticks in my throat is that all the public money being pumped into promoting Scotland only gives one point of contact - a private company!! I just can't understand how no one other than us can see this!
Does anyone want me to try and set up an organisation to represent all self catering in Scotland? If so please mail me. The message below comes from these people who handed in a petition about VisitScotland a couple of weeks ago.
If we don't do anything about it, we'll have new legislation meaning that everyone will have to be licensed, at our cost of inspection of course, probably on top of graded inspections. But it will not stop there. Within a short while we'll have new fire regulations imposed, employment contracts to be issued for cleaning staff with employment rights built in, probably not allowed by the Inland Revenue as self employed - because they do not work for more than one employer and are subject to the hours laid down by the property owner. So from there you will be involved in national insurance, and employment tribunals if you upset them or try to change them.
"For evil to triumph all it takes is for good men to do nothing" It is not evil we are against. It is stupidity.
Dear Alan
Thanks for the information.
In fairness to THEM, I don't think you are right, as website links seem to be included under "Further contact details".
Just in case you thought I might be going to praise THEM, however, don't worry!
What a useless, confused and complicated website! It must have cost millions of our money to be that bad!
Its starts most commendably with an exhortation to support a worthy charitable cause: "Adopt a wild orang-utan". Worthy, but not exactly Scottish, unless they have joined the list of imports gone wild along with the grey squirrels, mink, black panthers etc.... Better than Swiss watches, or how to trash a bedroom, however!
Do try the "Location/Map" link for almost any entry in a rural area if you want to see a really hysterically useless map!
They have a link to their "Stay in a Castle" section, also called "Scottish Castle Stay" for consistency. Try finding us. Well, first try finding the "Stay in a Castle" link! (Go to "Find Accommodation" at the top of the page, then find "Stay in a Castle"). Apparently we are in "Central Scotland". Glad to have that explained to me! Anyway, click on "Central Scotland Bed and Breakfast".
THERE WE ARE! Sixth in the list, at the bottom of a page headed "Castle Bed and Breakfast in Central Scotland". Good job our name starts with "M" and not any letter from "N" to "Z" though! Or have I missed something? I can't see the next page.... Anyway, be grateful and click on "More information on Minard Castle". And we get "Minard Castle Self Catering". YES. Self-catering, not bed & breakfast!!!
It gets better - oh yes! On this page, which so helpfully gives our self-catering details to anyone wanting bed & breakfast, there are some links on the left. "Getting there" made me laugh out loud. It offers:
Getting there by Aeroplane
Take the M8 motorway north and leave it at the Erskine Bridge exit. After crossing the bridge (0.60p toll) ....
I wonder what the penalty is for trying to cross the Erskine Bridge in an aeroplane? At least one wouldn't have to pay a 60p toll, which was abolished months ago! Of course that was correct when I supplied the information to them....
Another of these links is "Facilities", which helpfully starts with
Services
Fuel Charge
That's the extent of the "Services", by the way. Presumably this reflects how the form I completed didn't relate properly to the finished result.
The next link down is "Board". That results in
Dining
Shop within 2 Miles/
Mobile Shop
Hardly dining! And perhaps they could tell me when this mobile shop will call. I think it probably last called about forty years ago!
Next we have "Unit/Prices". Now I suppose it would be too much to expect that this might actually list any PRICES? It gives:
House
Mews Apartment 1 (No Food Arrangements)
Request [This is a link to an e-mail inquiry form]
Mews Apartment 2 (No Food Arrangements)
Request [Ditto]
The Lodge (No Food Arrangements)
Request [Ditto]
This page I particularly liked. It is so kind of them to advertise the two Mews Apartments - which I took out of their membership two years ago!!!
Under
Room(s) for double occupancy
Double/family
our bed & breakfast listing also contains the same magic formula: "(No Food Arrangements)"! Whatever happened to "Bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms, TV, tea/coffee"? We even provide some biscuits! It is interesting to learn too that the "standard occupancy" of a double room is "1 Person"!
I will I suppose have to try complaining, though on past experience it will probably be a waste of time.... I am very tempted to tell them where to put their website, and their bill for membership!
Need I say more?
You did ask for comments!
Regards