Heart of Devon Members Area
Welcome to the Heart of Devon Members Area. This section of the website includes current marketing opportunities and benefits available to members, plus industry news and updates.
Crealy South West Tourism Open Weekend
Devon's Crealy Great Adventure Park is inviting all accommodation providers, TICs, pubs and restaurants to an open weekend on Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 March 2012, 12noon - 6pm.
Click on the image to the right to download the invitation, or click on the link below.
Crealy South West Tourism Open Day Invite
For more information, please email Emily Tudball: emilyt@crealy.co.uk.
Great for Groups Exhibition 2012
A new group travel exhibition – Great for Groups – will be held on Saturday 28 April 2012 at Ascot Racecourse.
Check out the website at www.greatforgroups.co.uk for up to date information about the event and the exhibitor list.
The event is supported by Metropolis Business Media, Smartsave and the Coach Tourism Council.
Click here to find out more about Great for Groups 2012
Great for Groups 2012 Booking Form
Great for Groups 2012 Floorplan
Be part of Channel 4's The Hotel
Dragonfly Film & Television makes the innovative and fun, primetime documentary series 'The Hotel' for Channel 4 which is now coming into its third series. It’s an in depth look at both the in front of house and behind the scenes dealings of an everyday hotel.
They are looking for an independently run hotel in Britain to be the focal point of the brand new series. It will be a unique opportunity for one hotel as life behind the scenes is captured for a month on film. They would like a vibrant hotel with warm and humorous staff which caters for regular customers, summer trade and functions such as birthday parties, weddings or wakes. The series will give a heart-warming insight into life in 21st century Britain.
Interested parties should please drop an email to thehotel@dragonfly.tv for more information and an application form or call 0207 033 2263 for more information. To get a feel for the tone of the programmes you can watch Series 1 and 2 of ‘The Hotel’ on 4OD.
Superfast Broadband - latest news from the Connecting Devon and Somerset Broadband Programme
This is a project led by Somerset County Council and Devon County Councils in partnership with Plymouth, Torbay and North Somerset Councils, to roll out broadband to those parts of our counties not covered (or likely to be covered) by the private sector. The project aims to deliver:
- Improved broadband (>2mbps) to every business and community across Devon and Somerset by 2015
- Superfast broadband (>24mbps) to at least 85% of the area by 2015, with 100% by 2020
With commitment from both County Councils and support from a range of stakeholders including MPs, Heart of the South West LEP, the emergency services and many business organisations, the partnership secured circa £31m of funding from Government (BDUK). This is being matched by £20m from the two County Councils to buy the best broadband solutions for our communities. To get the best deal from the private sector, we need to show that there is real demand for superfast and improved broadband services. A short, dynamic campaign, 'Keep up to Speed: Get Connected', is running from 6 - 29 February to encourage residents, businesses and communities to register their interest.
Click here for more information or visit www.connectingdevonandsomerset.co.uk
Exeter Visitor Strategy 2012 - 2015
The Tourism Unit of Exeter City Council are developing a new Visitor Strategy for the city that covers the period 2012 to 2015. The strategy primarily focuses on Exeter, but covers the wider area (Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership) under priority five.
Exeter Visitor Strategy 2012 - 2015 Draft
Exeter Visitor Strategy - Consultation Paper
If you have any queries please contact Victoria Hatfield on 01392 265104 victoria.hatfield@exeter.gov.uk
Channel 5 want you!
A new Channel 5 TV series is currently in production. The series which features one of the UK’s most-renowned Chefs focuses on independent restaurants from all over the country. Channel 5 are looking for couples who work together to run their Eatery, which can be anything from a Restaurant, to a Cafe, Gastro pub, Bistro, Curry house and more!
New website launched!
The Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership launched a new website in June 2011. The new website has a refreshed look and improved functionality, including the ability to take online booknigs.
Accommodation providers who are currently members of the the Heart of Devon Partnership can upload their availability through the Availability Extranet. This is a simple process which just takes a little time to manage - please click on the links below to download the instructions on how to upload your availability.
Availability Extranet Quick Guide - Serviced Accommodation
Availability Extranet Quick Guide - Self-Catering Accommodation.
For online bookings taken through the Extranet, a 10% commission will be deducted from the total cost of the booking by Heart of Devon. All commission taken will be channelled back into promoting the website and the area.
Accommodation providers must sign up to the online booking terms and conditions before we can set them up with online booking.We are finding that more people are using the availability search to look for accommodation, so it is worthwhile for businesses to use this option.
If you are currently a member of the Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership and wish to request a username and password for the Extranet so you can start uploading availability, please just call us on 01392 265209 or email info@heartofdevon.com.
If you have any queries about your membership, or would like to update your website entry, please contact the Membership Services Officer on 01392 265209 or click here to email us.
Website advertising
There are plenty of opportunities for members and local businesses to get extra exposure on the Heart of Devon website. We are able to offer special rates for members on banner advertising, plus the option to be featured in the image gallery and main navigation of the website.
Please click here to download our guide to the Heart of Devon's Online Marketing Opportunities.
Marketing campaigns
As part of your membership you will receive a monthly e-newslettter from the Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership. The e-newsletter contains the latest news from us, marketing opportunities, member benefits and industry news.
We also send out a regular e-newsletter to our database of 45,000 email addresses of potential visitors. These email addresses have been captured from people who have requested a brochure from us or have signed up to our e-newsletter through our website.
The consumer e-newsletters are tied in with our marketing campaigns. Upcoming campaigns are:
Activity breaks: Spring 2012
Food & drink breaks: Spring - Summer 2012
Family holidays: Summer 2012
The Heart of Devon consumer e-newsletters will be tied in with these campaigns. Members are entitled to a free entry on the e-newsletters, so if you would like to be included, please contact us on 01392 265209 or email claire.toze@exeter.gov.uk.
Brand guidelines
Heart of Devon recently launched new brand guidelines to help inform all future promotional campaigns. Please click here to view the Heart of Devon's brand guidelines.
Member seminar
The Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership held their first Member Seminar on Tuesday 30 November 2010 at Escot Park in Ottery Sy Mary. The event was kindly sponsored by BCR Associates.
Please click on the links below to view Powerpoint presentation from the seminar.
Heart of Devon Member Seminar - November 2010
Clockwork Marketing have produced a guide for accommodation providers on understanding social networking site Twitter, giving guidance on how to use it and get value from the service.
Click here to download the guide to Twitter for accommodation providers.
Clockwork Marketing are also delighted to be able to offer a 10% discount to Heart of Devon members on all new website builds and selected digital marketing services. Additionally they are also offering a limited number of free, online gift voucher sales trials in time for the Christmas rush.
Please visit their website for more details and for terms and conditions:
www.clock-work.co.uk/heartofdevon.
A groundbreaking initiative that promises to safeguard Britain's tourist industry from ''nightmare guests'' was launched in the UK in September 2010. The Guestscan scheme - the first of its kind in Europe - will allow accommodation owners to check customers' credentials before taking a booking through an online database of known or potential troublemakers.
Click here to read the full press release and visit www.guestscan.co.uk to find out how to join the Guestscan network.
VisitEngland have launched a free online tool to make it easier for tourism businesses to create an Access Statement. An Access Statement, which is a description of a venue’s services and facilities, helps people with access needs make an informed decision about whether an establishment can cater sufficiently for their needs.
This free tool now offers bespoke guidance according to the business type and in doing so provides operators with the information they need in order to create a robust Access Statement.
For more information see www.visitengland.com/accessstatements
Devon County Council and North Devon Plus have created a toolkit to help food and drink businesses get the best out of events and festivals. Whether you are considering exhibiting at events for the first time or have previously attended exhibitions and festivals, the toolkit gives practical hints, tips and advice to gain the best possible results.
Click here to view the Food Festival & Event Preparation Toolkit
Visit Devon are offering Banner and Skyscraper advertising slots on their website - www.visitdevon.co.uk.
Prices start from £35 for 1 month.
Click here to view a copy of the rate card.
Elavon Merchant Services are offering discounted rates on processing credit and debit cards to members of the Heart of Devon. Elavon delivers secure end-to-end debit and credit card processing - from authorisation to settlement, funding and support - to more than 1 million merchants worldwide.
Click here for more information.
The main focus of any business is to gain sales which drive profits. BCR Associates is to reduce a company’s key running costs through their close relationships with suppliers, expertise and experience.
BCR Associates are one of the UK’s leading cost reduction companies who identify hidden profit by reviewing a company’s spend on electricity, gas, telecoms, insurance, staff, finance, vehicles, and green services. They make no charge for their cost reviews which are without obligation PLUS their clients retain 100% of savings realised – BCR Associates are paid by the suppliers for the retention and acquisition of clients. Click here for more or visit www.bcrassociates-nigelcollins.co.uk.
Fair Energy is a Community Interest Company specialising in seamless, full service transition to renewable energy for domestic, commercial and public sector customers. We design, install and integrate wood fuel biomass boilers for central heating, solar PV and solar thermal hot water systems and we are MCS registered installers so our projects are eligible for the Feed in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive.
As a Community Interest Company we have social enterprise goals. Our aim is to help eradicate fuel poverty in England and Wales and encourage secure and affordable energy to fuel our future. We help individuals and communities take control of renewable technologies to give them energy independence, lower fuel costs and lower CO2 emissions.
Click here for more information or visit www.fairenergy.co.uk.
Click here to view member discounts available to members of the Heart of Devon.
