Dog Friendly Business
of the Year
Title Sponsor
www.grandbrighton.co.uk
Dog Friendly Business of the Year
This category is for any tourism business eg accommodation, attractions etc that offer
the very best experience to dogs – and their human companions. If you have won Gold
in the Beautiful South Awards for two years in row in this category, you are not eligible
to enter this award the following year and if you won gold in the 2017 VisitEngland
awards you can not enter the same category in the 2018 VisitEngland awards.
The judging will be based on this entry form and we will also look at your website (on
desktop, mobile and tablet), use of social media, what visitors are saying about you and
how you manage your online reputation. If there is any other information (not available
online) that you would like to include, that illustrates points made in your entry, please
email one pdf document no larger than 5mb. If more than one document is sent or it is
larger than 5mb it will not be sent to the judges.
Please provide complete answers to all the questions, using the checklists to guide you;
if you leave them blank you will not receive a score for that question. At the end of each
question please include web links, if you have them, to support your answer; note these
are not included in the word count.
Please give details of the person we should contact with regard to this entry. The
email given here will be the email address we will use for all future
correspondence.
Contact name:
Business name (that may be used in future publicity):
Address:
County:
Postcode:
Telephone number:
Email:
Twitter:
Website:
Details of any other websites you would like us to look at regarding your entry:
When is your business open?
How long you have been operating as a business?
How many staff do you employ (full and part time, including yourselves)?
What percentage of your visitors/guests in last 12 months were dog owners, if
known?
Please give a brief description of your dog friendly business (max 200 words).
TYPE ANSWER HERE
1. What makes your business so special for dogs and their owners and why should
you win this award? (max 400 words)
TYPE ANSWER HERE
Checklist
□ What makes you different from everyone else and makes you the best dog
friendly business?
2. Describe in detail the additional facilities you provide for dog owners and their
dogs to ensure their visit/stay is outstanding (max 300 words).
TYPE ANSWER HERE
Checklist
Note not all of these will be relevant to your business eg if you are an attraction:
□ Facilities eg separate fridges for food, throws for furniture, food, treats,
bedding, towels, toys, food bowls, feeding mats, leads, torches for late night
walks, crates, kennels, disposal bags and bins, are there dedicated ground
floor rooms, washing/drying facilities, shaded parking, water bowls etc
□ Information eg local walks, vets, dog friendly attractions, pubs, restaurants,
tourist information, transport etc
□ Health and safety eg policies regarding where dogs can and can’t go/be
fed/sleep etc, if they have to be on leads, separate garden area, if they can
be left unattended in rooms (if so how are staff informed about this ie
signage on doors), if there are any hazards, how far is nearest vet etc
□ Eating – where do dogs go when guests have breakfast, evening meal?
□ Products eg pre ordering of dog food etc
3. With regard to your customer service what specifically do you do to ensure
dogs and visitors have a memorable time when they are with you? (max 300
words)
TYPE ANSWER HERE
Checklist (note some are specific to accommodation)
□ How you deal with enquiries and bookings and follow up
□ What information do you provide to your guests about doggy
facilities/services prior to and during their visit
□ How you handle complaints and badly behaved dogs
□ Do you offer any additional services or information about others offering
them eg dog walking, minding, grooming etc
□ Pricing – how are guests informed about additional costs regarding their dog?
□ How you go the extra mile to exceed your guests’ expectations?
□ How do you obtain feedback?
4. What improvements and/or developments have you made to your business to
enhance your guests/dogs experience within the last 2 years? (max 300 words)
TYPE ANSWER HERE
Checklist
□ This could include facilities, new experiences etc
□ Was it a result of customer feedback?
□ What has been the impact eg % increase in positive feedback, sales etc.
5. What innovative marketing have you done to attract new and repeat dog
owners and what was the result eg increased visits/bookings etc? (max 300
words)
TYPE ANSWER HERE
Checklist
□ Details of any packages you offer or marketing partnerships with other
businesses
□ Examples of innovative promotional campaigns
□ Upgrades to your website/online booking
□ Innovative use of social media
□ Include links to online marketing activities and PR.
What to do now
□ Please return your entry as a Word document along with any supporting
evidence (max one attachment of 5mb) by email to
[email protected] before the closing date given on the
website.
□ Future communications will be from Services for Tourism Ltd, who are managing
the Beautiful South Awards on behalf of Tourism South East the email address is
[email protected], please add this to your address book to
avoid communications being treated as spam/junk. When you submit your entry
you will receive an email acknowledging it. If you do not please check your
spam/junk folders and failing that contact us.
□ We will contact the email address given on this entry form so please ensure that
this is the correct address for all future correspondence.
□ We reserve the right to split or merge categories if the volume or diversity of
entrants warrants it. We also reserve the right to move entries from one
category to another should this result in a better ‘category match’. Should either
of these changes occur we will consult with all businesses affected.
□ The initial judging will be based on the information provided within the
application form along with websites, review sites such as TripAdvisor and other
external sources. Three to five businesses will normally be short listed in the first
stage of judging for each category. Shortlisted businesses will be visited (mystery
shopped where possible).
□ It is a requirement of entry that you agree to waive or refund the cost of a
mystery visit should your entry be successful in being shortlisted and a mystery
visit arranged. Please ensure that all your staff are aware of this. If your internal
procedures require you to issue a purchase order or set up Services for Tourism
Ltd as a supplier please can you do this if you are shortlisted. A mystery visit will
normally comprise an overnight stay, including relevant meals and for attractions
a day visit for up to 2 guests and dogs. Note should you be nominated in the
national VisitEngland awards a further visit for up to 2 guests may take place.
Receipt of your entry is taken as agreement to this requirement.
□ For entrants that are nominated to represent the region in the VisitEngland
awards your entry is taken as agreement that we may share our mystery shop
reports with the VisitEngland judges.
Please tick one of the following:
□
I am a current member of Tourism South East and entitled to free entry to
the Awards. My membership number is …………………………………………………..
□
I am applying as a non member for entrance into the Beautiful South Awards
and understand that I will be invoiced for £65 plus VAT as a contribution towards
administration costs.*
*The non member fee (and membership of TSE) entitles entrance into two
categories in the awards – plus Access and Sustainability category. Payment must be
made before the awards closing date otherwise your awards entry will not be
submitted for judging.
All entry forms are copyright Services for Tourism Ltd 2017.