Advice and next steps for tourist accommodation providers

Legal Considerations

There are a number of important legal considerations for your tourism business. It is your responsibility to ensure your tourist accommodation premises remain compliant in all areas applicable to your business. Please visit the Legal Considerations section on our website for further guidance here. 

Discover Northern Ireland

The Discover Northern Ireland website  is the official tourism website for Northern Ireland, receiving over 3.8m visits each year. It includes accommodation listings and offers, events and experiences and inspirational content about holidaying in Northern Ireland. The website is the call-to-action for Tourism NI’s marketing campaigns in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and features in all our marketing activities in both markets across online and offline channels.

Once your property has been certified, you can avail of a free, bookable business listing on dni.com.  It is important that your listing remains up to date with good quality content and photography.

If you would like to list your business on the Discover Northern Ireland website, you will need to complete a one-off registration here. Once complete, you can update your listings 24/7 using the Product Manager platform. 

Please note: Tourism Northern Ireland does not charge commission for bookings made via the Discover Northern Ireland website. 

Tourism Ireland

Your listing will also be displayed on Tourism Ireland’s consumer website, receiving over 12m visits each year. 

You can showcase your experiential offers on the dedicated Northern Ireland pages which are translated into German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. For further information, click here.

Your listing can also be shared with several of the local Councils and other partner organisations for publication on their websites, helping to further amplify the reach of your business.

Online Presence

Using social media and creating your own website is an important way to advertise and market your property to a wide audience. You can also install booking engine software on your website to allow visitors to book rooms. Tourism NI has designed toolkits to help you with getting online, social media channels, Google Analytics, and search engine optimisation. Click here to find out more.

Routes to market through Discover NI

Online Travel Agents (OTAs) are often a go-to for visitors before they make their final choice about where to stay in Northern Ireland. These third-party booking agents allow you to list your rooms on their sites and facilitate the bookings through their platforms as well as local operators. 

Examples of popular OTAs include Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia.com, Trivago.com and AirBnB. However, always ensure that you are comfortable with their commission rates, and terms and conditions. 

You can also access and manage many of the leading OTAs through Tourism NI’s partner TXGB. The Tourism Exchange, or TXGB, is a platform designed to help you access new routes to market and reduce commission costs. It does this by connecting tourism businesses with a range of local and international distributors. 
 
Joining the Tourism Exchange is free and simple as the exchange connects to your existing booking technology. Don’t worry if you don’t yet have an online booking system, you can use TXGB’s free inventory loading tool to start selling online. The platform works on a pay as you go model – no bookings, no fees.  A Booking Fee of 2.5% + VAT is payable to TXGB for bookings made through the platform. For further information, or to arrange a demonstration please visit here. 

Guest Information Pack

You should also consider providing an information pack to assist your guests during their stay. To include:

• Your contact details.
• Emergency services contact details.
• Fire escape routes.
• Rules for stay e.g. no smoking, loud music etc.
• Instructions on the use of all appliances.
• Wi-Fi codes.
• Useful local information, websites and maps e.g. local taxis, bus/train timetables, supermarkets, coffee shops, bars, restaurants, proximity to local towns, Visitor Information Centres etc.
• Information on visitor experiences and attractions within the area e.g. historic sites, beaches, forest parks, walks, tours etc. You can visit your local Visitor Information Centre for leaflets/maps etc. on attractions in the area

Welcome Pack

You should consider providing guests with a welcome pack of locally sourced goods to welcome them to your accommodation.  Find out more about the best ways to welcome your guests here.

For information on increasing your use and promotion of local food and drink, please click here.

Quality Grading Scheme

Visitors increasingly demand high accommodation standards, and the quality of your product will influence the future success of your business. For 75% of consumers, a star rating will influence their choice. The TNI Quality Grading Scheme is designed to give visitors a clear idea of the standards of accommodation, service and cleanliness, which they can expect during their stay. The scheme is open to hotels, guest houses, B&Bs, self-catering, hostels and guest accommodation; with premises having the ability to achieve a grading of between one to five stars. Find out more about the Quality Grading Scheme here. 

How to apply online

Visit here and click Applications. You can also:

• Apply and renew membership.
• Apply for reassessment.

Once certified you will automatically have received an email with a username and password which you will need to access the above tasks. 

Welcome Schemes

Tourism NI's Welcome Schemes are designed for accommodation providers who are participating in Tourism NI's Quality Grading Scheme. They are provided to help visitors find somewhere suitable for their needs e.g. Pets or Walkers. Visitor online searching habits have advanced and people will often now search for e.g. a walking or cycling holiday in Northern Ireland and having your property listed in the relevant Welcome Schemes may make your property more appealing to these visitors. Find out more about welcome schemes here.

Google My Business

Set up a free Business Profile listing on Google My Business. This will enable you to take charge of what people see when they search for your business and give you a business listing on Google Maps. Find out more here.

Tourism Northern Ireland

Through our corporate website tourismni.com you can access various resources, advice, toolkits and training programs to assist in growing your business and knowing your customer here. 

To keep up to date on industry news and events sign up to the Tourism NI mailing list and receive the latest news and insights here.

MyTourismNI

MyTourismNI is an innovative E-Learning platform for the tourism industry, specially developed to support the NI Tourism Industry to build expertise, knowledge, competence and confidence. Free to access, you can choose from a range of learning modules, covering business-critical topics such as Sales and Marketing, Digital Sustainability, People and Operational Effectiveness. Find out more about MyTourismNI here.

Events & Webinars

Browse our upcoming events and get advice on business growth and how to enhance experiences for your visitors with our masterclasses, business insights, roadshows, training courses and workshops that run throughout the year here.

This information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made, Tourism NI cannot guarantee that the information is accurate and up to date and will not be responsible for any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought where appropriate.