Changes at Casa Higueras
When we first opened Casa Higueras as a Bed & Breakfast, we were slaves to reviews. We were advised to make sure we were on Booking.com and Air BnB, and we followed that advice.
Our opening hit a slight hurdle, in that the official launch date was 1st April 2020 and we don’t need reminding why we were slightly scuppered and we didn’t actually open on that date. However, what the pandemic took with one hand, it gave with another and we launched our #MyTravelPledge campaign that gave us far more publicity than any booking portal or review website. Casa Higueras was mentioned in almost every UK national newspaper and on the BBC Travel Show, and in many other publications in between.
Once travel restrictions were lifted, we had to get down to the business of reputation building and that involved gathering good reviews. We were always worried that what we were offering was good enough for our guests; it is our house and we love it, but does it work for paying guests? Reviews are a way of reassuring the owners and managers of tourism establishments that they have got the basic ingredients right, but should we be slaves to guest reviews and review websites?
Over our first 3 years, I was religious in sending out Tripadvisor review requests and waiting patiently for the feedback from our guests. Many guests don’t trouble themselves to write a review, which is fine, and those that did write reviews were extremely generous. We pride ourselves on our 5 star rating on Tripadvisor and our Booking.com score of 9.8. However, now, my opinions have changed.
We dropped Air BnB for Casa Higueras very quickly when we had a bad experience with one of their guests and the customer service for hosts was poor. We do use Air BnB for Esperanza 9 as the platform seems to work better for self-catering accommodation, certainly for us.
I became less particular about Tripadvisor when I noticed that another establishment in Granada Province seemed to have a steady stream of reviews that all contained very similar descriptive vocabulary. The reviews were all hyperbolically gushing and all seemed to pick out very specific aspects of the place to the extent that they appeared too similar to be coincidental. I raised my concerns that these reviews might not be genuine with Tripadvisor, supporting my arguments with photos from the review site that looked identical but that had been posted by separate ‘reviewers’ on different dates. Tripadvisor responded stating that the reviews were valid, so I have to take them at their word.
Tripadvisor states that they take review fraud very seriously and the site really only exists because fellow guests take reviews seriously and rely on a foundation of trust and accuracy. If trust is eroded, then these platforms no longer have credibility.
As a result of my exchanges with Tripadvisor, I became more cynical about the review process and no longer pursue guests who have stayed with us. Booking.com automatically sends out a review request when one of their guests have stayed with us, and I feel that this is more foolproof, as the review requests are sent through the platform and not by the owner or manager of the property. The same applies to Google Map reviews; the guest has the control to leave (or not) a review, without input from the owner of the establishment, and thereby a level of potential ‘inaccuracy’ is removed.
Business Models always change with time. You have to adapt to make the business viable, and we are very proud of the reputation we have built for Casa Higueras, Esperanza 9 and Granada Cultural Holidays, and we have found the best source of business for us is through word of mouth. We have realised what works for us, and have taken the decision to have a 2-night minimum stay requirement at Casa Higueras. Over the past 4 years, we have had many one-night guests, mainly people walking the Camino Mozárabe, a part of the Camino de Santiago. One-night guests, for a small Bed & Breakfast like us, with only 2 guest bedrooms, are very labour intensive and not cost-effective. For example, a single-night weekday booking through Booking.com costs the guest €80.50 and commission for that reservation to Booking.com is €12.07, so we already earn less than our normal rack rate. Take away the costs of laundering the bedding, ironing, cleaning the room, buying and preparing breakfast and often providing other refreshments for pilgrims walking the camino, and we make very little. If you are a slightly larger establishment, with 5 bedrooms for example, then volume makes a difference and it becomes viable when your nightly turnover might be €400 as opposed to €80 or €160 for both rooms.
We value all our guests and have enjoyed having so many pass through our home. We are doubly gratified when we learn that our guests love staying with us, and they genuinely relax here and appreciate our hospitality. But, our business model has to change to enable us to remain viable. We feel comfortable that guests walking the Camino will be accommodated as new Bed & Breakfasts open in the area; establishments that can provide accommodation of greater volume and at cost-effective prices. Our philosophy has always been to share this beautiful location with guests who want to spend time here, and so it makes sense to encourage our guests to stay just a little longer and really immerse themselves in this gorgeous village and its colourful and warm-hearted life.
