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Cottage in the Dales Memberships

Memberships

 

Business membership of various relevant organisations is so important and of great value to every business. We are able to access expertise, resources and services specifically designed to help develop our capabilities, standards and credentials, thereby helping us to succeed as a business and deliver an even better holiday cottage and customer service to you. Also in business, it is also about helping each other, not just ourselves.  

 

Here are some of the key business relationships we value to help us in our pursuit of delivering a wonderful holiday cottage experience to the Yorkshire Dales to you.

 

VisitBritain & VisitEngland,  VE/AA Quality Assessment Scheme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

VisitBritain is the national tourism agency, playing a unique role in building the country's tourism product, raising Britain's profile worldwide, increasing the volume and value of tourism exports and developing England and Britain's visitor economy. VisitBritain develops the accommodation schemes, sets the standards, champions the ratings and promotes only quality-assessed accommodation in the VisitEngland campaigns and all VisitBritain international marketing activities.

VisitEngland is the official tourist board for England and the domestic part of VisitBritain. Their mission is to grow the value of tourism throughout the English regions, throughout the year. Their responsibliity includes the 560 Tourist Information Centres (TIC) throughout England, all independently staffed by local people, ready to deal with a whole range of queries - to assist in planning your trip and to help you get the most from your destination. In the Dales, there are National Park TIC at Hawes,  Aysgarth Falls, Malham and Grassington. 

The AA are the appointed agency for VisitEngland Assessment Services, providing the assessment of over 23,000 businesses on behalf of VisitEngland. This scheme assesses and grades all self-catering businesses (along with hotels, B&B, caravan parks etc) on an annual basis, so that guests can be assured on what to expect and to receive a level of quality that is measured and assessed against national guidelines.

All three of our cottages are of the highest standard, always being FIVE STAR GOLD since we launched each of them : Inglenook Cottage in 2007, The Byre in 2013 and The Dairy in 2017. Each cottage is rated individually. The assessments cover many points on management efficiency, cleanliness, exterior, bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and public areas (lounge). All three cottages have the 'Gold' award which is awarded to the top few self-catering properties across England for providing excellence in quality accommodation & customer service. Since 2019 The Dairy was awarded the rare 100% rating, with Inglenook and The Byre close behind at 98%. As Mary Poppins said, "Practically perfect in every way!".

 

Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 

       

Cottage in the Dales are delighted to be members of the GTBS for over 10 years, having been awarded the GOLD accreditation since first being assessed back in 2009. We’ll let Andrea Nicholas, Managing Director of the GTBS tell you more … “Cottage in the Dales are one of our leading green businesses and the assessor was particularly impressed with their achievements in greening the local destination. By working proactively in partnership with other organisations and businesses to help each other they have been successful in encouraging a network of green minded businesses. Also by providing excellent guest information detailing local producers and services, local walks and attractions their guests gain a real sense of place when staying. They are true ambassadors for Green Tourism and a great example for others to follow.” 

Click on the logo above to find out more about the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

 

Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT)
  

 

 

 

 

  

 

    

We’ll let David Sharrod, Director of the YDMT tell you … “We’ve been working with Cottage in the Dales for ten years now, and are very grateful to have such a committed and enthusiastic partner. Over the years Cottage in the Dales has been an advocate and active supporter of our work to conserve and protect the special landscape and environment of the Yorkshire Dales. They have contributed to specific areas of our work, helping us to create new native woodlands through a customer loyalty scheme, dedicating one new native tree for every return booking. Their continuous effort to raise awareness about our charitable work is invaluable – from sending our Christmas cards and gift leaflets to their customers, to speaking publically at events about our partnership. We value our partnership with Cottage in the Dales immensely, working together with like-minded people to bring the greatest benefit to this special area.”

Click on the logo above to find out more about the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.

 

Friends of the Dales (aka Yorkshire Dales Society)

  

 

 

 

 

 


  

  
Friends of the Dales is an educational and campaigning charity with the main aim of promoting the benefit to the public of the conservation of the landscape, biodiversity and cultural heritage of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and adjacent areas, the social and economic well-being of its local communities; to encourage others to engage with, understand, enjoy and protect these areas. In pursuance of this, the society also aims to advance the education of the public.

Click on the logo above to find out more about Friends of the Dales. 

 

Destination Dales Business to Business Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

Diane was delighted to have been invited to be a member of the recently closed Destination Dales Business to Business Group, made up of key local tourism players working with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, providing business-to-business tourism support in the Yorkshire Dales. Representing Cottage in the Dales, Diane championed the ‘sleep’ specialism on behalf of local accommodation providers. Initiatives included annual forum and workshops across the area leveraging the skills of the group along with external speakers with relevant interesting expertise. For instance, Diane presented ‘Maximising Events for Accommodation Providers - simple and inexpensive ideas on how to make the most of events' and 'How Dark Skies can help your winter bookings'. The agendas for these events were wide & interesting for all local tourism businesses to help promote the 'Distinctly Dales' visitor experience. Unfortunately, this group was disbanded in 2019.