Marks out of ten

ACCOMMODATING tourists is a serious business for VisitScotland, the country's national tourist board! After all, what could be more important than to ensure that visitors find a good standard of accommodation wherever they travel in Scotland? That accommodation is a home-from-home, somewhere cosy to come back to at the end of the day, somewhere to relax. If that accommodation isn't just right, a holiday can be spoiled.

The organisation employs 40 Quality Advisors (QAs), who undergo extensive training to ensure that the tagline 'subjectivity made objective' becomes reality. The advisors - never 'inspectors'! - come from a range of backgrounds, but they do know what it is like to be at the sharp end. The most experienced member of the team, Alex Erskine, for example, ran a holiday park for a number of years and often takes caravanning holidays, so he sees things from all angles. "Our mission is to help park owners not only reach, but also to maintain high standards," he says. For the park owners, Alex is a valuable resource - he visits about 70 parks every year and, with his personal experience, has a wealth of knowledge into which the parks can tap.

Alex may visits two or three parks in a single day, with each visit taking up to three hours. Having had a brief chat with the manager of the park, he sets off with detailed form and pen at the ready and an eagle eye on full alert.

Holidaymakers can be rather puzzled by the sight of a well-dressed QA - they rarely appear in casual gear! - with detailed form in hand, scouting around the park and popping up in all sorts of places. After all, what would you think if you saw a man and woman looking about to see if anyone else was around and then disappearing into the showers! Or if you enter the laundry room to find someone on their knees and head inside the washing machine, but with no dirty washing in sight. Don't worry, it's just a QA on the job!

Having been a caravan-site manager himself, Alex is well aware of the many pressures that the owner is under and is sympathetic to their situation. At the end of a visit, the joint aim is to ensure the park is as good as it can be, and the owner usually welcomes objective advice. A happy holidaymaker is one who says "I'll be back again next year", which makes for a happy holiday-park owner.

Alex and his team also give hints to owners on customer relations, which can be stressful at the height of the season. Sometimes people can go a bit over the top in order to make their voice heard, and one park owner recalled how Alex appeared just after she'd had a rather taxing session with a visitor who felt impelled to shout at her. Alex's tip? Put a mirror behind the reception desk. She's had no more problems - well, have you ever looked in a mirror when you've lost your temper?

From April to August, Alex and his colleagues are on the road five days a week, ticking off the toilet blocks, checking out the showers, hunting down the play areas, bouncing on the beds, writing reports on wind-swept picnic tables, chatting with owners - all so you are assured of the highest standards. But they also rely on you, as visitors, to help them. You are even more likely to spot something than the most experienced of QAs, so, if you do, go to the manager - he'll probably be glad to have the opportunity to sort it out before the 'professional tourist' comes to call.

For information on caravan and holiday-home parks and on Thistle Award holiday homes, see the website:
www.visitscotland.com, email: [email protected], or tel: 0845 2255121.

The full version of this article appeared in the January 2006 issue of Park & Holiday Homes magazine.