Scotland Licensing for Self-Catering homes

Friendship, Collaboration and Discrimination This is a tale of collaboration, female friendship, discrimination and the chauvinism which still runs through our society. Through adversity, I have formed the most amazing friendships and alliances with both women and men in our self catering community but have also seen and heard the dark hand being wielded by those in power. From boardroom meetings to the MP emails in response to constituent concerns; its poison still taints our industry and society. I hope to illustrate how all different types of businesses within Hospitality and Tourism are intertwined and how coming together as a collective gives us more power and perspective, whether as a group of women or a group of businesses. When I set out to welcome guests to Edinburgh in my family owned self catering property back in 2006, never did I think that this act of hospitality and as it turns out, an ability for myself and others to earn a living would suddenly be so heavily discriminated against (based on a false narrative and a lack of real empirical data). I love running a business and all the exciting opportunities that it brings such as working with an amazing team. This makes what's on the horizon all the harder to contemplate. I love what Women in Tourism do and I am proud to say that I am one of the founding members. Its formation was exhilarating and taught me what a group of awe inspiring women can do when they collaborate and work together as one. We are rolling into 2023 and never has this spirit of collaboration been more required. I believe that everyone in Hospitality and Tourism should really engage with one another. It shouldn't be a ‘we will fight our corner while you yours’ situation. Tourism is a complex ecosystem which requires a delicate balancing act so it doesn't go off kilter and impact communities and the environment in a negative way. Unless each stakeholder understands what the unintended consequences of 'a solution to that problem' may be, we will only make a bad situation worse. Even across sectors in tourism, it is my experience that there has been a lack of understanding as to what we each do and how we individually as different businesses or sectors contribute to the industry and moreover how we can each offer our own or combined solutions to community concerns such as over-tourism, anti social behaviour or sustainability in tourism. We tend to live in those same communities as we work in or very similar ones so it behoves us to ensure community cohesion. This is not an indictment but a point of learning that we must move on from. It also requires bravery and that is something I have seen recently in the wonderful women, such as Fiona Campbell, CEO of the ASSC, demonstrate in the ‘pushback’ against the nightmarish regulatory landscape we find ourselves in. The Legislation Self catering and Bed and Breakfasts in Scotland are at crisis point and many have already served their last breakfasts and welcomed their last guests as a result of policy making. A little legislative background now, and for this I turn to Louise Brook from Dickins with whom we were once simply working in the same space and through our coming together as stakeholders facing the same threats I now view as a confidante and great businesswoman. In a recent blog for CaCHE November 2022 where she attended as a panellist she wrote: "On 1st October 2022, legislation was introduced affecting short term letting (STL) in Scotland. Included are all types of accommodation from letting a room, to whole homes, B&B’s, yurts and even treehouses. Scotland’s 32 local authorities have been given powers to set their own fees and local rules. Edinburgh is the first area in Scotland to be designated a Planning Control Zone. This means that self-caterers in the capital need to have a change of use from residential to commercial as well as a licence. Both the STL legislation and the Edinburgh Planning Control Zone were enacted with no empirical data. No real data to underpin either the decisions made, or to scope the detail or provide a baseline from which to review the impact. Instead scraped data was relied upon by the Scottish Government to form the basis of the legislation and by The City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) as the reason why a planning control zone was required.” And so I ask what is the aim of this legislation - if it is about Health and Safety why has the planning element been incorporated? How is it actually being implemented by councils? - in reality so few people will get planning permission and/or a licence it is perversely wiping out the very activity it is supposed to licence. Self Catering is very much a female dominated industry. According to a recent ASSC Sectoral Survey, "the majority of self-catering businesses are run by either females or partnerships where the self-catering element of the business is managed by the female, with just 12% of operators being male. This is often linked with women being able to fit the operation of their business around child-care and other responsibilities". What implications does this have for Scotland as a progressive, inclusive nation, if self catering is demolished and why have we been shouting into the wind for years that active policy making will destroy this sector? It’s felt as if these sentiments were seen as hyperbole by many (even though they were backed by empirical data). I don't know the answers to this but my theory is that it has something to do with power imbalances and dynamics within our society. Some argue that self catering properties will be released into housing stock but there is no evidence to support this, in fact quite the opposite. I am not denying that there is a housing crisis or that we are dealing with very complex issues here. It is an awful situation for many trying to get their foot in the housing ladder or rent a home but banning self catering is not the answer. Indeed the Report Far More than just houses (Frontline Scotland 2018) notes, "when housing demand and the level of empty housing at 79,000 empty homes is set against the 16,692 self-catering units [in Scotland], it suggests self-catering activity is not of a scale sufficient to affect housing supply issues in Scotland". I had a very condescending email from an MP who refused to meet me and disagreed fervently with my assessment that the legislation would affect tourism. I felt ‘othered’’ as if we as self caterers are not part of the community in which we live and serve. He told me that guests would simply stay in other forms of accommodation but offered no evidence to support this. He also said that self catering units would be released into housing stock. He didn't acknowledge that I was writing as a business owner of an agency servicing holiday home owners and visitors and a Tourism and Destination professional with over 25 years experience in the industry; perhaps well placed to hold opinions on the industry and visitor and client segmentation. Visitors to Scotland are not one homogenous group and neither are holiday home owners. Other MPs and industry representatives over the years have spoken of how licensing would be a positive force within the industry for professional operators (and we had no objections to it in principle) but fast forward to 2022 and the shock of how this is unfolding is palpable. What are the effects of this legislation on business? The reality is that the way this legislation is being implemented by councils will quash business and damage local communities whilst not achieving its purported aims of raising health and safety standards and regulating an industry. There will be no industry left to regulate. Duncan McChonchie, Managing Director Laggan succinctly (December 2022) summarised some of the current issues businesses in hospitality and tourism face when he wrote about the STL licensing and the proposed transient visitor levy and deposit return scheme. "According to the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, the UK was ranked 140th out of 140 countries for tourism price competitiveness in 2019. You can't get worse than that. It seems that as businesses we find ourselves in a position where we are continually wound up in red tape. Where if we don't comply with this, that or the other, we can't operate. At every turn we're told we can't do this or that...because because because Safety is paramount, compliance is important. But it's equally important ... That businesses and their teams thrive That businesses grow & reinvest That businesses have money left over at the end of the day to try new things, explore new markets, and bring new visitors to Scotland. It seems that these days businesses are no longer trusted to be the advocates of our people, our communities, our environment and in turn governing bodies, bills, laws, levies, taxes to name but a few are created to keep us in line, in our box. The thrill of the ride of running a business is vanishing and is quickly becoming a fight to survive." Back to the seemingly underlying imbalance of power in society and local government policy which appears to enshrine big business to the detriment of small. In a thought provoking piece, Kenyan Briggs (2018) highlights how self caterers in New York have been blamed for many of society's ills and the demonisation of Airbnb has been a core element here. Yes Airbnb is big business itself but it is also simply a channel that individual self caterers and small agencies use to market their properties. This narrative has played into the hands of big business. Are we seeing the same story being played out in Scotland? Surely this approach to our economy can't be right? Regulation should surely provide the greatest net benefit for everyone. Consumers and communities deserve choice and as per the 2030 Tourism Strategy a diverse range of business and accommodation to stay in and choice as to where to become employees. For some, working for businesses whose profits stay in the community is important. I was personally approached at a conference about five years ago by a person in a position of power, who gleefully told me (not exact words) that there were plans afoot to wipe us out (self caterers). Not acceptable behaviour and I remember feeling shaken at the time. The Festival City The Jewel in Edinburgh’s Crown, the Edinburgh’s Festivals are existentially threatened by this regulation. There simply will not be enough accommodation to serve performers and guests in August. Year round professional self caterers and affiliated businesses are essential to providing quality and good value accommodation. In a newspaper article, Shona McCarthy, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society (The Times 7.12.2022) warned against "unintended consequences", insisting that the potential impact of the regulations has not been considered. She urged the government to pause the legislation so a pilot study can be undertaken to understand the real consequences of it. Wrapping up As I was wrapping up this article, welcome news came through that the legislation will be paused until 1st October 2023. I cannot overstate the relief I currently feel as myself, my colleagues and peers in the industry now have the ability to go into 2023 with hope. Hope for the spirit of collaboration, hope for all stakeholders to really listen to each other and hope that the axe will be put down for good and this pause is not just a stay of execution. It is now essential that the implementation of the licensing scheme at council level is changed so for example, there is not the de facto ban in Edinburgh and this completely unfair presumption of bad practice amongst self catering operators. After all, there are many shared needs that come as part of the human condition and they are the ability to live and work in harmony free from fear and discrimination.