Case Study St Ives Hotel & Guesthouse Assoc.

• This website is an excellent example of a local business sector coming together to promote a common product. St Ives is a thriving holiday destination with a huge amount to offer holiday makers of all ages and interests. The website aims to provide comprehensive information on the town, its facilities and its unique selling points.
• With Cornwall as a county firmly established as a favourite holiday destination, St Ives has taken the pioneering step of targeting those visitors directly. The website home page is bright, colourful and exciting offering links immediately to sections of interest.
• The accommodation section follows good practice in that it allows selection by preferred type of accommodation ensuring that options are relevant. Links take the user directly to the website of each accommodation provider for full details of what is on offer and the chance to make a booking enquiry.
• Visitors need to eat, so the site has a section dedicated to association approved restaurants, again with links direct to the service suppliers to aid bookings and enquiries. The site provides a sense that the businesses in St Ives are working together to provide both complimentary services (restaurants with self catering accommodation and bed and breakfast guest houses) and a common standard of quality and service across the town.
• Finally, the site provides a great deal of locality-specific information on activities and recreation opportunities in and around the town. As a resource to holiday makers, this section is certainly useful and helpful. It serves both to inform and promote; highlighting the variety of provision which includes some of Cornwall’s most popular beaches and the Tate St Ives gallery.
• Locals have something to gain from the site too, since the restaurant information is equally relevant, but specifically the site addresses the other function which tourist destinations offer all year round; that of very special venues for weddings. Information is provided on all aspects of wedding planning. You can browse venues licensed to hold wedding ceremonies, source flowers and a photographer and even order your wedding cake.
• If St Ives is your wedding venue of choice, this site can take a great deal of the hassle out of planning the big day!
• To conclude, what has been created here is a functional, informative, vibrant website reflecting the energy and enthusiasm of the businesses that have made welcoming visitors to their town a way of life. It would not be greatly surprising if other popular holiday venues follow St Ives’ lead.