Client: SCBBCOA

"Early in the development of the Sunshine Coast Bed & Breakfast, Cottage Owners Association, efforts were made to use computer technology to communicate with our members. Email was the starting point, however, we soon recognized that we needed to get more information to our members.

As an executive on our Board, Chris Cutlan coordinated our efforts, along with Laurie McConnell from BigPacific, to develop a 'members' lounge'. This was an association website designed specifically as a communications tool between our Association Board and its members. This was an excellent first step towards our goal of integrating the use of technology into the fabric of our communication/marketing philosophy.

Soon after developing our members' lounge, we realized that visitors to the Sunshine Coast were having difficulty finding available accommodation and guests were often spending 3 or 4 days calling each B&B or Cottage owner until they found one with availability. Our Board decided to resolve this issue by developing an availability matrix that would give our members and staff at local Chamber of Commerce Visitor Centres the opportunity to see real time availability for each of our member locations. As the Board member responsible for our web efforts, Chris Cutlan became the driving force behind the development of our Association's availability matrix. We employed the programming skills of Peter Scott from Omnisquid to develop the programming required to deliver this online service to our members.

Shortly after the matrix was developed our Board held a marketing strategy session. Flowing from the marketing workshop was the realization that the framework for successful web marketing had already been developed. With support and funding from our membership, our Board embarked on a plan to develop and market a redesigned website. The website would be the primary marketing tool for our members and it would include information about the Coast and member availability. Once again Chris Cutlan worked with our web design team Lee McCulloch from bluefish and Peter Scott from Omnisquid to put a new face to the public section of our website.

After a year of using the site as a marketing tool, our Board was confident that we were strategically positioned to move to the next level of on-line marketing. Ten months ago our Association embarked on a very ambitious web redesign project. The objectives for the new site included; create a fresh new look incorporate more guest information areas streamline the presentation of both the public and member areas of the website create a modular design that was easily updated by a member of our Board incorporate all of the technology that had been developed to date add filter searches enable members to take advantage of online reservation technology and expand the statistic gathering ability of the site.

Chris Cutlan led the project and volunteered numerous hours of his new consulting company, SunTech. Together with our team of web consultants, Peter and Lee . . . coupled with direction and input from our Board and members, we have developed a leading edge tourism website.

Our efforts have been recognized by Tourism British Columbia. The Sunshine Coast Bed & Breakfast, Cottage Owners Association has been awarded the first ever Tourism and Technology award! Special thanks to Chris Cutlan and SunTech, Peter Scott from Omnisquid and Lee McCulloch from bluefish for their endless support in developing an incredible marketing tool for our members."

Chris McNaughton, President
Sunshine Coast Bed & Breakfast and Cottage Owners Association