Inspired by their positive experience of hosting visitors at their house in the south under the TT home stay scheme, one couple decided to register their property as a bed and breakfast on a casual basis.

The couple, who don’t want to be named, say it was the start of a complex ’nightmare’ of multiple inspections and conflicting advice.

They believe the whole system needs to be reformed.

Enterprise Minister Laurence Skelly MHK has said an internal review will be carried out into the registration process.

The couple received an information pack but found queries raised could not be answered.

’People were always in meetings or out of office and never returned any call or email,’ the woman said.

’We battled on through wordy, repetitious documents where the salient points got lost in the gobbledygook.’

Requirements to register include having insurance, registering the kitchen as a business, an accessibility statement, building regulation approval and environmental health and fire safety assessments.

’Like all cases where multiple agencies are involved conflicting information was given to us,’ she said.

’We were told our fire safety needed changing, estimates were a four figure sum, but when the fire officers came they were more than happy with our existing system but suggested a few changes that would give us "over and above" and cost £200!’

The next issue was commercial liability insurance.

She said that companies like Airbnb provide public liability insurance for members but the department insisted on separate public liability insurance.

’As a domestic property we could not get a commercial liability insurance,’ she said.

’Domestic insurance companies would not give us the £2,000,000 liability demanded by the registration process.’

The property’s kitchen had to be registered as a business and inspected along with an environmental health visit.

The registration arrived before the inspection.

Waste

They said the environmental health inspection took more than an hour.

’Every unlikely scenario was illustrated and we were advised to buy plastic gloves, aprons, paper towels and take a NVQ hygiene course to show due diligence,’ she said.

’This could have been said in 10 minutes or a short paragraph and seemed a massive waste of the environmental health officer’s time and government money.’

Meanwhile, the couple said the website given to help with the accessibility statement was not accessible to island residents.

’We thought the final visit from the tourism team member was the end of the line but no - after four inspections we have had yet another!

’A "secret shopper", someone from the UK who was paid to come and stay!’

She said: ’Given the amount of guest accommodation on the island which all has to endure this process we shudder to think what this cost must be.

’Who does this all benefit? Certainly not us, not the tourists, as it pushes prices up or encourages unlicensed accommodation which maybe unsafe.

’It is totally unnecessary. In today’s world everything is based on feedback and reviews, not buttering up inspectors.’

She added: ’For us running a B&B was about meeting people and providing a service.

’But we have had to consider the smallest things like does the wardrobe have five coat hangers, getting a hook in the bathroom and a chair in bedroom, it’s madness.

Streamlining

’It’s really put us off. It all needs trimming and updating as they are still using the 1975 Tourist Act!

Enterprise Minister Laurence Skelly MHK told the Manx Independent that as a result of his discussions with the couple about their experience, there will be an internal review.

’We are looking at the process and streamlining it.

’I appreciate the process is drawn out because you are dealing with three government departments.

’We are conducting an internal review. We ask people to register, even if they run Airbnb as a form of regulation.’