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CHRISTMAS 2023 MEWS

Greetings lovely Longcrofters,

The festive season is now upon us, so we wanted to wish you all the very best at this often busy but hopefully fun time of year! We are sure you all have lots to organise in the run up to Christmas for your own family celebrations, as well as all your feline guests. Between hosting family and friends, stuffing stockings and putting together kitty goodie bags, we hope you are able to take the time to enjoy the festivities, relax and treat yourself to some delicious food and a favourite tipple!

To help things run smoothly, we have a few reminders below on how to send out those Christmas postcards to your customers and a request for customer contact information so we can send out Christmas e-cards to thank all our fantastic customers for their support again this year. Looking ahead to next year, there are some updates on our vet treatment forms, as well as news about our franchisees coming up in the Spring. We’re also making some exciting updates to our All Inclusive offering, which we hope will help get things off to a positive start for everyone in January – full details of this at the bottom of this newsletter.

We will be sending out a Christmas press release, so please do share with us if your local press features you! And of course we’d love to see any Chirstmassy pics of your fabulous feline guests so please send them to us!

With merry winter purrs, Abi xx

CHRISTMAS CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS

Kitty Advent Countdown!

As a bit of fun this year, we will be sending you all a selection of Scrumbles advent calendars. There will be one per suite arriving direct to your doors in the next few days. These were supposed to arrive at the beginning of the December but our apologies as they have been a little delayed.  We would love it if you could take photographs of your guests enjoying their  Advent Calendars or helping you open a door!  We plan to share a daily countdown on our social media channels – we will feature a different Christmas countdown kitty every day. We think this will add a sprinkling of festive fun and our customers will enjoy our daily updates!

About Scrumbles …

“In case you’ve not heard of us before, we’re a family run pet food company, founded in 2018 by Aneisha and Jack. We start with the gut with all our recipes, adding pre or probiotics, using all-natural ingredients, and avoiding nasties like added sugar or salt. This holds true for the treats within our Advent Calendars too, which also have a mix of three different guilt-free treats within.”

Click here to find out more about Scrumbles.

Mini Hessian Sacks

This year we have tried to keep things cost effective and have sourced some mini hessian sacks. We can’t personalise them this year but they will still look cute with a festive gift tag on them bearing the kitties name. They cost £2 each plus postage. They are available now so do email us if you would like some posting out.

Customer Christmas E-Card

As in previous years, we will be sending a festive message to all of our customers in December. It’s a great way to thank them for their support and encourage them to get thinking about booking again next year! 

Longcroft HQ will be emailing you each a link to a spread sheet including all of your customer email addresses, taken from the online pet profiles forms. Please can you check this list and add any additional customer emails that you would like to receive the Christmas E-Card. Please do this by Friday 15th December. If you do not edit this, we will send out the email based on these current lists.

Please just open up your spreadsheet and copy and paste all customer email addresses in a column, making sure to use a separate line for each email address.

If you would also like to send Christmas cards in person to your super regulars  …. then of course please do.

Christmas Day Postcards

Please don’t forget those Christmas Day postcards! They are an important touch that has a big impact on your customers. But remember, you can schedule these well in advance so you don’t have to spend time on Christmas morning doing kitty admin! 

Prepare the postcards days before and schedule them to send on Christmas morning. To do this, write the content of the email and include the subject line and recipient’s email address then click on the little arrow by the side of the blue send button in your gmail account and tap on ‘schedule send.’ This will give you the option to send at a time of your choice, such as Christmas morning at 10am. Purrrrrfect!

A suggested postcard message …

Dear Mum and Dad,

We are having a fabulous time here at Longcroft.

When we woke up this morning, Santa had left us some delicious festive treats in our suite and lovely gifts that made us purrrr! 

After playing with our new (whatever toy given) we are looking forward to some extra special Christmas pampering later, including (some posh treats, cosy cuddles and a scrummy turkey dinner), all while listening to some classic Christmas tunes on the radio! 

With festive love and purrs …. 

(Cat’sname/s) 

RECAP: How to make postcards …

Owners of All Inclusive should receive a postcard for every week of their stay at Longcroft. It’s such a simple but effective way to stay in touch and reassure customers that their kitties are being taken care of. Click here for a quick reminder of how to do this, with some suggested text and great recent examples for inspiration.

PROBLEMS SOURCING CAT LITTER?

We understand that stock of your usual cat litter is currently running low on some sites due to the change in packaging. Hopefully this won’t be a problem going forward as the new packaging is rolled out across the board. We are looking into other corn-based products as back up, just in case stock becomes a challenge.

Some suggestions if it runs out on one site …

Thank you for your feedback on a get together. So far, the general feel has been that we meet online rather than in person but please share your thoughts if you would prefer a get-together next year.

We will also be introducing ‘Longcroft Live’ in the New Year – a monthly Teams call, where all franchisees can join HQ for a catch up and we’ll update you on any important news. We think this will be a great space for you to talk to us and each other, and get advice on the day-to-day running of your business. These calls will be recorded so you can watch them later if you can’t join us, or if you’d like a reminder of the points shared. It’s totally OK if you can’t make it but we would love to see you there!

The first call is scheduled for Monday January 8th at 11am and will be a discussion on ‘Upgrading to All Inclusive – top tips and how to!’

YOUR NEWS: Longcroft Orpington’s festive fundraising

The owner of Longcroft Orpington, Daisy, is already getting into the Christmas spirit this year by supporting her family’s local community. She has once again donated a lovely Longcroft hamper of fabulous kitty treats and gifts to her local school’s Christmas Fair, helping to raise valuable funds to support Perry Hall Primary.  

The raffle will take place at the Perry Hall Primary School Christmas Fete on Saturday 2nd December. This lovely prize is possible to win by buying raffle tickets (available by contacting Longcroft Orpington) before 2nd December 2023. The hamper includes Longcroft Orpington kitty favourites from Lily’s Kitchen, Webbox, Cosma, Applaws, Dreamies and Freak Meowt cat toys.

Daisy looks forward to donating similar prizes for Summer and Christmas 2024 too.

Longcroft Flitwick support local Sea Cadets

Louise of Longcroft Flitwick is giving back to her local community, by supporting The Flitwick and Ampthill Sea Cadet Unit. It’s an organisation that is very close to Lou’s heart, as her twin boys are both cadets and they work very hard for the local community, along with their 58 strong cadet unit.

The Sea Cadets charity organisation is made up of a wonderful group of adult volunteers, officers, parents and children. They all strive and work hard for one purpose – their cadets. Improving their education, experience, well-being and development is the goal of any sea cadet unit. Young people are taught life skills such as boating, sailing, first aid, piping, camp craft, Duke of Edinburgh courses and much more.

Louise is running a Facebook crowd fund for The Flitwick and Ampthill Sea Cadets – all donations, large or small, are gratefully received. Click here to find out more.

Two cute new arrivals!

Judith at Longcroft Margate has welcomed two adorable new kittens recently. They are related to Judith’s oldest pussycat, George. These furry bundles of gorgeousness are called Thor and Loki and we just had to share their piccies with you all. Welcome to the Longcroft family Thor and Loki!

Here at HQ, we love to hear what you’ve been up to at your hotel and in your community. So if you have any news like Daisy, Louise or Judith, please do share it with us …

ONLINE VET TREATMENT FORM

We will be moving the Veterinary Treatment Consent form online. We hope this means the majority of customers will be able to complete the form online before they drop off their pussycats, to reduce the amount of admin required at check-in. We will shortly be sending you each a link that can be sent out to customers in their confirmation emails.

FOCUS ON ALL INCLUSIVE

We are aiming to place greater emphasis on our All Inclusive package and encouraging more guests to book this option. This is particularly important where guests have special medical needs or require additional care and attention, or indeed where owners are seeking extra communication and reassurance from you. It’s a way to make sure your extra efforts are recognised and rewarded. So we are clarifying the terms of the All Inclusive package, to help make it more appealing and easier to up-sell to your customers. 

Each hotel will be given a link to their own All Inclusive page on the website, which will include the information below on exactly what the All Inclusive package includes. We will be sending you all links to these pages in the next week, along with revised standard wording for email confirmations, to be used in the new year (if needed, we can also remind you how to update your email templates). This will also include a link to the new Veterinary Treatment Form as mentioned above.

For an example, click here to see the Longcroft Welwyn All Inclusive Page.

All Inclusive page:

ALL INCLUSIVE GUESTS ENJOY A VERY TAILORED EXPERIENCE

HUMAN TIME

Our all inclusive guests receive plenty of additional human time and individual one on one care. We tailor this around your cat’s personality and individual needs and offer small and regular capsules of time for bonding which is especially important and particularly valuable for our first time guests that have never stayed away from home before. All inclusive care is perfect for:

– Guests that have had a previous negative experience in a large scale commercial cattery.

– Guests that need more attention than a cat sitter popping in is able to give.

– Young guests that need regular small meals and lots of cuddles.

– Elderly guests that need close monitoring.

– Timed medication on request.

– Diabetic care package on request.

– Pedigree guests with additional grooming needs.

– Active personalities that require more stimulation through play and enrichment.

GROOMING 

All inclusive guests can enjoy our enhanced grooming services. This includes long haired coat maintenance to help keep coats healthy and tangles at bay. Tear stain maintenance with a gentle eye cleanse.

Sphynx care … Just because we have no hair doesn’t mean we don’t need special care! All inclusive Sphynx guests can enjoy a gentle bathe and dry and ear cleanse. Laundry service for jumpers and clothing included too!

EMOTIONAL NEEDS 

This can be anything from sitting and having a cup of tea with our guests to gentle nurturing, regular contact and bonding with nervous cats particularly those who have come from a rescue background and need extra support.

ENRICHMENT

We love to tailor our enrichment plans based on your cat’s breed, personality and individual play style. We allow them to experience different types of toys and tweak the frequency to understand what they enjoy and when.

At Longcroft we really go the extra mile to understand your cat’s personality so they come home after being loved, well fed and happy ensuring you will come back to Longcroft time and time again.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS

We are passionate about delivering excellent care and are skilled in administering all types of medication in a kind and gentle way.

Diabetes Timed insulin injections and additional care package on request.

Tablets / liquid medication – we know that most guests do not enjoy taking tablets so we listen to what you do at home and replicate this.

Asthma We are confident in the administration of Asthmatic medication and take a kind and gentle approach.

Please chat with us about any other requirements.

ALL INCLUSIVE MENU

ALL INCLUSIVE GUESTS CAN CHOOSE FROM UNLIMITED MENU CHOICES

All premium brands of wet and dry food *

Unlimited choices from our freshly prepared and hand cooked A La Cat Menu™. This menu is made in small batches to suit the fussiest of feline taste buds!

Unlimited choices from our Mini Bar snack and treat Menu with everything from Dreamies to Lik-E-Lix and Treat Sticks available in every flavour imaginable.

Tailored meal times and portion control – just let us know what times you would like us to serve your kitties meals, we can accommodate breakfast, elevenses, lunch, mid-afternoon snack and dinner. We even offer a late dinner option.

Bring your own! We totally understand if you would like to bring your own food. We are happy to store this for you for the duration of your kitties stay and be reassured that your kitty will still enjoy all of the other wonderful care and grooming elements of this premium tailored package. 

For those kitties that are fed a raw diet or any subscription based food packages please do let us know in advance in order for us to reserve the freezer space.

*with the exception of raw food choices and subscription based food such as Katkin due to the minimal order quantities.

A LA CAT™ MENU

All dishes are freshly prepared for you by your Longcroft human – Served on finest bone china at a time of your choice!

Longcroft Lean
Succulent slices of slow poached chicken, Ideal for chicken lovers and low calorie for our cuddlier guests!

Succulent Salmon
Carefully prepared, individually steamed and hand flaked.

A La Cat™ Trio
For our hungrier guests or the feline that just can’t decide!
Have it all with our mouthwatering trio of poached chicken, finest hand flaked salmon and huge juicy king prawns.

Simply King Prawns
6 huge juicy king prawns, pan seared to order – our signature dish!

Evening Milky Whiskers Turndown Service
Choose your favourite bedtime treat from our mini bar, add creamy cat milk and finish with a cuddle or whatever else floats your feline boat!

ALL INCLUSIVE SNUGGLE UP!

Being an all inclusive guest means every evening you will receive a visit from your dedicated cat  loving human who will tuck you in at bedtime with a small selection of treats of your choice to see you through until breakfast time.

A Mini housekeeping water change / top up and litter check  is included.

Bed time tuck ins and mini evening housekeeping.

Milky whiskers – our all inclusive guests can also choose a side of lactose free milk to settle them down into a slumber. 

TAILOR MY STAY AT LONGCROFT …

TAILOR MY SUITE

We tailor your cats’ stay to suit their breed, age and ability. This is particularly important with our younger and more senior guests or guests that may have pre existing injuries or compromised eyesight or hearing. Things we could add / change for you might be:

– Water fountain 

– Feliway Plug in 

– Ladder 

– Extra blankets

– Bed placements

– Cat flap assistance. 

PRIVATE CHAUFFEUR SERVICE 

Private Chauffeur service available for collection and return home (price on request)

SPECIAL OCCASIONS AND ADDITIONAL SERVICES

We love nothing more than to wave you off into the sunset whilst we and your cats have a suite party! 

All inclusive guests enjoy complimentary Birthday and Christmas Celebrations if this date falls during their stay. 

We also love to celebrate your…

Weddings, Birthdays, Engagements, Anniversaries

Celebration boxes are available to purchase £25.00

Full Feline Fine body groom £35.00

Pampering Ultimate Spa Day and “Posh Dinner” package  £45.00

Introducing the Celebration box … 

This is a new celebration package tailored to what we know your kitty loves – from tasty treats to their favourite toys! Please let us know before check-in and we will add this to their package. 

We don’t want to be too prescriptive but consider including some of the following for your customers, depending on the occasion and their likes and dislikes … 

– Feel free to choose gifts from the likes of Freak MeOwt and the “My Posh Paws” who make super cute personalised blankets.

– Add posh food or treats. 

– Perhaps include a cheeky birthday hat and sign, or birthday banner if appropriate.

– Design a postcard and send a picture update of the celebration. If it’s for a wedding, perhaps send a wedding card or message from the kitties.