Mary's Kicker Quiche

how its use can be a time-saving and headache-solving alternative for some of the daily frustrations of running an inn.  Thank you, Alan…here’s your list:

TECHNOLOGY TIP: A web-based Property Management System allows you to enter reservations from anywhere you have internet access.

OPERATIONS TIP: Alan recommends using a credit card machine instead of an internet credit card processing service if your inn is subject to frequent power outages.  Phone lines continue to work in outages and you will still be able to do business.

TECHNOLOGY TIP:  An iPhone or iPad-type device will give you that internet access capability.   You can take reservations from the grocery store or while away from the inn without worrying about losing a booking by not getting back to your voicemail or answering machine soon enough.

TECHNOLOGY TIP:  Google Calendar allows you to manage your daily schedule and appointments.  If you keep your calendar on Outlook, Google Calendar can be synced with your Outlook calendar.

SECURITY (AND TECHNOLOGY) TIP: Set your wireless network to log all MAC codes and connection times of every device that connects to your service from your account.  This will identify all users on your system and will protect you if any of your users are doing illegal activity on your network (such as downloading pornography or spamming).

TIME-SAVING (AND TECHNOLOGY) TIP: If you use company credit cards and banks (and we all do!), set it up to have them download their monthly statements directly into your financial software package.  Saves a LOT of typing!  (Call Alan on how to do that…not me!)

MARKETING TIP: If you want to get to the top of Google search results, when selecting important keywords, ask a friend with a similar inn that is distant from you for ideas.  Local competition may not be as friendly sharing their secrets.

TECHNOLOGY TIP: On your wireless network, ensure it is secured with a password or phrase.  You can inform your guests of the password but it also prevents the neighbors from downloading movies on your network and slowing your network to a crawl.

TIME-SAVING TIP: If you make a cash deposit to your bank, write the name and reservation number on the deposit slip.  you will be able to query it on the internet a year later when your accountant asks where the money came from.

MONEY-MANAGEMENT TIP: Alan recommends having THREE bank accounts.  One is your personal account for all non-business transactions.  The second is for all deposits from sales…whether credit card deposits, cash deposits, gift shop sales, everything.  This is an INTEREST-BEARING account.  The third account is for expenditures.  Transfer money from the revenue account into the expenditure account on occasion to pay the bills.  This leaves the balance of the revenue earning interest.  A side-benefit of having these two business accounts is that you will have all deposits and all expenses on SEPARATE statements at the end of the month for easy reconciling.

Thank you, Alan.  I would be interested in other innkeepers’ thoughts on any of Alan’s ideas and feel free to send me YOUR tips for making the innkeeping lifestyle and business even more wonderful and manageable.  Scott

And then my thoughts ALWAYS turn to a short prayer.  I pray that each landing I see is followed by the roar of

Please Just Touch and Go

the engines and the behemoth plane taking right back off again.  It’s called a touch and go…training for take-offs and landings. The reason for my prayer, you see, is that Dover AFB is where many of the cargo and personnel aircraft originate on their way to Baghdad or Kabul.  And, as the graves registration center on the East Coast, it is the destination of many young men and women returning to the States for the last time…on their way home to their families for the last time.

My prayer is for each plane to be a training mission and not a part of the heart-wrenching experience it must be for a family to come to grips with the loss of a son, or daughter, or dad, or mom.  “Please, Lord, let it just be a touch and go.”

What does this have to do with innkeeping?  Probably nothing directly…it’s more of a therapeutic outlet for me, my thoughts of my fellow West Pointers, my newer role as a Poppie, and, probably less seldom seen, the softer side of an old codger.

But I would like to make this offering to any innkeeper who feels similarly.  And I know the people in this hospitality and care-giving industry are GREAT at such feelings.  I am asking that innkeepers support our troops and their families.  If you offer:

• Military discounts
• Comp rooms for military families…as a surprise gift, not necessarily a published rack rate
• Other benefits or gifts of value to military families

please let me know and I will list your name and inn, with link, and the benefit you provide, along with my heartfelt thanks, in my upcoming newsletters and blog postings.  We are a great industry of professionals who understand the impact an innkeeper can have on a guest…and with the ability to send an appreciative gift to those who deserve our thanksgiving.     Scott

First a few facts:  According to D.K. Shifflet & Associates, a travel and research consulting firm:

• Leisure travel surpassed business travel for the hotel industry in 2004
• That gap has widened and by 2009, 54% of hotel travel volume is now leisure travel.
• Corporate travel has been slowly declining, and “it’s not going back” according to Shifflet.
• The Gen X (late 20’s to early 40’s) travelers are replacing the Baby Boomers and are traveling with their young families.

The hotels are watching the changing demographics and evolving to meet the new market.  To entice the leisure traveler to their properties, focus is strengthening on FAMILY travel.  Marriott is:

• Offering a Nickelodeon package to the kids with activity books and Nick bracelets
  

  This is Spongebob for those of you without kids around!

• Toddler care packages are awaiting the arriving family with squirting bath toys, fitted crib sheets, baby shampoos and nightlights.
• Spongebob backpacks with matching sheets and pillowcases are for sale in the gift shop.

The younger demographic is also demanding VALUE, a concept more wide-spread than just the Gen X-ers.  Homewood Suites by Hilton (typically a corporate traveler mecca has seen a 50% increase in its leisure travel this past year) is revising its free meals program, and Kimpton Hotels will give away free sangria drinks and Wii video games in the lobby this summer…something for the parents AND the kids.

So what does that have to do with US in the Bed and Breakfast Industry?

Everything, if you are ready to keep your business growing!

B and B owners often cater to only a certain slice of the traveling market.  They rely on the romance getaway, or traveling couple, typically Baby Boomers, to fill rooms.  But this AGE-SEGMENT of the traveling market is declining and we must target the NEXT generation as well…and they’re traveling with their kids. Some target the corporate traveler if the inn is fortunate enough to have several large businesses or a college within a mile or two.  But this segment is also in decline, and mid-week rooms are going to go empty.

Some ACTION Items for your Next Planning Meeting

• Is your Inn ready for a Tune-Up? Do your rooms and bathrooms appeal to the NEW demographic of the traveling public?  Do you have Ipod docking stations, and have you replaced gramma’s old furniture with clean lines and Pottery Barn-type styling?  People want to visit museums, not stay in one.
• Is your website ready for updating?  Anything 2 years or older is a dinosaur that won’t be found by the new search engine algorithms.  Do you have video of area attractions, or still relying on static photography of a bed?  The next generation is ultra techno-savvy and will find you in ways OTHER than your organic website, IF you embrace social media (May 7 posting) marketing and email marketing.
• Are you still illegally restricting kids to age 12 or older?  Talk to those inns who willingly accept children and find out what they do to make the family experience memorable.
• If all the inns in your area still restrict children, think of the ADVANTAGE you will have when they send all their family-travel referrals to you!
• Targeting and marketing for mid-week bookings in addition to your current corporate travelers will prepare to replace those declining mid-week business guests with others…such as quilting groups, elder travel with grandkids, or scrapbookers.  I’ll bet there’s an inn in your area already capitalizing on this new trend.

The B&B Team is ready to help you with your Evolution Planning when you are finally disgusted with negative growth of your inn’s performance.  The traveling market is evolving, and we BEG each of the inns in this industry to evolve with it.  And it’s fun!  And more satisfying than watching Spongebob!

Scott

Top of Mind…Top of Market: I unshamefully (is that a word?) stole that line from a friend of mine, Ted Foti, who is a marketing consultant in the Baltimore area.  Worthy of this petty theft, the concept works for our B&B industry as well.  When someone asks “Where’s a good place to stay around here?”, the answer should be on the top of the mind of your guerrilla marketer…the gas station attendant, the restauranteur, the college admissions office, your past guests.  These are the ambassadors of YOUR inn.  The goals of your marketing exposure includes the frequency and quality of your message.

Although video is an advantage to your website and can be RSS linked to Social Media networks, email is STILL the preferred media the communcating world wants.  Arlene Satchell in her article “Social Networks’ Popularity Doesn’t Hurt E-Mail Marketing’s Success”, (RISmedia, May 15), states that according to Forrester Research, “90% of online Americans currently use e-mail as a mainstream communication channel”.  And the relatively inexpensive costs, when compared to the potential results, yields a return on the investment that cannot be ignored.  E-Mail is still the central hub for pushing communications to people.

Constant Contact, among others, offers a templated service to make email marketing a snap.  I currently use this service for both Newsletters and E-Mail “blasts”…short notices going out to targeted folks.  I categorize my database by groups (e.g. aspiring  innkeepers, current innkeepers), by state, and demographic groupings.  I can send a newsletter to all, or to a select few, depending on which groups I select.  Be sure to put links in your newsletters and emails BACK to your website to encourage traffic to your online booking features.  For a couple of bucks more, I can use their survey feature.  And so can you! Imagine the worthwhile feedback you can get from your past guests by sending out a thoughtful, well-positioned survey!

The cost is almost irrelevant and can fit any budget. It starts at about $15 per month for up to 500 addresses.  And there are features to help LOAD your email database into the Constant Contact database (a typical excuse I hear for not getting started).  You can send as many emails or newsletters as you want, although being prudent is always advisable.  Your messages are more memorable , and less likely to be “opted-out”, if they are not annoyingly too frequent.  Once a quarter is a good goal.  Perhaps sending a newsletter quarterly and an email (of specials and area attractions) quarterly on off months from your newsletter.

I am not a paid sponsor of Constant Contact!  I’m just a user.  There are other services as well in about the same price range such as YMLP (Your Mailing List Provider).  My point is the ease and low-cost that this alternative offers to your marketing plan’s completeness.

Social Media offers an alternative channel, for sure.  One more technique for staying on Top of Mind.

Your quality Website is important…probably THE MOST important.  But it is passive…guests have to find YOU.  E-mail marketing offers a proactive alternative to talking to your guests…to stay on Top of Mind.

Anybody out there currently using Constant Contact?  Like it?  Like other services?

Scott

Don Farrell, Chief Cultivating Officer of Fresh Revenues, a frequent and entertaining speaker on converting telephone inquiries into bookings at the last two PAII conferences, conducted a 3 hour workshop on developing loyalty among guests and the telephone techniques to maximize bookings. One additional booking a day, assuming $150 Average Daily Rate increases annual revenue by $90,000!  Here Don is calling an inn to demonstrate sound inn practices of phone call conversion.

In a time when every innkeeper is seeking to spend their marketing dollars wisely, Willow Coyle of bedandbreakfast.com offered expert advice on getting your Return on Investment with internet directories.

Lisa Kolb, president and co-founder of Acorn Internet Services, detailed valuable and practical info on maximizing internet exposure with Google, the potential impact of the upcoming Caffeine algorithm shake-up that Google is expected to launch  in January (watch your rankings…they may be changing unexpectedly!), and maximizing the effectiveness of Social Media and its application to B & B’s.  Here Lisa addresses questions from Dave Balderson (Wayside Inn) and Danielle Hanscom (Brampton Inn).

This one meeting alone, with its practical and entertainingly motivating content, makes the price of membership in the MBBA a valuable investment.

Attendees…any comments?               Scott

“Compressor blown…$2800 for a new outside heat pump” was the diagnosis.  Crap! Just like when we were innkeepers, it hurts to spend that much money for something that is invisible to the guests (except when it is NOT working!).  “Aw right”, we responded…what else could we do?

There was a second problem we discovered.  Raccoons (or something) had chewed through the wires under the decking and there was a short that kept tripping the breaker.  Whenever the heat pump came on, the vibration would shake the wires, and eventually they would short out and trip the breaker…but it only happened once in a while when the vibration hit it just right for the wires to touch together and short out.  We got an electrician to splice in a new piece of wire and that was fixed.  Then he made the comment that sent us thinking.  “Maybe it was the shorted circuit causing the problem and the heat pump was fine after all”.

HMMM…To make a long story short, we went to the boneyard of the A/C service company, found our unit (our address was written on the cover so it was easy to identify), and had it tested by another HVAC company.  Nothing wrong with it! Come to find out the technician who diagnosed the problem gets a commission for selling new units so he replaces even good units with new units to collect bigger bucks.  Maybe the owners would never notice.

Needless to say, we initiated the chargeback for our $2800, jumped to the new service company to reinstall our old one, and I called the owner of the violating company to complain.  He offered to make nice-nice and agreed to only charge us $600 and we can keep the NEW unit.  I told him NO…that I would pay the $600 to the trustworthy company to reinstall the old unit even though I probably had argument to get the old company to reinstall the old unit free of charge since they should never have uninstalled it in the first place.   He had lost my trust.

This applies to all parts of our own lives as innkeepers (and consultants).  I had an aspiring innkeeper want her money back for a seminar that she couldn’t attend and that I was trying to reschedule anyway.  At first, I was going to return the fee (less the credit card fees) I am charged by the processor.  (kinda like the $25 cancellation fee for a room, isn’t it?).  Today, I sent her the entire amount to not violate trust and to maintain the relationship.  After all, it was NOT her fault I was trying to change the schedule.

How many times have you charged a fee for an early arrival? or a late check-out…even when you knew that room was not being used?  How many times have you booked a room holding back the fact that the bridal reception going on downstairs might disturb the guests (maybe they won’t notice!).

It’s all about earning and deserving to be trusted.  Just as I can no longer trust my old A/C company, I want to make sure I do not tell people what they want to hear…when it may be misleading…just to get their business.  I would rather be trusted.           Scott

The manager finally came out to make nice-nice and correct the matter.  He upgraded us to a larger room with a whirlpool tub in the bedroom (which Brody thought was a pool).  But even with the upgrade, I felt both cheated (I was looking for a nice experience…not lip) and guilty (for an upgrade we got only because we complained).

Pat Materka, owner of Ann Arbor Bed & Breakfast, on the U of MI campus, sent me an article from the June 17 New

Ann Arbor B & B

York Times, written by Rob Walker, about “Hyatt’s Random Acts of Generosity“.  Hyatt is instituting a new program called “random acts of generosity” where the hotel randomly picks up the tab for an expense, such as your bar tab or massage.  The effort is based on the concept that giving such gifts will not only be appreciated, but will also build loyalty and gratitude.  And such gratitude will result in continued business.

Hmmmmm… A couple of questions come to mind… How do they select which guest gets the gift?  How do they train their employees to do it “randomly” as a surprise?  And, as Walker mentions, when Hyatt made the public announcement of the program (it was in the New York Times, for gosh sakes), wouldn’t EVERY guest be waiting for their gift?  And if they don’t get one, will they feel cheated (like I did)?  Or will they feel guilty (like I did)  if they asked for the gift?

Don’t get me wrong…I am a BIG believer in Relationship Marketing (see the article Marketing on a Dime).  Building personal connections with guests or potential guests (calling them by name, sending handwritten notes, going the extra step for service, including them in newsletters, making a personal call to say Happy Birthday instead of an email, etc.) is, by far, the way to strengthen repeat business.

But inns don’t need gimmicks to build loyalty or gratitude.  When an innkeeper’s thoughtfulness of providing a birthday candle in the cinnamon bun, or an unexpected bottle of bubbly upon the arrival of the honeymooners, or a handwritten sympathy card to a former guest, or a “Welcome, Dan” instead of “Can I help you?”, loyalty and gratitude already have a foundation of a lasting relationship.  Inns are good at that stuff.

What do you think?  Do you have “Gifts” you feel are adding to customer loyalty?  Scott

But when searching for an inn, or developing or strengthening an inn’s

marketing plan, the repetition has 3 distinct implications:

Location #1: Think of the inn’s macro-location first.  Is the inn located within easy reach (2-3 hours) of major metropolitan areas?  Having major population meccas from which to attract guests is a major asset of any inn.  A great example includes Pheasant Field B & Bin Carlisle, PA.  Within 3 hours of the inn includes such metro-megacenters as the NYC metro area, Philly, Baltimore, DC,, Pittsburgh, and only a few miles away, the capital of PA, Harrisburg.  That’s gotta be about 16 bazillion potential “one-tankers”  (guests that only want to spend one tank of gas for their mini-vacation).

For aspiring innkeepers, keeping Location #1 in mind when building a profile will ensure an advantage from the get-go.  For a current innkeeper, analyzing Location #1 in your SWOT  (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis is an important step to strengthening your marketing plan.

Location # 2 is the immediate region around the inn.  What will bring the 16 bazillion people to your area?  It is NOT just to visit you, as much as we innkeepers would like to believe!  Having a variety of area attractions that appeal to multiple interests, great restaurants, and soft adventures will offer a one-stop shopping itinerary for any guest looking to get away.  Take the Pennsbury Inn, for example, in Chadds Ford, PA.  Within a few short miles of the inn is something for everyone:  Longwood Gardens and its world-reknown topiary gardens, Winterthur (the DuPont country house) for the antiquers and hortoculturists, Simon Pearce glassworks, the River Museum and its Andrew Wyeth Gallery, the Brandywine Revolutionary War battlefield for history buffs, and, of course, the Wine Trail and great restaurants of the region.

This vast array of attractions appeals to most any interest…with plenty to do for any visitor to the region.  For the aspiring innkeeper, what will bring guests to the area around YOUR future inn?  For the current innkeeper, which of these attractions can I package with, and build relationships with, to capitalize on THEIR popularity?

Location # 3 is an easy one, and the one most innkeepers, aspiring and current, focus.  This is the inn itself, its curb appeal, and the attractiveness of the surrounding neighborhood.  When a guest rounds the corner and sees the inn for the first time, we hope their eyes widen and they mutter the “ooooooh!” that we work so hard to achieve.  Many inns know how to achieve this look.  The example here, Brampton Bed & Breakfast Inn near Chestertown, MD., is noteworthy for its curb appeal.

For the aspiring innkeeper, does your candidate inn have curb appeal, or can you give it great curb appeal?  Is it in an attractive and safe-looking neighborhood?  For the current innkeeper, taking a look from the road to ensure a great first impression should be a part of every capital expenditure plan.

Three separate interpretations for the same word…Location.  But each having distinct meaning

to ensure the success of an inn.

Consultant’s Advice: Aspiring innkeepers, ensure the profile of your candidate inn has ALL 3 location criteria met.  For current innkeepers, look at all three definitions, assess and take advantage of the strengths of your location, and develop plans to strengthen those weaknesses or take actions for those opportunities that your location offers.

What are the strengths and weaknesses with YOUR location, location, location?

College business can bring in mid-week traffic for three different reasons…so go after all of them!

1. Visiting speakers, professors and athletic recruitment, and those guests booked by the college. These are handled like other corporate guests.
2. Visiting families coming to town with their high school senior for a college tour, often traveling with siblings…requiring multiple beds in a room.
3. Parents and alumni coming to campus to visit their students or for a reunion. These guests are like other leisure travelers.

Again, like with corporations in your town, building relationships with the different offices on campus will pay off with bookings. Here are some tips on where to look and how to promote your inn:

• Departmental offices typically book their own visitors, so visit each of them just as you visited the corporation travel departments in town. Take some rack cards and your favorite muffins.
• The Admissions Office can steer visiting families to your inn when they ask the inevitable question…”Where’s a good place to stay?” Know them personally so that YOU are on the top of their mind when they get asked.
• Athletic teams bring in recruits by the dozens…get to know the coaches and give them a free breakfast when they come over to interview candidates.
• College websites will often allow a link to your inn on their “Where to Stay” page. Be there!
• Post a news blurb in the Newsletters all colleges send to students’ homes. They often look for content for their columns and will often offer a free paragraph as long as it is newsy and not an ad. Perhaps list your graduation booking process or mention a fraternity or sorority event you are sponsoring as a fundraiser.
• Have a location on your website for college visitors to peruse, perhaps including sports schedules, specials for mid-week visitors, your walking distance to the campus, and, of course, a call-to-action button to book.
• Hold campus departmental meetings or an open house at the inn.
• Have a Parents Club…stay nine nights and get the tenth one free. Most will graduate before they make it to nine anyway! And the ones that get the free night are loyal repeat guests who will tell the other parents.

There are dozens of other ideas, but NONE are as important as building the relationships with the departmental offices, the admissions offices, the athletic coaches, the President’s office, and alumni office.

• Consultant’s Advice: Top of Mind…Top of Market is the saying of Ted Foti, a good friend of mine with Communica Marketing. Same principle applies here. When a department head, alumni office, admissions office or sports team needs a room, YOU should be the FIRST thought that comes to mind. And only those personal relationships and frequent nurturing of the relationship will keep you there.

What do YOU DO to attract College Business to your Inn?