Archive for the ‘Websites’ Category

Technology for Inns … Tips for Making the Innkeeping Lifestyle a Bit Easier

Friday, July 16th, 2010

I received a short message from Mary and Alan Duxbury at The Carlisle House in Carlisle, PA., and Alan offers TEN time and effort-saving tips for innkeepers.  Mary makes the best quiche in the world (recipe link here) and I opted for a picture of the quiche instead of Alan (sorry, Alan!).  Many of Alan’s tips involve technology and

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

Posted in Inn Operations, Innkeeping Consulting, Inns and Innkeepers, Marketing, Uncategorized, Websites | No Comments »

Do You Know What the B&B Industry’s Competition is Doing?

Friday, June 11th, 2010

On a flight to visit an inn this past week, I was reading an article in the USA Today(June 1) containing some interesting information about the big guys…the hotels…with information that also applies to the B and B industry.  In his article “Hotels try to woo leisure travelers” Roger Yu relates some concepts of the changing travel marketplace and the evolution of the hotels (and WE should listen too!) to meet the change challenge.

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

Posted in Financial Health of an Inn, Inn Operations, Innkeeping Consulting, Market Trends, Marketing, Websites | No Comments »

B&B E-Mail Marketing does NOT conflict with Social Media Marketing

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

In the previous posting, I mentioned how effective VIDEO marketing on your website can be.  It offers an advantage to be exploited in your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts to attract bookings.  This technique, and the recent bombardments from all directions and talk about Social Media and its usefulness for marketing exposure, and the typical marketing channels…the B&B directories, rack cards, websites with professional photography, blogs with links to your website and others…WOW! How does an inn do all this stuff? How much will it cost an inn when pennies count?  And does it give a return on the investment made?

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

Posted in Building Relationships as a Marketing Tool, Financial Health of an Inn, Inn Operations, Innkeeping Consulting, Internet Directories, Market Trends, Marketing, Tracking Devices, Uncategorized, Websites | 1 Comment »

We are a Visual Society…and Your B&B Can Exploit it!

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

Check out the statistics:

-  32% of all Internet activity is made up of Video
-  Consumers prefer video 6 to 1 over text
-  Facebook video viewers are up 2000% in the last year
-  It was discovered by Forrester Research that videos increase Search Engine Optimization on Google’s (and other search engine’s) algorithms by up to 53 times.
-  40% of Internet activity last year was on CONTENT…whereas only 20% was on search and commerce activities.

The numbers are convincing, but not surprising when you see the explosion of Social Media and technology in our industry.  These figures, presented by Stephen Schweickart, CEO of VScreen, were detailed by Stephanie Andre in an interview published in RISMedia’s April 28 Ezine.

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH A B&B?  Everything!

Gone are the days when having a few photos on your website was all you needed.  The leaders in the inn industry recognize the power that video offers when grabbing the attention of the consumer.  Everybody has heard that you have 3 secondsto grab the attention of a web surfer once your SEO efforts brings him to your site.  If he subconsciously discovers he likes the look of the site, he gives you another 4 seconds to discover if your site can meet his needs by looking at the functionality and navigation. If you fail at either of these steps, he hits the BACK button and he’s lost.

Video, per Mr. Schweickart, extends that window of attention-span to 14 seconds.  People enjoy movies, they like the action.  We are a visual society and the days of stagnant photos of the bed in the guest room will not grab the attention of the potential booking anymore.

It’s time to update websites to meet these evolving interestsof the traveling market.  Check out the YouTube video made by Dallas and Nancy Renner of the Chocolate Turtle B&Bin Corrales, NM.  Not only do you get to see a bit of the inn and its colors, but the video takes you into the community to see the shops, the animals and the mountains, and you get to meet the innkeepers as well…always a part of the guest memories you want to create.  That’s a marketing advantage over the competition that throws water on the fiery argument that it’s the current recession that is causing business to be down.

Your breakfast presentations are fabulous.  Make your inn’s presentation on the internet fabulous too.

Here are a few ideas to consider as you work to improve your website:

  • Replace the stills of the guest bed with video of the guest rooms…panning around the room and out the windows to the scenic river below.
  • Pan across the deck or private patio with the colorful breakfast settings to the bird feeder with the orioles and bluebirds or to the water feature in the garden.
  • Film the scarecrow festival in October, the strawberry festival in June, the sleigh rides in January and the flower fairs in April in your region.  These are the places your guests are going to want to see to have the full experience.
  • Loan your digital camera to your guests heading out hiking or to the battlefield re-enactment, show them how to use the video feature, and put their live testimonial on your site and blog.
  • Link your blog with a feed to your Facebook account to have your videos shown to your fans around the world.

Grab them with your inn’s beauty, your creativity and your innovation.  You only have 3 seconds.    Scott

Posted in Financial Health of an Inn, Inn Operations, Inns and Innkeepers, Market Trends, Marketing, Websites | 2 Comments »

Technology at the Turtle

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

Some innkeepers may be wondering if it is truly worth the effort and investment to do some of this technology stuff we’ve all been hearing about.  You know…Facebook, Twitter, blogging, Search Engine Optimization…you know this technology stuff.

Marilyn and I know Dallas and Nancy Renner from our corporate life McCormick days.  Now they are the owners of The Chocolate Turtle, a 4 guest room B & B in Corrales, NM.  This top rated TripAdvisor recommended gem was Googled on the Blackberry of a producer of the Sean Hannity show, on assignment covering the Tea Party Express in Albuquerque.  They needed to find a location where they could transmit their story over to the internet back to New York.  And they were in a hurry…on their way to Las Cruces to film the Tea Party event for the Greta Van Susteran show.  They needed access to the internet right now!

Because The Chocolate Turtle has adapted their website to PDA devices, and they promote their property as business friendly with high speed internet access, the Sean Hannity team inquired about the possibility of using the B & B as their transmission point.  Of course the Renners obliged and were repaid for their kindness by a news blurb on the Sean Hannity Great American Blog, with video.  Check it out!  And now the success story is on the PAII blog, and on this blog and…  well, people just can’t stop talking about the Turtle!

Proof positive that it is worth the investment to learn (like at the PAII convention?!), and then take advantage of, this technology stuff.      Scott

Posted in Inn Operations, Inns and Innkeepers, Internet Directories, Market Trends, PAII, Uncategorized, Websites | No Comments »

Location, Location, Location…the 3 Ingredients to a Successful Inn

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

When you ask a realtor what the 3 most important factors are when buying a house, the whimsical, but meaningful, response is “Location, Location, Location”.  The intent, obviously, of repeating the same word 3 times implies that Location is the ONLY factor when buying a home.

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 directions-pheasant-field2metropolitan 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 longwood-gardens1multiple 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 brampton-inn-picnic1noteworthy 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?

Posted in Aspiring Innkeepers, Financial Health of an Inn, Innkeeping Consulting, Inns and Innkeepers, Market Trends, Marketing, Uncategorized, Websites | No Comments »

The Bed & Breakfast Inn Life Cycle-A Primary Care Consultant’s View

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Vitamins and Medications for an Inn’s

Age-Related Conditions

An Inn, like any retail product or industry, goes through a Life Cycle from infancy to death. It starts as a glimmer in its parents’ eyes, a dream of a lifestyle healthy and productive. It grows with careful nurturing, education, and aspirations, matures into a productive adult, capable of self-sufficiency and satisfaction. Physical and financial ailments will emerge someday, some sooner than later, but eminently all will experience the pain and, without exception, a slow (or sometimes cancerous) downhill slide (or plummet) to demise.

Doctor: “Which do you want to hear first…

the good news or the bad news?”

How cold and ugly a picture…how uncaring to express such a prognosis without apparent feelings or emotions! But without a continued regimen of properly prescribed vitamins, medications, and regular health check-ups, an inn’s health WILL decline. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that there are fountain-of-youth-like medications that can extend an inn’s life expectancy well into the future…perhaps to immortality!

Let’s examine each stage of the Life Cycle to see where YOUR INN resides…

Bed & Breakfast Inn Consulting, Life Cycle (more…)

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Posted in Financial Health of an Inn, Inn Operations, Innkeeping Consulting, Marketing, PAII, Viability of an Inn, Websites | 1 Comment »

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