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

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

But what makes your inn stand out above the rest? Professional photography is certainly a strong asset, as is the ease of providing the info the surfer is looking for…in an attractive and eye-appealing manner.  But what will

Marilyn, Floyd, Sue and Scott being daring!

grab them..and then keep them searching for more info?  Whatever it is that makes you special…that which makes you different from all the other inns…should be up front and central.

But that’s not how we found this particular B & B. I can’t even say we stumbled on it.  Actually we flew (kinda) into it!  Marilyn and I, along with cousins Sue and Floyd, had some time after the PAII convention in Austin this past week.  We hooked up our harnesses, helmets, and gloves, took a couple of minutes of training, and went Zip-Lining through the tree tops of Cypress Valley Canopy Tours.  I’ve never hung in a harness on a wire over a gorge before, but we had a blast…especially for old people not used to this soft adventure stuff!

And then there it was.  Suspended in the tree-tops at the end of the 4th zip, was one of the most unique bed and breakfasts I’ve ever

Mare near B&B

seen.  Not advertised…hidden in the back pages of their website…was

Large room with queen bed

Lofthaven.  One room, with private (although hardly ensuite!) bath.  Marilyn and I were immediately distracted from our zip lining adventures.  You can only access the tree house from the zip line from this side.  Once you check in, there is a nearby parking space and walkway past the bathroom, with its solar powered hot water heater (everything about this adventure is eco-friendly) for the shower.  The room itself was very spacious…with queen bed, canopy which could double as mosquito netting although the room is fully enclosed with screened windows.  There is a walkway around the room with a “porch”, with a bench, looking out over the peaceful gorge

The solar powered hot water heater on the bath roof

60 feet below.  No need for a sound machine to lull you to sleep here!  The babble of the brook below in the gorge, birds everywhere, and, absolutely no sounds of people, or cars, or neighbors.

The bathroom was complete with shower supplied by the roof top solar water heater, built in sink, commode and all the fine amenities of any

Marilyn on the walkway

B&B.  It is a short walk across a rope bridge from the room…but no need to wear a robe!  There’s nobody out here!

When we finished zipping, the kind folks at the nature center gave us a golf cart ride out to the B&B to take these photos.  I tried to get a feel for occupancy performance.  But I only got anecdotal info from the fellow behind the counter.  Mostly filled on the weekends during the good weather season (March-November) and some bookings during the week.  I estimate annual occupancy at about 25%.  At $300 weekdays and $325 weekends, that puts annual revenue at about $30,000…not bad for an unadvertised little surprise in the woods!  And what guest memories that can bring them back time after time and brag about it with their friends.  You can’t buy PR like that.

Imagine what it could be if people knew they were here!  If they were in the B&B directories, had B&B keywords in the right places on their website, marketed to past guests and included guest photos in their newsletters and blogs.  If they would make this unique lodging adventure a dominant feature on their website, with pages of photos, TripAdvisor testimonials, Facebook links with friends and Twitter exposure.

People should NOT have to stumble into this kind of adventure by happenstance.  A lesson for all of us innkeepers.  Scott

The Pottery Inventory

Nancy took us to a small pottery shop, however, which really prompted this posting.  Hanselmann’s Pottery shop doesn’t offer anything so unusual that any pottery purveyor couldn’t provide.  It’s inventory is adequate, colorful and full of the American Southwest style and colors that Marilyn and I enjoy.  We bought a large fruit bowl and, of course, I needed two of the large beer mugs in turquoise and earth tones.

But that is not what is unusual about Hanselmann’s.  Other than us shoppers, there are no people in the shop! There may be a few out back on their pottery wheels or however they make this stuff, but nobody in the store.  Want to buy something?  The prices are well marked and you just fill out a little piece of paper and slide it into the envelope along with your cash or credit card number and slip the envelope into the slot of the cash box on the table.  Totally on the Honor System! Totally blew me away!

According to Nancy, they have been doing it this way for years.  And my mind wandered to how this has application

The "Cash Register"

to the innkeeping industry.  No…I don’t mean putting a cash box on the check-out desk…nor do I mean ignoring the good practices we all use as we take care of the fiscal responsibilities of our businesses.  But the TRUST. What a marvelous feeling to be TRUSTED.  What a compliment Mr. Hanselmann is giving his patrons…he TRUSTS them.  My next visit to Corrales (probably when the inn transfers) will find me again in the pottery shop.  He has won my LOYALTY as a repeat customer because he TRUSTS me.

Honesty is not a novel notion to me.  As a West Pointer, we live by an Honor Code that goes way down deep into our souls.  But in this era of crime, entitlement, lack of accountability, and self-centered greed, it can be difficult to earn TRUST.  But what a marvelous reward of loyalty and repeat customers.

A few ideas that come to mind for an Inn to develop trust:

• Do what you say you are going to do.  Did you promise to make reservations?   Did you promise the upgrade?  Don’t forget.
• Does your website really reflect what the inn really looks like?  Surprise your guests with MORE than they expect!
• Are there signs that say “These (robes, mugs, towels) are for sale” to prevent theft?  Are your signs sending a message of distrust?
• Is your cancellation policy unnecessarily strict?
• Do you NOT trust kids or pets?  Do you NOT trust their parents?
• Do you cancel a reservation if the deposit is not received on time?

Being trusted is an important element leading to loyalty.  And we all know that loyal guests are those that return time after time to visit us.

Wow…it really felt good for a potter who has never met me to TRUST me unconditionally.      Scott

We pondered on that and then started reminiscing about some great meals we had.  One with friends of ours in Santa Barbara two years ago before the PAII convention.  Outdoors on the restaurant’s patio… propane heaters overhead in the branches to take the chill off the evening… great wine from one of the vineyards we had visited that day… laughing… upscale fare with a flavorful Spanish creativity.

And the time we were in downtown Baltimore, at Tio Pepe’s (one of Marilyn’s favorites), an underground bistro with great Sangria, and a pine nut roll dessert.  Did I mention the Sangria?  A birthday favorite for her.

Even a great pizza at John’s in Manhattan, at lunch time before we dashed off to see Mamma Mia (I must admit I was an ABBA fan before it was chic) on Broadway.  Crisp crust, served in an old church complete with stained glass and murals…a New York City landmark and favorite for us.  Took the kids there one time.

Then it struck me that while trying to recall “the best food we ever ate”, it wasn’t really the food we were remembering, but the memory of the whole experience.  The food was made even better by the excitement of the location, the folks we were with, the intriguing atmosphere, the other delicacies we tried, the laughing, the holding hands …not just the food.

Isn’t that what all us innkeepers mean when we want to give our guests the full experience?  And if we can deliver, it creates memories.  We are not just beds, not just nice looking buildings.  The warmth of the welcome, the busy day out in the vineyards or at the historical site, the sincere smile when they sneak a second brownie, the breakfast… aahhh…breakfasts!  We had a guest stand on his chair one time to take a photo of his pumpkin waffle with the toasted almonds and roasted fruit.

Pennsbury Inn

Cheryl Grono, innkeeper at  Pennsbury Inn in Chadds Ford, PA., responded to a recent post about making a small cake with a balloon for a 90 year old guest, surprising him on his return from dinner, who then hugged her because he had never had a balloon before.  He will remember that moment…and so will Cheryl.

We innkeepers are the creators of memories.  And those guest memories will last forever and result in repeat guests.  And repeat guests are the lifeblood of our industry.

Any favorite memories?  I’ll bet it’s the whole experience that creates that memory.          Scott

Not this one! After asking, and listing on a flip chart, what a “Good” lodging experience is (e.g. fair price, clean room, nice breakfast, etc.)  and then what a “Great” lodging experience is (e.g. personal interaction with innkeeper, a sincere welcom, attention to details, etc.) ,  she then asked everyone to think of the most “memorable” stay they’ve had at an inn.  And then she listed on a flip chart the “Why’s”…Why was this so memorable for you?    The answers to the memorable question varied quite a bit from the Good and Great list.

In fact, you can stay at an Inn that did NOT have all the details in order, but still have a most memorable experience that earns repeat stays.  Making Hospitality “Memorable”  boiled down to three concepts:

1. Making the Personal Connection:  Attending to the emotional comfort of the arriving guest, which also builds trust.  Remembering the upcoming anniversary or the kids birthdays, or when guests arrive with a level of anxiety (after a long drive, meeting strangers, not sure whether the inn they’ve chosen will be comfortable, etc.).  Offering immediate and sincerely helpful comfort, with the personal connection, gives the guest a feeling of value and welcome.
2. Delivering Positive Emotions:  Terrie spoke of a cruise she took with her elderly mom and the clan.  For over 2 hours around the dinner table, the family (grand kids included) interacted, joked, and told stories.  Terrie’s memory, however, is the look of total pleasure on her mom’s face as she watched her family share time together.  For Terrie’s mom, the positive emotion was the love for her family.  For our guests, it is the compliment we offer, or when the guest mentions their son making the swim team, our reply of  “Wow…I would really be proud if that were my son” evokes positive emotions from them.
3. Taking Care of What is Relevant (to the Guest…not you!):  What is relevant to the guest may be very different than what is relevant to you.  For example, if a guest is (privately) worried about being able to get a hold of the babysitter at home during the night, she doesn’t want to hear that the house phone is for local calls only or that the last guest rang up costly long distance charges.  She would rather you perceived her real concern and offer relevant options to ease her anxiety.  What you worry about does not matter since it is not relevant to the guest.

We are pretty good at the hospitality thing in our industry.  But remembering the 3 important concepts of making EACH visit memorable will pay off in repeat business.

Do any of you have examples of how you made a guest’s stay memorable for them? Scott

Managing Your Business with Less

So…this has been a challenging year for us.  Sales have been down.  ADR is down.  Cash flow is negative  We still have guests to take care of and a large Victorian Mansion to restore and an acre of gardens to care for…how are we going to make it?

We needed to take a serious look at every penny we spend and see how we can make changes without changing our level of service to our guests.  Here are some things we are doing to make it through in this soft economy,

Employees: We’ve had to cut back our help and increase own own workload.

• This is a great way to keep in shape, but it does take more of your time and energy.
• Use this time, if you are cleaning rooms yourself for the first time in awhile to really look at what your guest rooms might need in the way of deep cleaning or sprucing up!

Utilities and Fixed Costs: You can’t do much about some of these.

• We searched around and found a phone company that saved us $100 a month!
• We’ve switched our light bulbs out to Compact Fluorescent and have seen our utilities stay even or go down!
• Turn lights off when the inn is not occupied.
• Be sure to turn lights on at night to give the inn that “lived in” look.  Make certain that all lights that are “always” on are energy savers, ie. compact fluorescent or LED.
• Turn down water heaters during slower periods.
• If you do your own laundry, try to wash more linens in lower temperatures.
• All new purchases of equipment should carry an energy star rating
• We also manage our heating and cooling very closely, especially when guests are not in the Inn.

Gardening Service: We kept them on for part of the year, but then we told our service that we hoped to have them back in the spring.  More of our time, less of our money, and we already owned a riding mower and other gardening equipment.  Cheaper than a tanning salon!

Menus for Breakfast: You can prepare gourmet breakfasts while watching your pennies!

• Read the weekly food ads to see what is on sale and plan your menus around those seasonal items or store specials to help control your costs.
• Look for in-store deals so that you can stock up on super sales!
• Check out the local farmers market for deals on produce.

Marketing: Analyze your marketing efforts and be certain that your marketing investment is working for you.  One thing you cannot cut is marketing, but be certain that you are getting the best “bang for your buck”.

Maintenance: Now is the time to do some inexpensive maintenance to your guest rooms.

• Make small repairs and keep things in good order, instead of replacing them.  Repair that leaky faucet rather than replace it.
• Paint is an inexpensive way to spruce things up.
• Big hotels are doing some remodels, and upgrades.  We need to keep up our Inns’ appearance and make sure our guests are having a great experience!

I’m sure you have ideas about what you can do to make it through these challenging times.  Things will turn around and we all can make it if we are careful and don’t forget to keep Marketing!

Alice Erlandsen,  The Oliver Inn

• “…unlike other travel sites, we won’t charge you a penalty.  There are NO Expedia change or cancel fees on hotels, cruises, cars, and virtually all flights and packages.”     [BUT:]
• “Please bear in mind that while we [Expedia] won’t charge change or cancel fees, some suppliers [e.g. hotels] may impose non-refundable rate plans or fees that Expedia is required to pass along.  Such fees are highest when cancellations occur within 48 hours of your scheduled travel dates.”

Even though the hotels still have their cancellation fees, they have, historically, been quite liberal with their policies.  Usually a call before 6 pm on the day of arrival is sufficient to avoid a charge.

BUT THAT IS NOT THE IMPORTANT POINT HERE!

The expectation is being set in the consumer’s mind by Expedia that change and cancellation fees are flexible and do not have to be tolerated by the traveler.  Their caveat is on their website, but the commercials reflect NO fees for changes or cancellations…and that is what the travel market hears.

We innkeepers have been using cancellation policies and fees since the beginning of time.  We use such language as “we are a small property and changes and cancellations affect our business greatly”.   True…but the potential guest doesn’t care about you.  Here are some actual quotes from inn websites here in the Mid-Atlantic area…my comments are in BLUE:

• “Written notice of cancellation seven or more days prior to arrival, a $25 service fee will be charged.  No shows or cancellations within seven days will result in a full night charge or a 50% charge of a stay which is 3 days or longer”.  Written notice? Who does that?  and what if the inn can re-book the room?  Double dipping?
• “A 50% deposit, or the cost of one night, whichever is higher, is required to confirm your reservation.  Deposits for stays of 5 or more days are non-refundable“.  If a guest booked for 5 days, then changes plans, this guest could be penalized $600!  Why would I book there?  Any cancellation will cost the guest at least a  full night fee.  Ouch!
  
• “If you cancel less than 21 days in advance of reserved date, deposit [50%] minus $25 fee if room rebooked.  If not rebooked, you are 100% responsible”.  21 days?  WOW!  No wonder people are waiting till the last minute to book…nobody can plan that far our with certainty…and 100% responsibility is too high a cost (and scarey!) for long term planners.

SO WHAT’S AN INNKEEPER TO DO?

It’s time to reconsider what YOUR policies are doing to you.  I GUARANTEE YOU ARE MISSING RESERVATIONS WITH STRICT POLICIES that penalize guests.  If they see these kinds of statements on-line (and they are almost ALWAYS on-line),  they will click into a different direction.  You won’t even know you missed them.  Here are some thoughts for consideration:

• Do you even have to have a cancellation policy at all? Inns with strong corporate travel know that they cannot have penalties at all, except, maybe, for a no-show.  When a corporate traveler cancels at the last minute (their plans OFTEN change on short notice), these inns, holding back their disappointment at the lost sale, say with a smile in their voice “Sure, Dan…we’ll see you next time!”.  The goodwill reaps repeat rewards in the long run.  So why damage your leisure travel relationships with punishing policies?  Don’t you want them back someday too?
• Are you using your cancellation policy as a profit center? The “if we can rebook the room” caveat is a hoax.  If you can’t rebook the room, it’s NOT because of the guest’s cancellation.  It is because of travel demand in your area.  And, if you intend to NOT relinquish the hoax,  I hope that you make more of an effort to rebook the room than to sit by the phone to wait for it to ring.  You will lose that guest as a repeater…is it worth it?
• Is there a competitive advantage to being the ONLY inn in your association or region that does not have a strict cancellation policy? Guests shop around and will stop searching when they hit a site that meets their needs.
• Is your cancellation date WAY TOO LONG?  Is 21 days too much?  (maybe NOT for a special event such as a college graduation or a wedding booking?).  Can you be selective on WHICH events or weekends are critical to have a strict cancellation policy and identify the rest of the year with a punishment-free policy?
• If a guest cancels, is the $25 or $50 “service fee” really that important to you?  Is it really worth putting a sour taste in your guest’s mouth about your inn?  Do you really need behavior deterants?  Are they really worth it?
• If you are thinking out of the box enough to relax your policies…promote it!  Put it on your website…in your next newsletter…in your next email blast to past guests…on the directories on-line.  Let people KNOW you are guest friendly! Expedia is.

The expectation is out there.  Expedia is reinforcing the mindset that change and cancel fees are for the convenience of the lodging facility…not the guest.  This is NOT the kind of economy that will tolerate financial punishments for every-day travel decisions.  We innkeepers know the importance of relationship-building and the value repeat guests bring us.  Don’t send the mixed message of financially punishing guests with a hospitable smile on your face.

Scott

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