Join us for a Free Marketing 101 Webinar

An article by Admin 1 Comment

Do you want to learn how to take your marketing to the next level and increase your revenue? If you're a BedandBreakfast.com member, join us for a free webinar, Marketing 101, on April 9 from 1-2 p.m. CST. Whether you're new to the B&B industry or a seasoned innkeeper, this webinar will help you learn the building blocks of marketing.

The presentation will cover the four P’s of marketing, plus one (people!). The webinar uses expertise from BedandBreakfast.com's Director of Marketing and Marketing Specialist, who possess a combined 8+ years of marketing experience and two Masters degrees in marketing. This free webinar will help you understand how and why you should be communicating your value with potential guests.

By the end of this webinar, you will have a solid checklist of questions to answer about your marketing strategy, which will help you create a strong plan for success moving forward.

Sign up now to reserve your spot--space is limited!

How to Improve Your BedandBreakfast.com Listing

An article by Admin No Comments

The appearance of your BedandBreakfast.com listing can make or break a potential reservation. It’s important to spend some time maximizing your listing so it’s attractive to travelers. We also encourage you to keep search engine optimization (SEO) best practices in mind as you create or edit your listing.

Here are some of our top tips for improving your listing and maximizing your SEO:

• Make your inn’s description as unique and personalized as possible. Your SEO can be penalized for using identical content on multiple websites, so please do not copy and paste a description from your website or listing on another site.

• When writing your listing, include detailed information about your property, such as your B&B’s unique features. You should also describe your location and attractions near you.

• Take advantage of all of your photo slots. Our surveys show that photos are extremely important to travelers in the booking process, so please use all of the slots that come with your membership.  Bronze members get one photo, Silver get 10, Gold get 15, and Platinum and BedandBreakfast.com Diamond Collection™ get 25. Ensure that they are high-quality and high-resolution; blurry, small, outdated, or poorly-lit photos are a major turn-off to potential guests. Please note that we can only feature B&Bs with excellent, high-resolution photos in our PR and marketing. For more info, read our list of 10 photo mistakes to avoid.

• Add unique captions to each of your photos so potential guests know what they are seeing. This can also help your listing’s SEO.

• Use keywords sparingly. We already optimize property pages for terms such as “{name of city} + bed and breakfast.”  Keyword stuffing is only going to hurt your property page, so please do not add many extra keywords like this to your listing.

• Post a Hot Deal, which is a free feature for Silver members and higher. This gives you the opportunity to list a weekly last-minute deal, which travelers can search on our site or subscribe to via email.

• Update your listing from time to time. Do you have any new seasonal photos to add? Have you added any new amenities? Did you win any awards or special recognition? Don’t forget to keep your listing updated.
 

By Emily Starbuck Crone

Earn Extra Income: Sell Gift Cards!

An article by Admin 2 Comments

Did you know we offer 20% commission to affiliates who sell our gift cards? When you sell BedandBreakfast.com gift cards on your website, we will give you 20% back with no work required from you!

If a guest uses the gift card at your property, the cost of accepting them is offset for you. If they use it at another inn, you just keep 20% commission! You don’t have to do any fulfillment work, and these cards are valuable to travelers since they can be used at over 4,000 inns.

How do you sign up?
We use Commission Junction as our affiliate program. To sign up, go to this link. Become a publisher in Commission Junction and provide us with your Commission Junction “PID” by emailing publishers@BedandBreakfast.com so we can give you the 20% rate.

Your commission is automatically deposited into the account you indicate in the affiliate program.

Will I really earn money?
Yes, you really will earn passive income! Here is a testimonial from an innkeeper in Colorado who became an affiliate less than three weeks ago and has already made over $500 in commissions. All he did was add a small banner ad to his homepage (screenshot below).

“Hosting the graphic banner on the webpage is the key. However, we are very vocal with our guests about purchasing gift cards and in fact mention it to everyone when they arrive and leave. We also have placards in the room and gift shop reminding guests to purchase a gift card. Occasionally we will include gift card ‘lingo’ in a reservation confirmation or invitation.”

Here are some of the banners available:

By Emily Starbuck Crone

Seven Vital Questions to Ask if You Want to Turn Your Home into a B&B

An article by Admin 6 Comments

The following guest post is by Susan Poole, B&B coach and innkeeper of an Ontario B&B.

This summer I was contacted by Martha Stewart Living Radio Morning Show to discuss what people needed to do in order to turn their home into a bed and breakfast.  Here are the questions I recommended that people ask themselves before they even start their journey.

1. Why do you want to own a bed and breakfast? 
If you are just seeking personal fulfillment, your approach is going to be very different than someone who is hoping to create a revenue stream using their home.

2. What the requirements are for legally using your property as a bed and breakfast?
There is no one-stop shop for finding out what the requirements are where you live, and there may be federal, state and local regulations that will apply – all the way from tax implications to health and safety (e.g. food handling) to zoning, sign permits, and parking issues.

3. What is going to attract people to your bed and breakfast? 
The bad news is that people don’t decide to go to stay at a B&B (unless it is a destination in and of itself) and then look for things to do; they find something they want to do, decide they want stay over and require accommodation, and then look for somewhere to stay. 

4. Who is your competition? 
If you want to be financially rewarded for your efforts, you need to find out if there is a need for another bed and breakfast in your area.  In addition, you need to look at the other accommodations; studies show that 80% of hotel guests say they never even considered the idea of staying in a B&B as an option.

5. Who do you want as your guest?
In May 2012, BedandBreakfast.com did a survey on travel trends impacting on B&Bs, and found that three quarters of guests are couples between the ages of 35 and 65.  Are these the people you pictured yourself serving in your bed and breakfast?

6.  Will you be able to offer the amenities that potential guests want?
From a summer 2012 traveler survey by BedandBreakfast.com*, B&B guests said the following amenities were either very important to them or they wouldn't book without them:
• 91% want private bathrooms and 71% free, on-site parking.  Do you have the space to be able to put in extra bathrooms and parking spaces?
• 60% expect free breakfast – are you prepared to deal with special diets?  Do you have consistent access to high quality foods and beverages?  Where and how are you going to seat your guests for breakfast?
• 38% demand free cable or satellite TV and WiFi a must-have these days.  The good news is that technology is constantly progressing, making it easier to provide these types of services at a lower cost.
• 57% want flexible check-ins. You need to qualify what a “late check-in" is, how much disruption it might cause to your personal life and schedule, as well as how it might disturb other guests.

7.  What are the financial implications of owning a bed and breakfast?
One of the key benefits of owning a bed and breakfast is the potential for tax write-offs and the ability to improve your property. However, you need to weigh that against the additional costs you will incur through investing in upgrades, increased utility and food bills, and property tax increases.

Making the decision to use your home as a bed and breakfast requires thought and research. Here are my recommendations for getting started:
• Visit your local municipal government to discuss what might be required
• Be realistic about your current property and its ability to provide the services and amenities bed and breakfast guests are looking for
• Talk to an experienced bed and breakfast owner who can give you insights on  additional things you need to consider, provide valuable contacts, and give you some ideas about your potential guests
• Do some rough math to figure out whether you can make enough money to make your feel adequately compensated for your efforts
• Find some courses put on by actual bed and breakfast owners to continue your exploration

Running a bed and breakfast in your home is a great lifestyle if you are prepared for the reality!

About the author:
Susan Poole, The B&B Coach is the owner of the award-winning 40 Bay Street Bed & Breakfast. Her 3 step system has been created to help people figure out if owning a bed and breakfast can produce the income and fulfillment then envision. After completing the "How to turn your passions into a thriving bed and breakfast business" system, people will know how much income they can create, how much work it will be and what the risks are for them.

*Survey in summer 2012 consisted of 992 traveler responses

Marketing Tips: How to Get More Reservations

An article by Admin 2 Comments

Here are some key steps that can easily, affordably, and effectively increase your reservations. Best of all, they are free or don’t cost you anything unless they put heads in your beds.

Online reservations: If you don’t have online reservations on your own website and don’t use BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations, you are losing out on approximately half of your potential reservations. If you’ve been thinking about adding the RezOvation Booking Engine to your website, and/or signing up for BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations, there’s no better time than right now. You don't pay anything unless we get you a reservation.

Reviews: When dollars are tight, travelers want to be sure that they are picking an inn they’ll love. Study after study demonstrates that the way they do this is through reviews, and traffic patterns on BedandBreakfast.com confirm it. Email past guests to thank them for staying with you, then encourage them to return and to post a review. Be sure to give them the link to your review page on BedandBreakfast.com, and to distribute the review reminder business cards and postcards; contact us if you need more at Support@BedandBreakfast.com or 800-GO-B-AND-B.

Gift cards: BedandBreakfast.com gift cards are an incredibly popular present for weddings, anniversaries, and so much more. You get great extra exposure, and you pay a commission only when you get a reservation, and only on the amount of the gift card. If you don’t already accept them, log in to your Home Base and hover over Cards/Certificates in the top menu.

Photos: If you can afford to hire a pro who’s an expert at shooting B&Bs, we strongly encourage you to do so. Our surveys show that photos are extremely important to travelers, and you will see the ROI almost as soon as the photos go live on your website and on your BedandBreakfast.com listing. Can’t afford that right now? Read our photography article for great advice on improving your own shots, then add them to your website and your BedandBreakfast.com listing ASAP. Don’t forget that your membership includes 10 photos at the Silver level, 15 at Gold, and 25 at Platinum, plus a free video!

Recession-proof your marketing: Incorporate these themes into “affordable luxury” messaging on your website, in your emails, and in your publicity:

* Isn’t it time you were spoiled rotten? No beds to make, no dishes to wash, no laundry to fold, just kick back on a porch rocker, and we’ll bring you homemade iced tea.

* Isn’t it time you had a personal concierge? Want dinner and/or theater reservations? Advice on the best boutiques, antique shops, flea markets? Need help planning a bike ride, picnic hike, float trip, or a tour of local wineries/cheese makers/micro-breweries? Just ask your innkeeper!

* Isn’t it time you spent your limited vacation days on vacation instead of in transit? A great B&B getaway may be just a one-tank trip away, so you can measure your travel time in hours, not days, and save money on airfare and car rental to boot! Use the money you save on transportation to splurge on a gorgeous guest room with a double whirlpool tub, fireplace, and more.

* Isn’t it time you spent a night, not a fortune? B&Bs offer affordable luxury, where you’re not nickel-and-dimed for every little thing, and extras like soft drinks, snacks, and Wi-Fi are included in the reasonable rates.

Updated by Emily Starbuck Crone