Contents

Stay updated on news and events
Gift card updates
Oreck vacuum winners
Free webinars for members
More than 200 videos live on BedandBreakfast.com. Need a video? We have a deal for you.
Suspicious reservation requests

Stay updated on news and events

Keep up on late-breaking industry news!

• Follow BedandBreakfast.com on Twitter and Facebook. Click here for The BedandBreakfast.com Blog, and click here to subscribe via email.
• The BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations blog offers user tips, travel trends, and updates about the BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations program as well as online reservations in general. Click here to subscribe via email.
• Follow Eric Goldreyer (founder and CEO) on Twitter or his blog. Click here to subscribe to Eric’s blog by email.
• Read about the latest news, updates, and product enhancements on RezOvation and Webervations on the RezOvation Blog. Click here to subscribe via email.

Gift card updates

BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations Gift Cards are being sold in some Costco warehouses during November and December 2009. These gift cards are only for reservations made online at BedandBreakfast.com and cannot be redeemed at individual inns. For details, please click here to log in to your Home Base. Click Accept Gift Cards from the grid, then click Costco in the left column.

Oreck vacuum winners

Thank you to the nearly 800 innkeepers who have added the BedandBreakfast.com Reviews Widget to their website! The reviews widget is a great tool that can save you money, help you get more reviews, and increase your traffic and reservations.

The reviews widget (ratings box):

• Saves you money every month with a $5 credit on your membership for a posted review.
• Increases reservations from your website; travelers are more likely to stay at an inn that has reviews.
• Increases traffic to your website. Because they have more reviews, properties with the widget average 15% more traffic from BedandBreakfast.com to their own web pages than properties that do not use the widget.
• Is quick and easy to add to your website.
• Lets you decide what's published; you select the reviews that appear on your website.

Each U.S. property that set the widget live on their websites by October 31 was entered into a drawing to win one of five Oreck commercial vacuums. Congratulations to our winners!

• Mount Morris House, New York, NY
• Black Bear Inn, Ketchikan, AK
• Inn on Charlotte, St. Augustine, FL
• Deutsche Strasse B&B, New Ulm, MN
• Southern Rose Ranch, Chappell Hill, TX

All non-U.S. inns that posted the widget on their websites received $50 in Featured Property funds to use toward the auction.

Haven’t yet added the widget to your site? It’s quick, easy and will save you up to $60 per year!

• Click here to log in to your Home Base, and click Reviews Widget in the grid.
• Select from the design options to create your widget in a few quick steps.
• Click Apply changes, then use the HTML code to add it to your site, or email it to your webmaster.
• Click Pick reviews for widget in the left column to select the reviews you'd like to appear.

Another great way to get more reviews is to add the "Review Our Inn" badge to your inn's blog or website.  Click here for the badge images and instructions.

Free webinars for BedandBreakfast.com members

Join the 450 innkeepers who have participated in our free webinar series. Upcoming topics include Selling the Value of B&Bs Over Hotels; BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations Users Workshop; and Reviews: Use It or Lose It. Log in to your Home Base to sign up.

More than 200 videos are live on BedandBreakfast.com

Don't forget that Silver members and above get one free video on their listing. Mail us a copy of your video on a CD or DVD, or use the free website MegaUpload to send your video files to us. On the MegaUpload home page, click Language at the top of the screen, then select your country. Next, browse to select your file, enter our email address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and your inn's name and contact information, and click Send! Be sure to include your name and contact info so that we know to which listing to upload the video.

When we get your video (by either mail or email) we will send you a confirming email to let you know we’ve received it. If you've sent a video but haven't received confirmation of its receipt, please contact us; we may have not received it.

Here are the requirements:

• Size: Maximum 100 MB.
• Video compression format: Video files from most digital cameras, camcorders, and cell phones in the .WMV, .AVI, and .MPG file formats are OK.
• Time: Three minutes is ideal; 10-minute maximum.
• Copyrighted content: Please ensure that your video does not contain music or images to which you do not own the copyright.

We will format your videos to the right compression and size. Click here to see a sample video.

Please don't hesitate to contact with any questions: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 1-800-GO-B-AND-B or 1-512-322-2700.

Don't have a video? Our partner, TurnHere.com, is offering a custom video for an amazing rate of only $499. Order by December 31 and try it free for three months! Click here for details on this exclusive deal only for BedandBreakfast.com members.

Here are some samples of TurnHere's work for our members:

• Ashton's B&B, New Orleans, LA
• Featherbed Railroad Company, Nice, CA
• Almondy Inn, Newport, RI
• Sugar Hill Harlem Inn, Manhatten, NY
• Scenic Overlook B&B, Pilot Mountain, NC
• 10 Fitch, Auburn, NY
• The Island Guest House, Beach Haven, NJ
• Magnolia Hall B&B, Hamilton, GA
• The General Palmer Hotel, Durango, CO
• The French Quarters, New York, NY
• Dunning Ranch Guest Suites, Paso Robles, CA
• Chanticleer Guest House, Sturgeon Bay, WI
• Hoffman Haus, Fredericksburg, TX
• Cheshire Cat Inn, Santa Barbara, CA
• The Green House Inn, New Orleans, LA
• Clipper House Inn, Kemah, TX

Suspicious reservation requests

One of the benefits of your BedandBreakfast.com membership is a reservation request feature.  As the Internet developed, innkeepers started getting a lot of spam and scam requests through this feature, so several years ago we added something called "CAPTCHA," which is tech talk for those funky letters you have to enter before completing most forms these days.  Unfortunately, if some unemployed person is willing to spend hours a day entering this type of thing manually, there's nothing we can do to prevent it.  

All we can recommend is that you use common sense on these requests, and as the told saying goes, "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is."  In general, these scam requests usually come from Europe or Africa, and involve checks, not credit card payments.

Here are two examples:

• Hello, I''m David Sanders from London, England. I have a client {a couple} who is coming to spend three weeks (Nov. 14th - Nov 28th) at your B&B. Please get back to me with details and confirm rates and availability. I await your response. Best Regards... Dave Sanders.

• Good Day, I am delighted to inquire for accommodation in your facility. I want to book accommodation for a Vacation: Arrival date: 10th July 2009 Departure date: 20 July 2009 Total number of rooms needed 2 double rooms Total number of nights 10 Total number of guests 4 (All ADULTS) Two couples. We need: 1. 2 double, 2 rooms that sleeps 4 people 2 each in a room for 10 nights. 2. Your rates per night include all taxes in Euro or GBP 3. Its subtotal for the 10 nights in Euro or GBP 4. Our abroad sponsor will issue a certified check to you for our total payment.please let me know if you accept check payment. We are group of medical experts from India coming for vacations. Have a nice day. My Regards, Dr. Holmes Foundation for Research in Health Systems 183 Azad Society Ahmedabad New Delhi-110019 India