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February 2005

Maximizing your Membership for 2005

Adobe and Stars B&B Inn
Taos NM

Featured Property Auctions are an easy, affordable, and effective way to drive traffic to your website. To make it even easier, we've introduced AutoBilling, designed to help you maintain a positive balance in your auction account at all times.

Advantages of AutoBilling:

You are unlikely to lose your Featured Property spot because your funds are depleted.
You will save time when managing your account.
You will be emailed every time your credit card is charged.

Inn of the Month Auctions are a way for you to expand your market share -- for as little as $50 a month! Being the Inn of the Month gives your B&B or inn maximum exposure by making it the top-listed property on the search results page for your city/town on the BedandBreakfast.com website.

Click-through rates average 24%, and about 75% of the cities go for the $50 monthly minimum. Depending on your marketing needs, you may participate in Inn of the Month Auctions to either supplement or alternate with Featured Property Auctions.

Participating in an online auction sounds a lot more intimidating than it really is. If you can click your mouse and can type with two fingers, you can do it. Here are the basics:

Online auctions are easy: Log in with your Property ID and password for details. Can't remember your password? Click here, then enter your property ID and we'll email it to you. From your Home Base, click either Featured Property Auctions or Inn of the Month Auctions. Click the buttons to get an idea of how they work, accept the terms & conditions (sorry, our lawyers make us do it), enter your credit card numbers, and it's ready, steady, go!

1. Marketing messages enhance your photos: Both Featured Property and inn of the Month ads include your main photo on BedandBreakfast.com as well as a marketing message. Make sure you have a great photo to drive traffic, then use your marketing message to encourage potential guests to click through to your website and reserve a room. Click here for copy suggestions.

2. Detailed statistics help you tell if your ads are working: Although marketing gurus tell us customers need multiple message exposures before they will take action, tracking statistics will show you both numbers and percentages of page impressions and home page click-throughs.

3. Placing a value on site traffic: You can determine how much to bid by calculating your conversion rate. In other words, the number of visitors to your home page who make reservations. More info

4. Which auction is best for me? Depending on the time of year, seasonal demand, and your marketing needs and budget, you may prefer Featured Property ads over Inn of the Month, or vice versa. Featured Property Advertising offers you:
Instant gratification - your ad goes up immediately if you're the high bidder.
Greater flexibility in placement - you can place an ad on virtually any city, region, or state page you wish.
24-hour access - you can start or stop your ad at any time
Lower initial costs - Your minimum starting deposit for Featured Property Auctions is just $25; with many positions still available at a penny a page view, your investment can go a very long way.
Inn of the Month Advertising offers you:
A month in the top spot - you own the top position in your city/town for the entire month if you win the auction.
Fixed costs - If you win the auction, you'll know on the last day of the preceding month how much it will cost you to maintain the top position.
Greater control - By analyzing your booking patterns, you can identify the months where investing in an Inn of the Month ad would be most beneficial. More information about Featured Property Auctions Frequently Asked Questions about Featured Property Auctions

More information about Featured Property Auctions
Frequently Asked Questions about Featured Property Auctions

More information about Inn of the Month Auctions
Frequently Asked Questions about Inn of the Month Auctions

Marketing messages enhance your photos.

Take the time to develop some effective marketing messages that will enhance your photos, and entice potential guests to click through to your own home page and pick up the phone or reserve online. Featured Property ads have a 50-character limit; Inn of the Month ads allow for 40 characters on two lines (spaces included). Here are some ideas:

Fantastic midweek specials! (30 characters)
Third night free midweek! (27 characters)
Ultimate Romance Packages (27 characters)
Breakfast in bed; you deserve it! (35 characters)
Treat yourself to affordable luxury (37 characters)
Country setting, in-town convenience (39 characters)
The perfect base for exploring [area] (39 characters)

Treat yourself to affordable luxury (37 characters) You can only run one marketing message at a time on a Featured Property ad, and another on an Inn of the Month ad, but you can change them as often as you like.

If you don't already have a "marketing hook" to entice travelers to learn more about your property, create one with these goals in mind:

1. Set your property apart from the competition

2. Create a mood appropriate to your property

3. Resonate with the guests' own fantasies

4. Inspire readers to want more information

5. Sell your destination

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Placing a value on your site visitors

You can determine how much to bid in our Advertising Auctions by calculating your conversion rate. For example, if you get two bookings for every 100 visitors to your home page (a 2% conversion rate), for an average of $300 per booking (2 nights at $150 per night) you have $600 in revenue for those 100 visitors. In this example, the value of each visitor is $6. Driving traffic to your Web site is an effective way to get "heads in the beds" as long as it doesn't exceed your break-even cost-or in this case, $6. If your conversion rate seems too low, you may want to upgrade the design, photos and/or content of your home page.

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This Month's Sponsor

Online Trade Show

Click to visit our newest vendor members:

More vendor info...

Gift Certificates

BedandBreakfast.com Gift Certificates have changed to an electronic format. Funds for redeemed certificates will be transferred directly into your bank account within four business days! No more certificates to mail! Don't miss out! To join the 3500 participating inns, just log in to your home base with your property ID and password, or click here for more information.

Traffic statistics

Log in with your property ID and password for details on the number of page impressions and click-throughs your B&B has received as a result of all BedandBreakfast.com online marketing, including property listings, Featured Property, and Inn of the Month advertising. More information

Member Information

To update your entry, post specials, and renew your membership, please log in with your property ID and password. Can't remember your password? Click here, then enter your property ID and we'll email it to you. Don't like your password? Once you're logged in to Home Base, just click "Membership," select "change password" (#7 in dropdown menu), and choose another that's easier to remember. More information

Inns for Sale

"We advertised our B&B in your Inns for Sale section in January, and started getting inquires a week later. In February, a couple came from Florida to visit us in Cat Spring, Texas. We made a deal, and they begin officially on April the 5th as the new owners. What you are doing really works." Sunny and John Snyder. Email us today and we'll put you on our special offer mailing list. Read more

Online Bookings

Taking real-time, online reservations is the most effective way to transform your Internet presence from an informational resource into a 24/7 sales engine. Read more

Innkeepers Information Center

Need more info? You�ll find lots of educational articles on our site for your convenience.