You might be an innkeeper if…

Last month we learned that just buying an inn doesn't make you an innkeeper - it takes time. We mentioned ways to test if you're really an innkeeper, and asked for more examples. We had a great response, and will run your comments here and in future issues. For the complete list, or to add another one, just email InnkeeperNews@BedandBreakfast.com

Tamra Black, Inn at Craig Place, San Antonio, TX
You know you're an innkeeper...when you knock on the closet door before opening it.
From Janet Buck, Dr. Dodson House B&B, St. Michaels, MD
You just might be an innkeeper if...you haven't installed a full roll of toilet paper in your personal bathroom in years because you're using up those half-empty rolls.
Laura E. Dalton, Victoria Gardens B&B, West Plains, MO
You just might be an innkeeper if...you can gauge your occupancy rates by whether or not you're using a new roll of toilet paper! When business is slow, lots of full rolls.
From Juanita Gordon, Gordon's 1841 House B&B, Beverly MA
If you strip the bed and change the sheets when your spouse gets up just to go to the bathroom.....you may be an innkeeper.
Laurie Carloni Steets, Evergreen Inn, Spring Lake, NJ
You might be an innkeeper if...the important men in your life have "the" as their middle name, as in Jeff the carpenter, Mike the plumber, and Bryan the electrician.

PhoCusWright, a key travel research company, recently published an interesting and relevant White Paper, entitled Online Travel Advertising: Success Factors and Recommendations for Improved Effectiveness, by Jane Butler. The entire 13-page report is well worth reading, and is based on interviews conducted during the fall of 2001 with over 30 marketing executives at 22 travel companies. Key findings included some of the following points:

• The majority of companies reported that their online advertising efforts have been successful.
• "Hotels led the pack with the most aggressive allocation increases over the prior year, doubling or tripling the percentage (…) For 2002, 50% planned to increase their online percentage, 40% planned to keep the allocation the same, and 10% planned a decrease.
• "Travel marketers agree that no other medium allows one to create, post, and change an offer as message as quickly as the Web."
• "Travel advertisers regard the Web as the most targetable of all media and are especially fond of getting as close to point of purchase as possible." [Emphasis added]
• Although measurability is key, most travel marketers have "learned to look past click-through and focus on metrics like cost per transaction and cost per acquisition."

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