Innkeeper Updates

Best of BedandBreakfast.com Awards
Hurricane Ike assistance
New Terms & Conditions on BedandBreakfast.com Gift Cards
More than 50 videos live on BedandBreakfast.com
BedandBreakfast.com Blog

Best of BedandBreakfast.com Awards announced

Congratulations to the winners of the Best of BedandBreakfast.com Awards 2008-2009! Nearly 150 inns were selected for the fourth annual awards program. A panel of judges read tens of thousands of reviews to select the winners. The selection criteria for the Best of BedandBreakfast.com Awards included both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the independently posted reviews on BedandBreakfast.com.

Eric Goldreyer displays the awards plaque.

For your chance at next year's awards, encourage your guests to post reviews on BedandBreakfast.com. For tools you can use to get more reviews, log in to your Home Base, click on Reviews, then click Links, Awards, and Review Reminders.

Hurricane Ike
Our thoughts and well-wishes go out to innkeepers affected by Hurricane Ike last month. Please contact us about your listing if you had damage to your property.

New Terms & Conditions for BedandBreakfast.com Gift Cards
In response to feedback from innkeepers who welcome BedandBreakfast.com Gift Cards, we have updated the Terms & Conditions that appear on the back of the cards to read: "Not valid on group reservations, corporate rates, or with third-party coupons or certificates." This will reduce instances of guests using the gift cards in addition to other discounts. These new Terms will be on the back of every gift card we send from our offices; Terms on gift cards sold in retail outlets will not have the same copy because the inventory is already in the stores.



Gift cards sold on Costco.com have an additional restriction that only two may be used per stay. They have the Costco name at the top.


We also have new Terms & Conditions for innkeeper participation in the gift card program. Below are the changes in a nutshell; please click here to read details.

1. BedandBreakfast.com Gift Cards will no longer be sold in Costco warehouses.
2. If you sell BedandBreakfast.com Gift Cards at your inn, the commission you earn will increase from 15% to 20%.
3. If you welcome BedandBreakfast.com Gift Cards at your inn, due to increasing costs, the commission retained by BedandBreakfast.com will increase from 15% to a scale of 15%-20%, depending on your volume of redemptions.
4. Gift cards will continue to be sold online on a test basis at Costco.com with restrictions on their use.
    

More than 50 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 (Support@BedandBreakfast.com) and your inn's name and contact information, and click Send!

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.

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, .MOV, and .MPG file formats are OK.
• Time: Three minutes is ideal; 10-minute maximum.

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:  Support@BedandBreakfast.com, 1-800-GO-B-AND-B or 1-512-322-2700.

BedandBreakfast.com has a blog
Check out our new blog! BedandBreakfast.com editors regularly post trip reports, B&B specials, and interesting B&B-related tidbits. Sign up to receive updates via email. Who knows? You might soon read about your inn!

If you have a blog about your property, please let us know and we can do a link exchange.

Travel Trends

Direct web bookings in Europe expected to grow: "According to TravelClick, in 2007, more than 30% of hotel bookings in Europe came from direct web booking -- a trend expected to grow as consumers make higher-value purchases online. This and other key Internet marketing trends were the focus of discussion for more than 200 European participants in three regional seminars hosted in September by TravelCLICK.

"Local representatives of industry leaders shared insights and best practices. For example, hotels need to:

• Incorporate consumer reviews and ratings into their marketing strategy, as these reviews are an increasingly important influence on consumer hotel purchase decisions.
• Be wherever consumers are shopping on the Web; online shoppers visit at least three to four websites before making an online purchase decision.
• Proactively monitor their position on search engines and online travel agencies, as well as track their consumer reviews.
• Leverage booking engines to increase the booking value of each reservation with add-ons, packages, and onsite services."

TripAdvisor travelers offer glimpse into 2009 trends: “TripAdvisor announced the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 3,000 U.S. travelers. The primary trends identified are that travelers appear to be going lean and green by visiting national parks, hiking, and engaging in adventure activities. A greater amount of Americans said they will be environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in 2009, and more plan to visit eco-friendly hotels in the coming year. Here are some highlights:

• 34% of U.S. respondents said they will visit an environmentally friendly hotel or resort in the coming year (up from 30% last year)
• 32% of those surveyed said they will be more environmentally conscious in their travel decisions this year
• 83% are concerned about germs, bacteria and viruses when traveling. Airplanes are considered the most “germy” by 34% of respondents, followed by public transportation and hotels.
• 80% of respondents said they tip for room service, while only 59% tip the chambermaid.
• 61% of travelers said the cost of fuel is an important consideration when choosing where to go on their next vacation. 18% of respondents said they will take more car trips this year because of declining fuel prices.
• 58% of travelers are brand loyal when it comes to booking hotels. The hotel brands to which the greatest number of U.S. respondents are loyal are Marriott, Hilton, and the Hampton Inn.
• 18% of travelers said they are taking a “staycation” this coming year.
• 20% of travelers have taken items from a hotel, such as towels, flatware, or decorative pieces.

Business travel spending a mixed bag: “According to a new business travel survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), 36% of the respondents said they'd be spending more on business travel next year, 33% indicated they'd be spending less, and 31% said they'd be spending the same. 47% of the survey's respondents say cutbacks in travel spending are due to a combination of economic uncertainty and rising fuel costs. (15% cited the economy alone as did 12% for fuel costs.) 26% cited other reasons such as internal changes and a restructuring of business focus.”

BCD expects U.S. hotel rates to hold steady: “A forecast by BCD Travel said that on average, 2009 North American hotel rates compared with 2008 would increase by up to 3%. In high-demand cities, that increase would land between 4% and 6%, according to BCD.”

hotels.com introduces visual hotel search: The hotels.com Visualiser, termed as a first for the travel industry, will ask customers to select from a range of images in order to generate hotel suggestions. Users can choose to narrow the selection of hotels returned toward the no-frills or luxury end, or to make the selection more modern or traditional.
BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations properties are also listed on hotels.com.

New hotel program promises 'Buy 10, Get 1 Free': With the continuing devaluation of airline loyalty programs, consumers have increasingly focused on alternative rewards options, including hotel programs and cash-back credit cards. Loyalty programs generally deliver discounts of between 1% and 2%. Welcomerewards, the new frequent-stay program from hotels.com, promises a 10% return. The claim: "Get 1 free night anywhere for every 10 nights you book." After enrolling in the program, hotels.com customers earn one credit for every night booked at a hotel covered by the company's Price Match Guarantee and costing $40 or more. Of the approximately 80,000 individual properties available through hotels.com, about 35,000 carry the guarantee. Once 10 credits have been earned, they can be redeemed for a free room night, with a published rate of up to $400, at a hotels.com hotel. There are no blackout dates.

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