Time For A Smile

Among the many emails we get every day from Google Web Alerts about B&B-related articles came this one, entitled "Bed And Breakfast: A Home-Style Business." As soon as I started reading, I began wondering when this article could have been written.  I knew something was strange when I came to this paragraph: “Our endeavor grossed $1,750 during the first year . . . a figure that reflected the income from 100 actual guest-days. Our expenses for that period totaled $1,100 . . . although that sum included part of the cost of two room air conditioners (depreciated over five years), a house sign for the main road, and about $300 spent on promotional materials. The remainder went for food ($200), travel ($180), electricity and fuel oil ($175), insurance ($90), and garbage disposal ($18). We figure that had we reached our initial estimate of 200 guest days, we would have doubled our income to $3,500 while increasing our expenses by only about $400.”  You guessed it--the article was written in 1982. Our industry has changed and developed so rapidly that it feels like the article was written a century earlier, not 23 years ago!

Travel Trends

Website pet peeves: A new survey by Hostway, Inc., reports that “more than 70% of consumers said that they're unlikely to purchase from, or even return to, a website after encountering a pet peeve. And, because only 25% of consumers say they'll complain to the companies about their pet peeves, the use of features that annoy consumers may be having a negative impact that's difficult to trace or measure. “ Pet peeves, according to the survey:

• 93% of consumers say pop-up ads are annoying or extremely annoying
• 89% are annoyed at the need to install extra software
• 86% said dead links are annoying or extremely annoying
• 84% said confusing navigation is annoying or extremely annoying
• 83% said slow-loading pages are annoying or extremely annoying
• 59% of consumers think moving text is annoying or extremely annoying
• 55% feel strongly that poor appearance in regard to color, fonts and format are annoying or extremely annoying.

Online Travel Growth: Investment firm Merrill Lynch said the online experience is only getting better for consumers, and it expects business operations on the Web to tally a 20% increase in e-commerce and 14% rise in online travel bookings growth from the second quarter of 2005. Those numbers far exceed the total U.S. commerce and travel spending that is expected to be up 6 to 8% and 4 to 5% respectively, according to the company's e-commerce research report.

High-tech consumers: A recent Forrester Report shows that “by 2010, 62% of US households will have broadband access to the Internet, 53% will own a laptop, and 37% will use a digital video recorder (DVR) to gain control over how and when they watch TV. Sample data  points include:

• 29% of North American households connected to the Internet using broadband connections in 2004, up from 19% in 2003. 
• Broadband access will more than double this decade, reaching 71 million US households in 2010.
• Surfing the Internet while watching TV, shopping in the kitchen, and listening to digital music in the living room will drive home networking adoption to 46.5 million households by 2010. 

“Today, only 6% of online consumers read blogs and 2% use RSS, while 70% of online consumers use the Internet to research products for purchase. Marketers should focus on identifying the early  adopting tech optimists, concludes the report, to tap effective viral marketing  opportunities. “

Wi-Fi in hotels has become an expected amenity : Nearly 25,000 hotels globally will offer some degree of Wi-Fi by 2007, according to Pyramid Research in Cambridge, Mass. In 2002, just 1,000 hotels worldwide were equipped for wireless connection.  Many of the major hotel brands have added Wi-Fi to their properties as the trend continues to grow. About 2,100 Marriott International hotels have wireless connections in their public spaces and meeting rooms. 

Have laptop will travel:  A 2005 Survey of adult computer users, commissioned by Intel Corporation and conducted by Harris Interactive, reveals that 34% of respondents or their families have taken a laptop PC with them on vacation(1) and half (51%) of all respondents are likely to take a laptop PC on a future vacation(2). Ahead of checking and sending work-related email (43%), the three most popular uses of a laptop PC for those who say they have taken one on vacation were checking personal e-mail (72%); enjoying entertainment such as movies, music and games (56%); and gathering trip information online.

Online travel consumers feel empowered:  In a 2005 study, JupiterResearch found that “online travel consumers compared airfares at an average of 3.2 websites and hotel rates at an average of 3.0 websites. Though some industry observers claim consumers are overwhelmed by the experience of searching online, the majority of online travel consumers feel empowered by their online travel research. JupiterResearch identified four consumer segments based on attitude and research behavior. The largest group is empowered online users who research intensely: 37% of online airfare travel consumers report enjoying the challenge of travel research and visit three or more Web sites per travel product.  At 17%, general search engines have surpassed other media channels in driving consumers to a particular Web site when researching their most recent trip.

Online Trade Show

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 3900 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

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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. Read more...

Online Bookings

Taking real-time, online reservations is the most effective way to transform your BedandBreakfast.com listing into a 24/7 sales engine.  For details, log in to your home base with your property ID and password, and click “Online Reservations.”

Innkeepers Information Center

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