Promoting the Industry
Our goal is to generate great publicity for BedandBreakfast.com
members specifically, and for the B&B industry as a whole. In this
issue we cover:
Upcoming Publicity for BedandBreakfast.com
members
Let's Hear it from
Innkeepers
Recent Media Coverage
Ask the Pros
Current and Upcoming
Publicity: August
We distributed the following press releases in August:
8/21:
MORE THAN ONE PLACE TO PEEP A LEAF: BedandBreakfast.com's Top Dozen B&B
Picks for Fall Foliage. Thanks to all those who emailed descriptions of
the foliage surrounding your inns and B&Bs. While it was a tough choice, we
featured twelve scenic B&Bs visited by BedandBreakfast.com editors. This is
the season for foliage photos on your listing page. Please upload a
high-resolution photo of your inn during foliage season to your Home Page
photo album on BedandBreakfast.com; it’s OK to archive it. Don’t have any?
Be sure to shoot some great pictures so you’ll have them for next year!
8/18:
BEDANDBREAKFAST.COM CONSUMER SURVEY REVEALS B&Bs NOT-SO-NICHE ANY MORE.
This release featured the interesting results and demographics from
thousands of inngoers who visited BedandBreakfast.com and completed a
survey.
8/8/2007:
BEDANDBREAKFAST.COM ANNOUNCES GROUND-BREAKING SURVEY ABOUT BUSINESS-FRIENDLY
B&Bs: BedandBreakfast.com survey of U.S. innkeepers reveals the best-kept
secret in inn travel: B&Bs offer free Wi-Fi, flexible breakfasts and
check-ins, free snacks, corporate rates, and of course, private baths
THREE WEEKS LEFT TO ENTER PANCAKES WITH PERSONALITY® CONTEST:
BedandBreakfast.com is on the hunt for great pancakes from great innkeepers!
Knowing that breakfast is half our name, BedandBreakfast.com is going to
highlight the best pancake recipes from B&B chefs on National Pancake Day,
February 5, 2008. Cash prizes, BedandBreakfast.com memberships, and perhaps
even TV fame are at stake.
Winners will be judged on the taste and creativity of the pancakes, as well
as the personalities of the chefs. We're looking for original pancake
recipes (not taken from published books, magazines or websites) accompanied
by chef profiles.
Ready to sign up? Email
Marti.Mayne@BedandBreakfast.com and include all the following
information:
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Recipe: Please make sure it is
complete and clear.
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Photo: Attach a photo of the chef
holding the pancakes; be sure to name the photo, e.g., Oatmeal pancakes,
1897 Victorian Inn. It does not have to be high resolution or a
professional photo. If you have a video demonstrating your
pancake-making skills, please provide the URL where we can view it.
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Tips: Include three to five brief
tips on creating perfect pancakes.
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Profile: Answer the questions
below:
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How long have you been an innkeeper?
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What is your culinary training and/or
areas of expertise?
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What makes you a pancake pro? Have you
been the star at the church pancake breakfast for years? Have you won
any contests for your pancakes before, or dazzled your local TV station
with your pancake prowess? If not, just tell us about your history as a
pancake maker.
All materials must be received by
September 28, 2007, and must contain all
of the above information. (Note: if you are unable to send the photo now,
just send the recipe, tips, and chef's profile). Don't forget to include a
full signature file, including your name, inn name, phone number, URL, and
email address! You must be a member of BedandBreakfast.com to participate.
Questions about the contest? Contact
Marti@BedandBreakfast.com.
Business Traveler-friendly B&Bs: Thank you to all those who took the survey
about business traveler-friendly B&Bs. We received over 1,400 responses! The
impressive response allowed us to offer statistically significant trends to
Gary Stoller, a business-travel reporter for USA TODAY, who wrote an
insightful article
about B&Bs as a viable lodging choice for business travelers.
Best of BedandBreakfast.com Awards: Top-reviewed B&Bs will be recognized in
the Best of BedandBreakfast.com Awards, to be announced later this month.
Both the quality and quantity of reviews are being considered in the
selection of the winning inns; balanced comments are vital. Votes registered
between June 1, 2005 and the present will also be taken into consideration.
The top winners will receive free Platinum memberships, and all will receive
recognition plaques or certificates and badges, as well as inclusion in our
winners’ publicity campaign recognizing the top B&Bs. For more information
about BedandBreakfast.com reviews,
log in to your Home Base, click
Reviews,
then select Links, Awards, and Review Reminders from the column on the left.
Let’s Hear it from
Innkeepers
“Great coverage of A View from the Loo in The Boston Globe. I missed it and
had to crawl in the dumpster to dig out a copy. (Not as nice a view as from
the loo). Well worth it! Many thanks.”
- Bruce Pfander, Four Columns Inn on the Green, Newfane, VT
"Thanks for doing such a good job of getting the article [about
Business-Friendly B&Bs] out there and promoting the industry! Great article.
I would especially like to thank the folks at Bed and Breakfast.com for
their work in getting these type of articles published as they continue to
promote the industry. It has been my experience after 11 years of doing this
that urban inns do not get a lot of press!! I am thrilled for all of us!”
- Joyce Schulte, Chambered Nautilus, Seattle, WA
“We have some interesting news. Guests who made their reservation through
the BedandBreakfast.com booking engine are getting married tonight - here in
our parlor!!! They booked our romantic Garret Room for two nights and
announced their intentions."
- Debra and Ken Traugot, Beechwood Inn/Beechwood Goldens, Cape Cod, MA
Recent BedandBreakfast.com Media Coverage
Richard Carpenter of the
Boston Globe created a story from BedandBreakfast.com’s
View from the Loo
release, mentioning the Belfry Inne, Inn at Southwest, Chez Sven, Four
Columns Inn and the Woodstocker Inn and BedandBreakfast.com as a great
resource for B&B travel planning.
In a story about fall foliage getaway planning,
Frommers.com
mentioned BedandBreakfast.com as a resource, explaining “it’s an extensive
site that ranks small and large cities and advertises tons of deals.”
The
USA TODAY story about business friendly B&Bs was syndicated through
Gannett Newspapers and appeared in a number of other dailies including the
San Antonio Express and the
San Antonio Business Journal, the
Jackson, MS,
Clarion Ledger,
Tucson Citizen and the
Cherry Hill, NJ,
Courier Post.
Additionally,
Entrepreneur.com
and
PCWorld.com
ran the article.
Hotel Interactive
included BedandBreakfast.com and its members in a story about floating B&Bs.
BedandBreakfast.com was mentioned as a great resource for lodging in a
CBS News Online story about visiting Cape Cod.
Ask
the Pros:
B&Bs aren’t really business
friendly; for example, they don’t offer Wi-Fi and the kinds of amenities
hotels offer, do they? - Anonymous reporter
A:
BedandBreakfast.com was recently challenged
with this question from a reporter at a major national daily newspaper.
Undaunted by the misconceived notions of the media, BedandBreakfast.com set
out to dispel the myth that B&Bs aren’t business friendly. We developed a
short survey, and to our delight, over 1,400 innkeepers from 49 states
responded, offering data that is statistically sound and representative of
the B&B industry. The survey revealed unquestionably that America’s inns and
B&Bs offer an excellent choice for business travelers. Not only do the
amenities at B&Bs stack up against hotels and motels, but they’re almost
entirely complimentary, offering the business traveler an enormous value.
Here are the results of the BedandBreakfast.com business traveler survey:
|
Do you offer (check as many as apply):
|
|
|
late check-ins |
95.8%
|
|
early breakfast (or provisions for those who
must leave early) |
94.8%
|
|
free WiFi or wired in-room high-speed
Internet access
|
89.4% |
|
TVs in rooms or on request |
82.0% |
|
the opportunity for guests to invite
colleagues to breakfast
|
79.7%
|
|
desks in (at least some) rooms
|
76.4% |
|
use of a fax machine
|
73.5%
|
|
online reservations |
71.0%
|
|
corporate or single rates for business
travelers |
69.5% |
|
use of a copy machine |
67.9% |
|
cancellation policies that are flexible,
and/or comparable to local hotels |
64.6%
|
|
in-room land line phone in areas with
limited cell phone reception
|
45.5% |
|
computer for guest use
|
44.6%
|
|
participation in a larger online reservation
network like Expedia
|
35.3%
|
|
For those traveling on per diem, will you
break out the breakfast and accommodations bill and offer two
receipts?
|
Response percent |
|
Yes
|
80.6% |
|
No
|
19.4% |
We were delighted to learn that more than
nine out of 10 B&Bs offer late check-ins and early breakfast provisions for
business travelers and that almost nine out of ten offer free WiFi service.
Eight out of 10 B&Bs will break out the bill for those traveling on per diem
and offer TVs in the room.
All of the above percentages prove that B&Bs are excellent choices for
business travelers. BedandBreakfast.com plans to use this survey to
communicate that B&Bs offer excellent bonuses to biz travelers. Look for
coverage of this story in future Promoting the
Industry columns.
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This Month's Sponsor
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Internet Intensives
BedandBreakfast.com, RezOvation and
Inns.com are hitting the road to bring you current and comprehensive information
about Internet marketing, online reservations, yield management, and
property management software.
Click here to see upcoming Intensives and
more information.
Updated Photography
Fall foliage season is almost here, and travelers are booking
their accommodations. Are you displaying foliage photos on your
BedandBreakfast.com listing? If not, upload some today!
Log in to your Home Base and click Photos.
It's not too early to upload winter and holiday photos! The larger the
image file, the better.
Gift Card Reseller Program
"I was thrilled when I heard about the program. As
far as guests are concerned, it's much nicer for them to buy something
they can use everywhere!" -- Julie Becker, Byrn-Roberts Inn,
Murfreesboro, TN
“The gift cards are simple to activate. It was so fast, I couldn't
believe it!” -- Merrie Hammond, Asa Cline House B&B, Yellow Spring,
WV
The BedandBreakfast.com Gift Card Reseller Program is here!
Click here for details. If you'd like to receive a free reseller kit, contact us at 800-462-2632 or
Support@BedandBreakfast.com.
Online Trade Show
Visit our newest vendor members!
Inn
Consulting Partners
Absolute Coffees
Markel Insurance
Company
Click here to view our Online Trade Show. Are you a vendor?
Click here to get featured!
Advertising Auctions
Featured Property and
Inn of the Month auctions are easy, affordable and effective ways to drive
traffic to your website.
Member Information
To update your entry, check your traffic statistics, and renew your membership,
please log in
with your property ID and password. Don't like your password? Once you're
logged in, click "Membership," select "Change Password," and choose another that's easier to remember.
More information
"BedandBreakfast.com has been our #1 B&B directory referrer for the past few
years. I really enjoy the service they provide and the extras that they do
for B&Bs like the Online Reservations program and the Gift Certificate
program. The Gift Certificates have been really popular with our guests."
Jennifer Macgillonie, The English Inn, Port Townsend, WA
Inns for Sale
Innkeepers' Info Center
Need more
info? You’ll find lots of educational
articles on our site for your convenience.
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