Cleaning & Marketing Have More In Common Than You Think

The chapter on cleaning tips in Running a Bed and Breakfast For Dummies is one of the most popular chapters in the book, but spring cleaning takes on a whole new meaning when you're running a successful inn. Sure, it still involves flipping mattresses, scrubbing floors and dusting furniture, but it also includes cleaning up your marketing campaign. Start by taking a good look at your business within the last year. If you feel that you haven't gotten the results that you want, now is the time to start fresh and try something new. Remember spring cleaning is all about - "out with the old and in with the new."

It may sound strange, but cleaning and marketing have more in common than you think. Both are laborious and require hard work and patience. Yet, the payoff at the end is always incredibly satisfying and worth the effort. It's important to remember that we all have our own cleaning rituals and the same applies in marketing. What may work for one inn may not necessarily be right for your bed and breakfast. The hardest part is determining where to start "cleaning." Ask yourself the following questions. Will new marketing efforts affect the overall guest experience or will they bring you more guests? How much time and energy are you willing to invest? Set realistic time goals for your inn. A good point to remember is that it's not how much you want to accomplish as opposed to how much you can actually accomplish. I have devoted two chapters in Running a Bed and Breakfast For Dummies to marketing…it's that important!

Before you "clean" house or make any drastic changes, take a look at all your marketing avenues. If you're still advertising in the yellow pages or guidebooks, make sure you're receiving an acceptable rate of return and that your ad is up to date. If you have a blog, think back to your last post or entry. Have you taken the time to update your blog consistently? If not, you should reconsider keeping a blog. Remember, an outdated blog is like a half cleaned window and it can actually turn your guests away. Your blog may be the first impression they have of your inn, even if your website is up to date. It's a way for you and your first time and repeat guests to stay connected to you. If blogging feels like a chore select topics that are of interest to you, such as local happenings and upcoming activities in town or at your inn, to blog about. Your blog can serve as a platform for you to come up with new ideas for specials and packages. (Just make sure you don't sound too advertorial.) Insert rich keywords that search engines would like and update your specials on your directory listings as well.

Spring cleaning at your inn also means checking to make sure everything is in working order. Don't forget to review your website and advertisements. Your information should be up to date, appealing and most importantly, easy for guests to contact you and/or make reservations. (You'd be surprised how many inns with beautiful websites lack user friendly reservation systems.)

There are always ways to scrub and polish your marketing efforts, but if a spruce up is all you have time for then place your focus on a "clean" return. Start with the basics, like an attractive, easy to use website, guest reviews and updated directory listings, all of which are covered in the book. Your "cleaning" should also include regular touch ups so that your inn stays current and guests can always see your inn in the best possible light.

If you have other marketing "cleaning" tips that you would like to share, please email me. I welcome all feedback.

Mary White
President and Founder, BnBFinder.com
Author, Running a Bed and Breakfast for Dummies

Guest Loyalty - An Easy and Economical Marketing Strategy

When you operate a great bed & breakfast you provide R&R for your guests but have you thought about what R&R you're receiving in return? While getting rest is important, I'm talking about the three R's that matter most to innkeepers, Repeat guests, Referrals and Revenue. Building guest loyalty may sound like nothing new, but whether you’re an existing or aspiring innkeeper, it’s never too soon to start thinking about repeat guests and referrals. It's an important topic that I devote a full chapter to in my book, Running a Bed & Breakfast For Dummies. It's also a popular topic at many conference workshops (and you can find a list of the best conferences in my book.) The chances of securing repeat reservations and referrals start even before you speak to or meet your guests as they are forming their first impressions of your inn. The likelihood that you will have returning guests begin with your website and the initial contact that you have with the guest, whether that be over the phone or in person. Don’t underestimate the importance of first impressions and Running a Bed & Breakfast For Dummies provides all the information that you need to create the right first impressions, such as creating a website, taking reservations and greeting guests. It goes without saying that new innkeepers have to put a lot of thought into their marketing to draw in new guests, but if your inn is already open, don’t dismiss your existing guests. Treat all guests as potential repeat guests and as referral sources. Since every inn has their own method and there is no comprehensive list to follow, so go through all the points of guest contact and think about ways you can easily tweak them to be sure that your inn stands out. Keep it simple but show that you care and you'll find your guests doing the work for you through return visits and guest referrals.

Many established innkeepers are surprised to learn that repeat guests and referrals don't find their inn by visiting their website directly. Instead, they find the inn by visiting an online B&B directory. We know this because at BnBFinder.com, which is a popular B&B directory, two common questions we receive are about inns that don't list with us. Guests want to know what is wrong with an inn when they don't see it listed on BnBFinder.com, not knowing that innkeepers choose to list with us and not the other way around. Other guests want to verify if an inn is still in business because they can't find it on our site. Just last week, we were contacted by two writers updating guidebooks. One writer was updating a bicycling book in New Hampshire and another writer was updating a book on haunted inns in Florida. Both writers inquired about inns that they believed were out of business since they were not listed on BnBFinder. Of course, I know it's impossible to be listed everywhere so I devote a full section in the book to help you figure out how to allocate your advertising budget. You want to be sure that your inn is included in the directories and places that will bring you guests, guest referrals and media exposure. So no matter where you are in the process of running your bed & breakfast, devote a little time to getting your R's in order - your business needs and deserves them!

Mary White
Founder & CEO of BnBFinder.com
Author, Running a Bed and Breakfast For Dummies