These kinds of articles often bring up questions of how to attract younger, first-time B&B guests. It becomes the Gen X-Gen Y question: Who are they and what do they want as guests? And, if you thought you understood them, there’s already a Generation Z (but they are not of B&B going age…yet)! As an industry, the majority of our guests are baby boomers, so innkeepers frequently want ideas on how to attract younger guests. Since they’re not exactly the same, our best bet is to look at generalizations that are usually attributed to their travel decision making. However, as you read through these ideas you may decide they are good for attracting guests of all ages:
![]() |
Inn at Sunrise Point, Lincolnville, ME |
Bottom line: Don’t try and be something you’re not. If you’re a Victorian inn proud of your history and collections and known for your family-style breakfasts, don’t advertise as a boutique inn. Be okay with who you are. If you’re not okay with it then change, but don’t misrepresent. In Chapter 2 of the book, I discuss matching your B&B style to the guests you want to attract, and part of that section goes into deciding how your inn will accommodate those guests.
More about you. Attracting younger guests may require freshening up how you present your inn. Typically, an inn’s "About Us" page explains its history, but you can make this page more interesting and show off your passions when you also include your civic activities and green initiatives. For example, are you committed to green practices or do you participate in programs such as Clean the World which recycles partially used soaps? Remember, you're trying to attract guests who have grown up doing community service as part of their school requirements, have learned to be concerned with the environment and own a keen global awareness.
Being hip won’t hurt. Make an effort to understand social media. Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites are here to stay, and having a presence which guests can easily see and link to when visiting your website portrays your inn in a current light.
![]() |
Arrowhead Inn located in Durham, NC |
If you haven’t set up Google Alerts (www.Google.com/alerts) to monitor what’s being written about your inn, you need to do so immediately. Be sure when setting up your alerts to put your inn name in quotes so you only get alerts for your inn or other inns with the same name. Otherwise, every time the word ‘Victorian’, ‘River’ or another popular word in your inn name gets mentioned, you’ll receive an alert.
Can you be everything to everybody? NO. You’re not being true to yourself or your guests if you try. We should be proud to say that in the B&B industry, one size does not fit all. I think guests should wake up someplace special…at your inn.

No comments:
Post a Comment