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The Old Mystic Inn, Old Mystic, CT |
I also remember many stories from innkeepers who helped frantic brides, still looking to celebrate their marriages but afraid to fly, plan special honeymoons. We had received several emails from brides asking about honeymoon alternatives, so we put them in touch with the inns. Afterwards, the brides told us about the extra special touches innkeepers added for their honeymoons.
Times of tragedy are certainly not the only times you go above and beyond. Some of my favorite stories are about innkeepers helping to plan special engagement getaways. One of my most favorite stories might be “Christmas in July” for a military couple being deployed to separate places. They wouldn’t be spending their first Christmas together, so they had Christmas in July at the inn complete with Christmas cookies and a lighted tree in their room that the innkeepers arranged. I just returned from The William Henry Miller Inn where a dessert buffet is set out every night at 8pm by Innkeeper Lynette. In typical B&B fashion, she didn’t miss a beat the next morning with breakfast-to-go for us and another guest who had to make an early flight. You can’t make these things up.
These touches certainly are not happening at hotels; so, together, we need to spread the word that B&Bs really are a “better way to stay.” Guests can help you do this when they write reviews telling others about the special touches they experienced during their stays. The media loves these stories as well.
I firmly believe you should have some reviews on any site featuring your listing. For example, on review sites such as TripAdvisor you should have many reviews while a few reviews are fine on marketing sites like BnBFinder.com. You don’t want guests to leave your listing to go searching for reviews elsewhere; if they do, they may end up choosing another inn. In Chapter 8 of Running a Bed and Breakfast For Dummies, I discuss the importance of managing your online reviews as part of managing your brand and inn’s identity.

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