The Innkeeper's Resource

Thirty Years and Still Going Strong!

What a great turnout at the PAII New England Innkeeping Conference & Trade show held this month in Nashua, New Hampshire.  All of us at The B&B Team appreciated the opportunity to meet with some of the true veterans of Innkeeping.

Among those veterans are friends and colleagues, Marian Burns, Innkeeper from Mira Monte Inn in Bar Harbor, Maine and Rick Litchfield, Innkeeper from the Captain Lord Mansion in Kennebunkport, Maine.  Unfortunately Rick Litchfield’s dynamic other half, Bev Davis, was not able to attend, as she was busy at the mansion decorating. What else! What these innkeepers have in common is over 30 years of innkeeping under their respective belts. Not many out there can claim this number!  Besides their longevity they are also terrific and successful innkeepers. We believe part of their success can be attributed to never, never stopping the process of educating themselves at conferences. We didn’t ask them, but I am sure they have been to as many conferences (if not more) than the years they have been innkeepers. 

Pictured at The B&B Team’s booth (from left to right) are Peggy and Peter Scherman, Jay Karen (President and CEO of PAII), Marian Burns, Rick Litchfield, and Janet and Rick Wolf.

There is always something new and exciting going on at the Captain Lord Mansion, a recent renovation of a former conference space into a spa and lounge and a new state of the art kitchen are the latest. Their guests also have a history of longevity.  Ten visits to the mansion will earn a guest an engraved stone in their “Memory Garden”. Needless to say, there are lots of bricks and more to come.

Marian at Mira Monte is very interested in solar energy and has installed panels on a portion of her buildings and hopes to install more in the future.  She is planning a solar workshop in the spring to bring guests in to enjoy Marian’s ‘Innspring’ package plus some education.  Marian is a native of Bar Harbor and is a wealth of information about her beautiful part of Maine.  Guests come back time and again to extract knowledge of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park from this thirty year veteran.  

Marian, Rick and Bev have never put their inns on auto pilot and continue to renew their pilot licenses!  Are there any other thirty year veterans out there?  We would love to hear from you.

Eastport…Downeast Maine’s Must See Destination!

One of the joys of being part of The B&B Team is the opportunity we have to work with great Innkeepers at great Inns in great locations.  Many of the locations are in well known ‘destination locations’ and some are in less known ‘undiscovered’ locales. 

Eastport, Maine is a small town on an island accessible by a causeway and is touted as the eastern most US city, where the sun rises first.  Just northeast of Bar Harbor off US Route 1, definitely worth the journey.

So…what’s new in Eastport and what makes it the newest must see destination?  To start with there is The Pickled Herring, Eastport’s newest upscale dining venue.  But don’t let the word upscale turn you away.  More like innovative…clam martini!... that got my attention.  Here are a few excerpts from Trip Advisor reviews that tell it all.

“A most wonderful surprise in a beautiful but under visited Maine seacoast town.  If in the area of Eastport, it is definitely worth the detour.”

“A great meal in an interesting little town, I would recommend a trip to Eastport anyway, but the addition of The Pickled Herring means you can now get an excellent meal while you are there.”

“Eastport has come of age with the recent opening of The Pickled Herring Restaurant.  Everything is fresh, prepared to order and the wood fired grill imparts a wonderful flavor.”

These reviews not only praise a wonderful new restaurant but they also give the reader a glimpse into a most interesting town.  To go back a few years , a 2005 article from Fodor’s Travel News describes Eastport as “still undiscovered by the sunburnt crowds that jam Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor every summer, Eastport’s surroundings are as scenic as the more popular downeast destinations.”   Eastport may still be undiscovered in 2009 but for those that work and have businesses there they know there is plenty of ‘downeast Eastport’ to share with the lucky visitors that ‘discover’ their part of the world.  The wealth that the town and surrounding area offers is unique.  Another quote from the Fodor’s article describes the town as having a “wonderfully eccentric vibe”.  With many of the 2,000 locals being artists, writers, filmmakers and now innovative restaurateurs, the creative atmosphere could be catching.

Another way to see Eastport is from the viewpoint of someone that has been vacationing there for almost half a century!

“Let me start by saying I have been going to this island city since the 1960’s. Not a lot has changed in all those years (not a bad thing) we have made a lot of friends here and always look forward to our next trip back.  The sunrise over Campobello is amazing, gotta get up early though.  So much to see:  the Old Sow whirlpool, the tremendous tides, life in the slow lane for sure.”

So whether you stay at a turn of the century campground (as these folks did) or a lovingly renovated, elegant Bed and Breakfast like The Chadbourne House, Eastport’s unparalleled scenery, home grown traditional festivals and events and creative locals welcome you to ‘discover’ them.  Come with an explorer’s heart and you won’t be disappointed!

Janet Wolf

On Transformative Events and the Human Community

Today is September 11, 2009. We all remember this date eight years ago, but today as I was listening to many of the memorials and speeches and talking with friends and family about it, I was reminded about how our lives can be forever changed by transformative events like the attacks of 9/11/01. And many of the changes are positive.

Big, and I mean really big, events and periods, especially those that we view as terrible at the time of their occurrence, have a way of causing us to reexamine what is important in our lives. Whether it be an illness or death of a friend or family member, a stock market crash and harsh recession, or watching the attack of our homeland on live television, we always end up taking stock. Taking stock of what we think is important: our jobs or careers, whatever. And then, surprisingly, many of us decide that we need to do something else. Behave differently. Be kinder. Do something more meaningful. Worry less about some things and more about others. And it is this taking stock that has brought many people into Innkeeping.

Why? I think it's because Innkeeping is about people. Service. Kindness. Restoration. Many of you who believe that you want your life to be about more than just "making a living" and, instead, want to make a difference in other people's lives while still making a living, have chosen (or are considering) Innkeeping as a profession. At The B&B Team we're glad you think this way, because we have the good fortune of working with people who, in our humble opinion, are somehow a little bit better than many, more elevated, sharing a higher purpose.

After the attacks of 9/11, innkeepers across the country found their business upended. An initial flood of cancellations in many cases lead to new bookings by folks needing to get out, get away, find some peace and security. And where did they turn for that sense of safety and togetherness? To small inns. These weary and frightened travelers looked to innkeepers for solace, even as those innkeepers themselves needed some solace of their own. But in the serving, the sharing, the caring for, the feeding and smiling for the benefit of others, innkeepers found themselves uplifted as well.

Community is an overused word in this era of social media, but the community of humanity remains an enduring precept, one which transformative and often tragic events make us appreciate all the more.

Peter

Yes, We All Do Need A "Pep Talk"!

Yesterday, Peter wrote a posting, "How About Some Optimism". In only a matter of hours we had several comments plus other emails thanking him for writing this piece.

No question, we are suffering as a nation, and as a world, through some of the most devastating economic times since the 1930's. The reality however, is that the world is not coming to an end, the sky is not falling and life does and will go on.  As an optimist and as a realist, better times are ahead...when, I don't know...but they are coming!

We've heard from a variety of hospitality folks all praising the posting. Check them out, they're great comments. At the same time, we've had several phone conversations with other Innkeepers who are truly in a funk and are being run roughshod by the Blue Meanies...(with apologies to the Beatles).  

Some are predicting the end of our industry, others are complaining about phones not ringing, others are grasping at straws as to their current business...but the one thing in common that these folks share is that they are sitting and stewing about the doom and gloom and are doing NOTHING to stimulate their business!

Those that are doing well are being thoughtful, creative, positive and aggressive.  They are keeping themselves at the top of their game and continue to play the game by their rules.  While we all have off moments, they realize that if they become another voice of darkness, they will communicate this  through their words and actions and that just won't do anyone any good.

The message?  Keep your head high! Don't forget why you became an Innkeeper! Recognize the times and creatively respond to them but do not become a victim of them. Finally, work your website, your SEO, the social media sites, and continue to offer the service and hospitality that we should provide everyday. 

Need to talk? Have some questions?....we're here for you.

Rick

How About Some Optimism?

It's been a long, cold winter, not just because the weather has been that way, but also because the United States and the World have been rocked by a horrible recession. Every time you turn on the TV, open a newspaper, listen to the radio, or read your news on the Internet (take your choice of venue), the doom and gloom are almost overwhelming. But guess what? I think everything is going to be just fine!!!

I have the reputation of being an optimist. Last fall when things were starting to get really shaky but "they" still hadn't declared us in recession, I was telling Rick that I wished they'd just tell us we were in a recession so we could get it over with. Well, we finally got it, and it's a doozy. The loss of confidence is startling, but it's not all unfounded. There were lots of mistakes made the past few years, and the pendulum is swinging far in the opposite direction. But success in all things depends upon optimism. And, as they say, this too shall pass.

The world is full of people who bemoan the failure that they feel has been thrust upon them; and there are those who have had stellar success by the sheer strength of their optimism and belief that they would succeed. Some good planning is important, and luck and timing can play a role, but without optimism no amount of planning will be enough. Optimists can sell ideas; pessimists just depress people. Enter the bed & breakfast industry to provide some of that psychic "care and feeding" that people who feel battered and bruised by the economy need. Innkeepers are the stars in the economic landscape, but the lodging and travel industry have been hit hard and are being hit even harder by a tone in Washington that suggests that travel is somehow a bad thing, at least for corporations.

There's a great article by Chris McGinnis entitled How I Saved 100 Jobs. It's a recount of the people he encountered traveling to a conference on business, people who needed people like him to have a job. There are a LOT of people who's livelihood depends upon travel, and, despite all the negativism, there are signs of hope and reasons to be somewhat more optimistic.

Peter Yesawich's YPartnership released their Insights February 2009 with results of their latest travelhorizons(tm) survey. This survey looks at travelers' near term intentions. Amazingly, the U.S. Traveler Sentiment Index(tm) shows an increase of 15.3% over the October, 2008 figures. While this is 3% below the sentiment index a year ago, it is a positive, optimistic trend. It says that travelers (those folks who stay at your inn) are feeling a bit better about leaving home. People want to and are going to travel.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the consulting firm, did a recent study in Britain that would probably have similar results if conducted in the US. In the study they observed that 25% of travelers are trading down in their plans by staying someplace less expensive, taking a cheaper flight, waiting for a last minute deal, and cutting the length of their trip. But overall, the intention to cut back was less than last year. That's an optimistic sign.

Furthermore, PWC suggests that travel companies should hold back on discounting. We talked about this in our article, Innkeeping Success Without Discounting. "It is vital that companies hold their nerve, do not panic into cutting prices too soon and remain flexible in what they offer consumers." As travelers look to save, every innkeeper may benefit from the guests that are coming to them instead of staying at the more expensive place. So, instead of cutting your rates, think in terms of a new demographic coming to your inn. Of course, no one is "trading down" to the highest end properties, so they have to be more creative in attracting recession-weary guests, but some folks aren't going to give up the luxury they feel they need and deserve; they just might travel less often and for fewer days. So, this is another reason to be optimistic. Everyone who does a good job should be able to get a piece of the pie. Those who aren't doing all the right things aren't going to get as much business, no matter how much they cut their prices. A judicious blend of many strategies is the best course.

We are optimistic that 2009 is going to be a good year. It's really essential to feel the joy of coming to work every day, whether it's helping our clients be successful with our guidance or seeing the creative things innkeepers come up with that work. Optimism works. Look around you. It's everywhere if you open your eyes to it. And we need all that we can get.

Peter

An Online Community

Alright, so we write a lot about blogging and social media and the importance of it in your marketing, etc., etc., and sometimes you just want to tell us to SHUT UP already. We get it. But we don't give up that easily!

A couple of weeks ago in my article, "Do Innkeeper Blogs Work?" I mentioned a blog, My Bella Vita, by an American innkeeper in Italy, Cherrye Moore. Something happened this past week that caused me to dig a bit deeper into her blog and to reflect on the power and strength of online community. Something happened to Cherrye's father, and the outpouring has been remarkable.

If you explore My Bella Vita, you'll read a lot about Italy, about food and art and history. But you'll also learn a lot about the author. And you'll learn a lot about blogging. It's by inference and the prominent link to Il Cedro Bed & Breakfast that you'd want to stay at her B&B as well. Cherrye gets an unusually large number of comments to her blog posts because, as she told me, "people feel like they know us through the blog." Remarkably, she replies to every comment, something we're told to do to be effective. But then she told her readers on Feb. 13 that she was going home to Texas for a couple of weeks because she'd received the middle of the night phone call that no one wants to receive. "It's your father." And something amazing happened. 

In just a couple of days nearly forty people have left comments, offered prayers and best wishes. No doubt some are friends but many, like me, are strangers. Sometimes it's tragedy that makes us realize how many people "out there" really care. And then you realize that it really is possible to create a community in cyberspace.

The whole purpose of a blog for a bed & breakfast is to share something of yourself and your area with the larger world, to make people feel like they want to come stay with you. You begin to create an emotional connection with your past and future guests, and as you write and make the effort you may not know if anyone is really reading or if they care. But if you persist you might be surprised.

Is this for everyone? No. But if you visit My Bella Vita you'll understand why a blog can be a powerful tool for communication and for creating community. And you'll understand better what drives some people to "broadcast their lives to the blogosphere." And why people would want to stay at Il Cedro Bed & Breakfast. And why you might consider following a great example of what works.

Peter

News from the Select Registry Conference

All four of The B&B Team (Peter and Peggy Scherman, Rick and Janet Wolf) had the pleasure of participating in the recent Select Registry Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia as vendors and speakers. Select Registry is an association of 400 of the top inns in North America known for their high quality, attention to detail, lofty standards, and the unique experiences they provide their guests.

At the annual conference there were a number of renown national speakers. Peter Yesawich, Chairman and CEO of Y Partnership, an integrated marketing communications company known for its strategic thinking, creativity, and innovation in marketing practice along with it co-authorship of the widely acclaimed National Travel  Monitor, spoke about many of the trends in travel which we track and discuss frequently in this blog. In true Yesawich fashion he expounded about the impact of technology on travel, from planning to booking, and reminded us that in 1996 only 11% of Americans had access to the Internet at home. Today, 70% do, and this has had a profound effect on behavior.

Travelers in large numbers visit blogs and other social media sites like TripAdvisor to get reviews when planning a trip, and 66% are looking for new, unique, and personalized experiences. A renewed interest in family has increased "values" travel, while 70% of leisure travelers took vacations to celebrate a special occasion. While the struggling economy is having an impact by increasing anxiety levels, 71% of active travelers are still planning a trip in the next six months. A full 48% say their travel plans won't change. Among significant trends, Yesawich stated that 41% of travelers would select a "green" property, but a majority won't pay more for the experience. It is becoming an expectation that property owners be environmentally conscious.

Philip Wolf of PhocusWright was another of the great speakers at the conference. He astutely commented that for inns, the "size of your reputation matters more than the size of your marketing ability." Innkeepers have to focus on quality above all else and create an experience that is viewed (and reviewed) favorably in the marketplace. He spoke of "the perfect storm" of conditions where the innkeeping industry is experiencing the integration of Web 2.0, what he has called "long-tail economics," and the industry itself. Innkeepers need to integrate user generated content (UGC) into their websites and marketing, and must monitor reviews posted about their properties. Wolf also talked about customization and how Google can be used to gather information about your guests that will allow innkeepers to provide a unique, personalized experience for the guest.

Jim Miller, a hospitality marketing and leadership development consultant and founder of Jim Miller & Associates, gave an inspirational talk about change. We all know that our times are challenging, and the innkeeping industry is moving along at warp speed. He said that "change is transformation tragically delayed." When we don't change when it is demanded of us, we miss opportunities, and today the innkeeping industry needs to make a quantum leap of change to ensure survival in our new environment. Miller stressed five key steps: 1. Listen and learn; 2. Set up your intentions; 3. Come up with a plan; 4. Make the move and make it quickly; and 5. Communicate constantly. This is great advice for our times. "Only the paranoid survive," Jim said, and it's advice worth taking to heart the next time you worry about the future. Your instincts may be telling you it's time to change!

Rick and I were also pleased to address an audience at the Conference. In a presentation entitled "Attracting the i.guest In a Slow Economy, How to Identify the i.guest, Today's Contemporary Traveler... and Strategies to Attract Them" we brought a lot of the concepts discussed by Peter Yesawich and Philip Wolf at a 50,000 foot level down to sea level, where innkeepers can actually learn how to implement strategies to improve their business. We described how the i.guest, the intelligent, informed, independent, imaginative, Internet-savvy contemporary traveler who is involved with social media, communicates and makes decisions about travel. The importance of an inn's brand image and creating an emotional connection with your guests is essential to innkeeping success. Innkeepers need to learn how to develop the "anonymous trust" placed on reviews into a personal/business advantage by embracing the phenomenon and integrating it into your daily business and thinking. We discussed current market conditions for leisure travel, which is still holding up fairly well, and laid out strategies for attracting more guests in our current economic climate by focusing on a 250-500 mile radius, making your inn's website great, employing search engine marketing (SEM) and adwords, focusing on clean, functional, thoughtful and comfortable rooms, great breakfasts, and creating positively memorable experiences for your guests.

The B&B Team was thrilled to be part of this great gathering, and we thank Keith Kehlbeck and Select Registry for the opportunity.

Peter

Dave Berkus's Ten Trends in Technology

In case you haven't been paying attention the past few months if you are a member of the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII), there is a lot of very good information coming your way on a weekly basis through PAII's email newsletter. Being a bit of a trend junkie, I really liked one recent article, "Ten Trends in Technology That Will Shape How We Plan and Execute Beyond 2008"by Dave Berkus.

Without addressing every point in this post, there are a few that are worth highlighting. Trend #1, "The growing scope of the Internet," could have been written today or ten years ago. It seems there's no end to the evolution of the Net. Berkus quotes Charles Giancarlo of the San Francisco Chronicle who said in 2006, "In three years, twenty typical California households will generate as much traffic as the entire Internet did in 1995." While this is astounding, it's not surprising. I used to run my business from a "desktop" application (i.e. it resided on my computer). Today, my entire contact management system with nearly 6,000 contacts, including all attached emails, copies of letters sent, etc., is through a browser-based system, which is to say, all that information resides on a server somewhere else, and I access it from any computer with a browser. I think I'm generating a bit more traffic today than I did in 1995 when email and some web surfing were about it. Witness the same for inn operations and online property management systems and booking engines. Many of us live on the Internet today, just to do our work, though we forget that it amounts to "traffic" each time we click the mouse.

Trend #2, "The Paradise of Choice" is a bit like an embarrassment of riches. Consumers today simply don't have to "put up" with too much that they don't like. If it's not working for them, they can go somewhere else. Berkus points out, as we have many times in presentations about the i.guest, that "over 69% of consumers research online before a purchase. 62% look online for peer reviews [e.g. TripAdvisor or bedandbreakfast.com]. And 39% compare prices across suppliers before purchase." Do you think your B&B is the first and last a potential guest looks at before booking? If your website doesn't grab them, if it doesn't load quickly, if it isn't easy to navigate, and if they can't book it now, they just might move on to another inn's site.

Trend #3, "The audience is the network" addresses the democratization of distribution and search. We talk all the time about how anyone can voice their opinion on the web and be heard across the globe, sometimes to our dismay. But this is really a great thing. If travel agents have had to become "the specialists of complex knowledge" to survive, innkeepers have that same opportunity with a blog, for instance, and an intimate knowledge of your community and what is happening in it. What better place for a potential guest to get the latest scoop on restaurants and events than from you, the local innkeeper? If you provide that information to a larger audience than your bed & breakfast guests, you become a key thread in the network. And, in the process, you are increasing the visibility of your inn by creating greater search visibility through "mastery of keyword placement, prodigious use of blogs and other previously non-traditional exposure resources...." So, step out on a limb and get creative. Do you have a blog? Is it working for your business?

I'll address some of Dave Berkus's other trends in my next post. Stay tuned!

Peter

Amenities to Zoning: B is for Branding

Greetings from icy New England and one plug for the locals.....Go Pats! 

Speaking of the Patriots, what a great example of branding and the excellence that the brand represents.  The first time ever that an NFL team has gone 18-0 with the possibility of 19-0!

Trying to draw parallels between the small lodging industry and a professional football team is difficult, were it not for the one characteristic that leaders in both categories share...a passion to be the best and to set the standards for the rest of the crowd to emulate.

Having just returned from the Conference of the Mid-Atlantic, where I spoke about "Inn Branding, Market Positioning and the i.guest" let me share a couple of thoughts with you about the importance of branding.

Great brands/inns are about five key ingredients.  Authenticity: what is the experience your inn stands for?  Great brands/inns are about You: you are the face of your inn.  Great brands/inns are about Signature Items: recipes, touches, services that are yours and yours alone.  Great brands/inns are about a Legacy: a place where memories are made and emotional connections are forged.  Great brands/inns are about a Promise: your promise that what you consistently deliver is ensuring the best possible guest experience.

These five ingredients help create your inn's brand and identity and allow you to connect with your guests while creating a strong business.  Why? Because your inn becomes the place to stay when visiting your town or area. You become the sought after destination.

Remember others can deliver a great experience too.  It's important to understand that delivering isn't enough and that someone may be able do it just as well as you.  The difference is that great innkeepers/branders are the leaders and set the tone for their respective marketplaces...and that's you!  Take the lead and let the others follow.

With the exception of the real estate, your inn's brand identity is likely your single largest and most important asset.  Nurture it, cultivate it, care for it...it will take care of you.

More to come in this Innkeeping A to Z series...and more about branding and the importance of the i.guest at the PAII Conference too!

Rick

Amenities to Zoning: A is for Amenties

Amenities:  Attractive extras.  The features that, when taken together, make a B&B attractive to guests or customers.

Above and beyond "attractive extras", the amenities you make available in your bed and breakfast should exceed your guests' expectations and create that ever desirable WOW factor.  Inn amenities transcend soaps and shampoos and include everything from beach chairs to fresh flowers.  Your amenities should be equal to and consistent with your property's level of luxury and should be promoted on your website.  One inn's website I visited recently described their inn as romantic, elegant and tranquil.  The amenities they listed on their room page mentioned irons, ironing boards and hairdryers.  While these items are important and worth mentioning, where is the mention of plush terry robes or over sized soaking tubs complete with bubble bath which are consistent with their romantic, elegant and tranquil message?

Upgrade and refresh your amenities regularly.  A good example is an inn we are familiar with that has recently added a new state of the art coffee machine where guests can brew a freshly made cup of coffee, cappuccino or espresso at any hour.  I believe a guest's impression would be WOW the innkeepers are always thinking of me.  As an aside, the innkeepers are also thinking of themselves because this machine saves them time, something all innkeepers need more of!

Trends are constantly evolving and it pays to keep up with them.  In a recent article from portfolio.com titled "A Watery Grave for Hotel Tub's", whirlpool tubs for two are still high on most guests list of wants when they are planning a romantic getaway but there is a growing trend towards more elaborate and spacious showers. Families understandably still want tubs for the kiddies.  If possible and appropriate, having a good mix of both will definitely cover all your guest's needs and desires.

Quality amenities are important to your property's image and should not be overlooked or skimped upon.  Quality does not necessarily mean expensive.  Many innkeepers who are concerned about the expense and waste of bar soaps and shampoo and lotion bottles are changing to liquid dispensers.  There are high end and attractive dispensers available in the market today and guests will respect your desire to provide them with quality amenities and your concern for the environment.

It would be great to hear about any wonderful new amenity or service you have added to your property and what your guest's reactions were.  Hopefully it was WOW!

Janet