The Innkeeper's Resource

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

Fine Wine, Smart Ploys, and Bookings

Wine and travel go hand-in-hand. For those of us who love a good bottle of our favorite (or maybe an undiscovered favorite!) wine, no journey or evening meal are complete without a glass of the nectar of the gods. So it comes as no surprise that many of your guests also love a great bottle of wine.

Regardless of a traveler's budget, there are great wines out there today from around the world. But this isn't a column about wine, per se, and The B&B Team doesn't recommend (officially) any wine at all. However, we love to talk about service, ingenuity, and personalization in the travel industry, so I enjoyed reading a recent article in the Wine Notes section of the Wall Street Journal called, "Bringing Your Own to Fine-Dining Places." It seems even the toniest restaurants are having to be creative in this challenging economy.

Most people know that if you want to (and are allowed to) take a special bottle of your own wine to a restaurant, you'll pay a (sometimes hefty, even punitive) corkage fee to have the sommelier open it for you. That hasn't completely changed, but there is writing on the wall.

Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher write, "More and more restaurants are offering special deals on wine - 50% off on Mondays, say. But we were looking out for something more - BYOB with no corkage at top-notch places." As it turns out, they found a few experimenting with a range of variations from "corkage-free" specials to discounted wines on otherwise slow nights, or even every night. The goal was to encourage folks who might otherwise stay home or go somewhere less pricey to dine with them and save on the cost of wine. Danny Meyer of the Modern restaurant in Manhattan is quoted saying, "We decided ... there would be a graciousness behind it, that you would actually flatter us bringing in something from your cellar to have with our food and hospitality. We decided that if we did this, we have to actually go overboard to demonstrate our appreciation."

Does this sound familiar to innkeepers? It should, because those of you who make your living offering gracious hospitality are experimenting with variations on this theme to generate business. Stay three nights, get the fourth free. Stay with us five times, and your sixth stay is 50%. Book our best room for Friday and Saturday, and we'll include a gift card for our favorite restaurant (or maybe a bottle of your favorite wine). You get the picture.

Creative packaging is all about adding value and personalizing, recognizing that creating an incentive to spend time/money with you can generate win-win scenarios, whether it's no corkage fee for your wine while at a fine dining restaurant or special promotions and add-ons to stimulate the desire to book a night at your bed & breakfast now.

Are there any great restaurants in your area offering a deal on wine or "no corkage Mondays?" Do I hear "weeknight rooms?" 

Peter

2009 Inns For Sale Study Released

After much anticipation, the 2009 Inns For Sale Study researched by Hilary Jones of Inngenium, LLC was released at the recent Innkeeping Conference and Trade Show hosted by PAII, the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, in Atlanta.

The study, now in its fifth year, takes a snapshot of the bed and breakfasts and inns for sale in March of the year and breaks the statistics down into several categories by price, size, state, region, and the country as a whole. The core criteria is that the property be currently operating with two or more guest rooms, be for sale, and be advertised in at least one of several primary "inns for sale" websites.

In March, 2009 there was an increase over 2008 of 6.4% in the number of inns for sale across the country, rising to 990 properties. New to the study this year was an examination of how many inns had verifiably sold since the previous study. 82 properties had sold, indicating that there is currently a twelve year supply of inns for sale, assuming no changes and no additions!

On average, despite a soft economy and a devastated real estate market, prices on average were up 0.7% nationwide, though this varied by region and property size. The increase was "1.5% for inns in the 5-10 room class and 10.9% in the 12-15 room class. Prices did however drop for larger inns (17-40 rooms) by almost 2%." Regionally, prices trended up everywhere except in the New England, Pacific, and South West regions. Only the East North Central region remained static.

Another important observation of the study is that inns appear to remaining on the market longer with 21% being for sale for two or more years and 5% still available after three or more years. The B&B Team, sponsors of the study, believe that this 2-3 year time period to sell a bed & breakfast inn is not unusual, but there is clear statistical evidence to support this. Additionally, a large number of properties which are still operating dropped off the list in 2009, indicating discouragement with the marketplace.

In light of the large numbers of B&Bs and inns for sale, The B&B Team believes that the smaller properties, those that would be desirable as residences, should focus their efforts on selling as residential real estate rather than as B&B's. This will increase their owners' chances of a successful sale in a timely fashion. Inns that are viable going concerns should ensure that their asking price reflects what an over-saturated marketplace and lenders will find "reasonable and defensible."

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

Do Innkeeper Blogs Work?

Every year The B&B Team travels to various innkeeping conferences, sometimes to exhibit in the trade show, but always as speakers. In the past month we attended the Mid-Atlantic Innkeepers Conference and Trade Show in Hot Springs, Virginia and just this week were at the 17th annual conference of CABBI, the California Association of Bed & Breakfast Inns, in Monterey. As always, we had a great time meeting innkeepers and speaking about topics that we're passionate about, like "Attracting the i.guest in a Slowing Economy"(a version of which we presented on a PAII webinar recently) and "Inn Branding and Market Positioning."

In both of these presentations we focus on the contemporary traveler, the i.guest, who is intelligent, independent, informed, imaginative, Internet-savvy and empowered, and Identified. This i.guest is using the Internet and social media to make travel decisions, and one of the topics that always comes up when we mention blogs is, "Does a blog bring innkeepers business?"

While we have anecdotal evidence that it does, based on some innkeepers who swear by their blogs, there is some new evidence of a blog's effectiveness in generating new business.

Stephanie at the Albert Shafsky House Bed & Breakfast in Placerville, CA has been writing a blog for a year and a half. Before speaking to an eager audience at CABBI about blogging and social media, she showed us her Google Analytics page that proved that one of the top referrers to her B&B's website is her blog. And her bounce rate on those referrals is a mere 25% or so. That's quite something. She thinks that the blog is integral to their marketing, along with the B&B's Facebook page and other efforts. Steph and Rita are really working social media, and it's paying off.

This morning I received a Google Alert linking to My Bella Vita, a blog by an American innkeeper in Italy, Cherrye Moore, at Il Cedro in Calabria. We exchanged an email or two, and I asked her if she got any business from her blog. Her reply was that her "blog site has been a great source of leads for our B&B." She also made an incredibly valuable point, that many people go out of their way to book with them, "because they feel like they know us through the blog." That, folks, is what social media, Web 2.0, Travel 2.0, and all the other stuff is about. Successful innkeeping is about building relationships and providing enduring experiences.

If a blog at your inn could help you build relationships before you've ever met a potential guest, that's really getting a head start on a long term relationship that can pay great dividends, both financial and "psychic," as Holly Stiel likes to say.

For all the inspiration from all the innkeepers mentioned above and those that keep us going every day, all I can say, again to echo Holly Stiel (and some guy with sideburns), is "Thank you, thank you very much!"

Peter

What's In a Sign?

In other postings on The Innkeeper's Resource we often talk about tools like Google Alerts that can help you monitor your "social presence." We have a regular Google Alert for "The B&B Team." It lets us know if someone might be using our trademarked name, so we can address it, but the spinoff is that one comes across some interesting links. This morning there was an alert that flagged "B&B" in the article. It caught my eye for a very good reason.

The title was "The Importance of Proper Signage Advertising Your Business." It's a blog post by a young Irish woman who was traveling in Italy (I assume). They'd found a business card from a B&B, called the owner, and were directed to the property. As they approached they saw the poor quality, amateurish sign and almost turned away, imagining the worst. Fortunately, they forged on and were delighted to find a wonderful country inn!

There are two great lessons for innkeepers here. The first is that those business cards and rack cards that you distribute around town at friendly businesses, etc. can actually pay off with the serendipitous traveler. There are great stories of innkeepers who have really used everyone from gift shops and restaurants to their local mechanic's garage to promote their B&B. The cost is low and the payback can be big.

The second, perhaps more important, lesson goes to the heart of the article: signage matters! Most B&B's in recent years have done a good job with their signs. Sign makers are present at conference trade shows and are readily available online. Good signs aren't cheap, as anyone who has bought one will tell you. Unfortunately, most signs won't last forever.

We see lots of great inns whose signs seem to be the forgotten stepchild. While you pay lots of attention to your rooms, when was the last time you took a close look at your street sign? Is it a bit moldy? Maybe it's started to rot. Even slate signs can start to turn green with algae. If your sign is less than pristine, consider a simple cleaning, repainting, or even replacement. It matters. They always say you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and this applies to signs as much as it does to your web site, which is where the real first impression is. But I'll leave that for another post!

On the topic of signs, there's one other perspective. Some B&Bs out there have absolutely magnificent signs (or websites), but the B&B itself disappoints. I'm not saying to dumb down your sign, but it's always a good reminder to look at EVERYTHING you do to make it the very best it can be. In these tough economic times, especially if business is slow going into the winter, take advantage of the extra time to do something really positive for yourself and your business. Deep clean. Repaint. Caulk. Upgrade some linens and towels. Spend some time (and money if necessary) improving your website. You and your guests will be glad you did!

Peter

Innkeeping Success Without Discounting

These are tough times, no doubt about it. They were tough for the lodging industry after 9/11, too, and the immediate response was to discount rooms in hopes of filling them. Back then it worked, sort of, but the long term consequence was a period of several years to rebuild ADR and RevPAR. So what's an innkeeper to do? David King, CEO of Fulcrum has an article in Chief Marketer with a few suggestions, which I relate to innkeeping.

First, it's important to remember that discounts don't automatically equal value. Just because something costs less doesn't mean it's really nice. It may just be what a person can afford now, and when he can afford more he'll upgrade again. You never want anyone to think that your fabulous guest rooms are "cheap." But you do want them to know they are great value, regardless of price. Maybe they get something extra that adds value (flowers, a split of wine, a gas card) or a service (breakfast in bed, personalized tours, or reservations at the "impossible to get into" restaurant). Think about what you can do to increase value without discounting your rate.

Safety and security are important to consumer perceptions of value. It's one of the reasons that B&B's have been the lodging of choice for many female business travelers for years. They are perceived as safer than an anonymous motel. So, if you've got a wonderful, safe, homey, cozy place to be, emphasize it in your marketing. It's a great added value that your guest receives in addition to all the personal service you provide.

Especially in these times, remember that not all of your guests want the same thing. In fact, you may be getting some new guests that have never stayed with you or at a B&B before. Take advantage of the opportunity to introduce the joys of a distinctive, unique lodging experience and cultivate them for the future. Emphasize the fact that you can (and will) customize their guest experience. If they have limited resources, they want their dollar to go far. Innkeepers are uniquely poised to customize and deliver.

While you're at it, you should also recognize that some of your new guests may be different. As the world changes and travelers use different tools to plan and book their trips, whether for business or pleasure, either you are reaching them in their own language and providing them with what they want or you aren't. This is a great time to zero in on the i.guest, capture their attention, and keep them coming back.

There has never been a more important time to understand and care about your brand as an inn. What do you represent? Why would someone stay with you over another inn across town or across the state? If you have a clearly defined brand, nurture it and promote the heck out of it. And if you're not really sure that your brand message is clear (or even what that message is), you are probably missing an opportunity to build guest traffic and loyalty. Show people what you stand for, and deliver on that promise. Get help if you need it.

Finally, while you look for ways to survive this economic downturn in the short term, don't forget the medium and long term. In tough times, one of the first variable and discretionary costs that many businesses cut is advertising and marketing. This, along with aggressive discounting, starts a downward spiral that can cause some inns to fail. Plan carefully, and, if possible, increase your marketing spend to attract more new guests to your inn. If you think it through, you can build a solid base and increase your share of the pie even as others bemoan "the economy."

David King concludes, "There is no doubt that consumer and business customers will be seeking value in response to the pain and uncertainty in the economy. But smart marketers with the resources and vision to consider other steps will survive by doing more than rushing to the lowest common denominator." At The B&B Team, we couldn't agree more!

Peter

Top Travel Innovations of the Past Decade

In the latest issue of Marketing Review from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) there's a great article by Marvin J. Cetron about the "Top 10 Travel Innovations of the Next 10 Years." Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel asked readers to pick their favorite travel innovations of the past decade while also peering into the next ten years. While many of these innovations might have seemed downright bizarre to conceive of only twenty years ago, I think you'll agree that they are remarkably practical. Here they are, drum roll please....

10. Online maps.Who amongst us hasn't used Mapquest or Google Maps to find out where something is? Computerized mapping has made life for travelers much, much easier, even if some of it is still imperfect.

9. Digital Photography. Traveling through airport security with film was always a hassle. Having to pack film and keep track of it while you traveled and processing it when you got home was inconvenient and expensive. Digital makes it easy to snap away with impunity on your vacation and (gasp!) post pictures of your trip on the web and email them to your friends.

8. Online Flight Check-in. With all there is to do once you arrive at the airport, and with the lead time needed to get through security in a post 9/11 world, being able to have checked in from home or the office the day before makes it that much easier to make your flight.

7. GPS Navigation.Many new cars come with GPS built in (like satellite radio). But there are many aftermarket portable units that can be installed. Even boaters and hikers can use the technology. Going far, far away from everything? No need to get lost anymore. And if you're driving, a soothing voice will tell you where to turn next.

6. Worldwide ATM Access. Need cash? Not at home? In Copenhagen or Johannesburg? Peoria? In a feat that still leaves me a bit boggled, you can use your ATM card in a machine almost anywhere in the world and get cash. Talk about connectivity!

5. Cell phones. Not so long ago cell phones were tethered to your car or immensely bulky. Today they slip into a tiny pocket and are capable of performing somersaults if you ask them too (well, you know what I mean). And if you're broken down on the highway (in many locations, of course) it's easy to call AAA for help. What did we ever do without them?

4. Global Internet Access. For anyone planning a trip and wanting to know where to go or stay, the Net provides access to information about products and services plus traveler reviews. You can find destinations, hotels, car rentals, theater shows, or what vaccinations you need, thanks to the web. And if you're a travel provider, the world can find YOU, too!

3. TripAdvisor. OK. I know lots of you HATE this, but the public LOVES TripAdvisor, because they can find out about your inn from others who have stayed with you. It's pretty hard to be sold a bill of goods ("Great ocean views!" from a crummy hotel five blocks from the beach) when a potential guest can read what others have said. Think about it, as a consumer you love it, even if as an innkeeper you're ambivalent.

2. Online Travel Booking. Lots of innkeepers are getting on board with this, and again, it's the consumer who's driving the ship. Access to comparative shopping and the ability to KNOW where you'll be staying this weekend even if it's 1:00 am on Thursday morning is a great thing. Online booking has made it possible for travelers to purchase their trip without disturbing a soul.

1. Roller Bags. !!!! The TOP choice of those survey by Budget Travel was the invention of the roller bag. I have a bad back, and even if you don't, this really is one of those transformational inventions that has revolutionized travel and made it infinitely easier. So, for those of you who hate all the first nine innovations, let's here it for low tech!!! Simple is good.

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

Hospitality's Common Challenges

This week I had the opportunity to attend the 2nd Annual Hotel Sales Strategy Conference in Washington, DC hosted and presented by HSMAI, the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, of which I am a member. There were fewer that 100 people representing some of the leading hotel and hospitality names in the industry as well as a cross section of large independent properties. The B&B Team was the sole representative of the unique lodging industry, so it was both an eye opening experience and an opportunity to share with others some of our issues in the larger scheme of hospitality marketing.

In the bed & breakfast industry we like to think of ourselves as different from hotels, and we are, but I was struck during the day how many common challenges the "big guys" share with smaller innkeepers. There is concern about room pricing, the dangers of discounting, the challenges of using technology to market themselves, and, believe it or not, the impact of social media and review sites on their business. These are the very topics that we have written about in The Innkeeper's Resource for a long time and have spoken about at PAII and other innkeeping conferences.

One of the biggest differences between the life and experience of the other people in the room and those of you we work with in the innkeeping industry is the segmentation of tasks. For these executives and sales and marketing directors, one of their biggest challenges is integrating their sales department with the marketing department with the revenue management department. And, of course, each of these departments has numerous employees. For innkeepers, most of those departments are rolled up into one or two people, usually you, the owners.

There is a great advantage in this. You know what you are doing, so integration isn't a challenge. At least communication isn't (or shouldn't be), but addressing all the areas may be difficult for the simple reason that you have to be good at sales and marketing and revenue management (that's figuring out what is profitable!) in addition to all your other tasks. We'll continue to talk about these trends, both here and when we speak to innkeepers, but rest assured that your challenges are not unique. It's the scale that is different. Part of our goal is to help you understand the impact of these changes and to help you accomplish all these tasks in a challenging and sometimes intimidating environment. It's a very exciting time to be an innkeeper!

Peter