Recipe: Almond-Crusted French Toast

April 28th, 2012

Recipe: Almond-Crusted French Toast

  • Updated: April 18, 2012 – 3:29 PM

ALMOND-CRUSTED FRENCH TOAST

Serves 4.

Note: Who wouldn’t love to see this crunchy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside version of French toast on the breakfast table? Or better yet, served in bed with a fresh cup of coffee and the morning paper.

• 11/2 c. low-fat milk

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 4 egg whites, lightly beaten

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 1/4 tsp., nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp., cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/2 c. sliced almonds

• 2 c. cornflakes

• 8 slices whole-grain bread

• 2 tsp. butter, divided

• 1 tbsp. powdered sugar

• 1/2 c. maple syrup

Directions

In a shallow dish blend the milk, vanilla, egg whites, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt; stir with a fork to combine.

In another shallow dish, place the sliced almonds and cornflakes. Crush them slightly with your hands.

Place the slices of bread into the egg mixture and turn them over once to moisten both sides. (The bread should absorb some of the liquid, but not be completely saturated.) Press each soaked slice of bread into the almond mixture, turning to coat both sides, pressing so the almond mixture adheres well.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a skillet or on a griddle. Add 4 of the almond-crusted bread slices and sauté over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side, until almonds are golden brown. Remove and keep warm. Repeat with remaining slices. Sprinkle bread with powdered sugar. Serve immediately with the maple syrup.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories 480 Fat 13 g Sodium 665 mg

Carbohydrates 72 g Saturated fat 4 g Calcium 260 mg

Protein 21 g Cholesterol 105 mg Dietary fiber 6 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1/2 milk, 2 1/2 bread/starch, 2 other carb, 1 1/2 lean meat, 1 1/2 fat.

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The Value Of Pinterest to Hotel Sales & Marketing.

April 28th, 2012
The Value Of Pinterest to Hotel Sales & Marketing.
By Carol Verret
Thursday, 19th April 2012

Is Pinterest just latest ‘shiny new toy’ or will it have staying power?

In February Pinterest drove more traffic to websites than Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn (LNKD), and YouTube combined. (HotelMarketing.com, 3/26/12).

Couple that statistic with the fact that 93% of its users are females, and you have a powerful tool for the leisure and social market.  It only took 9 months for Pinterest to go from 50,000 users to 17 million – it took Facebook 16 months.  (commsource)

Pinterest formerly told its users to not use the site for self promotion and pin stuff they found on other sites.  This lead to a potential copyright infringement issue as many photos are copyright protected to their photographers.   Pinterest changed its user agreement to encourage  ‘pinners’ to post their own photos and other ‘stuff’ thus opening the flood gates for business use.  (WSJ, 3/26/12)

In an article entitled Is Pinterest the New Facebook (Jessi Hemple, Fortune Magazine, 3/22/12) differentiated the two in the following manner. “People use Facebook and Twitter to talk to each other, not necessarily to discuss things they might want to buy. In contrast, Pinterest users are more often in a shopping mindset when they are using the service. If you’re keeping a pinboard called “Spring handbags I’m considering,” there’s a good chance you’ll click through and make a purchase.”

What you pin on Pinterest should support and enhance your brand.   Pinterest is all about envisioning an experience and that dovetails nicely with the emphasis in hospitality on creating guest experiences rather just ‘selling’ them a room.   It also is purely visual which eliminates the marketers’ adjectives in copy that the customer has long since stopped believing.

Pinterest creates a sense of place and helps visitors to the site visualize experiences they may have at the hotel – they can put themselves in the pictures.

However, like all social media, a strategy for what the property wants to accomplish with the page needs to be in place prior to engaging and not just ‘pinning’ everything from the web site or Facebook.   Pinterest to be used well should also focus on the destination as well as the property.  “When it comes to pinning, the breakdown will be approximately 70% about the city and 30% about the hotel, (Kelli) Crean (ecommerce manager for the Roosevelt Hotel) said.”  (HotelNewsNow, 3/28/12)

Pinterest allows multiple pages and contests.  Use the multiple pages to focus on many different experiences at the property.

As Pinterest is so new it is hard to use the term Best Practices but the following can be a guide to a Pinterest strategy:

Leisure Travel

As Pinterest users are 93% female and it is females who normally gather information and pick destinations for summer travel, it is the perfect medium to stimulate web site traffic this summer.  Make sure that your page has interesting pictures not just pics of a bed in a room unless it is a great bedding package.  Include photos of experiences in your destination and don’t forget the kids — if you have a great kids offering and/or unique kids menu, take a picture and ‘pin’ it!

Weddings

Brides love Pinterest according to USA today “It’s changing the industry” for vendors, planners and magazines, says Anne Fulenwider, editor in chief of Brides. Since she took over the title in November, Pinterest has “exploded and really changed the conversation.” A majority of her readers are pinners. (USA Today,  4/13/12)  Don’t just pin a picture of the ballroom set for 250.  What do you remember about your wedding – wasn’t it the details, the little things?  Pin a picture of a beautiful place setting, a napkin fold, a centerpiece, etc. Do your pin-ing with a sense of style! Build a page where your brides can post pictures of the wedding they had at your property – this counts as a recommendation!

Meetings

Don’t just pin a banquet room set for 120 theatre style.  Pin a detail of a special break.   Pin a photo of a special lunch prepared by chef.   Pin a pic of the banquet menus for special breaks, a team building program you offer, meeting attendees taking off for  a quick 5k before the meeting – the only limit is your  imagination!  Run a contest for meeting planners!

Restaurant and Bar

What can I say but don’t take a pic of the peanuts or bar mix unless it is something really special!  Pinterest loves F&B!  Pin a pic of a special app or drink to promote ‘happy hour’.  Serve a spectacular burger?  Pin it! Take a detail from one of the chandeliers or if you are a historic hotel, pin your claim to fame or a detail from the original building.

Pinterest is perfect for all types of properties but it, like Facebook, levels the playing field between the boutique, lifestyle and independent hotels and the large chains.  If you don’t believe me, log onto Drury Inns’ page – you will find the most appetizing pic of a hot dog I have ever seen!

Real simple Remote Revenue Management can drive your REVPAR this summer but summer is coming soon!    Don’t wait – ask us how we do it!  Click here for details http://tinyurl.com/3fuysft then call us at (303) 618-4065 or email carol@carolverret.com .  We’ll share success stories with you!

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Service Is Key to Managing Business Traveler Behavior

April 28th, 2012

Service Is Key to Managing Business Traveler Behavior

by Fred Gebhart
April 19, 2012

Companies like Amazon and Zappos have built business empires by enticing customers to serve themselves. So why do so many companies fail to entice their own employees to use self-service travel portals?

Because they ignore a few well-honed rules of self-service – rules that online travel agencies, airline and hotel websites and other successful online vendors know well, says Micah Solomon, author of the new book, High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service (Amacom, May 2012).

Solomon’s book highlights strategies to help companies win the service race. Service is more than being nice, he said. Service is a key element in shaping customer – or business traveler – behavior.

Rule #1: Let them choose
Solomon’s first rule for successful self-service? Give customers a choice.

Micah Solomon

It’s no accident that road warriors book direct with vendors. Travel vendors have an enormous stake in luring customers to self-service, said Solomon, a customer service, hospitality and marketing strategist and speaker.

But travel departments try to mandate self-service. Bad idea.

The trouble with mandates
“One major hotel chain is trying hard to force customers into self-service check-in,” Solomon told Travel Market Report. “That rubs me the wrong way. Being checked in by a trained hospitality professional is part of my experience as a guest.

“Now I’m the first to admit that I’m happy that those kiosks are there, because check-in lines are sometimes ridiculously long. But I want to make that choice.

“To the extent that self-service feels like a choice, I’m anxious to do it to save time. To the extent that it feels like I’m being pressured, that’s when I say no.”

Travel Market Report asked Solomon to explain how corporate travel managers can improve traveler compliance by heeding the principles of successful self-service.

What does improving customer service have to do with shaping corporate traveler behavior?
Solomon: Managing travel is all about managing traveler behavior. People resist mandates and find ways around the rules. Managing behavior is about enticing people to do the right thing and making it easier to do the right thing than to go off in another direction.

Give your travelers a choice. Then make it so easy and so attractive that self-service with the preferred supplier is the obvious choice.

If your people are booking outside your preferred channel, you should be asking why. What about those alternative sites is so much more appealing than your booking engine? Employee behavior will change once you make your channel the obvious choice.

Airlines don’t give you much choice when checking in except a kiosk, but most passengers seem to accept self-service. What did airlines do right?
Solomon: Usability is a well-tested science, and the airlines followed almost all of the science.

You can check in online or at the airport. You can identify yourself with your name, your reservation number, your credit card, your passport, your frequently flier card. You can enter your flight information yourself or you can let the computer find it.

The kiosks tell you clearly what the next step is and make it easy to follow the process. They even remind you to take both your boarding pass and your receipt.

Airlines don’t do everything right, but they get the important points.

And they usually have humans on site to help when something doesn’t go right. Self-service should always have an obvious escape to a well-trained human problem solver.

Is there a secret to successful self-service?
Solomon: The secret of great self-service is the same as the secret of great in-person service: Anticipate customer needs and meet them before the customer even thinks about it.

If you want your travelers to use your booking system and not book direct with a hotel, your service has to beat the hotel self-service res system.

Remember the early days of Amazon.com? When they started out, Internet buying was new and customers were a little unsure. They were answering millions of calls just to confirm orders.

Those calls went away when Amazon brought in automated confirmations. Marriott brought that instant automated response to hotel bookings and reset customer expectations.

If your booking engine doesn’t meet that standard, the hotel is winning the race to shape your traveler’s buying behavior.

How do you anticipate customer needs?
Solomon: Think like a top-line hotel. When Apple decided to set up its Apple Store channel, they sent managers to Ritz-Carlton for training. The hotel model came up because when Apple asked its employees about their best customer service experiences, it was always a great hotel, usually Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton.

Ritz-Carlton taught Apple managers to be anticipatory, to greet people properly. It taught them to hire based on personality, because the Apple Store was designed as a person-to-person experience. You can teach technology skills, but personality comes with the person.

How does that play out in business travel?
Solomon: Steve Jobs used to say that the desired customer experience has to come before the technology is developed or chosen. What is the experience you want your customers, your travelers, to have? Once you have the experience, you can select software and platforms that support the experience.

I didn’t realize that until I got a pair of Bose headphones and kept killing the batteries. I finally realized there was an on/off switch.

Ever since the first iPod, Jobs insisted that there not be an on/off button. The device anticipates that you won’t use it all the time, so it pays attention and turns itself off. Bose hasn’t reached that level.

If your travel program can anticipate your travelers’ needs at the Apple level, your road warriors will be happy to do things your way because you’re making their travel lives so much easier.

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Inn This Edition:

April 28th, 2012

Inn This Edition:

  • Fun Festivals? What’s New in Your Town
  • Increase Reservations 10%
  • Increase Reservations Another 10%
  • Maggie’s Fritattas
  • Mother’s Day & More Packages

Fun Festivals Get Press Attention

Do you have a new Summer Festival in your town? Or a most unusual festival that has been around awhile? Travel writers are always interested in regional festivals and this time we are pairing festivals with inns to give travelers an immersion experience in your community.

Email Jamee@iloveinns.com with your town’s festival and we’ll highlight the most enticing.

How to Increase Reservations by 10%

Research shows that guests believe the reviews made by consumers more than by professional critics. We knew this back when we first wrote the Rand McNally series, Best Bed and Breakfasts and our own Official Guide to American Historic Inns. That’s why we included travelers’ comments and that was 20 years ago.

ComScore and Kelsey group found in an Oct. 2011 study that consumers were willing to pay at least 20% more and up to 99% more for a lodging property if it recevied a rating of 5 starts.

If you have great reviews, flout them and keep them coming. If you don’t, find subtle ways to keep reviews coming in. Most innkeepers do this by sending followup thank you emails with links to sites like www.iloveinns.com and tripadvisor.

Every smashingly successful innkeeper has their own way to ask for comments and we have read some beautiful and compelling letters. We’ve even given how tos on this topic. Ultimately, you have to find what works for your inn but it will be worth it in more reservations and in keeping good rates.

How to Increase Reservations by Another 10%

Almost every inn that has redesigned their website has recieved AT LEAST A 10% INCREASE. In fact, I would love to hear from anyone who has not!

10 hotel websites are searched on average before a guest books, YOU’VE GOT TO KEEP YOUR WEBSITE COMPELLING, even gorgeous, with awards and kudos prominently in place.

Try iLoveinns.com for website building – we actually examin a minimum of 200 inn websites every day, so we know what’s ugly, mediocre, good, better and best.

Maggie’s Frittatas
Verde River Rock House is Known for Its Food and Cooking Classes for Two. Check Maggies menu page on the link for inspiration. Here’s an example below. (By the way, when Maggie gives a couples cooking class for frittatas, she gives a fritatta pan to the couple to take home.)

Baked Asiago & Veggie Frittata
A Veggie Wonder! Eight Fluffy Farm Fresh Eggs – Full of tasty Asiago cheese, fresh chopped broccoli, green onions and turkey sausage – served with Rock House red fried potatoes and your choice of sourdough toast or English muffin – OR

Honey-Cured Ham & Brie Frittata
Ham, brie, sautéed apples, sage and leeks – served with Rock House fried potatoes and your choice of sourdough toast or English muffin (advance notice required for this one)

Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Frittata  **Newest Addition**
Features Red Bell Peppers, scallions and fresh crumbled Goat Cheese from The Ranch at Fossil Creek (Strawberry,AZ)

Ingredients
•    2 cups liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters)
•    1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
•    1 cup red bell pepper, sliced
•    1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced
•    2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
•    2 cloves garlic, minced
•    1 tsp salt
•    1/4 tsp freshly black pepper
Instructions
1.    Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.
2.    In a medium sized bowl whisk together the egg substitute, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.
3.    Spray a large, ovenproof, nonstick skillet with nonfat cooking spray and set over medium heat.
4.    Add in bell pepper and green onions and cook, stirring constantly, until the green onions are just wilted, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
5.    Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and cook, lifting the edges of the frittata to allow the uncooked egg to flow underneath, until the bottom is light golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
6.    Dot the top of the frittata with cheese, transfer the pan to the oven and broil until puffy and lightly golden on top, 2 to 3 minutes.
7.    Let rest for about 3 minutes before serving.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 15 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4

Creative Packages Innkeepers Are Offering Now

Mother’s Day Getaway
Adair Country Inn and Restaurant – Bethlehem, NH    The Adair “family” helps you to give to Mom!    $299 includes:  One night Getaway in Mom’s Favorite Room (first come, first serve)  Arrival any day in May or June, 2012  A gourmet breakfast with Adair’s famous popovers  Mom will be welcomed with a festive glass of champagne  Chocolate covered strawberries await her in her room  A table is reserved for a two-course dinner for two  The “Spring Flower Bouquet” in the room is for Mom to travel home with.  Reserve and Pay for Mom’s room or we can mail a nicely wrapped Gift Certificate to your Mom.  Additional nights at published rates.  All rates are subject to tax and gratuities.  Not valid in conjunction with other discounts, specials or gift certificates.
Mother’s Day Brunch
Inn & Spa At Cedar Falls – Logan, OH   May 13  Brunch is a family fun affair! Chef Anthony’s mouth watering menu starts with the Inn’s Pastry Basket, our Innmade Granola and Raspberry Yogurt. Delectable entrees include Grilled Salmon w/Lemon-Dill White Wine Butter Sauce, Inn’s Egg Benedict-English Muffin, Ham, Poached Local Eggs, Crab Meat & Chive-Paprika Hollandaise Sauce or Tomato, Basil & Fresh Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breast w/Brown Butter. Two devine desserts are Mixed Berry Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream or Dark Chocolate Cheesecake w/Raspberry Coulis. Seating times begin at 11:30am – reservations are necessary. $21/Adults, $12/Children Under 10
“3rd Night Free” Mother’s Day 2012 Weekend Package
The Captain Lord Mansion – Kennebunkport, MECome for Mother’s Day Weekend and Sunday, Mother’s Day is Free! Bring your favorite lady away to our Southern Maine Coast Inn for this holiday weekend. When you stay and pay for Friday and Saturday, May 11th and 12th, stay Sunday, May 13th as our guest. We’ll add complimentary sparkling wine, roses and chocolates to make you both feel welcome!    We are still in “Serenity Season” rates in May, so weekend rates start at $239 per room, per night, per couple.    This package cannot be combined with any other coupon, discount or special offer.
Tea For Two, A Mountain Tea Party
Creekwalk Inn and Cabins at Whisperwood Farm – Gatlinburg, TN   Why not celebrate Mother’s Day with an escape to the mountains? We have 40 tea pots and custom “Forest Berry Tea”, our own farm blend. For Mom, we will add our 3 custom blends of tea to your room to take home. Relax by the stream and begin your day with Grand Marnier French toast, grilled apples, or our famous Cosby cornbread, a taste of the “wild east”…Reserve one of our hot tub suites with private outdoor garden, a place to build a campfire for roasting marshmallows. $399
Brandywine Country Cooking School Gift Certificate
Hamanassett B&B – Chadds Ford, PA   Looking for something more than the traditional flowers and chocolates for that wonderful mother? Consider a gift certificate to our cooking school. She can choose the date that best fits her schedule. Cooking school includes the room, instruction, welcoming reception, breakast and wonderful lunch and dinner. See the cooking school page on our web site for schedule and prices.
May’s Wine Dinner: Springtime In Italy
A Grand Inn-Sunset Hill House – Sugar Hill, NH    Join us on May the 4th for a spectacular wine dinner celebrating Springtime in Italy. Relax and enjoy a fabulous 4 course dinner designed by chef Casey Graham, accompanied by Italian wines perfect to entertain and relax with this summer. Wine expert and oenophile Missy Nelson will present and teach us all about these fabulous vintages.    Seating at 6pm is limited to the first 25 guests. Only $65pp. And lodging is available for a special rate of $119/couple, any room! Please call right away to book. Cant make this one? The next is July 8th, All Americans!
Bike, Wine And Dine On Broadway
The Inn at Jim Thorpe – Jim Thorpe, PA   Package includes a 2 night stay, professional guide, bike + helmet rental and shuttle service, bottled water, lunch at Molly Maguire’s Pub & Steakhouse and an open afternoon to explore the town.    Available on the following dates only:  June 9; July 7, 15, 28; August 11, 31; September 16, 29; October 7, 20; November 3

Deborah and staff

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”     G.K. Chesterton
iLoveInns.com
American Historic Inns, Inc.
PO Box 669 Dana Point, CA 92669
800-397-INNS (4667)
949-481-6256
Fax 949-481-3796
www.iLoveInns.com 
American Historic Inns has partnered with the following companies to promote bed & breakfasts nationwide: Lipton Tea, Wells Fargo, CitiBank, American Express, MasterCard, Discover, CocaCola, Minute Maid, Land O’Lakes, Tom’s of Maine, Columbia Crest, Glen Ellen, Wamsutta, David’s Bridal, Senseo coffee, Nabisco, Uncle Ben’s, Phillips Norelco, Nivea, Amtrak, Carnation, Advil, and Post cereals.
iLoveInns Web site www.iloveinns.com and parent company American Historic Inns have been recommended by major publications including: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe and many others.

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Analytics give you the insight

April 28th, 2012

 
HubSpot

Hi Harriet,

World-class marketers have the power to turn good campaigns into great campaigns.

What’s their secret? Analytics.

Analytics give you the insight to make your marketing awesome while generating a ROI. Download our new marketing analytics ebook to unleash the true power of your marketing metrics.

Download the Ebook Now

From this ebook you will learn how to use marketing analytics to improve the performance of each marketing channel, including:

* Landing pages
* SEO
* Business blogging
* Social media
* Email marketing

Enjoy!
Maggie

P.S. Did you know you could measure your marketing ROI with HubSpot analytics? Give HubSpot a try today.

HubSpot Maggie Georgieva
Inbound Marketing Manager
Download the New Marketing Analytics Ebook Here
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April 28th, 2012

 

Recipe: Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

Looking for a citrusy yet sweet dessert treat for your next spring fling? Try serving up a slice of this Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake courtesy of Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls – Hocking Hills Lodging in Logan, OH!

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 lb cream cheese
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 egg yolks

Directions:

1. Cream the cheese and sugar on low speed of stand mixer (speed 2 on KitchenAid) until very pliable. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula.

2. Add flour in two parts, mixing well after each addition.

3. Add egg and yolks one at a time mixing well after each one. When 4 eggs have been added, stop the mixer and scrape down the side and bottom with spatula. Turn back on to low speed incorporating the rest of the eggs. Blend until last egg has just been incorporated and stop. Add the vanilla, zest, lemon juice and ½ of the blueberries and blend for just 2 minutes. Pour into prepared crust. Sprinkle the remaining blueberries on top of the pie.

4. Bake in oven with water bath at 425 F for 20 minutes. Then turn temp down to 350 F and continue to bake for 50-60 minutes longer until set (little to no jiggle in center of pie).

Crust:

  • 2 cups graham crumbs
  • 4oz butter melted
  • Pinch salt
  • 1oz ladle of sugar

10-inch spring-form panMix together, press into spring-form pan and bake at 400 F for about 15 min until just starting to get color. Remove and cool before adding pie mixture.
Think Outside of the Gift Box — BnBFinder Gift Certificates

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Let’s Work Together

April 28th, 2012

Let’s Work Together

We’re always looking for ways to promote our inns and be a part of your success. One way is to collaborate with you beyond your listing. Shared content, high-resolution images and special stories are all ways we can attract the media’s attention and also get the word out to the public about the many fabulous things B&Bs do. Here are a few ways we can work together (all at NO extra cost to you):

Our Content is Your Content. Many innkeeper associations repost parts of the BnBFinder newsletter, particularly the Mary White column, to their members because they find the articles to be chock-full of insightful information. We’re more than happy to share our knowledge about the B&B industry with you. If you read a blog post or newsletter article and think the information could be useful to your guests, feel free to repost it! Just make sure to change a few words or sentences so you’re not duplicating content and affecting SEO. Email press@BnBFinder.com and let us know if there’s content you’d like to repost.

A (High-Resolution) Picture Would Be Perfect. All day, every day, we’re pitching your inns to the media. To have the best chance of being included we need high resolution pictures of your inn. Editors usually request large, beautiful, high-resolution (300 dpi) photos of the inn’s exterior, rooms, gardens, recipes, etc. to go along with these stories. So, if you have taken high-resolution images of your inn with a digital camera (check your camera settings to make sure the image quality is set to the maximum setting), log in to your account and upload them to the Media Photo Gallery located in the Media Room in the lower left. We’ll send them out immediately for pressing media queries or archive them for future opportunities with major outlets. The chances of gaining high-profile media mentions go up significantly when your inn is paired with a picture!

Tell Us Your Special Stories. We know you go above and beyond with special touches for your guests every day. We want to hear the most touching ones as these stories are a great way to spread the word about the special experiences at B&Bs and your inn, in particular. Did you set up a special scene for an engagement or surprise a soldier set to be deployed by arranging a special celebration he or she would have missed otherwise because of being overseas? These stories don’t get the recognition they deserve and you don’t realize how big the little things you do are for a guest. We want to change that. Email press@BnBFinder.com with your special stories so we can archive them for future media pitches, blog posts and stories. Then, everyone will know what we already know: your B&B is where guests can wake up someplace special.

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From the Press Room

April 28th, 2012

From the Press Room

The press coverage keeps on coming! From newspapers and newsletters to websites and blogs such as USA Today, Chicago Sun-Times and more, BnBFinder inns and packages have repeatedly appeared in the press this month. There are plenty of possibilities still in the pipeline, especially with the early outreach to magazines and other publications so make sure to upload your packages and keep them current. The Specials page is the first place we check when responding to pressing media queries. Here’s what we’re focusing on next:

BEST PICKUP TOPIC: One Tank Trips & Gas Saving Specials. Those pesky prices at the pump are stubborn and they’re continuing to rise with record levels on the horizon, so the media is super interested in helping readers plan summer getaways. Each year we receive some of our highest value pickup on this topic. While not trying to capitalize on an unfortunate situation, high gas prices are making headlines and we want your inn to be on the radar of guests and the media. Are you helping travelers with gas-savings options such as gas cards or are you one tank away from top tourist destinations? Are you close enough for someone to get to without a car or by using little gas but far enough away to feel like it’s a vacation? Let guests, the media and us know about it by logging into your account and uploading them under “One-Tank Trips & Gas-Saving Getaways.”

Celebrating Two Special People. Moms hold a special place in our hearts filled with fond memories…and so do dads! Show them how much they’re appreciated on Mother’s Day (May 13) and Father’s Day (June 17) by offering up some well-earned time away. Will visiting moms get pampered with flowers, candies and champagne toasts? Is fly fishing, golfing, rock climbing, propelling or brewery tours on dad’s itinerary? Let guests and us know about it by logging into your account and uploading them under the “Mother’s & Father’s Day” tab. We’ll review the packages added daily looking for the most special and unique ones to feature in our media pitches.

The Clockmaker’s Inn
The Clockmaker’s Inn, Windsor, NS

Civil War Sesquicentennial. Trips to commemorate the Civil War sesquicentennial—especially major conflicts such as The Seven Days Battle coming up in June—continue to be popular with the media and guests. History buffs are avid B&B goers. Do you offer tours of an actual battlefield, reenactments or 1860s-themed meals? Was your inn built by a Civil War solider or part of the Underground Railroad? Let guests and us know by logging into your account and uploading the specials under the “Civil War Sesquicentennial” tab! Also, if you’d like to be part of the “Reservations for Preservation” program and donate a portion of each booking to the Civil War Trust to help save actual battlefield land, log in to your account, choose promotions on the left side, click on “Civil War Trust Partnership” and hit “Add.” That’s it! This program is being promoted by BnBfinder and being featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and blog articles as well as by the Civil War Trust on their website, Facebook page and newsletters.

Let’s Get Physical! Run, jog, swim or stretch this May because it’s National Physical Fitness Month. Are you offering guests active getaways to stay in shape such as biking, wilderness hiking, yoga or tennis? Does your inn have a gym facility, a lap pool, bike rentals or trails for jogging or long walks? If so, log in to your account and upload your fitness packages under “The Great Outdoors Package” tab.

Salute Our Heroes. Show how much you appreciate the brave men and women who protect and serve this May because it’s Military Appreciation Month! Do you provide specials for active duty or retired service members and their families? Log in and upload them under the “Salute Our Heroes” tab.

Rekindle the Romance. All couples could really use a weekend away, and May is the perfect time to leave their busy life behind. It’s Date Your Mate Month so they’ll be looking for a romantic getaway just for two. Are you offering complimentary champagne toasts by a crackling fire, picnics on the countryside or horse-drawn carriage rides through historic cobblestone streets? Let guests and us know by logging in and uploading the packages under the “Romantic Getaways” tab.

Doggone it! No bones about it; traveling with Fido and other family pets is becoming more popular by the day. National Pet Month (May) and National Pet Week (May 6 – 12) will give pets and their owners an excuse to fly the coop. Does your inn accommodate four-legged guests and welcome them with special amenities? Are you located near a park for games of fetch or Frisbee or that has a dog run? Let guests and us know about it by logging into your account and uploading your packages under the “Pets Welcome” tab.

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A Note from Mary White

April 28th, 2012

A Note from Mary White

Ever wonder what your guests think? Do they think your fabulous breakfasts magically appear and your special touches just happen or are some curious about what goes on behind the scenes? Do you ever think “If they only knew…” Only knew how hard you worked? Ever knew that so much multitasking goes on it’s a wonder everything comes together? Have any idea what your own living quarters look like? I would never dare to compare running a B&B to running a B&B directory because they are not the same; however, they are similar in the fact that to produce a quality bed & breakfast directory, a lot of heavy lifting goes on behind the scenes 24/7/365. I know many innkeepers are surprised at how it all comes together. A constant theme at conferences when I review listings with innkeepers is “I had no idea that comes with my listing.” So, I thought I’d take you behind the scenes, and in doing so I hope you develop a greater appreciation for what we do for you and also learn about a few more features you can or should take advantage of to make your BnBFinder.com listing even more valuable. Not all B&Bs are the same and not all directories are the same. I want you to get the most out of what we offer with as little effort as possible because you have a lot going on behind the scenes and so do we.

Help With All Powerful Google And SEO. Links are not created equal. Links from quality directories, like BnBFinder.com, are important in your own SEO and Google placement so we don’t just take your payment and put a listing online. We take the time to be sure all new and renewal listings are carefully matched to your Google Places page so you receive maximum benefit from your links. Google doesn’t reveal many of the hundreds of factors that go into their ranking algorithm, but one we do know is matching your inn name, address and phone number with your Google Places listing which is why we automatically check and match this for you. Another ranking factor we know is to avoid duplicate content; so, we also make sure your listing is not an exact match of your website without compromising on keyword placement which is important in SEO ranking. Then, we make sure we give you as many natural looking links to your website as we can because quality inbound links are super important. While our primary purpose is to put heads in your beds, we can easily help you with your organic SEO placement when done correctly (and we do it all for you).

Mobile Website. By next year it is predicted that more web searches will be done on smartphones then on PCs, so we automatically direct mobile guests to your inn’s information on mobile-ready pages. Without it guests would probably click off, but instead they click to you. It’s amazing to me that the other top directories have not created a mobile site. It’s seamless; there’s nothing to download and nothing extra for you or the guest to do. Because it’s automatic, mobile guests find you and your inn’s information quickly at no extra cost to you.

Powerful PR. No other company, directory or otherwise, works as hard to promote your inn and our industry. Each morning the PR team reviews all new packages added the previous day; this means you should add them. Even though the guest may not book the exact package, they look at these pages and so does our PR team and the media (to find out more read “From the Press Room” below). Big exposure for your inn can start simply with a package listed on our Specials page. Here’s a great example: The team aggressively pitched gas-saving packages to the media and it was picked up for a story in USA Today. The paper’s TV affiliate in St. Louis, KSDK Channel 5, wanted to build out the story locally; so, we worked with the reporter and found an inn located in the St. Louis area to interview about their gas-saving specials. The station also posted an accompanying article about gas savings on their website and linked to four other inns with packages that are driving distance from St. Louis and the gas saving specials page on BnBFinder.com. What started off as one package listed on our “Gas Savings & One Tank Trips” specials page resulted in national and local print, online and TV exposure for our inns and the innkeeper!

The team is constantly scouring to source ideas for media pitches, articles, interesting social networking posts and information to respond to media queries. They actively reach out and get to know editors of both large and small outlets to spread the word about your inn and our industry. Our inns are featured on TV, in national and local newspapers and in magazines such as O, The Oprah Magazine, because of these efforts. The team and I write numerous articles monthly for our site and for many other websites and magazines. The media comes to us as a leading bed and breakfast content provider; so, with the minimal effort of scanning this newsletter monthly you can take advantage of this major undertaking.

No Nickel and Diming.

  • We don’t have extra charges. We never charge for customer service but we do monitor your support requests 24/7/365, something I have never heard of happening at any other directory. If you ever have a problem, email info@BnBFinder.com and we’ll respond to you even on nights, weekends and holidays.
  • We keep our prices as low as possible. We understand you run a small business, and even with all of our features and enhancements we have not raised prices since 2004.
  • We reimburse you more than other popular gift certificate programs (85%) while making sure we are sending you qualified B&B guests by only offering the certificates on our website. I find it strange that innkeepers will consider high commission promotions such as Living Social and Online Reservations, yet they aren’t part of this program. Don’t get me wrong; done correctly the other programs can be effective for many inns, but first login or email us to make sure you are a part of this low-cost extra promotion for your inn.
  • If you use an availability system, we’ll link to it with no extra costs; same goes for your own mobile website. You can update this information anytime because you have full access to update everything about your inn. If you need help, just let us know.

No Commissions. We send the guests directly to you. Because the guests book directly with you, it might make it hard to track your BnBFinder listing performance since the guests don’t book on BnBFinder.com. And, when asked guests tell you they found your inn “on Google” or “on the Internet;” yet, we are sending them directly to you with no commissions. No matter how you look at it, that’s a great deal for you. We do keep very accurate traffic reports (available to you anytime in your account) and would be more than happy to review them with you at renewal or anytime to show how guests are interacting and finding you on BnBFinder. This is important because guests don’t tell you and you have a lot of advertising choices.

No Outside Ads or Distractions. It’s all about you and getting the guests to you, so we don’t sell outside ads or offer guests deals to book with other inns. This would be very profitable for us, but our focus is on YOU.

I know we provide each and every inn a great value as an adverting choice. Many of our efforts may be happening behind the scenes, but I challenge you to find a directory that puts more hard work and effort into promoting your inn.

It’s a privilege and a pleasure to promote your inn and as always I welcome your feedback.

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StayNYC to lobby for B&B exemption to Ch. 225 law unfairly punishing legitimate small businesses

April 28th, 2012
NEWS FROM PAII –April 27, 2012

Jay Karen and members of StayNYC to lobby for B&B exemption to Ch. 225 law unfairly punishing legitimate small businesses

New York, NY (4-27-12) – Today Jay Karen, President & CEO of the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, joined New York City’s Ivy Terrace B&B innkeeper Vinessa Milando and others from StayNYC in testifying on behalf of the B&B industry before the New York State Assembly Committee on Housing. A hearing was held to examine the implementation of Chapter 225 of the Laws of 2010, which prohibits the illegal operation of hotels in buildings designated for permanent occupancy. The NY state law, enacted last year to protect tourists and tenants from illicit, illegal hotels operating outside the perimeter of state regulations (building, fire and housing codes), is severely impacting the legitimate innkeepers of New York, according to Karen and StayNYC proponents. Today, Karen and StayNYC members lobbied the NY State Assembly to allow exemptions to the law for legitimate B&Bs that have followed codes and offer legitimate alternatives to larger New York City hotels.

According to Karen and Milando, although they were told by local NY Assembly members that tax compliant B&Bs were “not the ones the city was after” the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement levied fines and legal fees amounting to approximately $17,000 per business on several professional and lawful B&Bs that have been in business for decades. One well-known B&B was forced to close as a result. Those appearing today before the NY State Assembly exposed the unjust nature of the law and lobbied for fairness toward small independent lodging properties and B&Bs.

B&Bs and vacation rentals share similar interests in offering alternative lodging to hotels, and are therefore on the same page when it comes to the unfair nature of the Chapter 225 law. According to Karen, “The law in question rendered nearly every variation of the vacation rental and B&B in New York City illegal, because we primarily operate in multiple dwelling buildings. So this law has B&Bs and vacation rentals on the same side. That being said, the B&B is different than the spare bedroom or individual apartment being labeled as an illegal hotel. B&Bs in particular are not party to the conflicts which were the basis for this law to be written two years ago.”

Karen went on to explain that inns and B&Bs often present an anomaly to city and town officials and zoning officers. “Over time, bed and breakfasts have demonstrated to city councils, counties and states everywhere that we deserve distinct considerations; that we are good citizens of our communities; that we practice good fire safety and security practices; that we attract the kinds of tourists who add great value to the local economy; and that we preserve historic residential properties like no other businesses in America,” said Karen. As a result, Karen contends that over the past 30 years, B&Bs have been identified as legitimate, unique businesses, and fair and proper regulations, laws and policies to support B&Bs have followed.

Karen urged the lawmakers to take a closer look at B&Bs so they will realize they are not the culprits in the improper operation of buildings designated for permanent occupancy. In an impassioned plea, Karen closed his words to the Assembly by asking for an exemption to the law and saying “We are not the ones flipping rent-controlled apartments into youth hostels. We are not commingling overnight tourists with permanent residents on the same hallway. We pay sales and occupancy taxes. We follow laws. We are secured properties. We offer the best hospitality. We preserve buildings. We attract the best tourists and travelers. We provide a means of living to true professionals. We are as legitimate as hotels.”

About PAII: The Professional Association of Innkeepers International, founded in 1988, and headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, is the innkeeping industry’s largest trade association. PAII provides education, communications, public relations, advocacy, networking, and research services to its membership and the greater industry. In addition, PAII has created and is spearheading the “Better Way To Stay”, a groundbreaking, industry-wide campaign to help travelers discover today’s inns and B&B experience. For more information, visit www.innkeeping.org.

Not a PAII Member:Join today for as little as $89 and be part of the association that works to support the B&B industry.

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Click here for Jay Karen’s complete testimony offered to the NY State Assembly Committee on Housing: http://www.innkeeping.org/StayNYC-Testimony

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