I suppose I should introduce myself...

[four at four forty four]

I opened a gift shop on the property last October for the town and my guests. It's done very, very well. Thank goodness. I lost a room to open it.
Just out of curiousity, would you say the gift shop covers the loss of revenue from the lost room?.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.

 

[JBloggs]

I opened a gift shop on the property last October for the town and my guests. It's done very, very well. Thank goodness. I lost a room to open it.
Just out of curiousity, would you say the gift shop covers the loss of revenue from the lost room?.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.
.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.

So you sell online then as well? What sort of items and how do you price them to sell, are they unique to your area?

 

[user 26]

they got a liquor license where i used to be. something the owner always wanted. i don't know how the financials ae working out, but i do know that this is a draw in a small town where there aren't many places to go.

 

[four at four forty four]

I opened a gift shop on the property last October for the town and my guests. It's done very, very well. Thank goodness. I lost a room to open it.
Just out of curiousity, would you say the gift shop covers the loss of revenue from the lost room?.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.
.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.

So you sell online then as well? What sort of items and how do you price them to sell, are they unique to your area?
.

So you sell online then as well? What sort of items and how do you price them to sell, are they unique to your area?

No, currently I don't sell online. I tried, but it was to much work. Between running the b&b, gift shoppe and having a life... I just couldn't do it by myself. I would like to in the future... I think it would also help the b&b too.
The b&b was birthed from the original owner who started selling locally made items. So that came with the business. I do sell local items (honey, seasoned nuts, chocolate, tortilla chips, spices, etc..). I also sell stuff that a normal gift shop would sell candles, hand lotions, etc. I'm also 'pushing the limits' a bit for my local town by carring unique things like budda heads, contemporary jewelry, etc...
I've tried to create a more traditional/modern feel to the store... very urban... a little 'pottery barn-ish' but with more reasonable price... There are plenty of 'country stores' around, so I knew I didn't want that... plus it's not really my style.

 

[JBloggs]

Sounds nice 444. Yes I agree there are so many "Kountry" stores/shops - always trying to be clever and nifty and sell the same stuff. Are majority of your guests coming from within your state or out of state? I think that has much to do with the merchandise you sell. We had tons of arts and crafts handmade locally and no one was interested. These are artists who have their painting in galleries and I had them displayed in our dining room and no one cared. I thought they were great. Gotta find that niche, that is for sure. Glad to hear you are off to a good start!

 

[swirt]

I opened a gift shop on the property last October for the town and my guests. It's done very, very well. Thank goodness. I lost a room to open it.
Just out of curiousity, would you say the gift shop covers the loss of revenue from the lost room?.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.
.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.

That's great. Are you finding that you are selling predominantly to guests or more to locals? If locals, are you finding that it is helping you sell the B&B rooms too?

 

[four at four forty four]

I opened a gift shop on the property last October for the town and my guests. It's done very, very well. Thank goodness. I lost a room to open it.
Just out of curiousity, would you say the gift shop covers the loss of revenue from the lost room?.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.
.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.

That's great. Are you finding that you are selling predominantly to guests or more to locals? If locals, are you finding that it is helping you sell the B&B rooms too?
.

That's great. Are you finding that you are selling predominantly to guests or more to locals? If locals, are you finding that it is helping you sell the B&B rooms too?

It depends. Durning the holidays, more to locals. But, this past weekend I saw an additional $300+ based on what guests (staying at the b&b) purchased. So that's really, really nice.
Yes...it has helped the b&b... I think. People can see the dining room from the gift shop and always ask about breakfast. I have a little digital photo frame in the gift shop which shows pictures of the rooms and people really like that too. A little 'free' advertising right in my own gift shop! As I mentiond a good percentage of my rooms is family returning to visit family. Word of mouth is honestly my BEST form of adverstising.

 

[four at four forty four]

Sounds nice 444. Yes I agree there are so many "Kountry" stores/shops - always trying to be clever and nifty and sell the same stuff. Are majority of your guests coming from within your state or out of state? I think that has much to do with the merchandise you sell. We had tons of arts and crafts handmade locally and no one was interested. These are artists who have their painting in galleries and I had them displayed in our dining room and no one cared. I thought they were great. Gotta find that niche, that is for sure. Glad to hear you are off to a good start!.

Most are from out of state, yes.
Its hard, some things that I buy to sell I love... almost to the point of obsession... and then no one else cares about them. It's odd. Some of my favorite, favorite things still still on their shelf with no home. I guess if they sit long enough they will become my own.. and maybe that's how it was supposed to be in the first place.

 

[swirt]

I opened a gift shop on the property last October for the town and my guests. It's done very, very well. Thank goodness. I lost a room to open it.
Just out of curiousity, would you say the gift shop covers the loss of revenue from the lost room?.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.
.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.

That's great. Are you finding that you are selling predominantly to guests or more to locals? If locals, are you finding that it is helping you sell the B&B rooms too?
.

That's great. Are you finding that you are selling predominantly to guests or more to locals? If locals, are you finding that it is helping you sell the B&B rooms too?

It depends. Durning the holidays, more to locals. But, this past weekend I saw an additional $300+ based on what guests (staying at the b&b) purchased. So that's really, really nice.
Yes...it has helped the b&b... I think. People can see the dining room from the gift shop and always ask about breakfast. I have a little digital photo frame in the gift shop which shows pictures of the rooms and people really like that too. A little 'free' advertising right in my own gift shop! As I mentiond a good percentage of my rooms is family returning to visit family. Word of mouth is honestly my BEST form of adverstising.
.

Nice idea with the photo frame. People seem drawn to them. We have one in our livingroom (non-guest space) and it has been funny as our family has been here on different occasions, they sit and watch it like it is TV.
Do you have help in either the gift shop or the B&B? I can't imagine trying to flip rooms while having people pop into the shop.

 

[four at four forty four]

I opened a gift shop on the property last October for the town and my guests. It's done very, very well. Thank goodness. I lost a room to open it.
Just out of curiousity, would you say the gift shop covers the loss of revenue from the lost room?.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.
.

yes, more than covers! Especially during the holidays... last october - december were great... and that was my first year in business. Word has really traveled since then.

That's great. Are you finding that you are selling predominantly to guests or more to locals? If locals, are you finding that it is helping you sell the B&B rooms too?
.

That's great. Are you finding that you are selling predominantly to guests or more to locals? If locals, are you finding that it is helping you sell the B&B rooms too?

It depends. Durning the holidays, more to locals. But, this past weekend I saw an additional $300+ based on what guests (staying at the b&b) purchased. So that's really, really nice.
Yes...it has helped the b&b... I think. People can see the dining room from the gift shop and always ask about breakfast. I have a little digital photo frame in the gift shop which shows pictures of the rooms and people really like that too. A little 'free' advertising right in my own gift shop! As I mentiond a good percentage of my rooms is family returning to visit family. Word of mouth is honestly my BEST form of adverstising.
.

Nice idea with the photo frame. People seem drawn to them. We have one in our livingroom (non-guest space) and it has been funny as our family has been here on different occasions, they sit and watch it like it is TV.
Do you have help in either the gift shop or the B&B? I can't imagine trying to flip rooms while having people pop into the shop.
.

just me.
It can be a challenge. But, thankfully, my busiest time in the gift shop is usually my slowest time for the b&b, so it works.

 

[JBloggs]

Sounds nice 444. Yes I agree there are so many "Kountry" stores/shops - always trying to be clever and nifty and sell the same stuff. Are majority of your guests coming from within your state or out of state? I think that has much to do with the merchandise you sell. We had tons of arts and crafts handmade locally and no one was interested. These are artists who have their painting in galleries and I had them displayed in our dining room and no one cared. I thought they were great. Gotta find that niche, that is for sure. Glad to hear you are off to a good start!.

Most are from out of state, yes.
Its hard, some things that I buy to sell I love... almost to the point of obsession... and then no one else cares about them. It's odd. Some of my favorite, favorite things still still on their shelf with no home. I guess if they sit long enough they will become my own.. and maybe that's how it was supposed to be in the first place.
.

Most are from out of state, yes.
Its hard, some things that I buy to sell I love... almost to the point of obsession... and then no one else cares about them. It's odd. Some of my favorite, favorite things still still on their shelf with no home. I guess if they sit long enough they will become my own.. and maybe that's how it was supposed to be in the first place.

and...you can always donate some of the things that don't sell (that you won't keep) to local auctions, like high school fundraisers for band/sports.

 

[hawley]

Welcome from Nebraska

 

[Tony]

Wow, that sounds like quite a successful retail operation you have there. Kudos to you.
How many B&B rooms do you have?

 

[four at four forty four]

Wow, that sounds like quite a successful retail operation you have there. Kudos to you.
How many B&B rooms do you have?.

five total.