Inn Videos

[EmptyNest]

I just ran across this site by accident. See some really high quality video B & B Marketing. See what you think. Don't know what it costs.. I am sure it is not cheap, but some of the nicest video I have seen on an inn site.
http://www.innvideos.tv/NC/asheville/whitegateinn.html

 

[egoodell]

Sure wish I had the money for that! Lovely!
RIki

 

[Hangfive]

The company is owned by an B&B owner and a former B&B broker and I think another partner. When I checked last year the cost to produce the video along with posting it on their site was very reasonable, but out of my budget at the time. In fact I had previously received a bid for a short HD video shoot and the price came in a lot more than what InnVideos charges. I'm not sure if the costs are the same in every city as they contract with local companies to shoot and edit the videos and in my city there seem to be a lot of these types so competition between them is fierce.

 

[cmonahan]

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started.

 

[egoodell]

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started..

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started.

What a coincidence - I guess you all just got the email from bedandbreakfast.com for videos for half price - something like $450 instead of the regular $800 something.
I think the video companies are feeling the recession.....
Riki

 

[Don Draper]

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started..

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started.

What a coincidence - I guess you all just got the email from bedandbreakfast.com for videos for half price - something like $450 instead of the regular $800 something.
I think the video companies are feeling the recession.....
Riki
.

Do you all really put a lot of stock in this? Yes, this video is lovely and very well done, but if I were shopping for a place to stay I would never sit and watch this...I want the info FAST and concise...it's just too much for me but I might be in the minority...thoughts?

 

[JBloggs]

I am completely unabashedly not into watching a video on a BnB website. I won't do it, it is like a small pebble stuck in the inside heel of my shoe.

 

[egoodell]

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started..

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started.

What a coincidence - I guess you all just got the email from bedandbreakfast.com for videos for half price - something like $450 instead of the regular $800 something.
I think the video companies are feeling the recession.....
Riki
.

Do you all really put a lot of stock in this? Yes, this video is lovely and very well done, but if I were shopping for a place to stay I would never sit and watch this...I want the info FAST and concise...it's just too much for me but I might be in the minority...thoughts?
.

Do you all really put a lot of stock in this? Yes, this video is lovely and very well done, but if I were shopping for a place to stay I would never sit and watch this...I want the info FAST and concise...it's just too much for me but I might be in the minority...thoughts?

I honestly don't know. I guess it would pull in the people who are unfamiliar with B&Bs and who want to see that they are "professional" and not someone's extra bedroom. But I too don't have the patience to watch. I like great photos that show me the bedroom, the dining room, etc.and that's about it.
Riki

 

[swirt]

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started..

iLoveInns partnered with InnVideos in Febuary to offer our members a discount. Just wanted to note that the cost is VERY reasonable. The overall cost is spread over three years and is still half or less then half of the cost from other companies. Right now they are offering video galleries (multipile short videos) so you can showoff different aspects of your inn or you can run it all in one sub-three minute video. You can call either company to get started.

What a coincidence - I guess you all just got the email from bedandbreakfast.com for videos for half price - something like $450 instead of the regular $800 something.
I think the video companies are feeling the recession.....
Riki
.

Do you all really put a lot of stock in this? Yes, this video is lovely and very well done, but if I were shopping for a place to stay I would never sit and watch this...I want the info FAST and concise...it's just too much for me but I might be in the minority...thoughts?
.

Do you all really put a lot of stock in this? Yes, this video is lovely and very well done, but if I were shopping for a place to stay I would never sit and watch this...I want the info FAST and concise...it's just too much for me but I might be in the minority...thoughts?

I think it can pull people off the fence in your direction if they are on the fence. I think for many who are surfing for a place to go for the weekend on a Wed while they are at work are not going to watch a video and risk the sound alerting co-workers that they aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing. (NEVER make the videos or other sounds auto-play...if you use them, make them play only when the user wants them to)
Given the choice of investing in a video, or investing in pro photos, I'd go with the pro photos....but if you already have better than average photos, a video could help a bit.

 

[SandySoule]

Hi guys!
We are partnering with TurnHere, and the introductory price is just $499 for a one-minute video, with NO hosting or extra fees. Click here for the details. We have two sample B&B videos you can check out, Aston's B&B and the Featherbed Railroad Company. We're really pleased with the way they came out (as are the innkeepers) and I was pleasantly surprised to see how effective the one-minute length is -- enough to interest potential guests but not bore them.
Totally agree with Swirt's comment, though: "Given the choice of investing in a video, or investing in pro photos, I'd go with the pro photos....but if you already have better than average photos, a video could help a bit."
By all means, go for great photos, and when you have them, be sure to add them to all the directories, not just to your own site. Once you do have decent photos, then a video for $500 totally makes sense (and cents).
Thanks, Sandy

 

[gillumhouse]

I am completely unabashedly not into watching a video on a BnB website. I won't do it, it is like a small pebble stuck in the inside heel of my shoe..

My video is a 60 second State of WV/Shinnston/Gillum commercial. It will be on my attractions page of my new web site about to be unveiled soon. Anyone wanting to SEE IT NOW ca ngo to www.shinnstonwv.com and see it on our city web site. I am hoping it works.
We did this in 2006 I think and because of the grant - the city and I each forked over less than $500 for ownership of the video (we also got a 30 second version without the State) and one week of broadcast time in 2 markets here. Then, because we were one of the first to sign up, our commercial was used as a demo by the company so many, many more got to see it.

 

[jkarennj]

Hi everyone. Allow me to chime in please.
We just did some consumer research with TripAdvisor, and the results show that the NUMBER TWO reason why people DON'T stay at B&Bs is the risk factor - they don't know what they're going to get at whatever B&B they're looking at.
So, how do you minimize the risk factor for a potential guest looking at your web site? Good, quality photos is a must. I agree with Sandy and Swirt. If you have few photos, or worse yet of none of the rooms, you're turning away a lot of people who don't feel comfortable booking a stay with you. But, that doesn't go far enough, if you're interested in being the obvious choice for someone checking out B&Bs in your area. The number two most important thing, in my opinion, these days in minimizing risk is having reviews - and an ample amount. Five or six reviews over a 2 year period won't cut it. Even though they might only read four or five reviews, travelers want to see that you have lots of them. It makes them feel more comfortable that this is a legitimate business that must be pretty darn good if they have all these reviews. Again, the risk factor starts to go away.
Then...after or simultaneous with making sure you've got reviews is adding video. There was a reason there were three video companies on the Innkeeping Show floor in Atlanta, and why BedandBreakfast.com has partnered with a video company...it's what consumers want or at least are showing strong signs that they're wanting more and more. Our own research with Texas Tech in 2008 showed that consumers who visited B&B web sites placed a much higher importance on wanting to see videos than did innkeepers who ran the B&Bs. There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
A video might be a pebble on one person's shoe, but it very well could be the deciding factor for another traveler considering a B&B...especially for the first time!
Jay

 

[JBloggs]

Jay wrote: "We just did some consumer research with TripAdvisor, and the results show that the NUMBER TWO reason why people DON'T stay at B&Bs is the risk factor - they don't know what they're going to get at whatever B&B they're looking at."
Isn't that pathetic? That people do not know what they will get most likely due to past negative experiences? Here is my thought on the topic. Those who inspect, say state associations and others - if they come and inspect and do not stay at the inn, then they do not really know how the guest is treated and the total environment.

 

[EmptyNest]

Hi everyone. Allow me to chime in please.
We just did some consumer research with TripAdvisor, and the results show that the NUMBER TWO reason why people DON'T stay at B&Bs is the risk factor - they don't know what they're going to get at whatever B&B they're looking at.
So, how do you minimize the risk factor for a potential guest looking at your web site? Good, quality photos is a must. I agree with Sandy and Swirt. If you have few photos, or worse yet of none of the rooms, you're turning away a lot of people who don't feel comfortable booking a stay with you. But, that doesn't go far enough, if you're interested in being the obvious choice for someone checking out B&Bs in your area. The number two most important thing, in my opinion, these days in minimizing risk is having reviews - and an ample amount. Five or six reviews over a 2 year period won't cut it. Even though they might only read four or five reviews, travelers want to see that you have lots of them. It makes them feel more comfortable that this is a legitimate business that must be pretty darn good if they have all these reviews. Again, the risk factor starts to go away.
Then...after or simultaneous with making sure you've got reviews is adding video. There was a reason there were three video companies on the Innkeeping Show floor in Atlanta, and why BedandBreakfast.com has partnered with a video company...it's what consumers want or at least are showing strong signs that they're wanting more and more. Our own research with Texas Tech in 2008 showed that consumers who visited B&B web sites placed a much higher importance on wanting to see videos than did innkeepers who ran the B&Bs. There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
A video might be a pebble on one person's shoe, but it very well could be the deciding factor for another traveler considering a B&B...especially for the first time!
Jay.

I tend to agree as a traveler. The more I know about a B & B, the more likely I am to book it. The better the photos, the more impressed I am, so the video to me does add to my decision making.

 

[Don Draper]

Hi everyone. Allow me to chime in please.
We just did some consumer research with TripAdvisor, and the results show that the NUMBER TWO reason why people DON'T stay at B&Bs is the risk factor - they don't know what they're going to get at whatever B&B they're looking at.
So, how do you minimize the risk factor for a potential guest looking at your web site? Good, quality photos is a must. I agree with Sandy and Swirt. If you have few photos, or worse yet of none of the rooms, you're turning away a lot of people who don't feel comfortable booking a stay with you. But, that doesn't go far enough, if you're interested in being the obvious choice for someone checking out B&Bs in your area. The number two most important thing, in my opinion, these days in minimizing risk is having reviews - and an ample amount. Five or six reviews over a 2 year period won't cut it. Even though they might only read four or five reviews, travelers want to see that you have lots of them. It makes them feel more comfortable that this is a legitimate business that must be pretty darn good if they have all these reviews. Again, the risk factor starts to go away.
Then...after or simultaneous with making sure you've got reviews is adding video. There was a reason there were three video companies on the Innkeeping Show floor in Atlanta, and why BedandBreakfast.com has partnered with a video company...it's what consumers want or at least are showing strong signs that they're wanting more and more. Our own research with Texas Tech in 2008 showed that consumers who visited B&B web sites placed a much higher importance on wanting to see videos than did innkeepers who ran the B&Bs. There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
A video might be a pebble on one person's shoe, but it very well could be the deciding factor for another traveler considering a B&B...especially for the first time!
Jay.

Thanks for the input Jay. I appreciate knowing what your research shows. I wonder WHY there is a disconnect between the customer and the innkeeper on this topic?
I appreciate everyone else's comments as well...we currently have excellent photos on our website but we are ready for an update and I guess video is the next logical step.

 

[swirt]

Hi everyone. Allow me to chime in please.
We just did some consumer research with TripAdvisor, and the results show that the NUMBER TWO reason why people DON'T stay at B&Bs is the risk factor - they don't know what they're going to get at whatever B&B they're looking at.
So, how do you minimize the risk factor for a potential guest looking at your web site? Good, quality photos is a must. I agree with Sandy and Swirt. If you have few photos, or worse yet of none of the rooms, you're turning away a lot of people who don't feel comfortable booking a stay with you. But, that doesn't go far enough, if you're interested in being the obvious choice for someone checking out B&Bs in your area. The number two most important thing, in my opinion, these days in minimizing risk is having reviews - and an ample amount. Five or six reviews over a 2 year period won't cut it. Even though they might only read four or five reviews, travelers want to see that you have lots of them. It makes them feel more comfortable that this is a legitimate business that must be pretty darn good if they have all these reviews. Again, the risk factor starts to go away.
Then...after or simultaneous with making sure you've got reviews is adding video. There was a reason there were three video companies on the Innkeeping Show floor in Atlanta, and why BedandBreakfast.com has partnered with a video company...it's what consumers want or at least are showing strong signs that they're wanting more and more. Our own research with Texas Tech in 2008 showed that consumers who visited B&B web sites placed a much higher importance on wanting to see videos than did innkeepers who ran the B&Bs. There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
A video might be a pebble on one person's shoe, but it very well could be the deciding factor for another traveler considering a B&B...especially for the first time!
Jay.

There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
There is a disconnect, but I think it strongly depends on how the survey was done. People will say they want video, but that didn't say that if they find video they are more likely to book nor that if they don't find video that they are less likely to book (in terms of actual behavior, not just what they say).
Many of the videos I run across are either simply Ken Burn's type panning effects with existing photos that are already found elsewhere on the site, or a shaky hand cam on the innkeeper's hand as they pan shakily around their place.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing against video, but you have to also keep it in perspective with other website features. For example, did your research compare preference for video over 360 panoramas or enhanced virtual tours? Did it compare 2 pictures and one video to 12 pictures and no video?
Where I see video as filling a bigger void is in social sharing/viral like YouTube allows. Then your promotional video could find its way onto forums, local travel blogs and other places where it can end up drawing a lot of people in. On the youTube venue people are more forgiving if the video is shaky or less than professional. Some examples:


The example that Gillum House showed for West Virginia would be a lot more powerful if they released it to YouTube and promoted the video rather than just sitting on the ShinnstonWV site. It would carry a little more value than this one...though this one is not without value too, in its own home grown kind of way. (viewed 965 times!)

 

[JBloggs]

The videos I myself appreciate are the ones on the region, with music, that invite me to visit the area, not necessarily a specific inn. Some of those sand in your toes on the beach type clips. Confession - a close friend travels to remote parts of the world and emails video clips and I do not watch them. He sends photos and I spent time gazing at them. He will send professional photographs and good quality digital videos.

 

[Don Draper]

Hi everyone. Allow me to chime in please.
We just did some consumer research with TripAdvisor, and the results show that the NUMBER TWO reason why people DON'T stay at B&Bs is the risk factor - they don't know what they're going to get at whatever B&B they're looking at.
So, how do you minimize the risk factor for a potential guest looking at your web site? Good, quality photos is a must. I agree with Sandy and Swirt. If you have few photos, or worse yet of none of the rooms, you're turning away a lot of people who don't feel comfortable booking a stay with you. But, that doesn't go far enough, if you're interested in being the obvious choice for someone checking out B&Bs in your area. The number two most important thing, in my opinion, these days in minimizing risk is having reviews - and an ample amount. Five or six reviews over a 2 year period won't cut it. Even though they might only read four or five reviews, travelers want to see that you have lots of them. It makes them feel more comfortable that this is a legitimate business that must be pretty darn good if they have all these reviews. Again, the risk factor starts to go away.
Then...after or simultaneous with making sure you've got reviews is adding video. There was a reason there were three video companies on the Innkeeping Show floor in Atlanta, and why BedandBreakfast.com has partnered with a video company...it's what consumers want or at least are showing strong signs that they're wanting more and more. Our own research with Texas Tech in 2008 showed that consumers who visited B&B web sites placed a much higher importance on wanting to see videos than did innkeepers who ran the B&Bs. There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
A video might be a pebble on one person's shoe, but it very well could be the deciding factor for another traveler considering a B&B...especially for the first time!
Jay.

There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
There is a disconnect, but I think it strongly depends on how the survey was done. People will say they want video, but that didn't say that if they find video they are more likely to book nor that if they don't find video that they are less likely to book (in terms of actual behavior, not just what they say).
Many of the videos I run across are either simply Ken Burn's type panning effects with existing photos that are already found elsewhere on the site, or a shaky hand cam on the innkeeper's hand as they pan shakily around their place.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing against video, but you have to also keep it in perspective with other website features. For example, did your research compare preference for video over 360 panoramas or enhanced virtual tours? Did it compare 2 pictures and one video to 12 pictures and no video?
Where I see video as filling a bigger void is in social sharing/viral like YouTube allows. Then your promotional video could find its way onto forums, local travel blogs and other places where it can end up drawing a lot of people in. On the youTube venue people are more forgiving if the video is shaky or less than professional. Some examples:


The example that Gillum House showed for West Virginia would be a lot more powerful if they released it to YouTube and promoted the video rather than just sitting on the ShinnstonWV site. It would carry a little more value than this one...though this one is not without value too, in its own home grown kind of way. (viewed 965 times!)
.

Really great points, as usual Swirt. And of course, more food for thought!
Here's a big question...if we go ahead and have professional video done, do WE have to be in it? I guess I know the answer, but I am afraid of being self-conscious on tape. Great motivation to stick to my diet though@

 

[GeorgiaGirl]

I very rarely watch video's on websites....I might watch a short clip of them, but never the whole thing. I think it has to do with my attention span though! I personally would rather have more pictures on websites that I can click on at my own speed.

 

[swirt]

Hi everyone. Allow me to chime in please.
We just did some consumer research with TripAdvisor, and the results show that the NUMBER TWO reason why people DON'T stay at B&Bs is the risk factor - they don't know what they're going to get at whatever B&B they're looking at.
So, how do you minimize the risk factor for a potential guest looking at your web site? Good, quality photos is a must. I agree with Sandy and Swirt. If you have few photos, or worse yet of none of the rooms, you're turning away a lot of people who don't feel comfortable booking a stay with you. But, that doesn't go far enough, if you're interested in being the obvious choice for someone checking out B&Bs in your area. The number two most important thing, in my opinion, these days in minimizing risk is having reviews - and an ample amount. Five or six reviews over a 2 year period won't cut it. Even though they might only read four or five reviews, travelers want to see that you have lots of them. It makes them feel more comfortable that this is a legitimate business that must be pretty darn good if they have all these reviews. Again, the risk factor starts to go away.
Then...after or simultaneous with making sure you've got reviews is adding video. There was a reason there were three video companies on the Innkeeping Show floor in Atlanta, and why BedandBreakfast.com has partnered with a video company...it's what consumers want or at least are showing strong signs that they're wanting more and more. Our own research with Texas Tech in 2008 showed that consumers who visited B&B web sites placed a much higher importance on wanting to see videos than did innkeepers who ran the B&Bs. There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
A video might be a pebble on one person's shoe, but it very well could be the deciding factor for another traveler considering a B&B...especially for the first time!
Jay.

There is currently a disconnect - consumers want it, but innkeepers think it's not important to have on their web sites.
There is a disconnect, but I think it strongly depends on how the survey was done. People will say they want video, but that didn't say that if they find video they are more likely to book nor that if they don't find video that they are less likely to book (in terms of actual behavior, not just what they say).
Many of the videos I run across are either simply Ken Burn's type panning effects with existing photos that are already found elsewhere on the site, or a shaky hand cam on the innkeeper's hand as they pan shakily around their place.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not arguing against video, but you have to also keep it in perspective with other website features. For example, did your research compare preference for video over 360 panoramas or enhanced virtual tours? Did it compare 2 pictures and one video to 12 pictures and no video?
Where I see video as filling a bigger void is in social sharing/viral like YouTube allows. Then your promotional video could find its way onto forums, local travel blogs and other places where it can end up drawing a lot of people in. On the youTube venue people are more forgiving if the video is shaky or less than professional. Some examples:


The example that Gillum House showed for West Virginia would be a lot more powerful if they released it to YouTube and promoted the video rather than just sitting on the ShinnstonWV site. It would carry a little more value than this one...though this one is not without value too, in its own home grown kind of way. (viewed 965 times!)
.

Really great points, as usual Swirt. And of course, more food for thought!
Here's a big question...if we go ahead and have professional video done, do WE have to be in it? I guess I know the answer, but I am afraid of being self-conscious on tape. Great motivation to stick to my diet though@
.

Here's a big question...if we go ahead and have professional video done, do WE have to be in it?

I don't think you need to be in it. If you are the star of the inn and the main reason people come, then yes it would be a good idea. If your views are the star of the show..then they should be in it. Put your best features forward.
I would also suggest that if you ever intend to sell your inn, the video would be more valuable without you in it. A video with you in it would be worthless to future owners.