Raising rates

[JBloggs]

I think it depends on the B&B and the location.
"She also has a room that rents for $90 with the twin beds, but $110 if she changes it to a King - I told her you still have the hassle of making the bed...just make it $110 for either!"
I have seen B&B's in old run down houses with no nice landscaping or B&B-esque lot/land that should not be getting $110. They should not be that way at all, and in fact not all B&B's should be B&B's! So for that, hard to answer without seeing the inn, so SueEllen that is where your expertise comes into it. Would YOU pay more for her rooms?
Also how does the website look? Does it "show rooms" worthy of an upgrade in prices?
I agree with the others, if she wants to raise them, then just raise them. Put the ALREADY BOOKED reservations in at the NEW HIGHER RATE and make them show as a $10 discount (or whatever the new price increase is).

I agree with the others, if she wants to raise them, then just raise them. Put the ALREADY BOOKED reservations in at the NEW HIGHER RATE and make them show as a $10 discount (or whatever the new price increase is)

This I wouldn't do. Just because someone will argue the point that their confirmations says '$90' and they want this new 'discount' off THAT. It would happen. You know it would... I wouldn't even mention that the rates went up and 'I kept your room at the rate you booked' because most people would say, 'Damn straight you kept my rate at what I booked.'
.

I agree with the others, if she wants to raise them, then just raise them. Put the ALREADY BOOKED reservations in at the NEW HIGHER RATE and make them show as a $10 discount (or whatever the new price increase is)

This I wouldn't do. Just because someone will argue the point that their confirmations says '$90' and they want this new 'discount' off THAT. It would happen. You know it would... I wouldn't even mention that the rates went up and 'I kept your room at the rate you booked' because most people would say, 'Damn straight you kept my rate at what I booked.'

I do this every day.
A call from the road, they get the room at $20 off as they pull in right now and I give it to them. I have the rate less discount, they see the discount, my reporting system shows how many discounts I gave, the room and the date. I keep track of every last one of them!
I said on rooms already booked, add this to their statement. simple.

 

[Alibi Ike]

I think it depends on the B&B and the location.
"She also has a room that rents for $90 with the twin beds, but $110 if she changes it to a King - I told her you still have the hassle of making the bed...just make it $110 for either!"
I have seen B&B's in old run down houses with no nice landscaping or B&B-esque lot/land that should not be getting $110. They should not be that way at all, and in fact not all B&B's should be B&B's! So for that, hard to answer without seeing the inn, so SueEllen that is where your expertise comes into it. Would YOU pay more for her rooms?
Also how does the website look? Does it "show rooms" worthy of an upgrade in prices?
I agree with the others, if she wants to raise them, then just raise them. Put the ALREADY BOOKED reservations in at the NEW HIGHER RATE and make them show as a $10 discount (or whatever the new price increase is).

I agree with the others, if she wants to raise them, then just raise them. Put the ALREADY BOOKED reservations in at the NEW HIGHER RATE and make them show as a $10 discount (or whatever the new price increase is)

This I wouldn't do. Just because someone will argue the point that their confirmations says '$90' and they want this new 'discount' off THAT. It would happen. You know it would... I wouldn't even mention that the rates went up and 'I kept your room at the rate you booked' because most people would say, 'Damn straight you kept my rate at what I booked.'
.

I agree with the others, if she wants to raise them, then just raise them. Put the ALREADY BOOKED reservations in at the NEW HIGHER RATE and make them show as a $10 discount (or whatever the new price increase is)

This I wouldn't do. Just because someone will argue the point that their confirmations says '$90' and they want this new 'discount' off THAT. It would happen. You know it would... I wouldn't even mention that the rates went up and 'I kept your room at the rate you booked' because most people would say, 'Damn straight you kept my rate at what I booked.'

I do this every day.
A call from the road, they get the room at $20 off as they pull in right now and I give it to them. I have the rate less discount, they see the discount, my reporting system shows how many discounts I gave, the room and the date. I keep track of every last one of them!
I said on rooms already booked, add this to their statement. simple.
.

I agree with the others, if she wants to raise them, then just raise them. Put the ALREADY BOOKED reservations in at the NEW HIGHER RATE and make them show as a $10 discount (or whatever the new price increase is)

This I wouldn't do. Just because someone will argue the point that their confirmations says '$90' and they want this new 'discount' off THAT. It would happen. You know it would... I wouldn't even mention that the rates went up and 'I kept your room at the rate you booked' because most people would say, 'Damn straight you kept my rate at what I booked.'

I do this every day.
A call from the road, they get the room at $20 off as they pull in right now and I give it to them. I have the rate less discount, they see the discount, my reporting system shows how many discounts I gave, the room and the date. I keep track of every last one of them!
I said on rooms already booked, add this to their statement. simple.

The person who made the rez 6 months ago got price $X. Just because the price is now $X + $10 does not mean they got a discount or you gave one.
Yes, if we discount a room we show it on the reg form so the guest sees they got a discount. I don't just mark the price down.
What I'm saying is the person who booked 6 months ago whips out their confirmation and says they want this new discount off the price they reserved at. NOT whatever you're charging today.
I try to avoid problems like that arising.

 

[bbinnsitters]

Sue - is this innkeeper paying the same for anything today that she was 7 years ago? I doubt it! Why do we innkeepers get so wigged out about raising rates?
I haven't raised my rates in 4 years, but only because we're in the top range of those here in our area. I'm waiting for the rest of them to catch up!.

Lynne,
I'll point the Cost of Living debate out to her - good thought. She is just procrastinating and "we have been doing it this way for so long..." It took me a few years to convince her to hire me - they were used to shutting down. Then when she hired me she was so happy and thought she wasn't paying me enough (duh, your prices are too low!)
Hey, if you are getting the top range in your area more power to ya - sounds as if you knew you were worth it when you set your prices! And I know you are getting the bookings!

 

[Generic]

Sue - is this innkeeper paying the same for anything today that she was 7 years ago? I doubt it! Why do we innkeepers get so wigged out about raising rates?
I haven't raised my rates in 4 years, but only because we're in the top range of those here in our area. I'm waiting for the rest of them to catch up!.

Lynne,
I'll point the Cost of Living debate out to her - good thought. She is just procrastinating and "we have been doing it this way for so long..." It took me a few years to convince her to hire me - they were used to shutting down. Then when she hired me she was so happy and thought she wasn't paying me enough (duh, your prices are too low!)
Hey, if you are getting the top range in your area more power to ya - sounds as if you knew you were worth it when you set your prices! And I know you are getting the bookings!
.

You can point out that if we had all kept the attitude of "we have been doing it this way for so long..." then Western Union would still be in business sending and receiving telegrams.

 

[bbinnsitters]

Sue - is this innkeeper paying the same for anything today that she was 7 years ago? I doubt it! Why do we innkeepers get so wigged out about raising rates?
I haven't raised my rates in 4 years, but only because we're in the top range of those here in our area. I'm waiting for the rest of them to catch up!.

Lynne,
I'll point the Cost of Living debate out to her - good thought. She is just procrastinating and "we have been doing it this way for so long..." It took me a few years to convince her to hire me - they were used to shutting down. Then when she hired me she was so happy and thought she wasn't paying me enough (duh, your prices are too low!)
Hey, if you are getting the top range in your area more power to ya - sounds as if you knew you were worth it when you set your prices! And I know you are getting the bookings!
.

You can point out that if we had all kept the attitude of "we have been doing it this way for so long..." then Western Union would still be in business sending and receiving telegrams.
.

HA! Amen!

 

[Aussie Innkeeper]

Even in the 4 years we've been innkeepers, I can think of things that have gone up - food, for one, and heating fuel for another. Today in the paper it was announced that my water bill is going up by 65%! Fortunately, that's not a huge bill to begin with, but every little bit chips away at the bottom line. What I did do was to cut back on some of our 'discounts'. For instance, we were offering a 20% discount for our guests who were attending a certain theatre in the area. Well, I cut that back to 15%. Last minute, I was giving 30% so I cut back to 20%.
I've also cut waaayyy back on all the directories we were listed on. I've got a good website, and the 'organic' searches seem to do well according to my stats, so I just continued the directories that were rated 5-stars. I really don't need to be on every mom & pop B&B directory out there. The one thing (free) that is really huge for us is the fact that we're #1 in our area on Trip Advisor. I don't pay for a business listing, don't really see the need for it right now. My goal is to get 100 reviews by the end of the year. Hopefully all good ones. We're at 65 now.

 

[Suzie Q]

Sue - is this innkeeper paying the same for anything today that she was 7 years ago? I doubt it! Why do we innkeepers get so wigged out about raising rates?
I haven't raised my rates in 4 years, but only because we're in the top range of those here in our area. I'm waiting for the rest of them to catch up!.

im paying 40 cents more for beans than I was last month!
.

Beans? How about coffee??? I have a receipt from a year or two ago, Eight O'Clock Coffee about $10 a bag. Today, Walmart wants closer to $14 and HyVee wants closer to $20!!!