Would you drop a B&B directory even though all of your competitors are listed?

[Proud Texan]

Rack cards are good for sending with gift certificates and inquiries we get. The other benefit is our guests take them to give to their friends, so word of mouth is probably the best use of our rack cards. If anyone does not get them at vista print - please start, easy peasy rack card for much less. You can print just 50 or 100 and when you want to reprint you can even update for no charge..

Rack cards are good for sending with gift certificates and inquiries we get. The other benefit is our guests take them to give to their friends, so word of mouth is probably the best use of our rack cards. If anyone does not get them at vista print - please start, easy peasy rack card for much less. You can print just 50 or 100 and when you want to reprint you can even update for no charge.

I use PrintHarmony.com they're good too.

 

[gillumhouse]

Rack cards are good for sending with gift certificates and inquiries we get. The other benefit is our guests take them to give to their friends, so word of mouth is probably the best use of our rack cards. If anyone does not get them at vista print - please start, easy peasy rack card for much less. You can print just 50 or 100 and when you want to reprint you can even update for no charge..

Rack cards are good for sending with gift certificates and inquiries we get. The other benefit is our guests take them to give to their friends, so word of mouth is probably the best use of our rack cards. If anyone does not get them at vista print - please start, easy peasy rack card for much less. You can print just 50 or 100 and when you want to reprint you can even update for no charge.

I use PrintHarmony.com they're good too.
.

I use a local print shop that hires the handicapped. I get good product, good prices, and warm & fuzzies for me all in one.

 

[Proud Texan]

Rack cards are good for sending with gift certificates and inquiries we get. The other benefit is our guests take them to give to their friends, so word of mouth is probably the best use of our rack cards. If anyone does not get them at vista print - please start, easy peasy rack card for much less. You can print just 50 or 100 and when you want to reprint you can even update for no charge..

Rack cards are good for sending with gift certificates and inquiries we get. The other benefit is our guests take them to give to their friends, so word of mouth is probably the best use of our rack cards. If anyone does not get them at vista print - please start, easy peasy rack card for much less. You can print just 50 or 100 and when you want to reprint you can even update for no charge.

I use PrintHarmony.com they're good too.
.

I use a local print shop that hires the handicapped. I get good product, good prices, and warm & fuzzies for me all in one.
.

I get good product, good prices, and warm & fuzzies for me all in one.

They have a cream for that ya know.

 

[egoodell]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

I do kepp printing brochures. I have them at the Welcome Centers and at least one of the Welcome Centers has my brochure in the 24/7 area. But mostly I keep them for my guests to take back home with them to give to friends, to keep in my purse (heavy enough to use as a lethal weapon because it is full of my brochures, MABB Directories, and Rail-Trail info - money is wishful thinking) to be able to hand out when "giving my commercial" (which I do frequrntly). A few days ago I was at the flower shop and the lady next to me saw my magnetic signs on my car and asked about the B & B (into the trunk for brochures).
Magnetic signs for the sides of you car are a good investment. I have them from VistaPrint.. I am getting ready to order them from my brochure printer to see how they hold up. The print on the sign on the driver's door is flaking off and the other side is not far behind it in flaking.
While driving down the road they are not that visible BUT I was found by the lady who hit my car in the grocery lot because of my signs and more than one conversation has begun in a parking lot because of them. Excellent advertising as you travel your area, shop, or go on vacation. I never stop marketing my inn.
.

Magnetic signs for the sides of you car are a good investment. I have them from VistaPrint.. I am getting ready to order them from my brochure printer to see how they hold up. The print on the sign on the driver's door is flaking off and the other side is not far behind it in flaking.

Wow that's good to know. We have them for our tour company. I'll have to check their prices versus the local place. They are expensive at the local print shop!!!
Riki

 

[Proud Texan]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

I do kepp printing brochures. I have them at the Welcome Centers and at least one of the Welcome Centers has my brochure in the 24/7 area. But mostly I keep them for my guests to take back home with them to give to friends, to keep in my purse (heavy enough to use as a lethal weapon because it is full of my brochures, MABB Directories, and Rail-Trail info - money is wishful thinking) to be able to hand out when "giving my commercial" (which I do frequrntly). A few days ago I was at the flower shop and the lady next to me saw my magnetic signs on my car and asked about the B & B (into the trunk for brochures).
Magnetic signs for the sides of you car are a good investment. I have them from VistaPrint.. I am getting ready to order them from my brochure printer to see how they hold up. The print on the sign on the driver's door is flaking off and the other side is not far behind it in flaking.
While driving down the road they are not that visible BUT I was found by the lady who hit my car in the grocery lot because of my signs and more than one conversation has begun in a parking lot because of them. Excellent advertising as you travel your area, shop, or go on vacation. I never stop marketing my inn.
.

Magnetic signs for the sides of you car are a good investment. I have them from VistaPrint.. I am getting ready to order them from my brochure printer to see how they hold up. The print on the sign on the driver's door is flaking off and the other side is not far behind it in flaking.

Wow that's good to know. We have them for our tour company. I'll have to check their prices versus the local place. They are expensive at the local print shop!!!
Riki
.

Magnetic signs for the sides of you car are a good investment. I have them from VistaPrint.. I am getting ready to order them from my brochure printer to see how they hold up. The print on the sign on the driver's door is flaking off and the other side is not far behind it in flaking.

Wow that's good to know. We have them for our tour company. I'll have to check their prices versus the local place. They are expensive at the local print shop!!!
Riki

I agree with Kathleen. We have them and they DO get noticed. I got mine locally. Most companies will design them for you or if you're handy on the computer, you can provide them with the artwork. I did the latter so that I could use my logo.
My sister quipped that any trip we take can now be written off as advertising expense.

 

[gillumhouse]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

I do kepp printing brochures. I have them at the Welcome Centers and at least one of the Welcome Centers has my brochure in the 24/7 area. But mostly I keep them for my guests to take back home with them to give to friends, to keep in my purse (heavy enough to use as a lethal weapon because it is full of my brochures, MABB Directories, and Rail-Trail info - money is wishful thinking) to be able to hand out when "giving my commercial" (which I do frequrntly). A few days ago I was at the flower shop and the lady next to me saw my magnetic signs on my car and asked about the B & B (into the trunk for brochures).
Magnetic signs for the sides of you car are a good investment. I have them from VistaPrint.. I am getting ready to order them from my brochure printer to see how they hold up. The print on the sign on the driver's door is flaking off and the other side is not far behind it in flaking.
While driving down the road they are not that visible BUT I was found by the lady who hit my car in the grocery lot because of my signs and more than one conversation has begun in a parking lot because of them. Excellent advertising as you travel your area, shop, or go on vacation. I never stop marketing my inn.
.

Magnetic signs for the sides of you car are a good investment. I have them from VistaPrint.. I am getting ready to order them from my brochure printer to see how they hold up. The print on the sign on the driver's door is flaking off and the other side is not far behind it in flaking.

Wow that's good to know. We have them for our tour company. I'll have to check their prices versus the local place. They are expensive at the local print shop!!!
Riki
.

With VistsPrint, I got the large size signs (the small were TOO small), uploaded my logo - extra charge - and the 2 signs with shipping were under $30. BUT if I have to replace them every year or so I may be better off getting them done at my local hire the handicapped.
I called and the person I need is off today, but I was told they average about $63.50 and they use vynal lettering. What I have was a good (and cheap) way to find out about using them..

 

[wendydk]

Our Inn is a member of this program, and while we've only taken a couple of reservations from it, the free accompanying exposure on expedia.com and hotels.com (and now travelocity.com) is worth a ton of business. Although those sites do not offer a link to our website, since joining, nearly half of our top 20 search terms now include some form of our Inn's name....this is a direct result of visitors seeing us on those sites and then researching the Inn before booking. Then, the obvious result is they book directly on our site. Thus, we snare the business without paying the big commission. And, none of the other Inns in the area appear on these sites. We ask every guest how they heard about us and our tracking program is phenomenal at showing us just where people are coming from.

And, while I was concerned about the caliber of guests that would find us on these sites, they turn out to be just as nice and considerate as everyone else.
If all of your area's innkeepers jumped off a cliff, would you?

That is so very informative! I have not joined the other directories that my competition is all on because I don't see them coming up on the first page of a Google search. I don't go past the first page myself unless I am looking for something really specific. So I don't see anyone going past the two directories that show up as number 1 and 2 or 1 and 3 since they show almost all the inns in town there.
I have been afraid to get any exposure on Expedia and the others because of the horror stories of people showing up with confirmed reservations during high season with the innkeepers not knowing anything about the reservation and having nowhere to send the guests.
So when you get this exposure is the booking still done ONLY by Bedandbreakfast dot com? You are not getting booked by Expedia, Ortitz or any of those? I would not go near that with a ten foot pole - I only have two rooms right now and will only have 5 in the future.
RIki.

Hi Riki
I only have three rooms, and I wouldn't think of dropping this exposure; it is a big part of what keeps me competitive with all of the larger Inns in the area. All reservations through Expedia, Hotels.com and Travelocity.com come through the Bedandbreakfast.com reservations program. B&B.com has already taken their entire payment IN FULL, and I get a notification email right away with all of the guest's information so that I can send them a confirmation or call them if I so choose. But, as I said, most guests see us on those sites and look up our website and end up booking directly through us, so that huge exposure costs us very little, with the exception of those few reservations that do come through the B&B.com system. I love it and have never had a problem. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.

 

[egoodell]

Our Inn is a member of this program, and while we've only taken a couple of reservations from it, the free accompanying exposure on expedia.com and hotels.com (and now travelocity.com) is worth a ton of business. Although those sites do not offer a link to our website, since joining, nearly half of our top 20 search terms now include some form of our Inn's name....this is a direct result of visitors seeing us on those sites and then researching the Inn before booking. Then, the obvious result is they book directly on our site. Thus, we snare the business without paying the big commission. And, none of the other Inns in the area appear on these sites. We ask every guest how they heard about us and our tracking program is phenomenal at showing us just where people are coming from.

And, while I was concerned about the caliber of guests that would find us on these sites, they turn out to be just as nice and considerate as everyone else.
If all of your area's innkeepers jumped off a cliff, would you?

That is so very informative! I have not joined the other directories that my competition is all on because I don't see them coming up on the first page of a Google search. I don't go past the first page myself unless I am looking for something really specific. So I don't see anyone going past the two directories that show up as number 1 and 2 or 1 and 3 since they show almost all the inns in town there.
I have been afraid to get any exposure on Expedia and the others because of the horror stories of people showing up with confirmed reservations during high season with the innkeepers not knowing anything about the reservation and having nowhere to send the guests.
So when you get this exposure is the booking still done ONLY by Bedandbreakfast dot com? You are not getting booked by Expedia, Ortitz or any of those? I would not go near that with a ten foot pole - I only have two rooms right now and will only have 5 in the future.
RIki.

Hi Riki
I only have three rooms, and I wouldn't think of dropping this exposure; it is a big part of what keeps me competitive with all of the larger Inns in the area. All reservations through Expedia, Hotels.com and Travelocity.com come through the Bedandbreakfast.com reservations program. B&B.com has already taken their entire payment IN FULL, and I get a notification email right away with all of the guest's information so that I can send them a confirmation or call them if I so choose. But, as I said, most guests see us on those sites and look up our website and end up booking directly through us, so that huge exposure costs us very little, with the exception of those few reservations that do come through the B&B.com system. I love it and have never had a problem. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.
.

m. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.

I believe that is true. It seems that inns that are not in destination locations have tried the waters with the big reservation systems, and since they are not hotels with huge numbers of rooms, when the system makes an error there is no solution. And they tell me that getting any customer service is a nightmare, so I have steered clear of going anywhere near them. They also report getting OFF the system is a nightmare as well.
But if the reservations go through Bedandbreakfast dot com maybe it is controlled. I'll need to watch it for a while first!
Riki

 

[wendydk]

Our Inn is a member of this program, and while we've only taken a couple of reservations from it, the free accompanying exposure on expedia.com and hotels.com (and now travelocity.com) is worth a ton of business. Although those sites do not offer a link to our website, since joining, nearly half of our top 20 search terms now include some form of our Inn's name....this is a direct result of visitors seeing us on those sites and then researching the Inn before booking. Then, the obvious result is they book directly on our site. Thus, we snare the business without paying the big commission. And, none of the other Inns in the area appear on these sites. We ask every guest how they heard about us and our tracking program is phenomenal at showing us just where people are coming from.

And, while I was concerned about the caliber of guests that would find us on these sites, they turn out to be just as nice and considerate as everyone else.
If all of your area's innkeepers jumped off a cliff, would you?

That is so very informative! I have not joined the other directories that my competition is all on because I don't see them coming up on the first page of a Google search. I don't go past the first page myself unless I am looking for something really specific. So I don't see anyone going past the two directories that show up as number 1 and 2 or 1 and 3 since they show almost all the inns in town there.
I have been afraid to get any exposure on Expedia and the others because of the horror stories of people showing up with confirmed reservations during high season with the innkeepers not knowing anything about the reservation and having nowhere to send the guests.
So when you get this exposure is the booking still done ONLY by Bedandbreakfast dot com? You are not getting booked by Expedia, Ortitz or any of those? I would not go near that with a ten foot pole - I only have two rooms right now and will only have 5 in the future.
RIki.

Hi Riki
I only have three rooms, and I wouldn't think of dropping this exposure; it is a big part of what keeps me competitive with all of the larger Inns in the area. All reservations through Expedia, Hotels.com and Travelocity.com come through the Bedandbreakfast.com reservations program. B&B.com has already taken their entire payment IN FULL, and I get a notification email right away with all of the guest's information so that I can send them a confirmation or call them if I so choose. But, as I said, most guests see us on those sites and look up our website and end up booking directly through us, so that huge exposure costs us very little, with the exception of those few reservations that do come through the B&B.com system. I love it and have never had a problem. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.
.

m. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.

I believe that is true. It seems that inns that are not in destination locations have tried the waters with the big reservation systems, and since they are not hotels with huge numbers of rooms, when the system makes an error there is no solution. And they tell me that getting any customer service is a nightmare, so I have steered clear of going anywhere near them. They also report getting OFF the system is a nightmare as well.
But if the reservations go through Bedandbreakfast dot com maybe it is controlled. I'll need to watch it for a while first!
Riki
.

Well, it costs nothing to join up with the program, other than the fat commission they take on each booking. And, since there's no contract, you can also drop off at any time.

 

[Morticia]

Our Inn is a member of this program, and while we've only taken a couple of reservations from it, the free accompanying exposure on expedia.com and hotels.com (and now travelocity.com) is worth a ton of business. Although those sites do not offer a link to our website, since joining, nearly half of our top 20 search terms now include some form of our Inn's name....this is a direct result of visitors seeing us on those sites and then researching the Inn before booking. Then, the obvious result is they book directly on our site. Thus, we snare the business without paying the big commission. And, none of the other Inns in the area appear on these sites. We ask every guest how they heard about us and our tracking program is phenomenal at showing us just where people are coming from.

And, while I was concerned about the caliber of guests that would find us on these sites, they turn out to be just as nice and considerate as everyone else.
If all of your area's innkeepers jumped off a cliff, would you?

That is so very informative! I have not joined the other directories that my competition is all on because I don't see them coming up on the first page of a Google search. I don't go past the first page myself unless I am looking for something really specific. So I don't see anyone going past the two directories that show up as number 1 and 2 or 1 and 3 since they show almost all the inns in town there.
I have been afraid to get any exposure on Expedia and the others because of the horror stories of people showing up with confirmed reservations during high season with the innkeepers not knowing anything about the reservation and having nowhere to send the guests.
So when you get this exposure is the booking still done ONLY by Bedandbreakfast dot com? You are not getting booked by Expedia, Ortitz or any of those? I would not go near that with a ten foot pole - I only have two rooms right now and will only have 5 in the future.
RIki.

Hi Riki
I only have three rooms, and I wouldn't think of dropping this exposure; it is a big part of what keeps me competitive with all of the larger Inns in the area. All reservations through Expedia, Hotels.com and Travelocity.com come through the Bedandbreakfast.com reservations program. B&B.com has already taken their entire payment IN FULL, and I get a notification email right away with all of the guest's information so that I can send them a confirmation or call them if I so choose. But, as I said, most guests see us on those sites and look up our website and end up booking directly through us, so that huge exposure costs us very little, with the exception of those few reservations that do come through the B&B.com system. I love it and have never had a problem. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.
.

m. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.

I believe that is true. It seems that inns that are not in destination locations have tried the waters with the big reservation systems, and since they are not hotels with huge numbers of rooms, when the system makes an error there is no solution. And they tell me that getting any customer service is a nightmare, so I have steered clear of going anywhere near them. They also report getting OFF the system is a nightmare as well.
But if the reservations go through Bedandbreakfast dot com maybe it is controlled. I'll need to watch it for a while first!
Riki
.

Well, it costs nothing to join up with the program, other than the fat commission they take on each booking. And, since there's no contract, you can also drop off at any time.
.

Well, it costs nothing to join up with the program, other than the fat commission they take on each booking. And, since there's no contract, you can also drop off at any time.

If you drop out of the listing with bedandbreakfast, does your inn listing disappear off Expedia, et al or does it stay there and tell guest you have no availability?

 

[egoodell]

Our Inn is a member of this program, and while we've only taken a couple of reservations from it, the free accompanying exposure on expedia.com and hotels.com (and now travelocity.com) is worth a ton of business. Although those sites do not offer a link to our website, since joining, nearly half of our top 20 search terms now include some form of our Inn's name....this is a direct result of visitors seeing us on those sites and then researching the Inn before booking. Then, the obvious result is they book directly on our site. Thus, we snare the business without paying the big commission. And, none of the other Inns in the area appear on these sites. We ask every guest how they heard about us and our tracking program is phenomenal at showing us just where people are coming from.

And, while I was concerned about the caliber of guests that would find us on these sites, they turn out to be just as nice and considerate as everyone else.
If all of your area's innkeepers jumped off a cliff, would you?

That is so very informative! I have not joined the other directories that my competition is all on because I don't see them coming up on the first page of a Google search. I don't go past the first page myself unless I am looking for something really specific. So I don't see anyone going past the two directories that show up as number 1 and 2 or 1 and 3 since they show almost all the inns in town there.
I have been afraid to get any exposure on Expedia and the others because of the horror stories of people showing up with confirmed reservations during high season with the innkeepers not knowing anything about the reservation and having nowhere to send the guests.
So when you get this exposure is the booking still done ONLY by Bedandbreakfast dot com? You are not getting booked by Expedia, Ortitz or any of those? I would not go near that with a ten foot pole - I only have two rooms right now and will only have 5 in the future.
RIki.

Hi Riki
I only have three rooms, and I wouldn't think of dropping this exposure; it is a big part of what keeps me competitive with all of the larger Inns in the area. All reservations through Expedia, Hotels.com and Travelocity.com come through the Bedandbreakfast.com reservations program. B&B.com has already taken their entire payment IN FULL, and I get a notification email right away with all of the guest's information so that I can send them a confirmation or call them if I so choose. But, as I said, most guests see us on those sites and look up our website and end up booking directly through us, so that huge exposure costs us very little, with the exception of those few reservations that do come through the B&B.com system. I love it and have never had a problem. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.
.

m. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.

I believe that is true. It seems that inns that are not in destination locations have tried the waters with the big reservation systems, and since they are not hotels with huge numbers of rooms, when the system makes an error there is no solution. And they tell me that getting any customer service is a nightmare, so I have steered clear of going anywhere near them. They also report getting OFF the system is a nightmare as well.
But if the reservations go through Bedandbreakfast dot com maybe it is controlled. I'll need to watch it for a while first!
Riki
.

Well, it costs nothing to join up with the program, other than the fat commission they take on each booking. And, since there's no contract, you can also drop off at any time.
.

Good to know. I'll keep an eye out. Right now we are busy enough for Chris with the B&B and tours during the week that we are generating right now. I had hoped I'd be home and he'd be working outside the business, but we can't do that switch until he has the other wing built.
Then he will probably only do part time outside while I do the inn full tilt. He can handle what we have now, but we don't want to increase the B&B bookings until we're both there, unless the new part time cleaning person and our innsitters turn out as reliable as they seem . But it took me a long time to find people who would actually show up for an interview. I figure if they can't show up for an interview set on their own schedule, they are not going to be reliable. Cross your fingers!
Riki

 

[wendydk]

Our Inn is a member of this program, and while we've only taken a couple of reservations from it, the free accompanying exposure on expedia.com and hotels.com (and now travelocity.com) is worth a ton of business. Although those sites do not offer a link to our website, since joining, nearly half of our top 20 search terms now include some form of our Inn's name....this is a direct result of visitors seeing us on those sites and then researching the Inn before booking. Then, the obvious result is they book directly on our site. Thus, we snare the business without paying the big commission. And, none of the other Inns in the area appear on these sites. We ask every guest how they heard about us and our tracking program is phenomenal at showing us just where people are coming from.

And, while I was concerned about the caliber of guests that would find us on these sites, they turn out to be just as nice and considerate as everyone else.
If all of your area's innkeepers jumped off a cliff, would you?

That is so very informative! I have not joined the other directories that my competition is all on because I don't see them coming up on the first page of a Google search. I don't go past the first page myself unless I am looking for something really specific. So I don't see anyone going past the two directories that show up as number 1 and 2 or 1 and 3 since they show almost all the inns in town there.
I have been afraid to get any exposure on Expedia and the others because of the horror stories of people showing up with confirmed reservations during high season with the innkeepers not knowing anything about the reservation and having nowhere to send the guests.
So when you get this exposure is the booking still done ONLY by Bedandbreakfast dot com? You are not getting booked by Expedia, Ortitz or any of those? I would not go near that with a ten foot pole - I only have two rooms right now and will only have 5 in the future.
RIki.

Hi Riki
I only have three rooms, and I wouldn't think of dropping this exposure; it is a big part of what keeps me competitive with all of the larger Inns in the area. All reservations through Expedia, Hotels.com and Travelocity.com come through the Bedandbreakfast.com reservations program. B&B.com has already taken their entire payment IN FULL, and I get a notification email right away with all of the guest's information so that I can send them a confirmation or call them if I so choose. But, as I said, most guests see us on those sites and look up our website and end up booking directly through us, so that huge exposure costs us very little, with the exception of those few reservations that do come through the B&B.com system. I love it and have never had a problem. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.
.

m. I'm willing to bet the the Inns that are seeing problems are on expedia, hotels, travelocity or obitz through a travel agency GDS system, which I refuse to be a part of.

I believe that is true. It seems that inns that are not in destination locations have tried the waters with the big reservation systems, and since they are not hotels with huge numbers of rooms, when the system makes an error there is no solution. And they tell me that getting any customer service is a nightmare, so I have steered clear of going anywhere near them. They also report getting OFF the system is a nightmare as well.
But if the reservations go through Bedandbreakfast dot com maybe it is controlled. I'll need to watch it for a while first!
Riki
.

Well, it costs nothing to join up with the program, other than the fat commission they take on each booking. And, since there's no contract, you can also drop off at any time.
.

Well, it costs nothing to join up with the program, other than the fat commission they take on each booking. And, since there's no contract, you can also drop off at any time.

If you drop out of the listing with bedandbreakfast, does your inn listing disappear off Expedia, et al or does it stay there and tell guest you have no availability?
.

If you drop out of the bedandbreakfast.com online reservations program, you are also removed from expedia, et al.
Recently, bedandbreakfast.com and webervations made it possible so I can update my availability just through webervations, which was a huge relief. It's not required, but I thought it would be easier; I was always afraid that I would forget to update one or the other and end up in trouble. AND, reservations taken through the bb.com system result in an automatic update to my webervations availability too.
The only downfall to combining the availablity is that I had a three night minimum stay for all dates on the bb.com system, due to the big comish...now I can't differentiate. That's OK though....all changes I make through webervations for availability, rates, minimum stays, etc transfer over to the bb.com system...SO MUCH EASIER!

 

[wendydk]

Rack cards are good for sending with gift certificates and inquiries we get. The other benefit is our guests take them to give to their friends, so word of mouth is probably the best use of our rack cards. If anyone does not get them at vista print - please start, easy peasy rack card for much less. You can print just 50 or 100 and when you want to reprint you can even update for no charge..

I do all our printing on Vista Print, but have never seen rack cards....are you doing the big postcards as rack cards? Never mind, found them...must be new. Now I just have to figure out how to upload what I want>
COOL!

 

[swirt]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$

I agree. Rack cards would be the person on the phone calling right now for a room, not an online booking. I have had a couple call from a neary Visitor's Center as they had the rack cards in hand. Unfortunately we do not do walk ins, from reasons stated on many other threads. They are reluctant to give you their cc over the phone, want to see the rooms, etc. They will say "We are nearly there" and you run your

off getting a room ready and they do not show, they find a roadside hotel on the way. In the beginning when we first opened we would wait for these callers and they never showed, even when they said they were 10 minutes away, and we are not difficult to find. These are the same who want a room for $50.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient. We usually never had any availability at the time as the spots had been reserved in advance.
We may have had 1 or 2 that people called about the following year or something like that...but it just wasn't worth the hassle of all the frantic last minute calling so we stopped putting them out.
We do put them in books that are on the shelves in the rooms, and they often get taken by people and probably redistributed.

 

[Don Draper]

Duplicate post.

 

[egoodell]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$

I agree. Rack cards would be the person on the phone calling right now for a room, not an online booking. I have had a couple call from a neary Visitor's Center as they had the rack cards in hand. Unfortunately we do not do walk ins, from reasons stated on many other threads. They are reluctant to give you their cc over the phone, want to see the rooms, etc. They will say "We are nearly there" and you run your

off getting a room ready and they do not show, they find a roadside hotel on the way. In the beginning when we first opened we would wait for these callers and they never showed, even when they said they were 10 minutes away, and we are not difficult to find. These are the same who want a room for $50.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient. We usually never had any availability at the time as the spots had been reserved in advance.
We may have had 1 or 2 that people called about the following year or something like that...but it just wasn't worth the hassle of all the frantic last minute calling so we stopped putting them out.
We do put them in books that are on the shelves in the rooms, and they often get taken by people and probably redistributed.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki

 

[swirt]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$

I agree. Rack cards would be the person on the phone calling right now for a room, not an online booking. I have had a couple call from a neary Visitor's Center as they had the rack cards in hand. Unfortunately we do not do walk ins, from reasons stated on many other threads. They are reluctant to give you their cc over the phone, want to see the rooms, etc. They will say "We are nearly there" and you run your

off getting a room ready and they do not show, they find a roadside hotel on the way. In the beginning when we first opened we would wait for these callers and they never showed, even when they said they were 10 minutes away, and we are not difficult to find. These are the same who want a room for $50.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient. We usually never had any availability at the time as the spots had been reserved in advance.
We may have had 1 or 2 that people called about the following year or something like that...but it just wasn't worth the hassle of all the frantic last minute calling so we stopped putting them out.
We do put them in books that are on the shelves in the rooms, and they often get taken by people and probably redistributed.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki
.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki

I think ours is bigger. ~25 wineries within 15 miles of our place ... Closer to 90 wineries within a 45 mile radius. The most recent estimate I heard was it attracts 2 million visitors a year.

 

[egoodell]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$

I agree. Rack cards would be the person on the phone calling right now for a room, not an online booking. I have had a couple call from a neary Visitor's Center as they had the rack cards in hand. Unfortunately we do not do walk ins, from reasons stated on many other threads. They are reluctant to give you their cc over the phone, want to see the rooms, etc. They will say "We are nearly there" and you run your

off getting a room ready and they do not show, they find a roadside hotel on the way. In the beginning when we first opened we would wait for these callers and they never showed, even when they said they were 10 minutes away, and we are not difficult to find. These are the same who want a room for $50.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient. We usually never had any availability at the time as the spots had been reserved in advance.
We may have had 1 or 2 that people called about the following year or something like that...but it just wasn't worth the hassle of all the frantic last minute calling so we stopped putting them out.
We do put them in books that are on the shelves in the rooms, and they often get taken by people and probably redistributed.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki
.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki

I think ours is bigger. ~25 wineries within 15 miles of our place ... Closer to 90 wineries within a 45 mile radius. The most recent estimate I heard was it attracts 2 million visitors a year.
.

I think ours is bigger. ~25 wineries within 15 miles of our place ... Closer to 90 wineries within a 45 mile radius. The most recent estimate I heard was it attracts 2 million visitors a year.

Oh yesssir you are bigger!!! We have something like 14 or so in our driving range. About 140 in the state, double that for growers. Our county still does not realize the potential the wineries generate so still give them a hard time here. Pretty dumb when you consider the taxes the wine tourists bring. The state has finally recognized it though.
RIki

 

[gillumhouse]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$

I agree. Rack cards would be the person on the phone calling right now for a room, not an online booking. I have had a couple call from a neary Visitor's Center as they had the rack cards in hand. Unfortunately we do not do walk ins, from reasons stated on many other threads. They are reluctant to give you their cc over the phone, want to see the rooms, etc. They will say "We are nearly there" and you run your

off getting a room ready and they do not show, they find a roadside hotel on the way. In the beginning when we first opened we would wait for these callers and they never showed, even when they said they were 10 minutes away, and we are not difficult to find. These are the same who want a room for $50.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient. We usually never had any availability at the time as the spots had been reserved in advance.
We may have had 1 or 2 that people called about the following year or something like that...but it just wasn't worth the hassle of all the frantic last minute calling so we stopped putting them out.
We do put them in books that are on the shelves in the rooms, and they often get taken by people and probably redistributed.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki
.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki

I think ours is bigger. ~25 wineries within 15 miles of our place ... Closer to 90 wineries within a 45 mile radius. The most recent estimate I heard was it attracts 2 million visitors a year.
.

I think ours is bigger. ~25 wineries within 15 miles of our place ... Closer to 90 wineries within a 45 mile radius. The most recent estimate I heard was it attracts 2 million visitors a year.

Oh yesssir you are bigger!!! We have something like 14 or so in our driving range. About 140 in the state, double that for growers. Our county still does not realize the potential the wineries generate so still give them a hard time here. Pretty dumb when you consider the taxes the wine tourists bring. The state has finally recognized it though.
RIki
.

If the State finally recognizes the wine country potential as a tax base and the county does not, I think I would ask the State to talk to the county. to give a bit of educating. County Commissioners like tax money.... sounds as if they just need some good old fashioned edumakashun!

 

[egoodell]

To reiterate what has been said, with limited advertising dollars it becomes incumbant upon an innkeeper to eliminate those venues that are not producing income.
We were fortunate (we thought at the time) to have a regional newspaper feature article on us when we first opened. Since then they have badgered us to place ads on a monthly basis. We saw absolutely no interest generated from either the article or the ads. We discontinued that very quickly. Why throw good money after bad?
It's the same with rack cards....worthless. Not a nibble one from those we've distributed. I track where my reservations come from and most come directly from my web site as a result of a Google search. The rest have come from B&B.com
I'll be keeping my advertising dollar in the Internet..

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$
.

All good points. We stopped putting out rack cards for the same reason (and a few others). Did you do anything to track rack card referrals? (have them land on a specific page, analyze geographic locations for direct traffic...)

Through conversations with my guests, I've determined that most have chosen our area as a destination first then looked for lodging second.
Webervations allows them to pick from a list "how they found us". Rack cards has never been chosen. I always ask for phone reservations. This is very important to me for the reasons previously cited: watching the $$$

I agree. Rack cards would be the person on the phone calling right now for a room, not an online booking. I have had a couple call from a neary Visitor's Center as they had the rack cards in hand. Unfortunately we do not do walk ins, from reasons stated on many other threads. They are reluctant to give you their cc over the phone, want to see the rooms, etc. They will say "We are nearly there" and you run your

off getting a room ready and they do not show, they find a roadside hotel on the way. In the beginning when we first opened we would wait for these callers and they never showed, even when they said they were 10 minutes away, and we are not difficult to find. These are the same who want a room for $50.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient. We usually never had any availability at the time as the spots had been reserved in advance.
We may have had 1 or 2 that people called about the following year or something like that...but it just wasn't worth the hassle of all the frantic last minute calling so we stopped putting them out.
We do put them in books that are on the shelves in the rooms, and they often get taken by people and probably redistributed.
.

I should add for clarity that our rack cards were getting found and were getting some calls, however they were almost always calling from the wineries after 5:00pm as the wineries were closing up and they were frantically looking for a room and usually too intoxicated to be patient.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki
.

Either they just notice the wine tour part of the brochure, or our wine country is just smaller than yours with fewer visitors. We've never been subject to this YET....
RIki

I think ours is bigger. ~25 wineries within 15 miles of our place ... Closer to 90 wineries within a 45 mile radius. The most recent estimate I heard was it attracts 2 million visitors a year.
.

I think ours is bigger. ~25 wineries within 15 miles of our place ... Closer to 90 wineries within a 45 mile radius. The most recent estimate I heard was it attracts 2 million visitors a year.

Oh yesssir you are bigger!!! We have something like 14 or so in our driving range. About 140 in the state, double that for growers. Our county still does not realize the potential the wineries generate so still give them a hard time here. Pretty dumb when you consider the taxes the wine tourists bring. The state has finally recognized it though.
RIki
.

If the State finally recognizes the wine country potential as a tax base and the county does not, I think I would ask the State to talk to the county. to give a bit of educating. County Commissioners like tax money.... sounds as if they just need some good old fashioned edumakashun!
.

If the State finally recognizes the wine country potential as a tax base and the county does not, I think I would ask the State to talk to the county. to give a bit of educating. County Commissioners like tax money.... sounds as if they just need some good old fashioned edumakashun!

I really think the county is run by the old money who have nothing better to do than make life miserable. They change building regulations and codes almost every year. Bulders have to check on a regular basis to ensure they are meeting the most current codes. The enforcers don't know the regulations themselves so we have to know them so we can tell them when they are wrong.
The last health inspector told DH something we knew was wrong and when we told him, he said he has just moved from Florida, and that was the codes there...
We have the wineries that are owned by some who are retired lawyers doing the work here. I would not even try and get involved in any way other than to support them all I can.
While the state realizes the income potential, they are still receiving enough "dontations" from the distributors to sway them and make problems for the wineries still. In an attempt to make them see the light, the local wineries have had to dig deep in their pockets and hire an attorney to represent them in the capital.
Unbelievable.