Wow! Membership Renewal Fee!

[swirt]

Here are some comparisons from some of the B&B website trackers I have access to. I was not hunting for a particular outcome. The first three graphs represent comparisons of the website referrals. The last is cost for each listing for a year (minimum level for a link to the property's website).

 

[Samster]

Here are some comparisons from some of the B&B website trackers I have access to. I was not hunting for a particular outcome. The first three graphs represent comparisons of the website referrals. The last is cost for each listing for a year (minimum level for a link to the property's website).

.

I think I need to add another directory to my marketing efforts

 

[Morticia]

"It remains to be seen if bandb will bring in the 10-fold dollars that a good marketing campaign should. But that's a decision for next November. "
I've been working in marketing for almost twenty years... heck I even got my masters in marketing. On average we deliver even more than that. Maybe we've spoiled people, but a 10-fold return is an unbelievable, record-breaking, career-making, too-good-to-be true return on investment. I'd be thrilled to death with a 3X return, and happy as the day is long with a 2X return. I'd happy just to see a break-even campaign in a lot of instances. 10X may be what you feel is appropriate, but in marketing worlds, that is not a threshold very often even considered.
If you look at marketing as a financial investment - good financial investments over a long period of time often return 10-15% (obviously huge generalization), and secure investments more like 4%. So if you are deciding to take your money out of the bank and spend on marketing, or leave it in there - and you can make 10X on your money through marketing - you have found the Holy Grail of what to do with your resources..

"It remains to be seen if bandb will bring in the 10-fold dollars that a good marketing campaign should. But that's a decision for next November. "
I've been working in marketing for almost twenty years... heck I even got my masters in marketing. On average we deliver even more than that. Maybe we've spoiled people, but a 10-fold return is an unbelievable, record-breaking, career-making, too-good-to-be true return on investment. I'd be thrilled to death with a 3X return, and happy as the day is long with a 2X return. I'd happy just to see a break-even campaign in a lot of instances. 10X may be what you feel is appropriate, but in marketing worlds, that is not a threshold very often even considered.
If you look at marketing as a financial investment - good financial investments over a long period of time often return 10-15% (obviously huge generalization), and secure investments more like 4%. So if you are deciding to take your money out of the bank and spend on marketing, or leave it in there - and you can make 10X on your money through marketing - you have found the Holy Grail of what to do with your resources.

John,
Are you seriously telling me I should only expect to pull in $800-$1200 off my $400 paid subscription to bandb? You're kidding, right? Why would I even bother if I could only plan on getting a return of 4 room nights out of my listing in an entire YEAR? I'm expecting that kind of return per MONTH. You can't be serious because you guys keep touting how some innkeepers have increased occupancy by 20% by listing with you. You said yourself somewhere in here that your site has a proven record (in most locations) for very good traffic, lots of click-thrus and low bounce rates, that certainly has to translate into more than $400 in bookings.
If you are serious then your marketing should state that. "Most B&B's on our directory can expect to see and additional $400/year in revenue once their listing is placed."
Break even is a joke. No one lists on a directory to break even. No one buys an ad to break even. And if that's what happens they're spending their money in the wrong place. I expect listing with you to provide real revenue. Simply paying for the listing is not revenue. 2x the listing price isn't worth it, either.
Given this has been discussed to death and we really can't know where guests found our listings online, I always figure that they err in your favor sometimes, and in someone else's favor other times. That said, I would not have renewed if you weren't hitting close to 10X return for me. A little more, a little less, but a good average hovering around 10X these past 5 years.
.

"Are you seriously telling me I should only expect to pull in $800-$1200 off my $400 paid subscription to bandb?"
Do you really think that is what I was saying?
If you require a 10X return on any marketing spend - then you will be disappointed. If you only got $800-$1200 back on your $400 subscription from us, then you would be far below the results we regular see and hear from innkeepers. But if I was an innkeeper, and I got $1200 back from a site that was $400 - I'd pay for that site all day long, and I'd be wealthier because of it.
Particularly becuase $1200 is what you positively, absolutely KNOW you got from the site, there is always business you cannot track, and if at the end of the year you would have more money in the bank than if you didn't advertise there.
The big reason we went monthly is to make the financials more manageable and match revenues better for innkeepers. Going monthly is not easy for us - 12X the CC charges, 12X the billing issues, but you revenues don't all come in during one month, so seems like your costs shouldn't. Putting up $400 in January if you are seasonal slow may be a lot to lay out if you don't see a ton of reservations until April - but with monthly payments your cash outflow is much better , for reservations you might get in April... which should further help make a positive ROI more affordable.
.

I'm trying not to nitpick here, but you keep bringing up more issues...keep in mind that I PAY for the privilege of monthly billing. It's not coming out of your pocket, I'm paying the cc processing fee by being charged more for monthly billing.
And let's not forget that this is now yearly billing. I am stuck with this bill for a year. Can't get out of it. Can't terminate. Stuck. So if my state starts showing returns like VA does, I have NO recourse. You have your money and I have squat.

 

[JBanczak]

"It remains to be seen if bandb will bring in the 10-fold dollars that a good marketing campaign should. But that's a decision for next November. "
I've been working in marketing for almost twenty years... heck I even got my masters in marketing. On average we deliver even more than that. Maybe we've spoiled people, but a 10-fold return is an unbelievable, record-breaking, career-making, too-good-to-be true return on investment. I'd be thrilled to death with a 3X return, and happy as the day is long with a 2X return. I'd happy just to see a break-even campaign in a lot of instances. 10X may be what you feel is appropriate, but in marketing worlds, that is not a threshold very often even considered.
If you look at marketing as a financial investment - good financial investments over a long period of time often return 10-15% (obviously huge generalization), and secure investments more like 4%. So if you are deciding to take your money out of the bank and spend on marketing, or leave it in there - and you can make 10X on your money through marketing - you have found the Holy Grail of what to do with your resources..

"It remains to be seen if bandb will bring in the 10-fold dollars that a good marketing campaign should. But that's a decision for next November. "
I've been working in marketing for almost twenty years... heck I even got my masters in marketing. On average we deliver even more than that. Maybe we've spoiled people, but a 10-fold return is an unbelievable, record-breaking, career-making, too-good-to-be true return on investment. I'd be thrilled to death with a 3X return, and happy as the day is long with a 2X return. I'd happy just to see a break-even campaign in a lot of instances. 10X may be what you feel is appropriate, but in marketing worlds, that is not a threshold very often even considered.
If you look at marketing as a financial investment - good financial investments over a long period of time often return 10-15% (obviously huge generalization), and secure investments more like 4%. So if you are deciding to take your money out of the bank and spend on marketing, or leave it in there - and you can make 10X on your money through marketing - you have found the Holy Grail of what to do with your resources.

John,
Are you seriously telling me I should only expect to pull in $800-$1200 off my $400 paid subscription to bandb? You're kidding, right? Why would I even bother if I could only plan on getting a return of 4 room nights out of my listing in an entire YEAR? I'm expecting that kind of return per MONTH. You can't be serious because you guys keep touting how some innkeepers have increased occupancy by 20% by listing with you. You said yourself somewhere in here that your site has a proven record (in most locations) for very good traffic, lots of click-thrus and low bounce rates, that certainly has to translate into more than $400 in bookings.
If you are serious then your marketing should state that. "Most B&B's on our directory can expect to see and additional $400/year in revenue once their listing is placed."
Break even is a joke. No one lists on a directory to break even. No one buys an ad to break even. And if that's what happens they're spending their money in the wrong place. I expect listing with you to provide real revenue. Simply paying for the listing is not revenue. 2x the listing price isn't worth it, either.
Given this has been discussed to death and we really can't know where guests found our listings online, I always figure that they err in your favor sometimes, and in someone else's favor other times. That said, I would not have renewed if you weren't hitting close to 10X return for me. A little more, a little less, but a good average hovering around 10X these past 5 years.
.

"Are you seriously telling me I should only expect to pull in $800-$1200 off my $400 paid subscription to bandb?"
Do you really think that is what I was saying?
If you require a 10X return on any marketing spend - then you will be disappointed. If you only got $800-$1200 back on your $400 subscription from us, then you would be far below the results we regular see and hear from innkeepers. But if I was an innkeeper, and I got $1200 back from a site that was $400 - I'd pay for that site all day long, and I'd be wealthier because of it.
Particularly becuase $1200 is what you positively, absolutely KNOW you got from the site, there is always business you cannot track, and if at the end of the year you would have more money in the bank than if you didn't advertise there.
The big reason we went monthly is to make the financials more manageable and match revenues better for innkeepers. Going monthly is not easy for us - 12X the CC charges, 12X the billing issues, but you revenues don't all come in during one month, so seems like your costs shouldn't. Putting up $400 in January if you are seasonal slow may be a lot to lay out if you don't see a ton of reservations until April - but with monthly payments your cash outflow is much better , for reservations you might get in April... which should further help make a positive ROI more affordable.
.

I'm trying not to nitpick here, but you keep bringing up more issues...keep in mind that I PAY for the privilege of monthly billing. It's not coming out of your pocket, I'm paying the cc processing fee by being charged more for monthly billing.
And let's not forget that this is now yearly billing. I am stuck with this bill for a year. Can't get out of it. Can't terminate. Stuck. So if my state starts showing returns like VA does, I have NO recourse. You have your money and I have squat.
.

btw - has anyone checked google for Virginia Bed and Breakfast lately? We've been on page one the last few times I have checked, and again today.

 

[EmptyNest]

"It remains to be seen if bandb will bring in the 10-fold dollars that a good marketing campaign should. But that's a decision for next November. "
I've been working in marketing for almost twenty years... heck I even got my masters in marketing. On average we deliver even more than that. Maybe we've spoiled people, but a 10-fold return is an unbelievable, record-breaking, career-making, too-good-to-be true return on investment. I'd be thrilled to death with a 3X return, and happy as the day is long with a 2X return. I'd happy just to see a break-even campaign in a lot of instances. 10X may be what you feel is appropriate, but in marketing worlds, that is not a threshold very often even considered.
If you look at marketing as a financial investment - good financial investments over a long period of time often return 10-15% (obviously huge generalization), and secure investments more like 4%. So if you are deciding to take your money out of the bank and spend on marketing, or leave it in there - and you can make 10X on your money through marketing - you have found the Holy Grail of what to do with your resources..

"It remains to be seen if bandb will bring in the 10-fold dollars that a good marketing campaign should. But that's a decision for next November. "
I've been working in marketing for almost twenty years... heck I even got my masters in marketing. On average we deliver even more than that. Maybe we've spoiled people, but a 10-fold return is an unbelievable, record-breaking, career-making, too-good-to-be true return on investment. I'd be thrilled to death with a 3X return, and happy as the day is long with a 2X return. I'd happy just to see a break-even campaign in a lot of instances. 10X may be what you feel is appropriate, but in marketing worlds, that is not a threshold very often even considered.
If you look at marketing as a financial investment - good financial investments over a long period of time often return 10-15% (obviously huge generalization), and secure investments more like 4%. So if you are deciding to take your money out of the bank and spend on marketing, or leave it in there - and you can make 10X on your money through marketing - you have found the Holy Grail of what to do with your resources.

John,
Are you seriously telling me I should only expect to pull in $800-$1200 off my $400 paid subscription to bandb? You're kidding, right? Why would I even bother if I could only plan on getting a return of 4 room nights out of my listing in an entire YEAR? I'm expecting that kind of return per MONTH. You can't be serious because you guys keep touting how some innkeepers have increased occupancy by 20% by listing with you. You said yourself somewhere in here that your site has a proven record (in most locations) for very good traffic, lots of click-thrus and low bounce rates, that certainly has to translate into more than $400 in bookings.
If you are serious then your marketing should state that. "Most B&B's on our directory can expect to see and additional $400/year in revenue once their listing is placed."
Break even is a joke. No one lists on a directory to break even. No one buys an ad to break even. And if that's what happens they're spending their money in the wrong place. I expect listing with you to provide real revenue. Simply paying for the listing is not revenue. 2x the listing price isn't worth it, either.
Given this has been discussed to death and we really can't know where guests found our listings online, I always figure that they err in your favor sometimes, and in someone else's favor other times. That said, I would not have renewed if you weren't hitting close to 10X return for me. A little more, a little less, but a good average hovering around 10X these past 5 years.
.

"Are you seriously telling me I should only expect to pull in $800-$1200 off my $400 paid subscription to bandb?"
Do you really think that is what I was saying?
If you require a 10X return on any marketing spend - then you will be disappointed. If you only got $800-$1200 back on your $400 subscription from us, then you would be far below the results we regular see and hear from innkeepers. But if I was an innkeeper, and I got $1200 back from a site that was $400 - I'd pay for that site all day long, and I'd be wealthier because of it.
Particularly becuase $1200 is what you positively, absolutely KNOW you got from the site, there is always business you cannot track, and if at the end of the year you would have more money in the bank than if you didn't advertise there.
The big reason we went monthly is to make the financials more manageable and match revenues better for innkeepers. Going monthly is not easy for us - 12X the CC charges, 12X the billing issues, but you revenues don't all come in during one month, so seems like your costs shouldn't. Putting up $400 in January if you are seasonal slow may be a lot to lay out if you don't see a ton of reservations until April - but with monthly payments your cash outflow is much better , for reservations you might get in April... which should further help make a positive ROI more affordable.
.

I'm trying not to nitpick here, but you keep bringing up more issues...keep in mind that I PAY for the privilege of monthly billing. It's not coming out of your pocket, I'm paying the cc processing fee by being charged more for monthly billing.
And let's not forget that this is now yearly billing. I am stuck with this bill for a year. Can't get out of it. Can't terminate. Stuck. So if my state starts showing returns like VA does, I have NO recourse. You have your money and I have squat.
.

btw - has anyone checked google for Virginia Bed and Breakfast lately? We've been on page one the last few times I have checked, and again today.
.

I just did it and sorry..didn't see you there

1. Virginia bed and breakfast,VA bed and breakfast,Virginia B & B,Inn ...[/h3]From the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley to the Cheseapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore BBAV members welcome you!
   www.innvirginia.com/ - 21k - Cached - Similar pages
2. Virginia Bed and Breakfast, Country Inn - Bed & Breakfasts[/h3]The leading directory of Virginia bed and breakfasts since 1995. Over 5000 B&Bs and country inns. BBOnline has been awarded INNSTAR's highest rating -- 5 ...
   www.bbonline.com/va/ - 45k - Cached - Similar pages
3. Bed & Breakfast Association of Virginia - - Bed & Breakfast Inns ...[/h3]Bed & Breakfast Association of Virginia - over 200 inspected and approved Virginia bed and breakfast inns.
   www.bbonline.com/va/bbav/ - 17k - Cached - Similar pages
4. Virginia Bed and Breakfast Inns, VA B&B Gift Certificates - Most ...[/h3]Surrounded on three sides by salt water, the North River Inn Bed and Breakfast at Gloucester sits majestically on 100 acres of Virginia countryside in the ...
   www.bnbfinder.com/Virginia-Bed-and-Breakfast/ - 104k - Cached - Similar pages
5. Bed and Breakfast Virginia[/h3]Virginia bed and breakfast, VA inns and guesthouses from Pamela Lanier's Bed & Breakfasts Online, including , Williamsburg, Charlottesville, Lexington, ...
   www.lanierbb.com/Virginia/ - 49k - Cached - Similar pages

 

[gillumhouse]

John,
Has bandb.com ever considered a "sliding scale" for membership? Something like what PAII or our state association does? 1-4 rooms pay $x for Silver Level, 5-10 rooms pay $x for the same level?
It seems to me to level the playing field a bit more. Those inns with more rooms have the potential to make more from their bandb.com listing..

I proposed that several times. They keep telling me how fair they are and such a value. Why would he do something like that - if little guys think they MUST have his directory, they will pay whatever he asks - they will cry, but they will pay.
It is my belief that nothing will be done until enough inns "speak with their feet" and they hear enough doors slamming shut (or is that wallets) will there be any consideration to a sliding scale which would truly give "value" to the small inn.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

John,
Has bandb.com ever considered a "sliding scale" for membership? Something like what PAII or our state association does? 1-4 rooms pay $x for Silver Level, 5-10 rooms pay $x for the same level?
It seems to me to level the playing field a bit more. Those inns with more rooms have the potential to make more from their bandb.com listing..

I proposed that several times. They keep telling me how fair they are and such a value. Why would he do something like that - if little guys think they MUST have his directory, they will pay whatever he asks - they will cry, but they will pay.
It is my belief that nothing will be done until enough inns "speak with their feet" and they hear enough doors slamming shut (or is that wallets) will there be any consideration to a sliding scale which would truly give "value" to the small inn.
.

I proposed that several times. They keep telling me how fair they are and such a value. Why would he do something like that - if little guys think they MUST have his directory, they will pay whatever he asks - they will cry, but they will pay.
It is my belief that nothing will be done until enough inns "speak with their feet" and they hear enough doors slamming shut (or is that wallets) will there be any consideration to a sliding scale which would truly give "value" to the small inn.

Well then let's invite the inns on BandB.com to join this forum!

 

[JBanczak]

"It remains to be seen if bandb will bring in the 10-fold dollars that a good marketing campaign should. But that's a decision for next November. "
I've been working in marketing for almost twenty years... heck I even got my masters in marketing. On average we deliver even more than that. Maybe we've spoiled people, but a 10-fold return is an unbelievable, record-breaking, career-making, too-good-to-be true return on investment. I'd be thrilled to death with a 3X return, and happy as the day is long with a 2X return. I'd happy just to see a break-even campaign in a lot of instances. 10X may be what you feel is appropriate, but in marketing worlds, that is not a threshold very often even considered.
If you look at marketing as a financial investment - good financial investments over a long period of time often return 10-15% (obviously huge generalization), and secure investments more like 4%. So if you are deciding to take your money out of the bank and spend on marketing, or leave it in there - and you can make 10X on your money through marketing - you have found the Holy Grail of what to do with your resources..

"It remains to be seen if bandb will bring in the 10-fold dollars that a good marketing campaign should. But that's a decision for next November. "
I've been working in marketing for almost twenty years... heck I even got my masters in marketing. On average we deliver even more than that. Maybe we've spoiled people, but a 10-fold return is an unbelievable, record-breaking, career-making, too-good-to-be true return on investment. I'd be thrilled to death with a 3X return, and happy as the day is long with a 2X return. I'd happy just to see a break-even campaign in a lot of instances. 10X may be what you feel is appropriate, but in marketing worlds, that is not a threshold very often even considered.
If you look at marketing as a financial investment - good financial investments over a long period of time often return 10-15% (obviously huge generalization), and secure investments more like 4%. So if you are deciding to take your money out of the bank and spend on marketing, or leave it in there - and you can make 10X on your money through marketing - you have found the Holy Grail of what to do with your resources.

John,
Are you seriously telling me I should only expect to pull in $800-$1200 off my $400 paid subscription to bandb? You're kidding, right? Why would I even bother if I could only plan on getting a return of 4 room nights out of my listing in an entire YEAR? I'm expecting that kind of return per MONTH. You can't be serious because you guys keep touting how some innkeepers have increased occupancy by 20% by listing with you. You said yourself somewhere in here that your site has a proven record (in most locations) for very good traffic, lots of click-thrus and low bounce rates, that certainly has to translate into more than $400 in bookings.
If you are serious then your marketing should state that. "Most B&B's on our directory can expect to see and additional $400/year in revenue once their listing is placed."
Break even is a joke. No one lists on a directory to break even. No one buys an ad to break even. And if that's what happens they're spending their money in the wrong place. I expect listing with you to provide real revenue. Simply paying for the listing is not revenue. 2x the listing price isn't worth it, either.
Given this has been discussed to death and we really can't know where guests found our listings online, I always figure that they err in your favor sometimes, and in someone else's favor other times. That said, I would not have renewed if you weren't hitting close to 10X return for me. A little more, a little less, but a good average hovering around 10X these past 5 years.
.

"Are you seriously telling me I should only expect to pull in $800-$1200 off my $400 paid subscription to bandb?"
Do you really think that is what I was saying?
If you require a 10X return on any marketing spend - then you will be disappointed. If you only got $800-$1200 back on your $400 subscription from us, then you would be far below the results we regular see and hear from innkeepers. But if I was an innkeeper, and I got $1200 back from a site that was $400 - I'd pay for that site all day long, and I'd be wealthier because of it.
Particularly becuase $1200 is what you positively, absolutely KNOW you got from the site, there is always business you cannot track, and if at the end of the year you would have more money in the bank than if you didn't advertise there.
The big reason we went monthly is to make the financials more manageable and match revenues better for innkeepers. Going monthly is not easy for us - 12X the CC charges, 12X the billing issues, but you revenues don't all come in during one month, so seems like your costs shouldn't. Putting up $400 in January if you are seasonal slow may be a lot to lay out if you don't see a ton of reservations until April - but with monthly payments your cash outflow is much better , for reservations you might get in April... which should further help make a positive ROI more affordable.
.

I'm trying not to nitpick here, but you keep bringing up more issues...keep in mind that I PAY for the privilege of monthly billing. It's not coming out of your pocket, I'm paying the cc processing fee by being charged more for monthly billing.
And let's not forget that this is now yearly billing. I am stuck with this bill for a year. Can't get out of it. Can't terminate. Stuck. So if my state starts showing returns like VA does, I have NO recourse. You have your money and I have squat.
.

btw - has anyone checked google for Virginia Bed and Breakfast lately? We've been on page one the last few times I have checked, and again today.
.

I just did it and sorry..didn't see you there

1. Virginia bed and breakfast,VA bed and breakfast,Virginia B & B,Inn ...[/h3]From the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley to the Cheseapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore BBAV members welcome you!
   www.innvirginia.com/ - 21k - Cached - Similar pages
2. Virginia Bed and Breakfast, Country Inn - Bed & Breakfasts[/h3]The leading directory of Virginia bed and breakfasts since 1995. Over 5000 B&Bs and country inns. BBOnline has been awarded INNSTAR's highest rating -- 5 ...
   www.bbonline.com/va/ - 45k - Cached - Similar pages
3. Bed & Breakfast Association of Virginia - - Bed & Breakfast Inns ...[/h3]Bed & Breakfast Association of Virginia - over 200 inspected and approved Virginia bed and breakfast inns.
   www.bbonline.com/va/bbav/ - 17k - Cached - Similar pages
4. Virginia Bed and Breakfast Inns, VA B&B Gift Certificates - Most ...[/h3]Surrounded on three sides by salt water, the North River Inn Bed and Breakfast at Gloucester sits majestically on 100 acres of Virginia countryside in the ...
   www.bnbfinder.com/Virginia-Bed-and-Breakfast/ - 104k - Cached - Similar pages
5. Bed and Breakfast Virginia[/h3]Virginia bed and breakfast, VA inns and guesthouses from Pamela Lanier's Bed & Breakfasts Online, including , Williamsburg, Charlottesville, Lexington, ...
   www.lanierbb.com/Virginia/ - 49k - Cached - Similar pages

.

I just did it again, and now we are on page 2... the fun never ends.

 

[Copperhead]

Here are some comparisons from some of the B&B website trackers I have access to. I was not hunting for a particular outcome. The first three graphs represent comparisons of the website referrals. The last is cost for each listing for a year (minimum level for a link to the property's website).

.

I find Swirt's results quite interesting. Although this clearly is not a wide enough sample to really get good quality data (as we all know) it does provide some eye-opening, thought provoking results.
Based on this sample, 2/3's receive equal % of traffic (very close to) from both banb.com and bbonline. The other 2 directories clearly tie for 3rd place.
Note that I already mentioned in this thread that these 2 same directories provide me with close to equal amount of traffic to my site. My actual pie chart would be (no I am not doing a graph) bbonline 37%, banb.com35%, iloveinns 22%, lanier 6%, no listing on bnbfinder (I dropped Lanier this month, Lanier costs $159)
So If you wanted to put my totals into the equation that would bring it to 3/4 of the total get equal traffic from bbonline & bandb.com
Now this tread really started due to the cost increase of bandb.com, so let us focus on that issue...."Am I really getting the bang for my hard earned buck?"
As you can see by Swit's 4th pie graph, when comparing these 4 directories, banb.com clearly take the largest portion of the marketing budget. As for costs, bbonline provides the same amout of traffic as bandb.com for 2 out of 3 inns, yet bbonline does this for 60% less cost. This also does not take into account the possiblility of any additional packages such as featured inn that could have contributed to the % listed.
Other things worth noting:
An inn can join all 3 other directories for only $73 more dollars than bandb.com alone! These 3 directories combined provided the following % traffic: Inn A 70%, Inn B 53% and Inn C 51%.
Most likely directories only make up a portion of each inn's marketing dollars.
Another unknown is what % of this traffic produced a sale. This % is harder to determine because we must take into consideration that a % of those that said they found the website though an 'Internet search', found it through one of the directories.
We are only comparing the top directories...what about the little ones, the ones we have always said are a waste...are they really? Maybe we should look at this issue again.. For those really targeted sites, (i.e. skiing or biking) maybe spending $25 really isn't so bad if it produces sales. Example: I just got a call for a 2 night stay, lady saw my listing on a biking site that I paid $15 for a year. That one sale has given me a very nice ROI...and the year has just begun.
Are YOU getting Bang for your buck? Do your own graph...I would suggest putting your info into this sample and see where you fall and how much you are spending to get what %.

 

[Mr.Design]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker and aspiring innkeeper here
I just wanted to add my 2 cents in here about bedandbreakfast.com.
I recently planned a trip down to Key West and in my opinion, Trip Advisor is much more helpful than B&B.com. As a consumer I found B&B's site too commercialized and cheesy.
I would focus on improving my Trip Advisor ranking as opposed to paying such a large membership fee with B&B. When I looked for a place to stay I look for those with the most guest reviews and traveler photos. B&B just doesn't have the number of reviews that TA does and thus wasn't as useful. Besides that, obviously since not all inns are members at B&B.com, B&B doesn't list them all. As a consumer I don't like that. I like to have all the possible places in front of me, ranked by what other travelers think, not who pays the most for a top spot.
Maybe I'm weird but those are my thoughts! .

Is there anything about TripAdvisor besides the reviews that you like better?
We usually hear that innkeepers are frustrated - no link to their B&B's, no map (unless you are on Expedia through BB.com - and if you are not - your map link goes to a map of all properties around your inn except you), no amenities link, limited photos if any, the pages are literally covered with hotel advertising, and the reviews are often done by folks who have never stayed at a B&B before.
We understand we need more reviews to make consumers happy - that is for certain. We are over 50,000 reviews now and growing steadily - definitely an area of focus.
.

I hope I'm doing this right... this forum has me all confused because the posts are out of order. Is there any way to make them go in order based on date/time of post?
Anyway, RE: TripAdvisor... besides the reviews, the ranking is also someting I really like. Most of the time I go straight down the list for the area I'm traveling to. If I find a decent rate and a place with great reviews I don't continue to search. I might skim the other hotels in the area if there aren't too many but generally I'm sold already. Also, traveler photos are of utmost importance. Photos we take ourselves and retouch, or have professionally taken always highlight the best parts of the property. I like to see traveler photos because they're honest and don't try and cover any blemishes the property might have.
In general it might help to offer guests a 5% discount on their next stay if they go to TA and rate you. I would imagine if they're after the 5% discount they're not going to say it was horrible! LOL

 

[gillumhouse]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker and aspiring innkeeper here
I just wanted to add my 2 cents in here about bedandbreakfast.com.
I recently planned a trip down to Key West and in my opinion, Trip Advisor is much more helpful than B&B.com. As a consumer I found B&B's site too commercialized and cheesy.
I would focus on improving my Trip Advisor ranking as opposed to paying such a large membership fee with B&B. When I looked for a place to stay I look for those with the most guest reviews and traveler photos. B&B just doesn't have the number of reviews that TA does and thus wasn't as useful. Besides that, obviously since not all inns are members at B&B.com, B&B doesn't list them all. As a consumer I don't like that. I like to have all the possible places in front of me, ranked by what other travelers think, not who pays the most for a top spot.
Maybe I'm weird but those are my thoughts! .

Is there anything about TripAdvisor besides the reviews that you like better?
We usually hear that innkeepers are frustrated - no link to their B&B's, no map (unless you are on Expedia through BB.com - and if you are not - your map link goes to a map of all properties around your inn except you), no amenities link, limited photos if any, the pages are literally covered with hotel advertising, and the reviews are often done by folks who have never stayed at a B&B before.
We understand we need more reviews to make consumers happy - that is for certain. We are over 50,000 reviews now and growing steadily - definitely an area of focus.
.

I hope I'm doing this right... this forum has me all confused because the posts are out of order. Is there any way to make them go in order based on date/time of post?
Anyway, RE: TripAdvisor... besides the reviews, the ranking is also someting I really like. Most of the time I go straight down the list for the area I'm traveling to. If I find a decent rate and a place with great reviews I don't continue to search. I might skim the other hotels in the area if there aren't too many but generally I'm sold already. Also, traveler photos are of utmost importance. Photos we take ourselves and retouch, or have professionally taken always highlight the best parts of the property. I like to see traveler photos because they're honest and don't try and cover any blemishes the property might have.
In general it might help to offer guests a 5% discount on their next stay if they go to TA and rate you. I would imagine if they're after the 5% discount they're not going to say it was horrible! LOL
.

That is the reason it is against the rules to offer any sort of reward for a TA review.
We try to resond to particular posts - as I am doing with yours now to make it easier to understand. However, if there are too many responses with quotes, etc, the post goes to a single line of type that drives me crazy trying to read (I amagine same for others) so then I just go to the end and reply. Reading through, it eventually makes sense.

 

[gillumhouse]

Here are some comparisons from some of the B&B website trackers I have access to. I was not hunting for a particular outcome. The first three graphs represent comparisons of the website referrals. The last is cost for each listing for a year (minimum level for a link to the property's website).

.

I find Swirt's results quite interesting. Although this clearly is not a wide enough sample to really get good quality data (as we all know) it does provide some eye-opening, thought provoking results.
Based on this sample, 2/3's receive equal % of traffic (very close to) from both banb.com and bbonline. The other 2 directories clearly tie for 3rd place.
Note that I already mentioned in this thread that these 2 same directories provide me with close to equal amount of traffic to my site. My actual pie chart would be (no I am not doing a graph) bbonline 37%, banb.com35%, iloveinns 22%, lanier 6%, no listing on bnbfinder (I dropped Lanier this month, Lanier costs $159)
So If you wanted to put my totals into the equation that would bring it to 3/4 of the total get equal traffic from bbonline & bandb.com
Now this tread really started due to the cost increase of bandb.com, so let us focus on that issue...."Am I really getting the bang for my hard earned buck?"
As you can see by Swit's 4th pie graph, when comparing these 4 directories, banb.com clearly take the largest portion of the marketing budget. As for costs, bbonline provides the same amout of traffic as bandb.com for 2 out of 3 inns, yet bbonline does this for 60% less cost. This also does not take into account the possiblility of any additional packages such as featured inn that could have contributed to the % listed.
Other things worth noting:
An inn can join all 3 other directories for only $73 more dollars than bandb.com alone! These 3 directories combined provided the following % traffic: Inn A 70%, Inn B 53% and Inn C 51%.
Most likely directories only make up a portion of each inn's marketing dollars.
Another unknown is what % of this traffic produced a sale. This % is harder to determine because we must take into consideration that a % of those that said they found the website though an 'Internet search', found it through one of the directories.
We are only comparing the top directories...what about the little ones, the ones we have always said are a waste...are they really? Maybe we should look at this issue again.. For those really targeted sites, (i.e. skiing or biking) maybe spending $25 really isn't so bad if it produces sales. Example: I just got a call for a 2 night stay, lady saw my listing on a biking site that I paid $15 for a year. That one sale has given me a very nice ROI...and the year has just begun.
Are YOU getting Bang for your buck? Do your own graph...I would suggest putting your info into this sample and see where you fall and how much you are spending to get what %.
.

Example: I just got a call for a 2 night stay, lady saw my listing on a biking site that I paid $15 for a year.
Exactly what I was alluding to when I said that all my horse listing probably add up to $100 per year and each one of them brings me business - the best of them costs me $40 and has in the first 23 days of January accounted for $235 in revenue. Targeted sites.

 

[gillumhouse]

As I stated earlier in this thread, I just joined B&B.com in the last quarter of 2008 after dropping them over 3-4 years ago. Eric and John, you may be suprised by this but I renewed because of what I read on this forum. I was trying to justify scraping up the $349 dollars to join when it was announced that I could pay monthly and I signed up! Why? Because for the most part, even with the usual negative statements, there have been some very positive statements here about B&B.com. That and the fact that I am not blind, B&B.com does a great job in promoting their site, not only to innkeepers but to the general public.
Many of my colleagues have for years boosted their traffic from bbonline, so after looking at the price, I left B&B.com and went to them. Now I am on both and comparing them for the same time frame, so far I find them neck to neck in traffic to my site, yet bbonline has delivered 5 times the reservations. We all know that bbonline is less expensive, now almost 60% less when comparing the lowest linking packages, and they do not have all the additional bells and whistles that b&b.com has (most of it at extra expense). I will also tell you that my B&B.com listing is much more complete than my bbonline listing and more pleasent to the eye. So with everything that b&b.com does more of, why are't I experienceing more traffic to my site from them?
Maybe it is as Swirt says "In my estimation based on what I see while searching bandb.com based on their advertising, organic poisitioning and other programs like gift cards etc has gotten very close to the upper limit on potential inn guests."
Maybe they have reached the saturation point...and if that is so, then why would anyone continue to pay more and more each year for the same about of traffic? Yes we can pay even more by signing up for this program or that program in hopes to attract a few more ticks on the traffic stats and maybe another reservation or two. But for the most part, as Swirt puts it, everything is by the most part pulling from the same pool of potential guests.
And if Swirt is right, then maybe the response to John's statement "...that we should fire our staft, cut all advertising , quit releasing new products, stop attending tradeshows,..." would be yes, at least in part. Thus cutting some of the ever rising expense that is passed on to its members with membership increases.
Eric wrote: "... Our new offer for international members is less for international members because we drive less traffic to them - and therefore provide less value - and therefore charge less. It really is pretty simple and straightforward. ..." (50% less according to the post)
Instead of you get what you pay for, in this regard you pay for what you get. Simular to what John was bringing up - pay for click or pay per reservation. I do feel that some areas draw more traffic than others and with the theory previously stated, that traffic is at a saturation point. Thus the value is less. I want to further evaluate this theory and Eric's statements about less traffic, less value, less charge....
I do not have stats for B&B's through out different regions of the US, nor do I have access to this type of stats from bandb.com. I do however have the following which seems to shed a little light on the topic. BandB.com issues a Hot Deals reminder each week. The email states that they send out the Hot Deals email over 83,000 registered potential guests weekly. Now once a member goes to post their hot deal, down at the bottom of the page bandb.com lists the number of registered potential guests for YOUR region, which your hot deal will be sent. In my case that is 2400 of 83,000+ about 3% of the total registered to receive this email. This makes me wonder about what % of the traffic BandB.com receives actually is for my region. Using this theory, maybe my region should be considered for a less costly rate....

Now once a member goes to post their hot deal, down at the bottom of the page bandb.com lists the number of registered potential guests for YOUR region, which your hot deal will be sent. In my case that is 2400 of 83,000+ about 3% of the total registered to receive this email.
I had not realized that until you pointed it out. My number was a paltry 1400, a lot less than your even. I am getting happier and happier with my decision. I may wind up whistling to the bank from this.

 

[swirt]

Here are some comparisons from some of the B&B website trackers I have access to. I was not hunting for a particular outcome. The first three graphs represent comparisons of the website referrals. The last is cost for each listing for a year (minimum level for a link to the property's website).

.

I find Swirt's results quite interesting. Although this clearly is not a wide enough sample to really get good quality data (as we all know) it does provide some eye-opening, thought provoking results.
Based on this sample, 2/3's receive equal % of traffic (very close to) from both banb.com and bbonline. The other 2 directories clearly tie for 3rd place.
Note that I already mentioned in this thread that these 2 same directories provide me with close to equal amount of traffic to my site. My actual pie chart would be (no I am not doing a graph) bbonline 37%, banb.com35%, iloveinns 22%, lanier 6%, no listing on bnbfinder (I dropped Lanier this month, Lanier costs $159)
So If you wanted to put my totals into the equation that would bring it to 3/4 of the total get equal traffic from bbonline & bandb.com
Now this tread really started due to the cost increase of bandb.com, so let us focus on that issue...."Am I really getting the bang for my hard earned buck?"
As you can see by Swit's 4th pie graph, when comparing these 4 directories, banb.com clearly take the largest portion of the marketing budget. As for costs, bbonline provides the same amout of traffic as bandb.com for 2 out of 3 inns, yet bbonline does this for 60% less cost. This also does not take into account the possiblility of any additional packages such as featured inn that could have contributed to the % listed.
Other things worth noting:
An inn can join all 3 other directories for only $73 more dollars than bandb.com alone! These 3 directories combined provided the following % traffic: Inn A 70%, Inn B 53% and Inn C 51%.
Most likely directories only make up a portion of each inn's marketing dollars.
Another unknown is what % of this traffic produced a sale. This % is harder to determine because we must take into consideration that a % of those that said they found the website though an 'Internet search', found it through one of the directories.
We are only comparing the top directories...what about the little ones, the ones we have always said are a waste...are they really? Maybe we should look at this issue again.. For those really targeted sites, (i.e. skiing or biking) maybe spending $25 really isn't so bad if it produces sales. Example: I just got a call for a 2 night stay, lady saw my listing on a biking site that I paid $15 for a year. That one sale has given me a very nice ROI...and the year has just begun.
Are YOU getting Bang for your buck? Do your own graph...I would suggest putting your info into this sample and see where you fall and how much you are spending to get what %.
.

We are only comparing the top directories...what about the little ones, the ones we have always said are a waste...are they really?

Actually I wouldn't say this compares the top directories. This compares the top national directories (yes some are international but not so much). It completely leaves out the local directories that if they are done right can dwarf the national directories for a given area. For instance, in the past year, the local directory of B&B's for my region sent me 6.5 times as much traffic as bbonline.com If there is a local specific directory that shows up well in searches, it can easilly dwarf the traffic from the national directories. Often the costs are smaller too...but that is not always true, sometimes the local directories charge a lot more, it all depends on the area.
This is why I always tell people to do their homework for their specific area. What works for one innkeeper in one state or one city might have completely different results for someone else in a differnt location.
And yes there are tons of cheap national directories (and a few expensive ones) that are completely worthless. If people here say they are a waste and are speaking from experience, it is usually true

 

[swirt]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker and aspiring innkeeper here
I just wanted to add my 2 cents in here about bedandbreakfast.com.
I recently planned a trip down to Key West and in my opinion, Trip Advisor is much more helpful than B&B.com. As a consumer I found B&B's site too commercialized and cheesy.
I would focus on improving my Trip Advisor ranking as opposed to paying such a large membership fee with B&B. When I looked for a place to stay I look for those with the most guest reviews and traveler photos. B&B just doesn't have the number of reviews that TA does and thus wasn't as useful. Besides that, obviously since not all inns are members at B&B.com, B&B doesn't list them all. As a consumer I don't like that. I like to have all the possible places in front of me, ranked by what other travelers think, not who pays the most for a top spot.
Maybe I'm weird but those are my thoughts! .

Is there anything about TripAdvisor besides the reviews that you like better?
We usually hear that innkeepers are frustrated - no link to their B&B's, no map (unless you are on Expedia through BB.com - and if you are not - your map link goes to a map of all properties around your inn except you), no amenities link, limited photos if any, the pages are literally covered with hotel advertising, and the reviews are often done by folks who have never stayed at a B&B before.
We understand we need more reviews to make consumers happy - that is for certain. We are over 50,000 reviews now and growing steadily - definitely an area of focus.
.

I hope I'm doing this right... this forum has me all confused because the posts are out of order. Is there any way to make them go in order based on date/time of post?
Anyway, RE: TripAdvisor... besides the reviews, the ranking is also someting I really like. Most of the time I go straight down the list for the area I'm traveling to. If I find a decent rate and a place with great reviews I don't continue to search. I might skim the other hotels in the area if there aren't too many but generally I'm sold already. Also, traveler photos are of utmost importance. Photos we take ourselves and retouch, or have professionally taken always highlight the best parts of the property. I like to see traveler photos because they're honest and don't try and cover any blemishes the property might have.
In general it might help to offer guests a 5% discount on their next stay if they go to TA and rate you. I would imagine if they're after the 5% discount they're not going to say it was horrible! LOL
.

I hope I'm doing this right... this forum has me all confused because the posts are out of order. Is there any way to make them go in order based on date/time of post?

Check out the FAQ's (scroll down to "preferences")

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

In general it might help to offer guests a 5% discount on their next stay if they go to TA and rate you. I would imagine if they're after the 5% discount they're not going to say it was horrible! LOL
I think that is against the rules.

 

[JBanczak]

Here are some comparisons from some of the B&B website trackers I have access to. I was not hunting for a particular outcome. The first three graphs represent comparisons of the website referrals. The last is cost for each listing for a year (minimum level for a link to the property's website).

.

Swirt,
Do you measure reservation conversion as well? In other words, can you see that for every 100 visits from iloveinns for instance, you get the same number of reservations as you do from a BedandBreakfast.com?
If not reservations, do you track things like bounce rate, time on site, etc.? This speaks to the quality of traffic issue that we have heard resoundingly from other marketing firms.

 

[JBanczak]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker and aspiring innkeeper here
I just wanted to add my 2 cents in here about bedandbreakfast.com.
I recently planned a trip down to Key West and in my opinion, Trip Advisor is much more helpful than B&B.com. As a consumer I found B&B's site too commercialized and cheesy.
I would focus on improving my Trip Advisor ranking as opposed to paying such a large membership fee with B&B. When I looked for a place to stay I look for those with the most guest reviews and traveler photos. B&B just doesn't have the number of reviews that TA does and thus wasn't as useful. Besides that, obviously since not all inns are members at B&B.com, B&B doesn't list them all. As a consumer I don't like that. I like to have all the possible places in front of me, ranked by what other travelers think, not who pays the most for a top spot.
Maybe I'm weird but those are my thoughts! .

Is there anything about TripAdvisor besides the reviews that you like better?
We usually hear that innkeepers are frustrated - no link to their B&B's, no map (unless you are on Expedia through BB.com - and if you are not - your map link goes to a map of all properties around your inn except you), no amenities link, limited photos if any, the pages are literally covered with hotel advertising, and the reviews are often done by folks who have never stayed at a B&B before.
We understand we need more reviews to make consumers happy - that is for certain. We are over 50,000 reviews now and growing steadily - definitely an area of focus.
.

I hope I'm doing this right... this forum has me all confused because the posts are out of order. Is there any way to make them go in order based on date/time of post?
Anyway, RE: TripAdvisor... besides the reviews, the ranking is also someting I really like. Most of the time I go straight down the list for the area I'm traveling to. If I find a decent rate and a place with great reviews I don't continue to search. I might skim the other hotels in the area if there aren't too many but generally I'm sold already. Also, traveler photos are of utmost importance. Photos we take ourselves and retouch, or have professionally taken always highlight the best parts of the property. I like to see traveler photos because they're honest and don't try and cover any blemishes the property might have.
In general it might help to offer guests a 5% discount on their next stay if they go to TA and rate you. I would imagine if they're after the 5% discount they're not going to say it was horrible! LOL
.

I hope I'm doing this right... this forum has me all confused because the posts are out of order. Is there any way to make them go in order based on date/time of post?

Check out the FAQ's (scroll down to "preferences")
.

BTW - I don't think the sort order of "oldest first" or "newest first" changes anything on my screen when trying to view these.

 

[JBanczak]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker and aspiring innkeeper here
I just wanted to add my 2 cents in here about bedandbreakfast.com.
I recently planned a trip down to Key West and in my opinion, Trip Advisor is much more helpful than B&B.com. As a consumer I found B&B's site too commercialized and cheesy.
I would focus on improving my Trip Advisor ranking as opposed to paying such a large membership fee with B&B. When I looked for a place to stay I look for those with the most guest reviews and traveler photos. B&B just doesn't have the number of reviews that TA does and thus wasn't as useful. Besides that, obviously since not all inns are members at B&B.com, B&B doesn't list them all. As a consumer I don't like that. I like to have all the possible places in front of me, ranked by what other travelers think, not who pays the most for a top spot.
Maybe I'm weird but those are my thoughts! .

Is there anything about TripAdvisor besides the reviews that you like better?
We usually hear that innkeepers are frustrated - no link to their B&B's, no map (unless you are on Expedia through BB.com - and if you are not - your map link goes to a map of all properties around your inn except you), no amenities link, limited photos if any, the pages are literally covered with hotel advertising, and the reviews are often done by folks who have never stayed at a B&B before.
We understand we need more reviews to make consumers happy - that is for certain. We are over 50,000 reviews now and growing steadily - definitely an area of focus.
.

I hope I'm doing this right... this forum has me all confused because the posts are out of order. Is there any way to make them go in order based on date/time of post?
Anyway, RE: TripAdvisor... besides the reviews, the ranking is also someting I really like. Most of the time I go straight down the list for the area I'm traveling to. If I find a decent rate and a place with great reviews I don't continue to search. I might skim the other hotels in the area if there aren't too many but generally I'm sold already. Also, traveler photos are of utmost importance. Photos we take ourselves and retouch, or have professionally taken always highlight the best parts of the property. I like to see traveler photos because they're honest and don't try and cover any blemishes the property might have.
In general it might help to offer guests a 5% discount on their next stay if they go to TA and rate you. I would imagine if they're after the 5% discount they're not going to say it was horrible! LOL
.

I hope I'm doing this right... this forum has me all confused because the posts are out of order. Is there any way to make them go in order based on date/time of post?
Anyway, RE: TripAdvisor... besides the reviews, the ranking is also someting I really like. Most of the time I go straight down the list for the area I'm traveling to. If I find a decent rate and a place with great reviews I don't continue to search. I might skim the other hotels in the area if there aren't too many but generally I'm sold already. Also, traveler photos are of utmost importance. Photos we take ourselves and retouch, or have professionally taken always highlight the best parts of the property. I like to see traveler photos because they're honest and don't try and cover any blemishes the property might have.

I guess I'm putting on my industry hat here, because I do think Trip Advisor is a useful site... but I don't think Trip Advisor is the healthy, long-term solution for the industry. I don't think a site that offers no direct link to a property, no map (only shows non-B&B properties nearby to your property) is a very good consumer solution that benefits a B&B. IMHO Trip Advisor is taking information on B&B's, then saying to consumers - "don't book them... it is really hard... we don't even have links, you can't find out where they are... but HERE... take a look at all these easy-to-book hotels at cheap rates just around the corner. Feel free to check availability on them right here, get a low-price guarantee, etc."
This, to me, pulls business away from B&B's - it doesn't draw them to B&B's. Sure - everyone knows Hyatt exists, and Expedia exists - so I'm not anti-advertising at all, but NOT making it easy to book a B&B or find their information just reinforces to consumers that it is a pain to deal with a small property.
Imagine the process if you are looking for a property on a busy weekend...
1) Go to TA. Find list of properties in a city. Decide you don't want hotels and you want B&B's. Find one where you like the review. Great - I'm interested..
2) Open another browser, enter B&B name into Google.
3) See B&B listing in google - click on it.
4) Go back to B&B site, find map of B&B, figure out it isn't the location you want.
5) Go back to TA. Read more reviews find another you like, but it has three user photos of stain on the carpet because the guest that left that morning spilled coffee and there was only time to do a fast cleaning. Skip it.
6) Read more reviews, find 3rd B&B you like. Click on the map link.
7) Expedia window opens up showing you all hotels near to that B&B - but NOT that B&B.
8) Gee, this Marriott is pretty close to where I wanted to be, and I can check availability of all hotels with one click. That sounds good.... so I do - and find a few great deals.
9) But I really wanted a B&B... so I go to Google and type in the name of that B&B one more time and click through to their website.
10) Looks good, I check the map, looks okay - so I go to book. Ooops - no availability. Back to TA.
11) Okay - one last ditch effort before I book the Marriott... here is my 4th preference of a B&B. Map opens up to Expedia again - alright, tried that route.
12) Back to google. Enter property name, find it, click through to it, check availability. It is available - but it is $50 more per night than the Marriott, and it is a "request for a reservation..."
13) Okay - I'm booking that Marriott. This is getting too difficult.
That is the scenario we want to change. For starters - we want to allow B&B's to be bookable through Expedia so they show up on those maps... but more importantly we want to make it easy on BedandBreakfast.com for people to do that research without clicking all over the web to find out where properties are, what is available, etc. Consumer perception is that B&B's are hard to find, hard to book, and have varying service - when we as an industry change that - we will start to take more business from larger hotels. Until then we will have to continue to deal with the fact that 96% of the traveling public says they do not stay at B&B's.
Relying on Trip Advisor to change that is not, IMHO the solution to get that 96% number down to 92%. That seems pretty darn doable - and we would literally double the business going to B&B's while still having greater than 90% of Americans never consider them.
That is why we are trying to put the name "BedandBreakfast.com" in front of consumers in any way, shape, or form we can. Nothing about that name says "hotel," and nothing would make all of us happier than doubling the business to B&B's.
5) Repeat google search process, and

 

[swirt]

Here are some comparisons from some of the B&B website trackers I have access to. I was not hunting for a particular outcome. The first three graphs represent comparisons of the website referrals. The last is cost for each listing for a year (minimum level for a link to the property's website).

.

Swirt,
Do you measure reservation conversion as well? In other words, can you see that for every 100 visits from iloveinns for instance, you get the same number of reservations as you do from a BedandBreakfast.com?
If not reservations, do you track things like bounce rate, time on site, etc.? This speaks to the quality of traffic issue that we have heard resoundingly from other marketing firms.
.

That's a good question. Here are the bounce rates. I had to switch out two properties because I didn't have access to their bounce rate data. So I had to swap in two others that I did have bounce rate data for.
For clarification for anyone reading who is not familiar with bounce rates, they indicate what percentage of the incoming referrals left the property's website after only seeing the one page the landed on. (meaning it is a good indication they didn't make a reservation) So an 18% bounce rate means that 18% of the people that clicked through from iloveinns, left after seeing only one page.

(Keep in mind that a listing with bandb.com brings with it a listing on inns.com)
A more in depth look at bounce rates for a B&B website.
I am pulling together information on conversion (getting people to actually make a reservation), but so far it doesn't look like it is going to make the case you want it to.