AIHP

A while back, I was introduced to the Association of Innkeeping and Hospitality Professionals on this forum. I took a look at what they were doing and gave it a fair amount of thought over the course of a few weeks. After getting a sense of where they might want to go and given the relatively low cost to become a founding member, I recommended it to our CFO (husband). He approved and we sent them some money. Wasn't quite sure what value we would gain, but figured there would, at the least, be some goodwill from it.
In the course of the communications that have gone out, it was exciting to see that the vision of the members was progressive and positive. I am excited they see the great opportunity in front of small accommodations to get in on the latest movement for more meaning and depth in the travel experience. I am thrilled that they are looking ahead to how social media influencers are going to be the next frontier. I really like that they are thinking about how to get ahead of and utilize the resources that are coming into the market as part of the sharing economy.
As the relative value of other resources has declined and the model of success in this business is being redefined, AIHP seems to understand that the industry must change to remain relevant and, with an unfulfilled market looking for in depth experiences, no industry is better positioned to respond to that than ours.
No doubt, I am inferring a lot from just a little, but I would encourage those of you that are actively growing your business to take a look.

Thank you. We in the industry need to be willing to "take a flyer" to get something that will be helpful and will promote our industry to help US. I only wish I had a few thousand laying around - but I don't. I envision this to be an advocacy, trends adviser (real ones, not the made up ones), go to for answers place. It is being run by volunteers from many perspectives of the industry. I expect this to be what we thought PAII was when Jay was there - and I truly believe it deserves our support. And if it does not deliver (I think it will) then drop out.

I sent my money in too….looking forward to seeing what happens with this association.

scrambled_eggs said:

I sent my money in too….looking forward to seeing what happens with this association..

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Is this a US organization only?

Checked the list of contributors and I know quite a lot of them. I'm a little concerned that the big contributors are companies that seem to make doing business harder than it should be - airbnb and bedandbreakfast.com as examples.
How independent will this organization be with the big money coming from large corporations that tend to work against our goals?

Morticia said:

Checked the list of contributors and I know quite a lot of them. I'm a little concerned that the big contributors are companies that seem to make doing business harder than it should be - airbnb and bedandbreakfast.com as examples.
How independent will this organization be with the big money coming from large corporations that tend to work against our goals?.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

Checked the list of contributors and I know quite a lot of them. I'm a little concerned that the big contributors are companies that seem to make doing business harder than it should be - airbnb and bedandbreakfast.com as examples.
How independent will this organization be with the big money coming from large corporations that tend to work against our goals?

Click to expand...

Copperhead said:

Morticia said:

Checked the list of contributors and I know quite a lot of them. I'm a little concerned that the big contributors are companies that seem to make doing business harder than it should be - airbnb and bedandbreakfast.com as examples.
How independent will this organization be with the big money coming from large corporations that tend to work against our goals?.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

Checked the list of contributors and I know quite a lot of them. I'm a little concerned that the big contributors are companies that seem to make doing business harder than it should be - airbnb and bedandbreakfast.com as examples.
How independent will this organization be with the big money coming from large corporations that tend to work against our goals?

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.

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business is in for how much can I make doing business with these companies.? they are in it for how much profit is the bottom line. Not our concerns.

Morticia said:

Checked the list of contributors and I know quite a lot of them. I'm a little concerned that the big contributors are companies that seem to make doing business harder than it should be - airbnb and bedandbreakfast.com as examples.
How independent will this organization be with the big money coming from large corporations that tend to work against our goals?.

Click to expand...

I think a lot of the big money came from companies that want us to stay in business - WE are THEIR customers.

Jon Sable said:

scrambled_eggs said:

I sent my money in too….looking forward to seeing what happens with this association..

Click to expand...

Is this a US organization only?
.

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I will ask.

Morticia said:

Checked the list of contributors and I know quite a lot of them. I'm a little concerned that the big contributors are companies that seem to make doing business harder than it should be - airbnb and bedandbreakfast.com as examples.
How independent will this organization be with the big money coming from large corporations that tend to work against our goals?.

Click to expand...

Sounds like it's not for you.

Jon Sable said:

scrambled_eggs said:

I sent my money in too….looking forward to seeing what happens with this association..

Click to expand...

Is this a US organization only?
.

Click to expand...

Jon Sable said:

Is this a US organization only?

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Answer:
There is nothing to prevent a Canadian B&B joining AIHP. They will have access to all the benefits of any other member. The one thing we will not be able to do in the foreseeable future is provide advocacy with their local or federal governments.

gillumhouse said:

Jon Sable said:

scrambled_eggs said:

I sent my money in too….looking forward to seeing what happens with this association..

Click to expand...

Is this a US organization only?
.

Click to expand...

Jon Sable said:

Is this a US organization only?

Click to expand...

Answer:
There is nothing to prevent a Canadian B&B joining AIHP. They will have access to all the benefits of any other member. The one thing we will not be able to do in the foreseeable future is provide advocacy with their local or federal governments.
.

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What a wishy washy answer. We can't stop you, but we aren't really welcoming either.

Jon Sable said:

gillumhouse said:

Jon Sable said:

scrambled_eggs said:

I sent my money in too….looking forward to seeing what happens with this association..

Click to expand...

Is this a US organization only?
.

Click to expand...

Jon Sable said:

Is this a US organization only?

Click to expand...

Answer:
There is nothing to prevent a Canadian B&B joining AIHP. They will have access to all the benefits of any other member. The one thing we will not be able to do in the foreseeable future is provide advocacy with their local or federal governments.
.

Click to expand...

What a wishy washy answer. We can't stop you, but we aren't really welcoming either.
.

Click to expand...

I read it differently than you did. I read it to say Canadians are welcome to join. You WILL get all the benefits everyone in the USA gets but they are saying upfront, they will not be geared to advocate politically in Canada.

Ok, someone please explain to me what a "legitimate air bn b property"? It's mentioned in the faq's but not explained. To me none of those air properties are legitimate

gillumhouse said:

Jon Sable said:

gillumhouse said:

Jon Sable said:

scrambled_eggs said:

I sent my money in too….looking forward to seeing what happens with this association..

Click to expand...

Is this a US organization only?
.

Click to expand...

Jon Sable said:

Is this a US organization only?

Click to expand...

Answer:
There is nothing to prevent a Canadian B&B joining AIHP. They will have access to all the benefits of any other member. The one thing we will not be able to do in the foreseeable future is provide advocacy with their local or federal governments.
.

Click to expand...

What a wishy washy answer. We can't stop you, but we aren't really welcoming either.
.

Click to expand...

I read it differently than you did. I read it to say Canadians are welcome to join. You WILL get all the benefits everyone in the USA gets but they are saying upfront, they will not be geared to advocate politically in Canada.
.

Click to expand...

Funny how it sounds different to different people.

Iris said:

Ok, someone please explain to me what a "legitimate air bn b property"? It's mentioned in the faq's but not explained. To me none of those air properties are legitimate .

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I am on Air - to me it is just another place to list, my one OTA - and I am legit

Iris said:

Ok, someone please explain to me what a "legitimate air bn b property"? It's mentioned in the faq's but not explained. To me none of those air properties are legitimate .

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There are many of us here that have listings on air. We're the legitimate ones, as opposed to those people who just open their doors and are not inspected, paying taxes, etc. I make it very clear on my listing that we are a legal b&b and they will have to pay lodging taxes when they check-in.

scrambled_eggs said:

I sent my money in too….looking forward to seeing what happens with this association..

Click to expand...

Great to hear that there are others here that checked it out and decided to participate. Not sure, but perhaps this is an opportunity for those who would like to participate in a larger, healthier discussion of where to take our businesses in the future.
As I mentioned in a recent comment, there are many companies that are discovering ways to nick a bit from our profits by building the loyalty of our future guests. They do not have our interests in mind. These are not companies designed to help us.
So where do I hope to see value from AIHP?
I did a webinar a while back that focused briefly on a small hotel chain that was actively using social media to run an end around the OTA's. I would love to see a proactive plan to gain a competitive edge on the OTA domination strategy.
I am big on innovation and can see the appeal of a sharing economy. It would great if that included a level playing field for our industry.
I won't innkeep forever, but I like the industry. It might be great to see what others are doing and see where the business opportunities are. Hanging out with others that are actively growing their businesses seems like a good idea.

Breakfast Diva said:

Iris said:

Ok, someone please explain to me what a "legitimate air bn b property"? It's mentioned in the faq's but not explained. To me none of those air properties are legitimate .

Click to expand...

There are many of us here that have listings on air. We're the legitimate ones, as opposed to those people who just open their doors and are not inspected, paying taxes, etc. I make it very clear on my listing that we are a legal b&b and they will have to pay lodging taxes when they check-in.
.

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That makes sense.
I am very busy here but could use some help during the shoulder seasons. I just worry that I attract the wrong crowd. It has taken us a couple of years in the beginning to weed out the kind of guests that we definitely don't want here. I had to overcome the fear of that when I signed up with reskey. That went well and I no longer worry, I enjoy having this part of my reservation taking all set and it's been a big help.
It's just that, I can't explain it, I guess I worry too much on the wrong end

gillumhouse said:

Morticia said:

Checked the list of contributors and I know quite a lot of them. I'm a little concerned that the big contributors are companies that seem to make doing business harder than it should be - airbnb and bedandbreakfast.com as examples.
How independent will this organization be with the big money coming from large corporations that tend to work against our goals?.

Click to expand...

I think a lot of the big money came from companies that want us to stay in business - WE are THEIR customers.
.

Click to expand...

gillumhouse said:

I think a lot of the big money came from companies that want us to stay in business - WE are THEIR customers.

Click to expand...

K - that of course makes sense. We all have seen though how $$$ seems to have an affect on the direction a group (of any make up) when the backer of the $$$ has certain objectives. Sigh.

Hoping this group leaders stay true to the cause. Optimistic.