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Morticia

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What percent of your guests would you say have NO idea what there is to do in your area when they arrive? Do most of your guests need for you to tell them what to see? Not just local events that might just be for one or two days, but they have landed and do not have any plans at all and are hoping you fill them in?
I don't generally send guests to 'attractions' that are in tour books and I wonder if they find out when they eot home that they 'missed' all the 'good' stuff even tho they seemed to enjoy the things we told them about.
 
40-50%. Most of those are the one nighters in that category and want to go and do something while they are here. Many times they want a full list of what to do and arrive at 9pm. UGH
I ask them what they are interested in. Case in point last night, one nighter who wanted to do the dinner cruise at our lake, on a MONDAY. Not happening, this is not Key West. :) LOL
In the rooms I have an itinerary of things to see and do, I also have hikes local or a bit further out, and people ask me "Where can we go hiking?" I mention the list with drive times on their bed, they tell me "We already saw that." ?
 
some people make me go grr asked me for a recomendation for eating place sent them to a near by restaurant said "is it any good?" felt like saying no its a horrible dump with high prices. why would I send people to a place that wasn't any good? GRRR
 
Yes, I am definitely a tour guide.because I want people to go to places where they can spend money as they see the sights, most of which are free. I made it easy on myself by making the routings a table that I saved in WORD. I know my area well enough that I can make adjustments for personal interests.
Yes, being 3 rooms helps but it is having it on the computer ready to print out at any time that makes it easier - because I know that if i had it in a book in the room, it would not be read OR it would be taken for the day trip and left in the car.
I can tell them where a few good restaurants will be found on their day trip if they are hungry AND if they are returning to the B & B I also loan them a copy of the Gazetteer and show them how to use it. MANY have told me they had a great time exploring with that map book as a guide - it shows EVERY little cow path I think!
 
100% know, because I tell them before the arrive.
There is enough to see and do in our area for a good two-day weekend...three days if they come for the giant monthly flea market. However, if you didn't know what was available, you would think this place is dead as a post.
On my website and through our newsletter, I let guests know what there is to see and do and about special events such as the rodeo, fairs and festivals, musical concerts, dinners and entertainment at the winery and the productions at the little theater.
This is a mecca for outdoorsy guests. We have all kinds of fishing and a favorite is a large zip-line course nearby.
Most of these venues support us in like fashion because we want our community to be perceived as a destination spot.
 
Luckily we're in the middle of a National Park, but the MAJORITY of people want advice about specific trails etc. We have a good variety of "canned" responses depending on what their needs are - driving and have a few houras or multie-day stays etc. We also try hard to promote local guides and activities on our website so people are relatively well prepared when they arrive.
 
Most know we have Monticello and wineries. About 90% of our guests book our wine tour.
RIki
 
I leave a "What's Happening" sheet on their bureau with a list of things going on in the area while they are here. I also have a list of area attractions on my website and I update my blog at the beginning of each month with upcoming events. Most guests though come with some idea of what they want to do or see while in this area.
 
mort, i often had the booking because the wife (stereotype here) said 'please, oh please ... let's stay at a romantic bed and breakfast' and so they booked a room and arrived and then were looking for things to do besides be 'romantic'.
 
I usually tell people about the less obvious things to do in the area... They should already know about the big stuff in big city & the beach, but it is not always the case. Our site provides a long list of stuff, which I place in distance type of catagories... local, big city, regional, day trip...
If they are already here, I do have a small display rack of brochures that I point out things that may suit their desires. Otherwise, I am minutes to our state Welcome center, and tell them to stop there for more ideas. Around here things open up on a whim... I can not keep up with them - here one day gone the next.
 
Most people who came here knew about the 2 major attractions we have. Then we shared the rest with them when they ask about things to do. Though we had it all on our website....the majority never asked..they already knew what they were going to do when they came.
 
We had things to do in the room book and on the web site and would offer concierge services. I learned from the guests about some things to do in nearby towns for day trips that I really had not been tuned into. We had many guests who were surprised at what our city had to offer.
We are on vacation in Northern California wine country right now. Our innkeeper is really helpful but she could save herself a lot of time if she had come up with a few "itineraries". Example, sightseeing/exploring vs. wine tastings. We started out with a plan to do some wine tastings today and ended up seeing the most fantastic redwood grove in a State park and hiking about 2 miles on some trails - saw deer, fungi (aka forest mushrooms), birds, and of course these 1300 yr old trees. Then, we happened upon a river beach in a nearby town! Not wanting to miss tasting wines entirely, we passed on renting paddle boats or a kayak but that would have been FUN to know about ahead of time. But we did have a good time tasting some great wines after all and finding out about this year's harvest. ;-)
 
I have four pages in plastic sleeves that one room just mailed back to us as they had it in their car for their touring about and site seeing and took home to NY. This is why I don't have them in a book, I want people to be able to take with when they explore. She didn't have to mail them back I could print out some more, but she appreciated them and put a note in with them telling me this.
So for all those who do no research, there are those who really appreciate the little extras.
 
I picture myself....
Not soon after taking ownership of a B&B.....being asked by guests...."So what's to do around here?"
Responding...."Beats me?...when you find out let me know"..."and take notes"
 
I picture myself....
Not soon after taking ownership of a B&B.....being asked by guests...."So what's to do around here?"
Responding...."Beats me?...when you find out let me know"..."and take notes".
Before we opened, we made a point of visiting all the attractions, wineries, parks, businesses etc so that we could talk intelligently about them to our guests. I think that is part of being a good innkeeper. I put together notebooks for our guestrooms which had menus, brochures, maps, things to do etc. They were used alot.
 
I picture myself....
Not soon after taking ownership of a B&B.....being asked by guests...."So what's to do around here?"
Responding...."Beats me?...when you find out let me know"..."and take notes".
One Day said:
I picture myself....
Not soon after taking ownership of a B&B.....being asked by guests...."So what's to do around here?"
Responding...."Beats me?...when you find out let me know"..."and take notes"
FOR ASPIRINGS: Creating itineraries and being aware of surrounding activities should be part of your overall business plan. This is a huge portion of your draw and one you will want to build your marketing around.
 
I picture myself....
Not soon after taking ownership of a B&B.....being asked by guests...."So what's to do around here?"
Responding...."Beats me?...when you find out let me know"..."and take notes".
One Day said:
I picture myself....
Not soon after taking ownership of a B&B.....being asked by guests...."So what's to do around here?"
Responding...."Beats me?...when you find out let me know"..."and take notes"
FOR ASPIRINGS: Creating itineraries and being aware of surrounding activities should be part of your overall business plan. This is a huge portion of your draw and one you will want to build your marketing around.
.
DH was from Illinoissssss as they say here and my home territory was about 100 miles north. We drove around like the tourists we were, learning the area and finding out what is here. What really helped was one of the temp jobs I had - I went places I never knew existed. I also bought the Gazetteer looking for the best routes to the places I had to go.
It costs about $20 now, but the best investment you will make is to buy one for each room. Keep it in your area, but loan it out to multo-night guests to use as they explore the area. It shows EVERY back road/almost dirt track in the area making one small aection one whole page. Guests have a ball exploring on their own, knowing they will not get lost because they have this map book that shows just about down to a tractor road.
 
I picture myself....
Not soon after taking ownership of a B&B.....being asked by guests...."So what's to do around here?"
Responding...."Beats me?...when you find out let me know"..."and take notes".
One Day said:
I picture myself....
Not soon after taking ownership of a B&B.....being asked by guests...."So what's to do around here?"
Responding...."Beats me?...when you find out let me know"..."and take notes"
FOR ASPIRINGS: Creating itineraries and being aware of surrounding activities should be part of your overall business plan. This is a huge portion of your draw and one you will want to build your marketing around.
.
DH was from Illinoissssss as they say here and my home territory was about 100 miles north. We drove around like the tourists we were, learning the area and finding out what is here. What really helped was one of the temp jobs I had - I went places I never knew existed. I also bought the Gazetteer looking for the best routes to the places I had to go.
It costs about $20 now, but the best investment you will make is to buy one for each room. Keep it in your area, but loan it out to multo-night guests to use as they explore the area. It shows EVERY back road/almost dirt track in the area making one small aection one whole page. Guests have a ball exploring on their own, knowing they will not get lost because they have this map book that shows just about down to a tractor road.
.
gillumhouse said:
Guests have a ball exploring on their own, knowing they will not get lost because they have this map book that shows just about down to a tractor road.
Oh, they'll get lost. Trust me.
 
I have four pages in plastic sleeves that one room just mailed back to us as they had it in their car for their touring about and site seeing and took home to NY. This is why I don't have them in a book, I want people to be able to take with when they explore. She didn't have to mail them back I could print out some more, but she appreciated them and put a note in with them telling me this.
So for all those who do no research, there are those who really appreciate the little extras..
Absolutely! The research is always appreciated!
 
I had a sign in the foyer for guests last night about award winning bluegrass two blocks from us at our outdoor market. The #1, winning all award now and the past couple years, he is from here, so came to "give back" so to speak and play for his friends and family. You could hear it from the porch, it was a fantastic show. No guests went to it or sat on the porch to enjoy, and it was 75 degrees and a beautiful starry night.
All that to say, cant get caught up trying to get guests to do things we think they would enjoy, we put it out and if they want to, they can. Tonight, they will all ask about it, and I will say, it was last night only.
 
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