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Tom

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This is relevant to another thread on the forum, Stereo typing a Bed and Breakfast
Some B&B compete for upscale conventional, hotel-type customers by adding more contemporary style and moving away from older stereotypes. Some good statistics on trends at the end of the article.
http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=23976
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.)
 
Wow! We have one of those right here in my town. The modern look, but still has the Victorian Tower on the corner of the B&B. For a reasonable price they provide a great bed and free breakfast. The last name of the guy who owns it must be Day, because he calls it Days Inn. (Sorry...just couldn't resist!)
022467A.jpg
 
Nice to see ya there McKenzie.
High End Bathrooms...sorry got a chuckle out of that one.
Hey here's an idea, 86 the bedspreads and come on over the the eery-icky old style of B&B's, better known as the part guests love...it's a super fast way to make a place "homey' and yet you can still be hotel-like.
wink_smile.gif
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
.
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
.
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
.
Madeleine said:
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
Well said, Maddie. As much of a fan as I am of PAII, it is disheartening how quickly PAII and the B&B consultants out there go to a condemnation of innkeepers as being 'resistant or disinterested' in change rather than thinking about addressing the very real issues of day-to-day innkeeping lives. Like recovering from a blocked sewer line during the only two busy weekends in February. Not that I expect anyone from PAII to help me with that - it just would be nice if there was an acknowledgement that what I do every day isn't just about shopping for the latest in mattesses and electronics, nor blogging and tweeting, or scheduling photographers at $1500/day.
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
.
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
.
Madeleine said:
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
Well said, Maddie. As much of a fan as I am of PAII, it is disheartening how quickly PAII and the B&B consultants out there go to a condemnation of innkeepers as being 'resistant or disinterested' in change rather than thinking about addressing the very real issues of day-to-day innkeeping lives. Like recovering from a blocked sewer line during the only two busy weekends in February. Not that I expect anyone from PAII to help me with that - it just would be nice if there was an acknowledgement that what I do every day isn't just about shopping for the latest in mattesses and electronics, nor blogging and tweeting, or scheduling photographers at $1500/day.
.
I agree with everything except the inference that cleaning a jetted tub is so time consuming. The ones we just bought from bath-tec have a new cleaning system for the pipes which appears to be just pressing a button. Other than that we spray with disinfectant and wipe down just like a regular tub. The older model entails just pouring a half cup of bleach in the cleaning opening and running the water for a few minutes.
Jacuzzis, now I think you have to fill the whole dang thing with water and cleaning solution but I'm not sure if that is still the case as we stick with Bath tec and their cleaning systems. Our room without the tub always books last for any age group except the over 75 crowd.
Riki
 
I appreciate Madie and Muirford comments, particularly rejection of "condemnation of innkeepers as being 'resistant or disinterested' in change". I think the point of the blog should have been that B&B are diversifying, adding to the style and offerings already there. Those, can I say traditional style, offerings serve the existing relatively small percentage of travelers who regularly stay at B&B. They should stay that way and continue to serve that market sector.
The alternative approach is trying to get new customers. When we opened, our model was not to mainly compete with the roughly dozen B&B already serving a 250,000 population, rather to mainly compete with the Hilton and the rather gloomy Interstate motel row. It sort of works, although change in customer attitudes is slow (and frankly, the crappy economy doesn't help put people outside of their comfort zone).
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so.
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
.
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
.
Madeleine said:
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
Well said, Maddie. As much of a fan as I am of PAII, it is disheartening how quickly PAII and the B&B consultants out there go to a condemnation of innkeepers as being 'resistant or disinterested' in change rather than thinking about addressing the very real issues of day-to-day innkeeping lives. Like recovering from a blocked sewer line during the only two busy weekends in February. Not that I expect anyone from PAII to help me with that - it just would be nice if there was an acknowledgement that what I do every day isn't just about shopping for the latest in mattesses and electronics, nor blogging and tweeting, or scheduling photographers at $1500/day.
.
I agree with everything except the inference that cleaning a jetted tub is so time consuming. The ones we just bought from bath-tec have a new cleaning system for the pipes which appears to be just pressing a button. Other than that we spray with disinfectant and wipe down just like a regular tub. The older model entails just pouring a half cup of bleach in the cleaning opening and running the water for a few minutes.
Jacuzzis, now I think you have to fill the whole dang thing with water and cleaning solution but I'm not sure if that is still the case as we stick with Bath tec and their cleaning systems. Our room without the tub always books last for any age group except the over 75 crowd.
Riki
.
The tubs I referenced are older models and do require cleaning that is more than what you described. More like the fill, add bleach, drain kind. Of course, those should all be replaced with the newer models for ease of use and cleaning.
 
I appreciate Madie and Muirford comments, particularly rejection of "condemnation of innkeepers as being 'resistant or disinterested' in change". I think the point of the blog should have been that B&B are diversifying, adding to the style and offerings already there. Those, can I say traditional style, offerings serve the existing relatively small percentage of travelers who regularly stay at B&B. They should stay that way and continue to serve that market sector.
The alternative approach is trying to get new customers. When we opened, our model was not to mainly compete with the roughly dozen B&B already serving a 250,000 population, rather to mainly compete with the Hilton and the rather gloomy Interstate motel row. It sort of works, although change in customer attitudes is slow (and frankly, the crappy economy doesn't help put people outside of their comfort zone).
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so..
Tom said:
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so.
Part of my rant is about the blogging itself. The bloggers all seem to take something they don't have (doilies) and make it sound as if it is a crime to have that. 'Oh, you wouldn't want to stay THERE, they have doilies (gasp). You want to stay here where we have (fill in the blank) but would never subject you to (fill in the blank).'
Fine, tout what you have, but for Pete's sake, stop implying that 'not your style' = 'BAD B&B'.
We ALWAYS tell newbies (and, oddly, we do get some 30-somethings here even tho we don't have TV's or electronics) that every B&B is different. Try them all. Find your style. READ the website to see what they offer. And thank you for choosing us for this stay. Enough guests tell us they have stayed at every B&B in my town for me to GET that guests try different places. So, lets all encourage that.
Encourage guests to step outside their comfort zone, whatever it is. Go modern if you are traditional. Go traditional if you're modern. TRY SOMETHING NEW. Try a yurt B&B. Try a lighthouse B&B. Try an old colonial B&B conversion. Try a townhouse in Brooklyn.
I am certainly not saying that we should all sit back and do nothing. I've tried making reservations at plenty of places with websites built by someone's 8 year old, websites that have no information on them other than the phone number. Just last month I called 2 places that never returned my calls even tho their website stated they were open. Those kinds of non interactions do give B&B's a bad name. But so does calling a hotel and getting a bored clerk who is simultaneously texting while you're talking to them.
I encourage innkeepers to get online reservations, photos and the like. But, when they're full and I'm not where's the impetus? There are B&B's in Charleston with a single webpage on a directory. Don't tell me they're not making 3-4 times what I make in a year.
Maybe it's easy to tell that I take these 'critiques' to heart. We're 2 people here trying to make a go of something that was so much easier 9 years ago when we got started. We've jumped on the bandwagons. We've updated our website 3 times in 9 years. We were the first on the block to get online reservations. We have a blog, a FB page, a Twitter account. We had professional photos taken. We just spent $12,000 on a new furnace so guests could have heat and hot water. There goes the budget for any other upgrades. But, still, we dug deep. We borrowed money from my family. We spent another $3k on decor upgrades. Along with spending a couple of grand on getting teeth fixed because the innkeepers have to look good, too, and dental insurance isn't included in that $18k I mentioned before.
We're not standing still but for crying out loud, we cannot jump thru too many more of the BWTS hoops. I'm sure the next owners will tear down all the wallpaper, buy all new beds, bedding, linens, table settings, install TV's everywhere, maybe even take a room offline and make the bathrooms bigger in the adjoinng rooms so they can have jetted tubs instead of boxy showers. They can also finish off the attic and get 3 more guest rooms.
Every dime we make goes right back into the business. Why don't we go to PAII conferences? We can't afford to travel. How ironic. We're in the tourism industry but we don't go anywhere.
I thought it was going to be fun owning my own business and being my own boss. Who knew outside forces who weren't even paying me to stay here would be telling me what my business should look like and attempting to make me sound like an old fogey for not jumping higher and faster.
(PS- Tom, not directing this at you, just ranting!)
 
I appreciate Madie and Muirford comments, particularly rejection of "condemnation of innkeepers as being 'resistant or disinterested' in change". I think the point of the blog should have been that B&B are diversifying, adding to the style and offerings already there. Those, can I say traditional style, offerings serve the existing relatively small percentage of travelers who regularly stay at B&B. They should stay that way and continue to serve that market sector.
The alternative approach is trying to get new customers. When we opened, our model was not to mainly compete with the roughly dozen B&B already serving a 250,000 population, rather to mainly compete with the Hilton and the rather gloomy Interstate motel row. It sort of works, although change in customer attitudes is slow (and frankly, the crappy economy doesn't help put people outside of their comfort zone).
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so..
Tom said:
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so.
Part of my rant is about the blogging itself. The bloggers all seem to take something they don't have (doilies) and make it sound as if it is a crime to have that. 'Oh, you wouldn't want to stay THERE, they have doilies (gasp). You want to stay here where we have (fill in the blank) but would never subject you to (fill in the blank).'
Fine, tout what you have, but for Pete's sake, stop implying that 'not your style' = 'BAD B&B'.
We ALWAYS tell newbies (and, oddly, we do get some 30-somethings here even tho we don't have TV's or electronics) that every B&B is different. Try them all. Find your style. READ the website to see what they offer. And thank you for choosing us for this stay. Enough guests tell us they have stayed at every B&B in my town for me to GET that guests try different places. So, lets all encourage that.
Encourage guests to step outside their comfort zone, whatever it is. Go modern if you are traditional. Go traditional if you're modern. TRY SOMETHING NEW. Try a yurt B&B. Try a lighthouse B&B. Try an old colonial B&B conversion. Try a townhouse in Brooklyn.
I am certainly not saying that we should all sit back and do nothing. I've tried making reservations at plenty of places with websites built by someone's 8 year old, websites that have no information on them other than the phone number. Just last month I called 2 places that never returned my calls even tho their website stated they were open. Those kinds of non interactions do give B&B's a bad name. But so does calling a hotel and getting a bored clerk who is simultaneously texting while you're talking to them.
I encourage innkeepers to get online reservations, photos and the like. But, when they're full and I'm not where's the impetus? There are B&B's in Charleston with a single webpage on a directory. Don't tell me they're not making 3-4 times what I make in a year.
Maybe it's easy to tell that I take these 'critiques' to heart. We're 2 people here trying to make a go of something that was so much easier 9 years ago when we got started. We've jumped on the bandwagons. We've updated our website 3 times in 9 years. We were the first on the block to get online reservations. We have a blog, a FB page, a Twitter account. We had professional photos taken. We just spent $12,000 on a new furnace so guests could have heat and hot water. There goes the budget for any other upgrades. But, still, we dug deep. We borrowed money from my family. We spent another $3k on decor upgrades. Along with spending a couple of grand on getting teeth fixed because the innkeepers have to look good, too, and dental insurance isn't included in that $18k I mentioned before.
We're not standing still but for crying out loud, we cannot jump thru too many more of the BWTS hoops. I'm sure the next owners will tear down all the wallpaper, buy all new beds, bedding, linens, table settings, install TV's everywhere, maybe even take a room offline and make the bathrooms bigger in the adjoinng rooms so they can have jetted tubs instead of boxy showers. They can also finish off the attic and get 3 more guest rooms.
Every dime we make goes right back into the business. Why don't we go to PAII conferences? We can't afford to travel. How ironic. We're in the tourism industry but we don't go anywhere.
I thought it was going to be fun owning my own business and being my own boss. Who knew outside forces who weren't even paying me to stay here would be telling me what my business should look like and attempting to make me sound like an old fogey for not jumping higher and faster.
(PS- Tom, not directing this at you, just ranting!)
.
I hear you Madeline! We are scraping to pay for our new addition and are being told to "just get it done" - and getting three requests per day for "donations that can be written off". As if getting a loan these days is easy! And for crying out loud, how can I donate when I currently have only two rooms!
What I love is being told I should have steam showers so the guests can enjoy hour-long baths blah blah. HELLO I am on a well. Wasting water on an hour long bath - I think not. I offer whirlpool tubs instead and yes, I check which take the least amount of water before I order. Since we keep the output of the air conditioning unit inside to capture the water condensation in a barrel to water my outdoor plants, I feel justified. We even get water in the winter when the a/c is not running!
RIki
 
I appreciate Madie and Muirford comments, particularly rejection of "condemnation of innkeepers as being 'resistant or disinterested' in change". I think the point of the blog should have been that B&B are diversifying, adding to the style and offerings already there. Those, can I say traditional style, offerings serve the existing relatively small percentage of travelers who regularly stay at B&B. They should stay that way and continue to serve that market sector.
The alternative approach is trying to get new customers. When we opened, our model was not to mainly compete with the roughly dozen B&B already serving a 250,000 population, rather to mainly compete with the Hilton and the rather gloomy Interstate motel row. It sort of works, although change in customer attitudes is slow (and frankly, the crappy economy doesn't help put people outside of their comfort zone).
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so..
Tom said:
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so.
Part of my rant is about the blogging itself. The bloggers all seem to take something they don't have (doilies) and make it sound as if it is a crime to have that. 'Oh, you wouldn't want to stay THERE, they have doilies (gasp). You want to stay here where we have (fill in the blank) but would never subject you to (fill in the blank).'
Fine, tout what you have, but for Pete's sake, stop implying that 'not your style' = 'BAD B&B'.
We ALWAYS tell newbies (and, oddly, we do get some 30-somethings here even tho we don't have TV's or electronics) that every B&B is different. Try them all. Find your style. READ the website to see what they offer. And thank you for choosing us for this stay. Enough guests tell us they have stayed at every B&B in my town for me to GET that guests try different places. So, lets all encourage that.
Encourage guests to step outside their comfort zone, whatever it is. Go modern if you are traditional. Go traditional if you're modern. TRY SOMETHING NEW. Try a yurt B&B. Try a lighthouse B&B. Try an old colonial B&B conversion. Try a townhouse in Brooklyn.
I am certainly not saying that we should all sit back and do nothing. I've tried making reservations at plenty of places with websites built by someone's 8 year old, websites that have no information on them other than the phone number. Just last month I called 2 places that never returned my calls even tho their website stated they were open. Those kinds of non interactions do give B&B's a bad name. But so does calling a hotel and getting a bored clerk who is simultaneously texting while you're talking to them.
I encourage innkeepers to get online reservations, photos and the like. But, when they're full and I'm not where's the impetus? There are B&B's in Charleston with a single webpage on a directory. Don't tell me they're not making 3-4 times what I make in a year.
Maybe it's easy to tell that I take these 'critiques' to heart. We're 2 people here trying to make a go of something that was so much easier 9 years ago when we got started. We've jumped on the bandwagons. We've updated our website 3 times in 9 years. We were the first on the block to get online reservations. We have a blog, a FB page, a Twitter account. We had professional photos taken. We just spent $12,000 on a new furnace so guests could have heat and hot water. There goes the budget for any other upgrades. But, still, we dug deep. We borrowed money from my family. We spent another $3k on decor upgrades. Along with spending a couple of grand on getting teeth fixed because the innkeepers have to look good, too, and dental insurance isn't included in that $18k I mentioned before.
We're not standing still but for crying out loud, we cannot jump thru too many more of the BWTS hoops. I'm sure the next owners will tear down all the wallpaper, buy all new beds, bedding, linens, table settings, install TV's everywhere, maybe even take a room offline and make the bathrooms bigger in the adjoinng rooms so they can have jetted tubs instead of boxy showers. They can also finish off the attic and get 3 more guest rooms.
Every dime we make goes right back into the business. Why don't we go to PAII conferences? We can't afford to travel. How ironic. We're in the tourism industry but we don't go anywhere.
I thought it was going to be fun owning my own business and being my own boss. Who knew outside forces who weren't even paying me to stay here would be telling me what my business should look like and attempting to make me sound like an old fogey for not jumping higher and faster.
(PS- Tom, not directing this at you, just ranting!)
.
what rubbs me up the wrong way as well and I am sure we will all agree is the we know you slightly through my mothers, uncles, sister son and therefore we should get some sort of discount with you - bog off. 2nd this attitude that you are rolling in money because you have a big place - forgetting the exqually big bills that go with it! the mortgage pays itself does it? or on the other side people that are on a cheap deal who think you should be greatfull for the scraps of cash they offer when you could get twice as much from somewhere else! ie peak season. had a chap a couple of weeks ago that was trying to get me to do (for a regular booking 2 nights a week) bed and breakfast at $60 told him he was having a laugh. after costs would make about $8 not worth the wear and tear.
 
I appreciate Madie and Muirford comments, particularly rejection of "condemnation of innkeepers as being 'resistant or disinterested' in change". I think the point of the blog should have been that B&B are diversifying, adding to the style and offerings already there. Those, can I say traditional style, offerings serve the existing relatively small percentage of travelers who regularly stay at B&B. They should stay that way and continue to serve that market sector.
The alternative approach is trying to get new customers. When we opened, our model was not to mainly compete with the roughly dozen B&B already serving a 250,000 population, rather to mainly compete with the Hilton and the rather gloomy Interstate motel row. It sort of works, although change in customer attitudes is slow (and frankly, the crappy economy doesn't help put people outside of their comfort zone).
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so..
Tom said:
Wanting to be different from traditional doesn't mean that traditional is wrong, but in order to expand B&B as an industry and to recruit younger customers to replace our aging traditional base, we have to offer more choices. The blog makes it seem either-or; not so.
Part of my rant is about the blogging itself. The bloggers all seem to take something they don't have (doilies) and make it sound as if it is a crime to have that. 'Oh, you wouldn't want to stay THERE, they have doilies (gasp). You want to stay here where we have (fill in the blank) but would never subject you to (fill in the blank).'
Fine, tout what you have, but for Pete's sake, stop implying that 'not your style' = 'BAD B&B'.
We ALWAYS tell newbies (and, oddly, we do get some 30-somethings here even tho we don't have TV's or electronics) that every B&B is different. Try them all. Find your style. READ the website to see what they offer. And thank you for choosing us for this stay. Enough guests tell us they have stayed at every B&B in my town for me to GET that guests try different places. So, lets all encourage that.
Encourage guests to step outside their comfort zone, whatever it is. Go modern if you are traditional. Go traditional if you're modern. TRY SOMETHING NEW. Try a yurt B&B. Try a lighthouse B&B. Try an old colonial B&B conversion. Try a townhouse in Brooklyn.
I am certainly not saying that we should all sit back and do nothing. I've tried making reservations at plenty of places with websites built by someone's 8 year old, websites that have no information on them other than the phone number. Just last month I called 2 places that never returned my calls even tho their website stated they were open. Those kinds of non interactions do give B&B's a bad name. But so does calling a hotel and getting a bored clerk who is simultaneously texting while you're talking to them.
I encourage innkeepers to get online reservations, photos and the like. But, when they're full and I'm not where's the impetus? There are B&B's in Charleston with a single webpage on a directory. Don't tell me they're not making 3-4 times what I make in a year.
Maybe it's easy to tell that I take these 'critiques' to heart. We're 2 people here trying to make a go of something that was so much easier 9 years ago when we got started. We've jumped on the bandwagons. We've updated our website 3 times in 9 years. We were the first on the block to get online reservations. We have a blog, a FB page, a Twitter account. We had professional photos taken. We just spent $12,000 on a new furnace so guests could have heat and hot water. There goes the budget for any other upgrades. But, still, we dug deep. We borrowed money from my family. We spent another $3k on decor upgrades. Along with spending a couple of grand on getting teeth fixed because the innkeepers have to look good, too, and dental insurance isn't included in that $18k I mentioned before.
We're not standing still but for crying out loud, we cannot jump thru too many more of the BWTS hoops. I'm sure the next owners will tear down all the wallpaper, buy all new beds, bedding, linens, table settings, install TV's everywhere, maybe even take a room offline and make the bathrooms bigger in the adjoinng rooms so they can have jetted tubs instead of boxy showers. They can also finish off the attic and get 3 more guest rooms.
Every dime we make goes right back into the business. Why don't we go to PAII conferences? We can't afford to travel. How ironic. We're in the tourism industry but we don't go anywhere.
I thought it was going to be fun owning my own business and being my own boss. Who knew outside forces who weren't even paying me to stay here would be telling me what my business should look like and attempting to make me sound like an old fogey for not jumping higher and faster.
(PS- Tom, not directing this at you, just ranting!)
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I hear you Madeline! We are scraping to pay for our new addition and are being told to "just get it done" - and getting three requests per day for "donations that can be written off". As if getting a loan these days is easy! And for crying out loud, how can I donate when I currently have only two rooms!
What I love is being told I should have steam showers so the guests can enjoy hour-long baths blah blah. HELLO I am on a well. Wasting water on an hour long bath - I think not. I offer whirlpool tubs instead and yes, I check which take the least amount of water before I order. Since we keep the output of the air conditioning unit inside to capture the water condensation in a barrel to water my outdoor plants, I feel justified. We even get water in the winter when the a/c is not running!
RIki
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Also its thos advertising calls! we will call you if we want to advertise thanks! I am pumping every penny into renovations at the moment to pull the property up to a high standard as fast as possible but its all about juggling ie when can I do this work which will take 4 days so that I won't loose any revenue on bookings I can guarantee I will get on the saturday etc. Putting in a new carpet in room 2 next which is $400 and fortunately you can change carpets in about 45 minutes and have the room back in service same day. Im down to only 2 televisions being old style but with 12 to change that has been an expensive job and last year changed virtually every carpet in the place and a million other things that cost money. While the carpet men where here got them to measure up for all new hall carpet which i going to cost a fortune as we are 4 stories and a ton of stairs so i dread to think what the fitting cost is going to be.
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
.
jkarennj said:
Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
I beg to differ. Do you have any idea what a small B+B actually looks like?...one that fits the 20% occupancy, no staff or employees and innkeepers who are not breaking their backs stereotype you mention. I bet you don't. And personally I resent your stereotype as much as I resent the stereotypes presented in the original article.
Tread lightly here...there are some very lovely B+Bs that do not fit the "I-need-to-pay-the-mortgage-and-get-my-occupancy-up-to 35%"... that simply do not fit the PAII mold. You do us a disservice to assume that we are not professional, or do not update our places. Frankly, I don't think you really do "Get It" because you are catering to a different B+B model.
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
No Jay, it is not resistance not disinterest in evolving. I have evolved to what is needed in today's world - I DO have some flat screen TVs, I DO have free wifi (which the City had to PAY FOR at a hotel where we stayed for a Conference), I DID just buy and install surge protector multi-outlets that also have 2 ports for charging gizmos, I DO have surge strips at each bed for sleep machines, apnea machines, or what ever else.
I DO resent being told I am passe because I have doilies and dresser scarves to protect my wood mantles and dressers from inconsiderate yahoos who will put whatever on MY wood even if they would not at home. I am tired of being told I am passe because I have to put the stupid dolls my aunt left behind somewhere AND funny thing, the guests who have said anything liked them! Many of my guests return although I am in a location where I get a lot of the type traveler I was in my traveling days - I came, I saw, more to see and not enought time to see it.
I get a lot of first time B &B people. I had more than I expected of the first-timers when we were 3 with a shared BUT I told them most B & Bs had private baths. Even in 1996 that was so. In my travel days, I LOOKED for shared bath because it was less expensive and what I saved on the room would pay for lunch.
Rather than stuffing the YOU MUST CHANGE down our throats, perhaps what should be celebrated and brought to the attention of the traveling public is the total DIVERSITY of B & Bs. Let's face it, Jay, an ultra-modern B & B would be completely out of place in the north woods and vice versa the cabin in the City.
I wonder how many inns went bankrupt installing those Jacuzzis they were told they "must have" that people would not pay the room rates needed to pay for them. I checked the article you linked - only one of the inns listed was starting at $165 and all the others were $250 and up. Good for them!! There is not way on God's green earth I am going to get those rates. Not in my location, no matter WHAT amenities I would have. How many innkeepers have questioned what they were doing because they were told how wrong they were? I am a laid-back, kick off your shoes, and be comfortable B & B - it suits me and it suits the people who choose to stay here. And the biggest buzz about B & Bs in years did not come from any amenity nor any marketing genius or big property - it came from one inn convincing the NUMBERS of how to make news. In August how about the BWTS doing a splash about what B & Bs do for the military (hotels did not unless they are once again doing a copy cat). Do some touchy-feely videos. In the world of the personalities - go for the BLUES!!! Get some folks who were able to "get back on track" from a B & B visit. Get some who go to a B & B to recharge their batteries. to rest from the hectic pace, to have "space" after losing a spouse or loved one, to rediscover the person they married and why they married so long ago. If it is just like home - why go?
I am old and yes, probably in a rut and not about to drastically change anything (as if I had the money to change anything with the cheapest quote for the new roof I need being $13,000) so what do I know? I know that there are many people looking for a place that can show them where the covered bidges are, provide a stable for their expensive horses, tell them the great roads for their motorcycle ride, about the history of the area, or just provide a comfortable bed in an area they consider safe. I am helping students do their rotations with an affordable rate in an environment the University considers safe. I have my niche. Those so-called experts are doing all they can to convince people they do not want any place that is not "cookie cutter" sleek with the same decor. same amenities (techie stuff), and "like, totally modern" as if that will last more than a couple years before on to the next whatever "must-have".
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
.
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
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Madeleine said:
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
HEAR HEAR! I could start my very own rant about this but it is very well said here by Maddie and others. I tell B&B newbies all the time - we are ALL different. If you don't like one, don't give up select one more in the style YOU are looking for. This is how BWTS should market I agree! I too am not in a market where expensive renovations will pay for themselves. We do what we can but I want someone to say they slept as good or better than at home because they felt at home.
And one more thing, I was once a 20 something but I have gotten older, so will the 20 somethings of today. Let them go to the sterile 'modern' hotels that all look the same, as they mature they will want to expand their horizons and when they do, I hope there will be traditional B&B's to suit their desires. I remember a few years ago there were hotels (some still do) that were trying to give the B&B experience. THEY wanted to be US. They knew WE were on to something good... unique, small, warm, hospitality.... the list goes on! Why should we stop being all this just because a few 'know-it-alls" say we need to. I thought PAII was for ALL B&B's of ALL shapes and sizes, with or without doilies, dolls & French lace.
 
Because they trotted out all the 'bad' things about B&B's in a way that does not put them to rest, the blogger has no credence in my book. (I've seen the stats quoted elsewhere.).
I cringed when I read the opening paragraph too, but you can't discredit the blogger for bringing it up. It's not his responsibility to omit the stereotypes or put them to rest - it's ours. The rooms with baby dolls staring at you still exist. The uncomfortable breakfast scenario still exists (even though comfort issue lie within the guests and their social hang-ups). "More-outdated-than-expected" decor still exists. Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
Steve Garbarino from the Wall Street Journal started his article in the same fashion last September in his piece about modern B&Bs:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576546603779345540.html
The good news is that things are changing in our industry, and media is taking notice. But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve. Many have no interest in modernizing and changing. Some cannot change certain things (going from shared baths to private baths can be cost prohibitive). Many innkeepers are perfectly happy with 20% occupancy. They didn't get into this business to break their backs or to have to hire staff and be employers. No judgment on that. I get it. But, their places look eerily similar to what they looked like 10+ years ago, and new B&B guests often assume all B&Bs are going to be like that. It's a false assumption, we know, but it's one that is made nonetheless.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
.
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
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Madeleine said:
jkarennj said:
Shared baths are incredibly uncommon in the US, but they are prevalent "across the globe."
But it is a heck of a lot easier to get the media to notice the positive attributes of our industry than it is to get some innkeepers to evolve.
The resistance or disinterest in evolving to make our product more appealing to a wider and/or younger audience is what keeps the stereotypes alive and well.
We can only work on B&B's in our own country. We cannot and should not make other countries follow what we consider to be 'modern' or 'appropriate' to the B&B experience. If B&B's in other countries have shared baths, that's part of the exepperience of travel.
It is much easier to get media attention for the bad than the good. Given some of the blogs we've read lately about B&B's it's just a lot of the same thing. 'It was like this. I didn't bother to read the website info so I didn't know it was like that so I am complaining in this public space about my inability to read. And, besides which, they're all like this anyway.'
I don't think we're 'uninterested' in changing. I think a lot of us have done a lot to change how we do things to make the experience better for ALL the guests, not just the young ones. We have to take into account everyone who comes thru the door, not just a certain segment of the market.
Because I am older, and an entitled baby boomer, I resent being thrown out with the bath water because the younger generation wants a sleek, chrome, modern experience when they travel. If they want a hotel, then stay at a hotel. The idea behind a B&B is that you are staying IN the community, in someone's home and that someone might like the same decor as the guest or they might not. (That's what website photos are for.)
I do know one B&B that is almost exclusively 20-30-somethings for their clientele. So, I look at what they have that I do not and I ask myself, 'Do I want to clean and sanitize jetted tubs every day to get this crowd? Do I want to run a short order kitchen that serves untill checkout to get this crowd? Do I want to have big, flat screen TV's and all of the electronics in every room to get this crowd?' And the answer is always no. So I do not get that crowd, the other B&B does. I get those old, dying off geezers who also don't want or need all of that while they are on vacation. Let's never assume they don't have all of this at home, they just don't need it when they're traveling.
How about we stop trying to change all of us and let us be the place we want to be? You know, the unique experience.
Because of my location and the competition in my area, I am NEVER going to have high occupancy rates even if I turn this building inside out and make every room a 'spa' expereince. My area doesn't really support the high end $400/night experience. And to pay for all of the spa amenities takes a lot of money. A lot more money than we earn in a year. And a lot more than we can charge.
Cart before the horse? Spend the money first and hope for the best?
And, if I take to heart the B&B Team's latest tract on what I should provide for the guests, I may as well just close now. Change the mattresses every 3-4 years? What planet do they live on? Do they have ANY idea what a mattress set costs? Even at 100% occupancy (my own bed), I would not change the mattress every 3-4 years. How about every 20?
Perhaps one day we will turn a profit running this business, but it's not happening anytime in the foreseeable future. This year alone our health insurance will cost us $18,000. That's a substantial percent of my yearly revenue. We may end up having to drop one of us from the insurance plan and hope for the best. There is no room in the budget for a complete revamp of the inn to MAYBE draw in more guests. And that is why on one of your next questionnaires you should ask how many innkeepers hold down a second job just to make ends meet. We're very proud that thus far we have not had to find second jobs, that we've done exactly what we set out to do in that this biz lets both of us 'work at home'. We're not getting paid, but we're also not punching someone else's clock everyday.
Instead of trying to get us to change, why not show the guests that there's something out there for everyone. Explain we are all different and THAT is the allure. If the push is to get us all to change to be some standardized model where only the colors and the location are different, then more and more of us will close until all that is left will be the fringes- the places you are REALLY trying to encourage to upgrade and the high end places that are already there but that no one will go to unless it's a special occasion and they want to splurge. This push for change will push the middle of the road places out. Places like mine that are a good, happy, enjoyable experience for the guest but that will never meet the new goals of BWTS.
HEAR HEAR! I could start my very own rant about this but it is very well said here by Maddie and others. I tell B&B newbies all the time - we are ALL different. If you don't like one, don't give up select one more in the style YOU are looking for. This is how BWTS should market I agree! I too am not in a market where expensive renovations will pay for themselves. We do what we can but I want someone to say they slept as good or better than at home because they felt at home.
And one more thing, I was once a 20 something but I have gotten older, so will the 20 somethings of today. Let them go to the sterile 'modern' hotels that all look the same, as they mature they will want to expand their horizons and when they do, I hope there will be traditional B&B's to suit their desires. I remember a few years ago there were hotels (some still do) that were trying to give the B&B experience. THEY wanted to be US. They knew WE were on to something good... unique, small, warm, hospitality.... the list goes on! Why should we stop being all this just because a few 'know-it-alls" say we need to. I thought PAII was for ALL B&B's of ALL shapes and sizes, with or without doilies, dolls & French lace.
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I would never have stayed at a B&B in my 20's for probably the same reasons 20-somethings today don't- I had finally gotten out of the house and wanted the 'decadent experience' of staying at a hotel. But, this was back when 17 & 18 year olds didn't have their parents paying for prom nights with their date in a hotel room or a B&B. (Yes, we get those calls every year around prom time.)
I didn't want something I had to be careful with, like you would naturally be in someone's nice B&B. I wanted an anonymous hotel where I could be stupid.
Sometimes you need to put a little distance between those days and the way you are now to appreciate the nicer things life has to offer.
 
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