BB.com offering Members $1 Listings on VRBO.COM and HomeAway.com

[wendydk]

I wish they would just let everyone try it if they are a bedandbreakfast.com member. I'm certainly not going to pay more than the $20 a month I pay now. Upgrading to another level is not going to bring me more business than I have now..

Upgrading to another level is not going to bring me more business than I have now.

Do you know that for sure? I upgraded, and it made a huge difference! Of course, I have a secondary city listing on a nearby VERY POPULAR page, and my upper level listing allows me to be seen at the top of the page. That alone makes it worthwhile to me.
Edited to add: I have already seen hits and had inquires through VRBO. I also joined Rentalbug because an area Innmate recommended it, and have seen alot of action (and one reservation) from them too. I also advertise under the vacation rental heading on Craigslist, and the amount of web traffic I get from that is extraordinary.
.

This one seesaws for me. Last year bandb.com bookings had paid for the listing 10x over by May. This year not so much. I do notice more B&B's from other towns listing at higher levels on my page, tho. But, I'm not doing the price wars thing. What I think makes the MOST difference, tho, if the list is short, is the designation...'platinum, gold, silver'...I think that implies to the GUEST the value of the property, which is complete BS and having the designation on there is misleading.
So, if having the 'platinum' designation on a short list brings in more guests it may be more due to the word than the location of the listing. On a long listing (10 or more B&B's) anything that gets you closer to the top works.
.

This one seesaws for me. Last year bandb.com bookings had paid for the listing 10x over by May. This year not so much. I do notice more B&B's from other towns listing at higher levels on my page, tho. But, I'm not doing the price wars thing. What I think makes the MOST difference, tho, if the list is short, is the designation...'platinum, gold, silver'...I think that implies to the GUEST the value of the property, which is complete BS and having the designation on there is misleading.
So, if having the 'platinum' designation on a short list brings in more guests it may be more due to the word than the location of the listing. On a long listing (10 or more B&B's) anything that gets you closer to the top works.

Interesting theory Mortie... Haven't given that a thought before but now that you mention it you are correct. Visitors to that site have no knowledge as to the real reason these rankings are given to our listings... They just see the words 'silver listing' etc. unless they use the sort feature and select the detail level in drop box - but do they know what they are searching by? NO.
One thing I think they (b&b.com) has missed the ball on is a seach by distance - AT LEAST through the drop feature. I know that they rotate the listings within the listing catagories, but guests must sometimes seach to find a B&B in the city they want to stay in. And what about if there are no B&B's in that city? Visitors have to do their own research to find out which one(s) are closer. This is a disservice to their visitors and in turn is a disservice to there clients.
.

So, if there are no B&B's in the searched city then nothing shows up? Because if there is at least one then at the bottom of the page is a list of 10 or so 'nearby' towns.
.

Maybe in some cases, but in several that I know of, there are B&B's showing from neighboring towns one listed is in a town 5 miles away, while 2 others are 20+ miles away - but without providing this info, B&B.com makes the visitor leave their site to find out the location.
Oh, and if they did put the milage up, it would be 'as the crow flies' not driving miles. I hate that!!! (and so do some of their visitors)
.

I know. One of the listings in my town is an hour's drive away. No matter how straight the crow flies, the car has to drive down this long peninsula! I'd be upset as a guest if I planned my trip based on thinking everything in this town was a short drive from the town I booked in only to find out it's an hour each way. OK for a day trip, but not if you wanted dinner and a few drinks.
.

I know. One of the listings in my town is an hour's drive away. No matter how straight the crow flies, the car has to drive down this long peninsula! I'd be upset as a guest if I planned my trip based on thinking everything in this town was a short drive from the town I booked in only to find out it's an hour each way. OK for a day trip, but not if you wanted dinner and a few drinks.

Yep we have one in our area that always does this. On bandbdot com they pay to be the "featured" listing all the time for Charlottesville and boy do the guests get mad when they get to Charlottesville....and keep driving.....and keep driving....about 40 minutes from town.
RIki
.

Yep we have one in our area that always does this. On bandbdot com they pay to be the "featured" listing all the time for Charlottesville and boy do the guests get mad when they get to Charlottesville....and keep driving.....and keep driving....about 40 minutes from town.

I would think mad guests that unwittingly drove into town and then had to go an additional 40 miles would leave reviews complaining about the Inn's location in relation to Charlottesville. In this review-driven era, any Innkeeper being deceitful about their location would have immediate problems!

 

[Morticia]

I wish they would just let everyone try it if they are a bedandbreakfast.com member. I'm certainly not going to pay more than the $20 a month I pay now. Upgrading to another level is not going to bring me more business than I have now..

Upgrading to another level is not going to bring me more business than I have now.

Do you know that for sure? I upgraded, and it made a huge difference! Of course, I have a secondary city listing on a nearby VERY POPULAR page, and my upper level listing allows me to be seen at the top of the page. That alone makes it worthwhile to me.
Edited to add: I have already seen hits and had inquires through VRBO. I also joined Rentalbug because an area Innmate recommended it, and have seen alot of action (and one reservation) from them too. I also advertise under the vacation rental heading on Craigslist, and the amount of web traffic I get from that is extraordinary.
.

This one seesaws for me. Last year bandb.com bookings had paid for the listing 10x over by May. This year not so much. I do notice more B&B's from other towns listing at higher levels on my page, tho. But, I'm not doing the price wars thing. What I think makes the MOST difference, tho, if the list is short, is the designation...'platinum, gold, silver'...I think that implies to the GUEST the value of the property, which is complete BS and having the designation on there is misleading.
So, if having the 'platinum' designation on a short list brings in more guests it may be more due to the word than the location of the listing. On a long listing (10 or more B&B's) anything that gets you closer to the top works.
.

This one seesaws for me. Last year bandb.com bookings had paid for the listing 10x over by May. This year not so much. I do notice more B&B's from other towns listing at higher levels on my page, tho. But, I'm not doing the price wars thing. What I think makes the MOST difference, tho, if the list is short, is the designation...'platinum, gold, silver'...I think that implies to the GUEST the value of the property, which is complete BS and having the designation on there is misleading.
So, if having the 'platinum' designation on a short list brings in more guests it may be more due to the word than the location of the listing. On a long listing (10 or more B&B's) anything that gets you closer to the top works.

Interesting theory Mortie... Haven't given that a thought before but now that you mention it you are correct. Visitors to that site have no knowledge as to the real reason these rankings are given to our listings... They just see the words 'silver listing' etc. unless they use the sort feature and select the detail level in drop box - but do they know what they are searching by? NO.
One thing I think they (b&b.com) has missed the ball on is a seach by distance - AT LEAST through the drop feature. I know that they rotate the listings within the listing catagories, but guests must sometimes seach to find a B&B in the city they want to stay in. And what about if there are no B&B's in that city? Visitors have to do their own research to find out which one(s) are closer. This is a disservice to their visitors and in turn is a disservice to there clients.
.

So, if there are no B&B's in the searched city then nothing shows up? Because if there is at least one then at the bottom of the page is a list of 10 or so 'nearby' towns.
.

Maybe in some cases, but in several that I know of, there are B&B's showing from neighboring towns one listed is in a town 5 miles away, while 2 others are 20+ miles away - but without providing this info, B&B.com makes the visitor leave their site to find out the location.
Oh, and if they did put the milage up, it would be 'as the crow flies' not driving miles. I hate that!!! (and so do some of their visitors)
.

I know. One of the listings in my town is an hour's drive away. No matter how straight the crow flies, the car has to drive down this long peninsula! I'd be upset as a guest if I planned my trip based on thinking everything in this town was a short drive from the town I booked in only to find out it's an hour each way. OK for a day trip, but not if you wanted dinner and a few drinks.
.

I know. One of the listings in my town is an hour's drive away. No matter how straight the crow flies, the car has to drive down this long peninsula! I'd be upset as a guest if I planned my trip based on thinking everything in this town was a short drive from the town I booked in only to find out it's an hour each way. OK for a day trip, but not if you wanted dinner and a few drinks.

Yep we have one in our area that always does this. On bandbdot com they pay to be the "featured" listing all the time for Charlottesville and boy do the guests get mad when they get to Charlottesville....and keep driving.....and keep driving....about 40 minutes from town.
RIki
.

I know we could say guests should pay attention, but they don't know how close or far things are and they 'assume' if the property is listed in X town, that the property is in that town, or nearby. I am completely guilty of not knowing how far from the airport the B&B was when I went to visit an innmate.
Another issue is that the distances given to the other towns are not by road but by air.
I would list in an adjacent town, but never one that was a really far drive.

 

[MTLLodge]

You can list your B&B in any city you want you just have to pay for it. I'm still in my trial time and I can add as many cities I wanted for no charge. Trust me I got on all around me. Very interesting!

 

[egoodell]

I wish they would just let everyone try it if they are a bedandbreakfast.com member. I'm certainly not going to pay more than the $20 a month I pay now. Upgrading to another level is not going to bring me more business than I have now..

Upgrading to another level is not going to bring me more business than I have now.

Do you know that for sure? I upgraded, and it made a huge difference! Of course, I have a secondary city listing on a nearby VERY POPULAR page, and my upper level listing allows me to be seen at the top of the page. That alone makes it worthwhile to me.
Edited to add: I have already seen hits and had inquires through VRBO. I also joined Rentalbug because an area Innmate recommended it, and have seen alot of action (and one reservation) from them too. I also advertise under the vacation rental heading on Craigslist, and the amount of web traffic I get from that is extraordinary.
.

This one seesaws for me. Last year bandb.com bookings had paid for the listing 10x over by May. This year not so much. I do notice more B&B's from other towns listing at higher levels on my page, tho. But, I'm not doing the price wars thing. What I think makes the MOST difference, tho, if the list is short, is the designation...'platinum, gold, silver'...I think that implies to the GUEST the value of the property, which is complete BS and having the designation on there is misleading.
So, if having the 'platinum' designation on a short list brings in more guests it may be more due to the word than the location of the listing. On a long listing (10 or more B&B's) anything that gets you closer to the top works.
.

This one seesaws for me. Last year bandb.com bookings had paid for the listing 10x over by May. This year not so much. I do notice more B&B's from other towns listing at higher levels on my page, tho. But, I'm not doing the price wars thing. What I think makes the MOST difference, tho, if the list is short, is the designation...'platinum, gold, silver'...I think that implies to the GUEST the value of the property, which is complete BS and having the designation on there is misleading.
So, if having the 'platinum' designation on a short list brings in more guests it may be more due to the word than the location of the listing. On a long listing (10 or more B&B's) anything that gets you closer to the top works.

Interesting theory Mortie... Haven't given that a thought before but now that you mention it you are correct. Visitors to that site have no knowledge as to the real reason these rankings are given to our listings... They just see the words 'silver listing' etc. unless they use the sort feature and select the detail level in drop box - but do they know what they are searching by? NO.
One thing I think they (b&b.com) has missed the ball on is a seach by distance - AT LEAST through the drop feature. I know that they rotate the listings within the listing catagories, but guests must sometimes seach to find a B&B in the city they want to stay in. And what about if there are no B&B's in that city? Visitors have to do their own research to find out which one(s) are closer. This is a disservice to their visitors and in turn is a disservice to there clients.
.

So, if there are no B&B's in the searched city then nothing shows up? Because if there is at least one then at the bottom of the page is a list of 10 or so 'nearby' towns.
.

Maybe in some cases, but in several that I know of, there are B&B's showing from neighboring towns one listed is in a town 5 miles away, while 2 others are 20+ miles away - but without providing this info, B&B.com makes the visitor leave their site to find out the location.
Oh, and if they did put the milage up, it would be 'as the crow flies' not driving miles. I hate that!!! (and so do some of their visitors)
.

I know. One of the listings in my town is an hour's drive away. No matter how straight the crow flies, the car has to drive down this long peninsula! I'd be upset as a guest if I planned my trip based on thinking everything in this town was a short drive from the town I booked in only to find out it's an hour each way. OK for a day trip, but not if you wanted dinner and a few drinks.
.

I know. One of the listings in my town is an hour's drive away. No matter how straight the crow flies, the car has to drive down this long peninsula! I'd be upset as a guest if I planned my trip based on thinking everything in this town was a short drive from the town I booked in only to find out it's an hour each way. OK for a day trip, but not if you wanted dinner and a few drinks.

Yep we have one in our area that always does this. On bandbdot com they pay to be the "featured" listing all the time for Charlottesville and boy do the guests get mad when they get to Charlottesville....and keep driving.....and keep driving....about 40 minutes from town.
RIki
.

Yep we have one in our area that always does this. On bandbdot com they pay to be the "featured" listing all the time for Charlottesville and boy do the guests get mad when they get to Charlottesville....and keep driving.....and keep driving....about 40 minutes from town.

I would think mad guests that unwittingly drove into town and then had to go an additional 40 miles would leave reviews complaining about the Inn's location in relation to Charlottesville. In this review-driven era, any Innkeeper being deceitful about their location would have immediate problems!
.

They bury them with wonderful write ups.
Riki