Bed & Breakfast Browser 2.0

[Breakfast Diva]

Next time, write everything up in a word processing program then cut and paste..

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!

 

[Proud Texan]

Next time, write everything up in a word processing program then cut and paste..

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!
.

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!

Sometimes "stuff" just happens. I've had problems on this forum with the same thing. I'll spend 15 mins writing up the most eloquent response I've ever been inspired to write and click "Save" and everything disappears.

 

[JBloggs]

Next time, write everything up in a word processing program then cut and paste..

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!
.

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!

Sometimes "stuff" just happens. I've had problems on this forum with the same thing. I'll spend 15 mins writing up the most eloquent response I've ever been inspired to write and click "Save" and everything disappears.
.

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!

Sometimes "stuff" just happens. I've had problems on this forum with the same thing. I'll spend 15 mins writing up the most eloquent response I've ever been inspired to write and click "Save" and everything disappears.

A legend in your own mind.

I added my info with no worries at all to that directory. Maybe you guys got on there when he was purging something or?

 

[Suzie Q]

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.
.

How did you get the ones on your site right now? There is one from our town listed and they are not a B & B.

They have one in our town that is not one either. A company that offers rooms in homes and cottages that are privately owned.
RIki

If you can point me to those I would appreciate it. Most of our data is four years old and came from spidering the web plus manual review. Unfortunately there is outdated information. What I may do is once a bulk of inns have submited/updated their listing is purge the older ones. We've had a hundred or so listings be updated over the weekend so it will just be a matter of time. In the meantime I really appreciate the pointing out of any outdated information.

Steven how are you paying for this directory if you do not charge the innkeeper? Just google ads later on? I like the layout and the inns listings...I will add mine after I serve breakfast today.

Yes, Google AdSense in a tasteful way once traffic has built up. This is how all of my company's content sites are supported.
Thank you for submitting your listing... after breakfast.

Is there a review policy? I didn't see one. If there is a dispute about a review, what methods will you use to verify the legitimacy of the review? Will innkeepers be allowed a management response?

We have a list of guidelines for reviewers which explain the obvious: you must have paid, stayed, etc. I had not thought about a policy for handling disputes. I agree innkeepers should be able to make a response and I can incorporate something along those lines when I setup our commenting system. Until then I will approach it case-base case if situation arrives. We track IPs so for example if an innkeeper claims their competitor is leaving negative reviews it would be a red flag if the "reviewer" traces back to the local area.
From an innkeeper's perspective, what would you like to see in a dispute policy / process? I admit that I approach this site more from the consumer end.

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

But it sure is pretty, isn't it? Seriously though, if you want to keep watching this site over the next few years you'll see that there are no tricks here. As said above, I do realize the data is not on par with the other major sites at this point, but we will get there (we are getting there). I've invested two years in the development of this site already and have no intention of getting lazy.
And with that said, I'd appreciate innkeepers submitting and updating fresh listings. Nothing to lose but a few minutes.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.

I appreciate you guys kicking the tires.
You have a point about the "built-in" cleanup cycle that paid sites have. However, we are living in a new time. Some of the best and most useful sites today are basically user-managed. I plan to place a nice big note atop that asks visitors and [especially] innkeepers to help report inns that have closed.
Aside from that, there are other ways to clean up other than sending people bills. One might be to ask innkeepers to update their listing every so often in order to keep it active. Listings not updated within X period of time could be deactivated. Assuming that at some point B&B Browser will be able to drive respectable traffic to innkeepers, I do not think innkeepers would need to much prodding.
It will be a big mountain to climb to make this into one of the more popular directories for inngoers as a free site, but I like a challenge and I like trying things different.
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

 

[Samster]

We just redid our NM State Association site. I suggest you check it out for listings. There are many more B&B's that are not in the association and you need to find them too, but that will be a little harder and require some work on your part. They are worth finding. Also - you may want to rethink the way you separate the state into regions. As a very sparsley populated state you really can get away with North, Central and South. There is no way Taos is in the Northeast part of the state.
Many Inns I have never heard of. We have fifty in our association and you are missing almost all of them. We have had 50 or more members for over 10 years.
As far as Albuquerque goes, there is only one inn listed, (there are over 25 including non association members), and that inn, Devonshire Adobe Inn, sold three years ago and became a law office. I will get the ball rolling and add my inn, if you get the closed one off of there. You must understand that going live with such outdated info is a bad way to gain the respect of repeat users and innkeepers alike. I'm not trying to be mean here. I think the site is attractive and easy to use. I wish you luck with it, but NM is a hot destination right now...and lots of accurate info is very, very important. Too much is missing.
Good Luck!, and thanks for the Vegan Site info. Frankly, I think Vegans are the easiest people to feed, besides folks like me who will it practically anything.
I never found the spa picture. Damn..

Your redesigned site looks great. Thank you for the list of B&B's. I am hoping that given enough time a large portion of B&Bs will find and add themselves to our site. If that doesn't end up going well I may need to carve out some time to add more myself (although interestingly some innkeepers have been upset that we added their listing). By the end of the week we'll have 1,500 total verified B&Bs and that will be a niec start.
We'll get the "expired" B&Bs like Devonshire removed over the next week while we check each listings website to make sure they are still in business as B&Bs.
Regarding regions, this is really tough for us. Just in this thread I have been told that one sparsely populated state should increase to 9 regions and that another sparesely populated state should reduce to 3. We're going to have to stick with the middle ground unless what we have is blatently wrong in every way. I don't mean that what you say is not best (I agree fewer is better) and I may end up regretting not taking your advice right now. UPDATE: Just got word about an issue with Maine regions so looks like I really should reevaluate the regions maps. I'm saving notes such as yours and will edit the maps at a later time.
I'm glad you like the vegan site. I wouldn't have thought vegans would be the easiest to feed. We're pretty picky. Maybe you are getting raw vegans. They are happy with raw nuts and bell peppers. Just give 'em a stick of celery and their tail wags! As for me, I like vegan quiche, vegan alfredo, vegan cream cheese, vegan eggs, vegan chorizo and all those other things you'd think wouldn't be possible without chickens, cows and pigs.
---------------------
Here's the spa icon. Isn't it a hoot? LOL

It looked like a masseuse and a person in a massage chair when it was big. Small, it looks like... many things.
I have to admit that I am not sure how to represent spa services with so few pixels. Maybe I'll just make it say "SPA".
.

Gliebster said: "...(although interestingly some innkeepers have been upset that we added their listing)"
Well, most innkeepers (and other businesses who have worked hard to design a website and list with targeted directories with proven results) would be upset about finding their property on a site with lots of outdated or incorrect information. The longer we are in business, I find that we are showing up on all kinds of sites and we didn't necessarily WANT to be there. For instance, sites where the lodging properties primarily host large events or sites touting big discounts that we aren't signed up to offer.
.

Good point, I was thinking "who wouldn't want free promotion" but I was wrong. Makes me realize all the more that I need to build this site's data from ground up with innkeepers adding their own listings. Credibility with innkeepers is as important as usefulness for inngoers.
.

Thank YOU!!!

 

[Samster]

Sorry you just made me hiccup - Vegan chorizo. If there ever were two opposing words in this universe that would it.

Have you considered being a vendor at any of the Innkeeping Conferences? PAII, BBAV, Midatlantic etc. I am thinking more of the Vegan cooking site than the other, but you have them both - so you could do both..

Sorry you just made me hiccup - Vegan chorizo. If there ever were two opposing words in this universe that would it.

Look at this (Melissa's Soyrizo): http://www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Soyrizo.aspx
There's probably nothing better in my opinion than soyrizo and avocado inside of a crispy white flour tortilla. Probably has 100 grams of fat but at least it's cholesterol free.

Have you considered being a vendor at any of the Innkeeping Conferences? PAII, BBAV, Midatlantic etc. I am thinking more of the Vegan cooking site than the other, but you have them both - so you could do both.

Nope, just getting started in the B&B industry as can be seen. I'd probably have a panic attack anyway.
.

Some things are just not meant to be made from soy. ;-)

 

[Suzie Q]

We just redid our NM State Association site. I suggest you check it out for listings. There are many more B&B's that are not in the association and you need to find them too, but that will be a little harder and require some work on your part. They are worth finding. Also - you may want to rethink the way you separate the state into regions. As a very sparsley populated state you really can get away with North, Central and South. There is no way Taos is in the Northeast part of the state.
Many Inns I have never heard of. We have fifty in our association and you are missing almost all of them. We have had 50 or more members for over 10 years.
As far as Albuquerque goes, there is only one inn listed, (there are over 25 including non association members), and that inn, Devonshire Adobe Inn, sold three years ago and became a law office. I will get the ball rolling and add my inn, if you get the closed one off of there. You must understand that going live with such outdated info is a bad way to gain the respect of repeat users and innkeepers alike. I'm not trying to be mean here. I think the site is attractive and easy to use. I wish you luck with it, but NM is a hot destination right now...and lots of accurate info is very, very important. Too much is missing.
Good Luck!, and thanks for the Vegan Site info. Frankly, I think Vegans are the easiest people to feed, besides folks like me who will it practically anything.
I never found the spa picture. Damn..

Rolling with the punches is making me rounder and rounder.

Me too.
.

Rolling with the punches is making me rounder and rounder.

Me too.

It's eating all the breakfast leftovers that's rounding me out!

.

Breakfast leftovers? That is why we have dachshunds, lol!
C

 

[Suzie Q]

Next time, write everything up in a word processing program then cut and paste..

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!
.

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!

Sometimes "stuff" just happens. I've had problems on this forum with the same thing. I'll spend 15 mins writing up the most eloquent response I've ever been inspired to write and click "Save" and everything disappears.
.

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!

Sometimes "stuff" just happens. I've had problems on this forum with the same thing. I'll spend 15 mins writing up the most eloquent response I've ever been inspired to write and click "Save" and everything disappears.

A legend in your own mind.

I added my info with no worries at all to that directory. Maybe you guys got on there when he was purging something or?
.

Mine went flawlessly, just now. I still need to massage my "large review," just not enough time.
C

 

[JBloggs]

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.
.

How did you get the ones on your site right now? There is one from our town listed and they are not a B & B.

They have one in our town that is not one either. A company that offers rooms in homes and cottages that are privately owned.
RIki

If you can point me to those I would appreciate it. Most of our data is four years old and came from spidering the web plus manual review. Unfortunately there is outdated information. What I may do is once a bulk of inns have submited/updated their listing is purge the older ones. We've had a hundred or so listings be updated over the weekend so it will just be a matter of time. In the meantime I really appreciate the pointing out of any outdated information.

Steven how are you paying for this directory if you do not charge the innkeeper? Just google ads later on? I like the layout and the inns listings...I will add mine after I serve breakfast today.

Yes, Google AdSense in a tasteful way once traffic has built up. This is how all of my company's content sites are supported.
Thank you for submitting your listing... after breakfast.

Is there a review policy? I didn't see one. If there is a dispute about a review, what methods will you use to verify the legitimacy of the review? Will innkeepers be allowed a management response?

We have a list of guidelines for reviewers which explain the obvious: you must have paid, stayed, etc. I had not thought about a policy for handling disputes. I agree innkeepers should be able to make a response and I can incorporate something along those lines when I setup our commenting system. Until then I will approach it case-base case if situation arrives. We track IPs so for example if an innkeeper claims their competitor is leaving negative reviews it would be a red flag if the "reviewer" traces back to the local area.
From an innkeeper's perspective, what would you like to see in a dispute policy / process? I admit that I approach this site more from the consumer end.

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

But it sure is pretty, isn't it? Seriously though, if you want to keep watching this site over the next few years you'll see that there are no tricks here. As said above, I do realize the data is not on par with the other major sites at this point, but we will get there (we are getting there). I've invested two years in the development of this site already and have no intention of getting lazy.
And with that said, I'd appreciate innkeepers submitting and updating fresh listings. Nothing to lose but a few minutes.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.

I appreciate you guys kicking the tires.
You have a point about the "built-in" cleanup cycle that paid sites have. However, we are living in a new time. Some of the best and most useful sites today are basically user-managed. I plan to place a nice big note atop that asks visitors and [especially] innkeepers to help report inns that have closed.
Aside from that, there are other ways to clean up other than sending people bills. One might be to ask innkeepers to update their listing every so often in order to keep it active. Listings not updated within X period of time could be deactivated. Assuming that at some point B&B Browser will be able to drive respectable traffic to innkeepers, I do not think innkeepers would need to much prodding.
It will be a big mountain to climb to make this into one of the more popular directories for inngoers as a free site, but I like a challenge and I like trying things different.
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?

 

[Suzie Q]

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.
.

How did you get the ones on your site right now? There is one from our town listed and they are not a B & B.

They have one in our town that is not one either. A company that offers rooms in homes and cottages that are privately owned.
RIki

If you can point me to those I would appreciate it. Most of our data is four years old and came from spidering the web plus manual review. Unfortunately there is outdated information. What I may do is once a bulk of inns have submited/updated their listing is purge the older ones. We've had a hundred or so listings be updated over the weekend so it will just be a matter of time. In the meantime I really appreciate the pointing out of any outdated information.

Steven how are you paying for this directory if you do not charge the innkeeper? Just google ads later on? I like the layout and the inns listings...I will add mine after I serve breakfast today.

Yes, Google AdSense in a tasteful way once traffic has built up. This is how all of my company's content sites are supported.
Thank you for submitting your listing... after breakfast.

Is there a review policy? I didn't see one. If there is a dispute about a review, what methods will you use to verify the legitimacy of the review? Will innkeepers be allowed a management response?

We have a list of guidelines for reviewers which explain the obvious: you must have paid, stayed, etc. I had not thought about a policy for handling disputes. I agree innkeepers should be able to make a response and I can incorporate something along those lines when I setup our commenting system. Until then I will approach it case-base case if situation arrives. We track IPs so for example if an innkeeper claims their competitor is leaving negative reviews it would be a red flag if the "reviewer" traces back to the local area.
From an innkeeper's perspective, what would you like to see in a dispute policy / process? I admit that I approach this site more from the consumer end.

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

But it sure is pretty, isn't it? Seriously though, if you want to keep watching this site over the next few years you'll see that there are no tricks here. As said above, I do realize the data is not on par with the other major sites at this point, but we will get there (we are getting there). I've invested two years in the development of this site already and have no intention of getting lazy.
And with that said, I'd appreciate innkeepers submitting and updating fresh listings. Nothing to lose but a few minutes.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.

I appreciate you guys kicking the tires.
You have a point about the "built-in" cleanup cycle that paid sites have. However, we are living in a new time. Some of the best and most useful sites today are basically user-managed. I plan to place a nice big note atop that asks visitors and [especially] innkeepers to help report inns that have closed.
Aside from that, there are other ways to clean up other than sending people bills. One might be to ask innkeepers to update their listing every so often in order to keep it active. Listings not updated within X period of time could be deactivated. Assuming that at some point B&B Browser will be able to drive respectable traffic to innkeepers, I do not think innkeepers would need to much prodding.
It will be a big mountain to climb to make this into one of the more popular directories for inngoers as a free site, but I like a challenge and I like trying things different.
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?
.

We bought this property, with a beautiful view to be used as our residence and a bnb. Our neighbor learned of this, after we passed out fliers to the neighborhood. He said he lived next to a business in the neighboring city and never wanted to live next to another one. He turned the neighborhood against us and gave free snow removal service to our neigborhood in exchange for like opinion. There was a petition signed against us.
Our zoning ordinance said we could have "a small home occupation," which is what I deemed our one room bnb to be. City served me with papers. We lost at District Court level, but won at Appellate Court.

 

[Proud Texan]

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.
.

How did you get the ones on your site right now? There is one from our town listed and they are not a B & B.

They have one in our town that is not one either. A company that offers rooms in homes and cottages that are privately owned.
RIki

If you can point me to those I would appreciate it. Most of our data is four years old and came from spidering the web plus manual review. Unfortunately there is outdated information. What I may do is once a bulk of inns have submited/updated their listing is purge the older ones. We've had a hundred or so listings be updated over the weekend so it will just be a matter of time. In the meantime I really appreciate the pointing out of any outdated information.

Steven how are you paying for this directory if you do not charge the innkeeper? Just google ads later on? I like the layout and the inns listings...I will add mine after I serve breakfast today.

Yes, Google AdSense in a tasteful way once traffic has built up. This is how all of my company's content sites are supported.
Thank you for submitting your listing... after breakfast.

Is there a review policy? I didn't see one. If there is a dispute about a review, what methods will you use to verify the legitimacy of the review? Will innkeepers be allowed a management response?

We have a list of guidelines for reviewers which explain the obvious: you must have paid, stayed, etc. I had not thought about a policy for handling disputes. I agree innkeepers should be able to make a response and I can incorporate something along those lines when I setup our commenting system. Until then I will approach it case-base case if situation arrives. We track IPs so for example if an innkeeper claims their competitor is leaving negative reviews it would be a red flag if the "reviewer" traces back to the local area.
From an innkeeper's perspective, what would you like to see in a dispute policy / process? I admit that I approach this site more from the consumer end.

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

But it sure is pretty, isn't it? Seriously though, if you want to keep watching this site over the next few years you'll see that there are no tricks here. As said above, I do realize the data is not on par with the other major sites at this point, but we will get there (we are getting there). I've invested two years in the development of this site already and have no intention of getting lazy.
And with that said, I'd appreciate innkeepers submitting and updating fresh listings. Nothing to lose but a few minutes.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.

I appreciate you guys kicking the tires.
You have a point about the "built-in" cleanup cycle that paid sites have. However, we are living in a new time. Some of the best and most useful sites today are basically user-managed. I plan to place a nice big note atop that asks visitors and [especially] innkeepers to help report inns that have closed.
Aside from that, there are other ways to clean up other than sending people bills. One might be to ask innkeepers to update their listing every so often in order to keep it active. Listings not updated within X period of time could be deactivated. Assuming that at some point B&B Browser will be able to drive respectable traffic to innkeepers, I do not think innkeepers would need to much prodding.
It will be a big mountain to climb to make this into one of the more popular directories for inngoers as a free site, but I like a challenge and I like trying things different.
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?

Is it just me or is this totally off topic?

 

[Suzie Q]

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.
.

How did you get the ones on your site right now? There is one from our town listed and they are not a B & B.

They have one in our town that is not one either. A company that offers rooms in homes and cottages that are privately owned.
RIki

If you can point me to those I would appreciate it. Most of our data is four years old and came from spidering the web plus manual review. Unfortunately there is outdated information. What I may do is once a bulk of inns have submited/updated their listing is purge the older ones. We've had a hundred or so listings be updated over the weekend so it will just be a matter of time. In the meantime I really appreciate the pointing out of any outdated information.

Steven how are you paying for this directory if you do not charge the innkeeper? Just google ads later on? I like the layout and the inns listings...I will add mine after I serve breakfast today.

Yes, Google AdSense in a tasteful way once traffic has built up. This is how all of my company's content sites are supported.
Thank you for submitting your listing... after breakfast.

Is there a review policy? I didn't see one. If there is a dispute about a review, what methods will you use to verify the legitimacy of the review? Will innkeepers be allowed a management response?

We have a list of guidelines for reviewers which explain the obvious: you must have paid, stayed, etc. I had not thought about a policy for handling disputes. I agree innkeepers should be able to make a response and I can incorporate something along those lines when I setup our commenting system. Until then I will approach it case-base case if situation arrives. We track IPs so for example if an innkeeper claims their competitor is leaving negative reviews it would be a red flag if the "reviewer" traces back to the local area.
From an innkeeper's perspective, what would you like to see in a dispute policy / process? I admit that I approach this site more from the consumer end.

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

But it sure is pretty, isn't it? Seriously though, if you want to keep watching this site over the next few years you'll see that there are no tricks here. As said above, I do realize the data is not on par with the other major sites at this point, but we will get there (we are getting there). I've invested two years in the development of this site already and have no intention of getting lazy.
And with that said, I'd appreciate innkeepers submitting and updating fresh listings. Nothing to lose but a few minutes.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.

I appreciate you guys kicking the tires.
You have a point about the "built-in" cleanup cycle that paid sites have. However, we are living in a new time. Some of the best and most useful sites today are basically user-managed. I plan to place a nice big note atop that asks visitors and [especially] innkeepers to help report inns that have closed.
Aside from that, there are other ways to clean up other than sending people bills. One might be to ask innkeepers to update their listing every so often in order to keep it active. Listings not updated within X period of time could be deactivated. Assuming that at some point B&B Browser will be able to drive respectable traffic to innkeepers, I do not think innkeepers would need to much prodding.
It will be a big mountain to climb to make this into one of the more popular directories for inngoers as a free site, but I like a challenge and I like trying things different.
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?

Is it just me or is this totally off topic?

.

The topic came up of false negative reviews. (My neighbors would gladly add them to drive me out of business.) I added a comment, and someone asked for more information.

 

[JBloggs]

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.
.

How did you get the ones on your site right now? There is one from our town listed and they are not a B & B.

They have one in our town that is not one either. A company that offers rooms in homes and cottages that are privately owned.
RIki

If you can point me to those I would appreciate it. Most of our data is four years old and came from spidering the web plus manual review. Unfortunately there is outdated information. What I may do is once a bulk of inns have submited/updated their listing is purge the older ones. We've had a hundred or so listings be updated over the weekend so it will just be a matter of time. In the meantime I really appreciate the pointing out of any outdated information.

Steven how are you paying for this directory if you do not charge the innkeeper? Just google ads later on? I like the layout and the inns listings...I will add mine after I serve breakfast today.

Yes, Google AdSense in a tasteful way once traffic has built up. This is how all of my company's content sites are supported.
Thank you for submitting your listing... after breakfast.

Is there a review policy? I didn't see one. If there is a dispute about a review, what methods will you use to verify the legitimacy of the review? Will innkeepers be allowed a management response?

We have a list of guidelines for reviewers which explain the obvious: you must have paid, stayed, etc. I had not thought about a policy for handling disputes. I agree innkeepers should be able to make a response and I can incorporate something along those lines when I setup our commenting system. Until then I will approach it case-base case if situation arrives. We track IPs so for example if an innkeeper claims their competitor is leaving negative reviews it would be a red flag if the "reviewer" traces back to the local area.
From an innkeeper's perspective, what would you like to see in a dispute policy / process? I admit that I approach this site more from the consumer end.

The information must have been gathered from old web listings. They are listing only one B&B from my area and it's been out of business for several years.
This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

But it sure is pretty, isn't it? Seriously though, if you want to keep watching this site over the next few years you'll see that there are no tricks here. As said above, I do realize the data is not on par with the other major sites at this point, but we will get there (we are getting there). I've invested two years in the development of this site already and have no intention of getting lazy.
And with that said, I'd appreciate innkeepers submitting and updating fresh listings. Nothing to lose but a few minutes.

This one smells funny. Are we starting to get spammed in our own forum??

LOL. Starting to get spammed....we get spammed almost daily. Fortunately we have great members that flag off topic spam (like v1agara, port-a-potties, seo, wrinkle cream...) quickly enough that most members never even see it.
This one is spam but its on topic, so it stands. This gives us a chance to kick the tires and check it out.
Sadly, outdated listings are almost always the plague of any "free" directory. There is no built-in clean-up cycle like their would be if the innkeeper stopped paying the bill.

I appreciate you guys kicking the tires.
You have a point about the "built-in" cleanup cycle that paid sites have. However, we are living in a new time. Some of the best and most useful sites today are basically user-managed. I plan to place a nice big note atop that asks visitors and [especially] innkeepers to help report inns that have closed.
Aside from that, there are other ways to clean up other than sending people bills. One might be to ask innkeepers to update their listing every so often in order to keep it active. Listings not updated within X period of time could be deactivated. Assuming that at some point B&B Browser will be able to drive respectable traffic to innkeepers, I do not think innkeepers would need to much prodding.
It will be a big mountain to climb to make this into one of the more popular directories for inngoers as a free site, but I like a challenge and I like trying things different.
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?
.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?

Is it just me or is this totally off topic?

.

Twice, my next door neighbors have tried to trash me, stating I was illegal and saying anyone staying with me would be hauled into court as a witness. Thankfully each site brought it to my attention and didn't publish it.
They would lie through their teeth, if that would prevent those two extra cars per week from passing in front of their hallowed driveway. (We live 75' apart.)
C

C it took me a minute to figure this out, que pasa?

Is it just me or is this totally off topic?

just you

 

[gliebster]

Sorry you just made me hiccup - Vegan chorizo. If there ever were two opposing words in this universe that would it.

Have you considered being a vendor at any of the Innkeeping Conferences? PAII, BBAV, Midatlantic etc. I am thinking more of the Vegan cooking site than the other, but you have them both - so you could do both..

Sorry you just made me hiccup - Vegan chorizo. If there ever were two opposing words in this universe that would it.

Look at this (Melissa's Soyrizo): http://www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Soyrizo.aspx
There's probably nothing better in my opinion than soyrizo and avocado inside of a crispy white flour tortilla. Probably has 100 grams of fat but at least it's cholesterol free.

Have you considered being a vendor at any of the Innkeeping Conferences? PAII, BBAV, Midatlantic etc. I am thinking more of the Vegan cooking site than the other, but you have them both - so you could do both.

Nope, just getting started in the B&B industry as can be seen. I'd probably have a panic attack anyway.
.

Sorry you just made me hiccup - Vegan chorizo. If there ever were two opposing words in this universe that would it.

Look at this (Melissa's Soyrizo): http://www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Soyrizo.aspx
There's probably nothing better in my opinion than soyrizo and avocado inside of a crispy white flour tortilla. Probably has 100 grams of fat but at least it's cholesterol free.

I will try it, as I am not vegan, and I like chorizo, but IF I think about it I start gagging. Thanks for that.
Wait I have a question - would you eat this for breakfast? As typically we ate chorizo in eggs for breakfast, with avo and salsa. Would you have your version as a breakfast meal?
PS Can you add your resource website on its own new thread under resources here as I am really sidetracking, sorry.
.

I haven't tried the soyrizo, but I would probably scramble it up with some tofu, then add avocado and roll it up in a tortilla as a breakfast burrito.
.

That sounds delicious!
We add turmeric powder to our tofu scramble to make it look more egg-like (and all other kinds of seasoning so that it doesn't taste like crap).

 

[gliebster]

I just spent over an hour honing my entry. I clicked to get the lattitude/longitude and had to OK pop-ups AND LOST EVERYTHING!!!
Forget it! At least for now. I do not remember what I said and how I said it! Grrrr!!!!! At least warn that it is going to go bye-bye..

I just spent over an hour honing my entry. I clicked to get the lattitude/longitude and had to OK pop-ups AND LOST EVERYTHING!!!
Forget it! At least for now. I do not remember what I said and how I said it! Grrrr!!!!! At least warn that it is going to go bye-bye.

Same thing happened to me yesterday!!!! I clicked to update all the info after I had added my city, and it got stuck for hours in the shaded update screen. I spent at least 1/2 hour filling all the information in. I thought maybe it was just me, but now we know better!
.

I added my city first and spent another half hour or more honing it down to the 800 characters as I tried to get it all in. I do have other things to do today and do not know when I will be able to get back to it. I tried....
.

Sorry for the frustrations.
I removed latitude and longitude from the Add form. It opens in a new window which I think is throwing people off. US and CA shouldn't need to worry about that since our system can geocode most addresses automatically. It will still be available on the Edit form in case somebody needs to manually correct a map marker. I'll add it back in some way (probably embdedded in the Add form) when we setup Mexico and the Caribbean.
The gray screen on submit sounds like a user session timeout. I've made note to look into that. Need to make the user session stay alive because it is quite a big form.

 

[gliebster]

Next time, write everything up in a word processing program then cut and paste..

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!
.

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!

Sometimes "stuff" just happens. I've had problems on this forum with the same thing. I'll spend 15 mins writing up the most eloquent response I've ever been inspired to write and click "Save" and everything disappears.
.

Point taken, but really, one shouldn't have to do that!

Sometimes "stuff" just happens. I've had problems on this forum with the same thing. I'll spend 15 mins writing up the most eloquent response I've ever been inspired to write and click "Save" and everything disappears.

A legend in your own mind.

I added my info with no worries at all to that directory. Maybe you guys got on there when he was purging something or?
.

Mine went flawlessly, just now. I still need to massage my "large review," just not enough time.
C
.

It works fine for most people but I agree with "one shouldn't have to do that". We have in the To Do to see how we can make submissions frustration-free for everybody. More about this on Page 1: https://www.innspiring.com/node/4161#comment-49097

 

[gliebster]

This is just to say that we spent the week cleaning up the directory. About two-thirds of the older/smaller listings were removed. Some were probably okay but most of them were as pathetic as some of you said they were which was pretty embarrasing. We then hand-checked the 1,800 that remained to make sure they were open and in fact B&Bs. That leaves us with 1,100. I feel a lot better about this and I bet if you browse the site you'd find it to be a lot more useful than it was on Monday. We'll do something similar with photos next week (need to set the best cover image for each). The directory is thinner but the submissions are rolling in and I'm happy about this "new start".
Thanks again everybody for the feedback. The site's info certainly would still be 80% junk without you!

 

[EmptyNest]

This is just to say that we spent the week cleaning up the directory. About two-thirds of the older/smaller listings were removed. Some were probably okay but most of them were as pathetic as some of you said they were which was pretty embarrasing. We then hand-checked the 1,800 that remained to make sure they were open and in fact B&Bs. That leaves us with 1,100. I feel a lot better about this and I bet if you browse the site you'd find it to be a lot more useful than it was on Monday. We'll do something similar with photos next week (need to set the best cover image for each). The directory is thinner but the submissions are rolling in and I'm happy about this "new start".
Thanks again everybody for the feedback. The site's info certainly would still be 80% junk without you!.

Well THANK YOU..for being such a good player and taking our ideas and opinions into consideration. Many would have thrown up their hands and walked away, but you have 'hung in there' and that says alot to me. Good luck with your venture. I would suggest you contact associations personally, try and join as an associate member or whatever, attend some of the regional and national meetings so you get a "good reputation" among innkeepers. We are always leary of some of these directories which pop up on us.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Sorry you just made me hiccup - Vegan chorizo. If there ever were two opposing words in this universe that would it.

Have you considered being a vendor at any of the Innkeeping Conferences? PAII, BBAV, Midatlantic etc. I am thinking more of the Vegan cooking site than the other, but you have them both - so you could do both..

Sorry you just made me hiccup - Vegan chorizo. If there ever were two opposing words in this universe that would it.

Look at this (Melissa's Soyrizo): http://www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Soyrizo.aspx
There's probably nothing better in my opinion than soyrizo and avocado inside of a crispy white flour tortilla. Probably has 100 grams of fat but at least it's cholesterol free.

Have you considered being a vendor at any of the Innkeeping Conferences? PAII, BBAV, Midatlantic etc. I am thinking more of the Vegan cooking site than the other, but you have them both - so you could do both.

Nope, just getting started in the B&B industry as can be seen. I'd probably have a panic attack anyway.
.

Sorry you just made me hiccup - Vegan chorizo. If there ever were two opposing words in this universe that would it.

Look at this (Melissa's Soyrizo): http://www.melissas.com/Products/Products/Soyrizo.aspx
There's probably nothing better in my opinion than soyrizo and avocado inside of a crispy white flour tortilla. Probably has 100 grams of fat but at least it's cholesterol free.

I will try it, as I am not vegan, and I like chorizo, but IF I think about it I start gagging. Thanks for that.
Wait I have a question - would you eat this for breakfast? As typically we ate chorizo in eggs for breakfast, with avo and salsa. Would you have your version as a breakfast meal?
PS Can you add your resource website on its own new thread under resources here as I am really sidetracking, sorry.
.

I haven't tried the soyrizo, but I would probably scramble it up with some tofu, then add avocado and roll it up in a tortilla as a breakfast burrito.
.

That sounds delicious!
We add turmeric powder to our tofu scramble to make it look more egg-like (and all other kinds of seasoning so that it doesn't taste like crap).
.

Have you tried the Tofu Scrambler from Fantastic World Foods? It comes in a box of 2 seasoning packets and the flavors are unique and really delicious. At one point in time I was having trouble finding it in my local market, so I bought a case of it from their website. Just google Fantastic World Foods if interested.

 

[swirt]

This is just to say that we spent the week cleaning up the directory. About two-thirds of the older/smaller listings were removed. Some were probably okay but most of them were as pathetic as some of you said they were which was pretty embarrasing. We then hand-checked the 1,800 that remained to make sure they were open and in fact B&Bs. That leaves us with 1,100. I feel a lot better about this and I bet if you browse the site you'd find it to be a lot more useful than it was on Monday. We'll do something similar with photos next week (need to set the best cover image for each). The directory is thinner but the submissions are rolling in and I'm happy about this "new start".
Thanks again everybody for the feedback. The site's info certainly would still be 80% junk without you!.

I agree with Catlady, you have handled yourself well.