Businesses who need to get a clue!

Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum

Help Support Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JunieBJones (JBJ)

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2008
Messages
3,893
Reaction score
0
I was at an appt yesterday and reading through a local weekly newspaper. I found about 6 or 7 businesses who would do well to tell US about them in there. I found a new winery, a couple other places with events going on. Places where our GUESTS would go and spend money!
I am going to add info to our blog about them. But it amazes me that they do not think of contacting B&B's. What the heck!
 
I think local businesses often underestimate what a consistent source of traffic we can send them.
 
I agree with Swirt... the rack card guys thought, well, only four rooms, not much traffic to keep a brochure rack stocked. But that's four rooms of travelers, looking for things to do, places to eat, ways to have fun.
Duh.
=)
Kk.
 
I am about to blog about a local ice cream parlor. 11 years this couple has owned it near the lake. They get the whole place outfitted for free by Hershey, fyi.
Anyway, the wife of this couple works with DH in I.T. for the county and the husband runs it in the summer (only time it is open). I mentioned to DH why doesn't she hand out coupons or something at least to the staff there? And here we are...DUH!
So in this paper was a full color article about them and how they said "everybody wants to give us a credit or debit card and they have to send them away to an ATM machine. So we finally got business like and got a cc machine, even tho now we have to pay the fees" DUH!!!
So I am going to blog about their place. I knew about them, but have never been in there and go to a creamery down the road instead.
That new winery has ladies nights etc and that would be great for our guests! I took the whole paper and marked about 5 pages worth of info. That paper never makes it into town here. Another idiot thing.
 
CASE IN POINT!!!!
This is the first time I have heard about this, any of these artists. I have asked for us to be added on their website for lodging. I wrote a blog article about this new amphitheater (not open yet, so these will be held with temp use permit on another waterfront spot)
[h3]Events At A Glance[/h3][tr][td]Friday, August 8th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Sara Evans[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, August 15th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]STYX[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Saturday, August 16th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Lonestar[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, August 22nd[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Grand Funk Railroad[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Saturday, August 23rd[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Blake Shelton[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Thursday, August 28th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]TobyMac[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, August 29th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Diamond Rio[/td][/tr][/table]
 
I had sent so many people to the winery that the first time I met the vintner and introduced myself (at a tourism function) he TOLD ME - oh you send us a lot of business. It was enough business that they agreed to partner in almost $3000 worth of advertising with me and once we close the campaign and get our reimbursement, each will have paid 12.5% of the total expense. We have had several from one ad and this weekend a coupon from another magazne will be used!
The glass factory I used to get my goblets from displayed my brochures and the glass factory on my bridge routings has my brochures right at eye level! But you are correct - they should have contacted me and every B & B in the area. There are several businesses in the area that still have not figured out how much I could help them.
 
CASE IN POINT!!!!
This is the first time I have heard about this, any of these artists. I have asked for us to be added on their website for lodging. I wrote a blog article about this new amphitheater (not open yet, so these will be held with temp use permit on another waterfront spot)
[h3]Events At A Glance[/h3][tr][td]Friday, August 8th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Sara Evans[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, August 15th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]STYX[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Saturday, August 16th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Lonestar[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, August 22nd[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Grand Funk Railroad[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Saturday, August 23rd[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Blake Shelton[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Thursday, August 28th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]TobyMac[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, August 29th[/td][td]7:00 PM[/td][td]Diamond Rio[/td][/tr][/table].
Lonestar is playing here as well.
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD??? Holy cow.
 
Yeah Grand Funk Railroad. Wanna go? Who knew they were still around!
Anyone interested can stay with us. I bought tickets to two of the shows.
shades_smile.gif
 
It's funny, we send almost all of our guests to the downtown area where all the restaurants and shopping is, not to mention all the traffic we direct to the area wineries, but NONE have contacted us, we've been open a year. I've visited many of the businesses, they act like they don't have the time, I've send postcards, sent nice reviews of their places on our site and TA, even put free links to their websites and e-mailed them about it, only ONE responded! These businesses never acknowledge all the guests we send to shop in their stores and eat their dinners! We could just send them to McDonald's and Sam's club, you know!
To make matters worse, there is a downtown business partnership and if your business is not in the downtown district you cannot be a member and you are forbidden display bills (like concert and art event fliers) on the billboards. We were also told we couldn't participate in the Farmer's Market, they have ALL kinds of businesses down there that aren't related to Farming, but we're not "appropriate".
Where do they think the tourists are staying and who do they think is telling the tourists to GO to the Farmer's Market?
AND YET, they send US e-mails asking US to display THEIR posters and promote THEIR EVENTS by send OUR guests TO THEM!!!
 
It's funny, we send almost all of our guests to the downtown area where all the restaurants and shopping is, not to mention all the traffic we direct to the area wineries, but NONE have contacted us, we've been open a year. I've visited many of the businesses, they act like they don't have the time, I've send postcards, sent nice reviews of their places on our site and TA, even put free links to their websites and e-mailed them about it, only ONE responded! These businesses never acknowledge all the guests we send to shop in their stores and eat their dinners! We could just send them to McDonald's and Sam's club, you know!
To make matters worse, there is a downtown business partnership and if your business is not in the downtown district you cannot be a member and you are forbidden display bills (like concert and art event fliers) on the billboards. We were also told we couldn't participate in the Farmer's Market, they have ALL kinds of businesses down there that aren't related to Farming, but we're not "appropriate".
Where do they think the tourists are staying and who do they think is telling the tourists to GO to the Farmer's Market?
AND YET, they send US e-mails asking US to display THEIR posters and promote THEIR EVENTS by send OUR guests TO THEM!!!.
We have a small town and still have these issues. A lot of it is because the stores here in town are owned by corporate entities with no ties to here. Those stores can't participate in a lot of things we do town-wide because they can't get corporate permission unless it's to do something nationwide ALL the branches are going to do.
Then again, the smaller stores owned locally are too busy to want to talk to anyone. BUT, they know a lot of their business comes from bus tours so they make sure the bus tour operators know what's going on. They couldn't be bothered to tell the locals there's going to be a big sale in a week. (A sale we could promote thru direct emailings.)
It would be nice to see a town where the shops, restaurants, lodging and attractions are all happy with each other's participation.
 
It's funny, we send almost all of our guests to the downtown area where all the restaurants and shopping is, not to mention all the traffic we direct to the area wineries, but NONE have contacted us, we've been open a year. I've visited many of the businesses, they act like they don't have the time, I've send postcards, sent nice reviews of their places on our site and TA, even put free links to their websites and e-mailed them about it, only ONE responded! These businesses never acknowledge all the guests we send to shop in their stores and eat their dinners! We could just send them to McDonald's and Sam's club, you know!
To make matters worse, there is a downtown business partnership and if your business is not in the downtown district you cannot be a member and you are forbidden display bills (like concert and art event fliers) on the billboards. We were also told we couldn't participate in the Farmer's Market, they have ALL kinds of businesses down there that aren't related to Farming, but we're not "appropriate".
Where do they think the tourists are staying and who do they think is telling the tourists to GO to the Farmer's Market?
AND YET, they send US e-mails asking US to display THEIR posters and promote THEIR EVENTS by send OUR guests TO THEM!!!.
We have a small town and still have these issues. A lot of it is because the stores here in town are owned by corporate entities with no ties to here. Those stores can't participate in a lot of things we do town-wide because they can't get corporate permission unless it's to do something nationwide ALL the branches are going to do.
Then again, the smaller stores owned locally are too busy to want to talk to anyone. BUT, they know a lot of their business comes from bus tours so they make sure the bus tour operators know what's going on. They couldn't be bothered to tell the locals there's going to be a big sale in a week. (A sale we could promote thru direct emailings.)
It would be nice to see a town where the shops, restaurants, lodging and attractions are all happy with each other's participation.
.
It would be nice to see a town where the shops, restaurants, lodging and attractions are all happy with each other's participation
You need to come to Shinnston. Only one that does not cooperate is the funeral home and I do not want to use their services.
 
Back
Top