How many directories???

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Morticia

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This quote from the iloveinns newsletter:
Being in 30 online directories
"It's most important to use all the B&B sites as well as to be affiliated with local tourist bureaus and accommodation lists." She has dropped newspaper and magazine print ads.
I'm curious if anyone even KNOWS of 30 directories to be on? Also wondering why, if she's turning away so many guests per week, she also says that no one is booking the high end suites? Shouldn't that encourage the business owner to raise the rates on the lower-end suites and lower them on the higher-end suites?
 
Yes I was wondering about this too. I do know a lot of little directories but really what good are most of them. Some only name and phone number and/or address.
Then about turning away guests. " "I'm turning away 40 guests a weekend compared to 200 guests a weekend five years ago." She reports on the local business reversal"
I read this several time and think that she was mostly stating about the drop in inquires due to economic downturn. But I also think WOW, this town needs another B&B if this is her average turn away calls each weekend!
But I also agree, if these guests are walking and the higher-end suites are staying open, it is time to do something about the rates. If we take her statement as written, 40 guests are saying that her high end suites are too costly.
 
I started counting the number of directories that I am listed on and I could think of 10 (soon to be 9) and I know there are a lot out there that I do not pay to be on - some if which list me anyway just to have the content. Actually I just thought of 2 more that I do not pay but am listed on. There are more directories out there than we could ever think of but even if they were $25 to $30 each, that would add up to a big chunk of change.
She also says she is turning away 40 guests a weekend compared to 200 turn-aways 5 years ago. WHY? What is she doing differently that she is having such a dramatic difference> That is a LOT of difference. Hmmmm
 
Remember, she is not saying they are all B & B directories. There are motorcycle, horse, birding, antiques, etc that all have directories and many have lodging listings.
 
Oh sure and there are plenty more..but most of them don't help a bit! And if someone is paying for that many I think they are wasting their money.
 
I started counting the number of directories that I am listed on and I could think of 10 (soon to be 9) and I know there are a lot out there that I do not pay to be on - some if which list me anyway just to have the content. Actually I just thought of 2 more that I do not pay but am listed on. There are more directories out there than we could ever think of but even if they were $25 to $30 each, that would add up to a big chunk of change.
She also says she is turning away 40 guests a weekend compared to 200 turn-aways 5 years ago. WHY? What is she doing differently that she is having such a dramatic difference> That is a LOT of difference. Hmmmm.
When she said she was canceling print advertizing, I took that to mean that money was going toward directories.
And the way I read the 'turning away' part was that she is FULL every week and having to turn away that many guests. I would say if she is still turning guests away (ie- she's full and they are still calling) she needs to raise her rates to a point where fewer people call, but the ones who stay pay more.
 
Oh sure and there are plenty more..but most of them don't help a bit! And if someone is paying for that many I think they are wasting their money..
Not always. Remember Copperhead's $15 investment? She got a room night. I get many room nights from my $40 horse listing and several each year from the $25 and $30 horse listings. Targeted listings are often a lot less and although they may not bring the traffic, quite frankly I do not give a whoop about traffic if I am getting the bookings. The "scatter gun" goes out to thos looking for beaches and nightlife - neither of which I have but they would be traffic because they looked. If I can be certain that the people looking (my traffic) are people interested in what I have, I am going to get a much better ROI. Small B & B directories you may be correct. The small targeted directories are not charging $400 per year but could easily produce just as many bookings. I would never discount them as ineffective.
 
Oh sure and there are plenty more..but most of them don't help a bit! And if someone is paying for that many I think they are wasting their money..
Not always. Remember Copperhead's $15 investment? She got a room night. I get many room nights from my $40 horse listing and several each year from the $25 and $30 horse listings. Targeted listings are often a lot less and although they may not bring the traffic, quite frankly I do not give a whoop about traffic if I am getting the bookings. The "scatter gun" goes out to thos looking for beaches and nightlife - neither of which I have but they would be traffic because they looked. If I can be certain that the people looking (my traffic) are people interested in what I have, I am going to get a much better ROI. Small B & B directories you may be correct. The small targeted directories are not charging $400 per year but could easily produce just as many bookings. I would never discount them as ineffective.
.
This is very true with pet friendly sites. Most are about $75. 3 bookings and the pet fee alone has paid for the listing!
 
Oh sure and there are plenty more..but most of them don't help a bit! And if someone is paying for that many I think they are wasting their money..
Not always. Remember Copperhead's $15 investment? She got a room night. I get many room nights from my $40 horse listing and several each year from the $25 and $30 horse listings. Targeted listings are often a lot less and although they may not bring the traffic, quite frankly I do not give a whoop about traffic if I am getting the bookings. The "scatter gun" goes out to thos looking for beaches and nightlife - neither of which I have but they would be traffic because they looked. If I can be certain that the people looking (my traffic) are people interested in what I have, I am going to get a much better ROI. Small B & B directories you may be correct. The small targeted directories are not charging $400 per year but could easily produce just as many bookings. I would never discount them as ineffective.
.
This is very true with pet friendly sites. Most are about $75. 3 bookings and the pet fee alone has paid for the listing!
.
But you have to put up with the pets...haha!
 
Oh sure and there are plenty more..but most of them don't help a bit! And if someone is paying for that many I think they are wasting their money..
Not always. Remember Copperhead's $15 investment? She got a room night. I get many room nights from my $40 horse listing and several each year from the $25 and $30 horse listings. Targeted listings are often a lot less and although they may not bring the traffic, quite frankly I do not give a whoop about traffic if I am getting the bookings. The "scatter gun" goes out to thos looking for beaches and nightlife - neither of which I have but they would be traffic because they looked. If I can be certain that the people looking (my traffic) are people interested in what I have, I am going to get a much better ROI. Small B & B directories you may be correct. The small targeted directories are not charging $400 per year but could easily produce just as many bookings. I would never discount them as ineffective.
.
This is very true with pet friendly sites. Most are about $75. 3 bookings and the pet fee alone has paid for the listing!
.
But you have to put up with the pets...haha!
.
Samster said:
But you have to put up with the pets...haha!
Which is why I don't list on a lot of them. I worry too much about how well the owners will behave!
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief.
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
.
Same here. I get the most by far from the Charlottesville Visitors and Convention Bureau website which is free. From looking at Google's report I get one third from Google, one third from referrals, and one third direct. That is probably word of mouth. I've received a lot of my bookings as referrals from their friends.
RIki
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
.
swirt said:
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
Which, once again, reinforces what we know but don't know at the same time...everyone has a different experience with the same thing.
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
.
swirt said:
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
Which, once again, reinforces what we know but don't know at the same time...everyone has a different experience with the same thing.
.
Right, every location is different. They have to do their homework. I have to admit it was easier when mroe properties were using extremetracker because it was easier to peek at an area and see who the more effective directories are. Now that few properties are using that it is harder to take a peek. :(
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
.
Same here. I get the most by far from the Charlottesville Visitors and Convention Bureau website which is free. From looking at Google's report I get one third from Google, one third from referrals, and one third direct. That is probably word of mouth. I've received a lot of my bookings as referrals from their friends.
RIki
.
Is it free? We get the most referrals from our VCB too, but it is a "free" service we get because we pay the mandatory lodging tax. (So, it's not really free...)
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
.
Same here. I get the most by far from the Charlottesville Visitors and Convention Bureau website which is free. From looking at Google's report I get one third from Google, one third from referrals, and one third direct. That is probably word of mouth. I've received a lot of my bookings as referrals from their friends.
RIki
.
Is it free? We get the most referrals from our VCB too, but it is a "free" service we get because we pay the mandatory lodging tax. (So, it's not really free...)
.
LOL Your guests pay the lodging tax, not you. You just collect it and pass it on. So your guests are paying for it. ;)
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
.
Same here. I get the most by far from the Charlottesville Visitors and Convention Bureau website which is free. From looking at Google's report I get one third from Google, one third from referrals, and one third direct. That is probably word of mouth. I've received a lot of my bookings as referrals from their friends.
RIki
.
Is it free? We get the most referrals from our VCB too, but it is a "free" service we get because we pay the mandatory lodging tax. (So, it's not really free...)
.
LOL Your guests pay the lodging tax, not you. You just collect it and pass it on. So your guests are paying for it. ;)
.
Doh!
whatchutalkingabout_smile.gif
See, that's DH's Dept!
Edited to say..."For a reason!"
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
.
Same here. I get the most by far from the Charlottesville Visitors and Convention Bureau website which is free. From looking at Google's report I get one third from Google, one third from referrals, and one third direct. That is probably word of mouth. I've received a lot of my bookings as referrals from their friends.
RIki
.
Is it free? We get the most referrals from our VCB too, but it is a "free" service we get because we pay the mandatory lodging tax. (So, it's not really free...)
.
Willowpondgj said:
Is it free? We get the most referrals from our VCB too, but it is a "free" service we get because we pay the mandatory lodging tax. (So, it's not really free...)
I just went to look and I have to say that the free state site is far and away the best referrer for me for the past 2 months. Double the paid directories and good traffic, too. Low bounce rate and high page views and time on site stats.
Our CVB is not free at all. Over $650 to join and we never got a referral from them. But, then, this state is not good at tourism perks.
 
Also remember that NOTHING IS FREE. There is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. So if you think a free listing is worth something - think again, it usually ends up bringing you grief..
Usually true, but not always. The top referring directory for my area is completely free, blows the doors off the national directories, and beats out the high priced regional directories by a large margin.
.
Same here. I get the most by far from the Charlottesville Visitors and Convention Bureau website which is free. From looking at Google's report I get one third from Google, one third from referrals, and one third direct. That is probably word of mouth. I've received a lot of my bookings as referrals from their friends.
RIki
.
Is it free? We get the most referrals from our VCB too, but it is a "free" service we get because we pay the mandatory lodging tax. (So, it's not really free...)
.
Willowpondgj said:
Is it free? We get the most referrals from our VCB too, but it is a "free" service we get because we pay the mandatory lodging tax. (So, it's not really free...)
I just went to look and I have to say that the free state site is far and away the best referrer for me for the past 2 months. Double the paid directories and good traffic, too. Low bounce rate and high page views and time on site stats.
Our CVB is not free at all. Over $650 to join and we never got a referral from them. But, then, this state is not good at tourism perks.
.
We've never gotten a referral from our State site.
 
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