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JunieBJones (JBJ)

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Can any of you tell from your stats reports or bookings if this new iPhone listing has helped on iLoveinns? Any bookings from this that you can tell?
I dropped LanierBB after a few years with zero results, and added iLoveinns and it is not performing well for us at all. Just looking at our options here. All feedback is valuable at this point. :)
 
When it first came out, I had about 20 hits from the iPhone app. In the past month, being a 'featured inn' on there, I got 9 hits. For the whole time I was a featured inn, I got 10 hits, no bookings. I think a lot of folks used it to find a phone number as 'time on site' is 20 seconds. Probably just playing around with the features on the phone.
From the iloveinns website, I get few hits, but they are 'good' hits...long time on site, low bounce rate. Not many guests say that's where they found me, tho.
I didn't get anything from Lanier.
 
I have gotten click-thrus. I think it's worth watching to see what happens. And they have reviews on their site which is good.
 
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it.
 
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it..
JunieBJones (JBJ) said:
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it.
It's not just the clicks, it's the bookings. If they directed 204 guests to your site and 10 of them booked, you've got a great deal going there! (Given the price they charge.) However, it sounds like you got nothing but grief. So, do you need that incoming link? Is there any other reason to keep it? Like me, I have lots of comp that show up on tons of sites. I need to keep the most viable ones just so I'm seen where everyone else is. Someone may find my comp on another site but then click thru to me instead.
 
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it..
JunieBJones (JBJ) said:
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it.
It's not just the clicks, it's the bookings. If they directed 204 guests to your site and 10 of them booked, you've got a great deal going there! (Given the price they charge.) However, it sounds like you got nothing but grief. So, do you need that incoming link? Is there any other reason to keep it? Like me, I have lots of comp that show up on tons of sites. I need to keep the most viable ones just so I'm seen where everyone else is. Someone may find my comp on another site but then click thru to me instead.
.
Bree said:
JunieBJones (JBJ) said:
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it.
It's not just the clicks, it's the bookings. If they directed 204 guests to your site and 10 of them booked, you've got a great deal going there! (Given the price they charge.) However, it sounds like you got nothing but grief. So, do you need that incoming link? Is there any other reason to keep it? Like me, I have lots of comp that show up on tons of sites. I need to keep the most viable ones just so I'm seen where everyone else is. Someone may find my comp on another site but then click thru to me instead.
I hear ya on that. One thing I have gained from knowing you is the importance of coming up in multiple searches for guests.
Oddly enough, I was on the phone and exasperated, imagine that, a marketer from a Vets Magazine that is going to feature this area in their travel and leisure section, so an ad 4 times this year and online listing under their most pop section online - travel.
I wanted to find out what the feature will be about? She had no clue. Is it about the mountains of NC? I also asked if I would get a break if i referred other innkeepers, to which her jaw dropped.
Anyway, I actually wanted to know what it was about and she is now doing her homework. Did she think I would just say OK without ever seeing the mag or website? I will report back what I find out. The website is Veteransview.com I am going to look at it now.
 
Gave up on Iloveinns. Not one booking for a year from that site. Everyone left Lanier from my town too. She must not be that great.
 
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it..
JunieBJones (JBJ) said:
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it.
It's not just the clicks, it's the bookings. If they directed 204 guests to your site and 10 of them booked, you've got a great deal going there! (Given the price they charge.) However, it sounds like you got nothing but grief. So, do you need that incoming link? Is there any other reason to keep it? Like me, I have lots of comp that show up on tons of sites. I need to keep the most viable ones just so I'm seen where everyone else is. Someone may find my comp on another site but then click thru to me instead.
.
Bree said:
JunieBJones (JBJ) said:
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it.
It's not just the clicks, it's the bookings. If they directed 204 guests to your site and 10 of them booked, you've got a great deal going there! (Given the price they charge.) However, it sounds like you got nothing but grief. So, do you need that incoming link? Is there any other reason to keep it? Like me, I have lots of comp that show up on tons of sites. I need to keep the most viable ones just so I'm seen where everyone else is. Someone may find my comp on another site but then click thru to me instead.
I hear ya on that. One thing I have gained from knowing you is the importance of coming up in multiple searches for guests.
Oddly enough, I was on the phone and exasperated, imagine that, a marketer from a Vets Magazine that is going to feature this area in their travel and leisure section, so an ad 4 times this year and online listing under their most pop section online - travel.
I wanted to find out what the feature will be about? She had no clue. Is it about the mountains of NC? I also asked if I would get a break if i referred other innkeepers, to which her jaw dropped.
Anyway, I actually wanted to know what it was about and she is now doing her homework. Did she think I would just say OK without ever seeing the mag or website? I will report back what I find out. The website is Veteransview.com I am going to look at it now.
.
JunieBJones (JBJ) said:
Bree said:
JunieBJones (JBJ) said:
I had 204 click thrus from iLoveinns for the entire year. Comments anyone? Would you keep it or let it go away? I did get 2 BOGOs from them. One of which screwed up an already booked weekend btu I allowed it.
It's not just the clicks, it's the bookings. If they directed 204 guests to your site and 10 of them booked, you've got a great deal going there! (Given the price they charge.) However, it sounds like you got nothing but grief. So, do you need that incoming link? Is there any other reason to keep it? Like me, I have lots of comp that show up on tons of sites. I need to keep the most viable ones just so I'm seen where everyone else is. Someone may find my comp on another site but then click thru to me instead.
I hear ya on that. One thing I have gained from knowing you is the importance of coming up in multiple searches for guests.
Oddly enough, I was on the phone and exasperated, imagine that, a marketer from a Vets Magazine that is going to feature this area in their travel and leisure section, so an ad 4 times this year and online listing under their most pop section online - travel.
I wanted to find out what the feature will be about? She had no clue. Is it about the mountains of NC? I also asked if I would get a break if i referred other innkeepers, to which her jaw dropped.
Anyway, I actually wanted to know what it was about and she is now doing her homework. Did she think I would just say OK without ever seeing the mag or website? I will report back what I find out. The website is Veteransview.com I am going to look at it now.
I have gotten 2 calls, and one booking from this iphone system. That is out of 4 views (based on iloveinns stats). In general though, iloveinns provides very little traffic and very few bookings so unless this new system produces more GREEN, I will be saying bye-bye to iloveinns in the middle of this year.
Regarding the Vet. Mag...If I recall correctly, I have gotten at least 2 calls from them in the past 3-4 years. It sounds very similar to what they told me. They seems shocked that I asked for their distribution numbers of the mag and information about their viewing stats online. When they said that they did not have that information available, I said NO. Flat out NO. Any reputable publication would make sure their sales staff has ALL the pertinent information available to them.
 
I got nothing out of I Love Inns and Lanier. Tried them both for a year and that's it.
 
My bet would be that the majority of the bookings that would come from the iphone would be last minute sort of guests and are more likely to call rather than try to book online (both due to limitations of trying to use the booking system on the iphone, and the the need for immediate confirmation).
 
We've been looking at launching more of a cross-platform mobile app here, but I feel like it is a little ahead of its time. It used to be that one could see how many folks downloaded an iphone app - it was public info like on Cnet, but now it is hidden.
One way to see how much consumer like an app like this is to find out how many people have downloaed the thing. If it is a few thousand nationwide, then probably not in much demand! But if a few million - another story.
If anyone ever gets compelling data on it, would love to see it. If consumers are demanding it then it is something we should be working on more quickly than we are.
 
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