"It's too hard to book at a B&B" (A PAII research project?)

[gillumhouse]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

"Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait."
Wait for what? We check our emails during waking hours more than once an hour, right before bed, right after waking and send an email confirmation within hours of receiving it even when we're on vacation. We've never had a confirmation take more than 24 hours to go out, ever. We carry our cordless phone with us every waking moment we're on property and check phone messages regularly if not on property for even more than an hour.
I'm sure most innkeepers carry cellphones, PDAs, laptops, etc. wherever they go and are not out of communication capability for more than a few hours at a time, ever. The bigger ones with staff, probably have trained them to answer the phone or check emails if the owner is out running errands also. So where is this lack of communication ability occurring?
Lazy innkeepers who don't respond quickly to inquiries? If thats the case, they don't deserve the bookings and will quickly find themselves run over by their more dedicated, efficient and professional competition.
"Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it."
Well, of course you'd respond like that. You are in the business of selling a reservation system to innkeepers.
I don't mind that, but unless you are prepared to share the actual data from all these "surveys" your company does, I'll reserve the right to not fully trust it given the potential conflict of interest in using such data to make a point.
We've never had one guest express discomfort with a "request" sytem over anything including old-fashioned phone calls, emails, etc.
"That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product."
Excuse my high school math education and bluntness, but "MOST" means more than 50% to me and in your first sentence you stated only 50% of B&Bs still don't offer online reservations. Can you provide some sourcing for making that claim?
I hate to hold you to a higher degree of scrutiny than anyone else here, but you have a vested financial interest in providing certain kinds of information to innkeepers here and it seems fair to do so on my part.
Espcecially if I'm considering purchasing more of your company's products than I already subscribe to.
.

...We've never had a confirmation take more than 24 hours to go out, ever. We carry our cordless phone with us every waking moment we're on property and check phone messages regularly if not on property for even more than an hour.
I'm sure most innkeepers carry cellphones, PDAs, laptops, etc. wherever they go and are not out of communication capability for more than a few hours at a time, ever. The bigger ones with staff, probably have trained them to answer the phone or check emails if the owner is out running errands also. So where is this lack of communication ability occurring?
Lazy innkeepers who don't respond quickly to inquiries? If thats the case, they don't deserve the bookings and will quickly find themselves run over by their more dedicated, efficient and professional competition.
"Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it."
Well, of course you'd respond like that. You are in the business of selling a reservation system to innkeepers.
I don't mind that, but unless you are prepared to share the actual data from all these "surveys" your company does, I'll reserve the right to not fully trust it given the potential conflict of interest in using such data to make a point.
We've never had one guest express discomfort with a "request" sytem over anything including old-fashioned phone calls, emails, etc.
"That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product."
Excuse my high school math education and bluntness, but "MOST" means more than 50% to me and in your first sentence you stated only 50% of B&Bs still don't offer online reservations. Can you provide some sourcing for making that claim?
I hate to hold you to a higher degree of scrutiny than anyone else here, but you have a vested financial interest in providing certain kinds of information to innkeepers here and it seems fair to do so on my part.
Espcecially if I'm considering purchasing more of your company's products than I already subscribe to.

Like I said, most innkeepers on this forum are ahead of the pack, but in your own words you take up to 24hrs - there is the problem. And one lazy innkeeper in ten who doesn't respond makes the entire industry look bad. All it takes as a consumer is to wait 24hrs once at a small property, and they won't wait again. What do they do in that time period? Send 10 more emails? Book another property? It is frustrating.
Case in point - I went to Carmel for a wedding last fall. I booked online at one of our B&B's. It was my 3rd choice due to location. Requested rez from the other two. One didn't responde, the other didn't have the room I needed to handle my kids. It was a hassle compared to booking the Hilton up the street (which I didn't do).
In any case, we did a survey last summer that 4,000 consumers took - I'm quoting those results. We also have the luxury of owning both a request based system, and a fully confirmed system, and we've had innkeepers tell us their reservations doubled the day they switched from Webervations to RezOvation...
But getting back to my main point - this is what innkeepers themselves told us in Napa - and that is the irony of it all... that they didn't have the time to wait to see if their requests came back.
Utlimately, there is no doubt that booking a B&B overall (as an industry) is harder than booking hotels or motels - period. This is easy to change - so I for one want to change it.
There are a lot of good companies out there doing it as well. Whether it is Rezo, Weber, Resnexus, Superinn - these are companies all providing a great product and service at a great price, with people dedicated to this industry.
.

Right after I typed the "lazy innkeeper" reference, I thought to myself that this aspect of things in our industry could be attributed to your surveys findings. But as I do in many things about life, I still find a contradiction in the "better tehcnology and more bells and whistles will cure everything" I feel is being promoted.
Thanks for confirming my hunch and adding background to the survey you mentioned.
It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that many of the same B&Bs not buying into trying to mimic coprorate hotel operations do so because they are perfectly happy to run their places the way they do and not out of resistance to technology or maximizing bookings. Even with the evolution of our industry, of that large number of old-school B&Bs being frowned upon, many could be part-timers, hobbyists not in need of maximizing income to survive and maybe even some folks who like things just the way they've done them forever. No crime in that I hope.
We have very well respected collegues who don't have any technological tools in place, would be considered very old school by most, but by all measures are very successful, actually turn away guests regularly and seem to be very contented doing things the way they've chosen to do them.
I think B&B size, style and owner commitment level dictates much of how far people take their approach to trying to compete against hotels even in the abstract, and many of us choose not to and carve out a comfortable niche that feels right an serves us and our guest's needs. There's no crime in that I hope.
You will get no argument from me as to your dedication to improving the availability, exposure level and professionalism of our industry.
We have been loyal partners since we opened our doors. We subscribe to as high of listing as we can afford, offer rooms via the system, offer hot deals almost every week, try to sell gift cards, we accept gift certificates, keep our lisitng up to date, alert you all to any incorrect information being published by Expedia/Hotels.com on our listing, etc.
.

It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that many of the same B&Bs not buying into trying to mimic coprorate hotel operations do so because they are perfectly happy to run their places the way they do and not out of resistance to technology or maximizing bookings. Even with the evolution of our industry, of that large number of old-school B&Bs being frowned upon, many could be part-timers, hobbyists not in need of maximizing income to survive and maybe even some folks who like things just the way they've done them forever. No crime in that I hope.

That is a very good point to make, and you are absolutely correct. I've met a lot of B&B owners - one just recently at our open house - who have more business then they know what to do with, and they can really do whatever they want. No online reservations, only list on one site, etc.
All of my comments assume that folks want/need more business/revenue, and that as a whole, a goal of our industry is to take the 4% of the traveling public who stays at B&B's up to some higher number. 6% would already be a huge success!
.

I am working on it!!!

 

[wendydk]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

 

[NW BB]

How do they know how far? A MAP. Pet peeve of mine, I click onto websites from forum members and for the life of me not only not know what state they are in, but what country! They list highway numbers which means nothing to someone out of the area. Give us a BROAD overview and then hone in locally, we can make our plans this way! It is to your benefit as we see where you are and can plan our trip around YOUR inn..

We have an old map still up there on out site that shows where we are in relationship to the interstates, (our state only has two and they are very close to us).
http://www.adobenido.com/map_directions.html
But more recently I added this map and our guests LOVE it. It was reletively easy to build and add to our site. Guests can interact with it and some have even asked us to put certain things they find on the map. I am struggling with what to call the link, so it will be more used by site visitors:
http://www.adobenido.com/points.html
.

We have an old map still up there on out site that shows where we are in relationship to the interstates, (our state only has two and they are very close to us).
http://www.adobenido.com/map_directions.html
But more recently I added this map and our guests LOVE it. It was reletively easy to build and add to our site. Guests can interact with it and some have even asked us to put certain things they find on the map. I am struggling with what to call the link, so it will be more used by site visitors:
http://www.adobenido.com/points.html

I have added this map to my site as well. I've called it an Interactive Map. When people call and are asking all sorts of questions about what's in the area, how far, etc., I try to send them to my Interactive Map. The guests seem to really like it and a great feature is the sattelite view which shows exactly what type of location we are in rural/ocean/trees, etc. I have also kept our regular map on our directions page with driving directions.
My Interactive Map is set so the default is a much closer view of my area and easily shows our specific location.

 

[egoodell]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

"Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait."
Wait for what? We check our emails during waking hours more than once an hour, right before bed, right after waking and send an email confirmation within hours of receiving it even when we're on vacation. We've never had a confirmation take more than 24 hours to go out, ever. We carry our cordless phone with us every waking moment we're on property and check phone messages regularly if not on property for even more than an hour.
I'm sure most innkeepers carry cellphones, PDAs, laptops, etc. wherever they go and are not out of communication capability for more than a few hours at a time, ever. The bigger ones with staff, probably have trained them to answer the phone or check emails if the owner is out running errands also. So where is this lack of communication ability occurring?
Lazy innkeepers who don't respond quickly to inquiries? If thats the case, they don't deserve the bookings and will quickly find themselves run over by their more dedicated, efficient and professional competition.
"Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it."
Well, of course you'd respond like that. You are in the business of selling a reservation system to innkeepers.
I don't mind that, but unless you are prepared to share the actual data from all these "surveys" your company does, I'll reserve the right to not fully trust it given the potential conflict of interest in using such data to make a point.
We've never had one guest express discomfort with a "request" sytem over anything including old-fashioned phone calls, emails, etc.
"That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product."
Excuse my high school math education and bluntness, but "MOST" means more than 50% to me and in your first sentence you stated only 50% of B&Bs still don't offer online reservations. Can you provide some sourcing for making that claim?
I hate to hold you to a higher degree of scrutiny than anyone else here, but you have a vested financial interest in providing certain kinds of information to innkeepers here and it seems fair to do so on my part.
Espcecially if I'm considering purchasing more of your company's products than I already subscribe to.
.

"Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait."
Wait for what? We check our emails during waking hours more than once an hour, right before bed, right after waking and send an email confirmation within hours of receiving it even when we're on vacation. We've never had a confirmation take more than 24 hours to go out, ever. We carry our cordless phone with us every waking moment we're on property and check phone messages regularly if not on property for even more than an hour.

We do inquiries for specific rooms. You request x room. Since I'm still working I check my email every half hour. Nobody waits for my confirmations. I HAVE to do it this way because I can't book my husband in two places at once. He could be running a wine tour that afternoon and we don't have someone part time yet as we only have two rooms.
And I can tell you something else - there are many business owners who don't get back to customers. It is called poor customer service. I see it everywhere. That's why B&Bs tend to be busy right now and hotels are cutting their rates - B&Bs give good service. I run a wine tour company, and many of my guests say that the limo companies and the one other part time tour company never responded to their request. I am the only one in my area that puts the total cost out on my website. The others all say things like, "Starting at $40 per hour" etc etc. I don't think they know the total cost until the end of the tour with all the add-ons.
So the not responding is in all poorly run businesses, of which I'm sure there are some B&Bs. This reminds me - DH never got a question answered by our bank which would have resulted in ordering an add on service to our account two weeks ago as well.
RIki

 

[JBloggs]

How do they know how far? A MAP. Pet peeve of mine, I click onto websites from forum members and for the life of me not only not know what state they are in, but what country! They list highway numbers which means nothing to someone out of the area. Give us a BROAD overview and then hone in locally, we can make our plans this way! It is to your benefit as we see where you are and can plan our trip around YOUR inn..

Point taken. There is a map on my new Directions Page and a list of how far from. I just went in and added we are south of, north of, west of, and east of. I also added directions from West and East (had the directions from the Interstate already. Does that cover it adequately?
.

Point taken. There is a map on my new Directions Page and a list of how far from. I just went in and added we are south of, north of, west of, and east of. I also added directions from West and East (had the directions from the Interstate already. Does that cover it adequately?

Perfectomundo.

 

[JBloggs]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.

 

[Morticia]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.
.

It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.

 

[JBanczak]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.
.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.

I think you nailed it again with this - it only stands to reason that the folks on this forum care about their business in every aspect, it is the B&B's that do not participate in forums like this that is more likely to be an issue. (Not saying that if you don't participate in this forum you are not a good BB! Clearly there are thousands of great properties and owners who may not be as involved online and do a great job).
Your experience above mimics my experience as well. We have a rez request button on BB.com that still gets used quite a bit every day, and if I recall, only about half of the emails sent to innkeepers get opened-up. They are not a spam issue either in most cases - they get sent to the main contact email innkeepers have on their account, so in most cases they get delivered. I'll try and find out some stats on this.

 

[Iris]

First of all, I don't share the opinion or idea that B&B owners didn't or don't choose to stay at B&Bs for negative reasons at all.
Is this topic also including ease of B&B booking in general or just for innkeepers going to big B&B conferences?
Big conferences for any industry group are held in the easiest big cities to get to, serviced by big airports, and are generally held in a big hotel that offers attendees a discount ot stay there.
Many typical and prime "convention and conference" cities may not have a vibrant B&B sector or even an attractive "old town" area where most of the B&Bs would be located. Or that area may have been miles and miles from the conference location. Or possibly the package deal offered at the participating hotel and the scheduling of the workshops, lectures just precluded many folks from staying offsite.
I've seen enough B&B websites both locally and in other locations to say with 100% confidence that onerous or highly restrictive and punitive cancellation policies do not appear to be a very widely used practice. Seems like a convenient out for some who responded to John's poll.
We all have to ask ourselves, do we find our cancellation policies extreme?
I sure as hell don't here. Ours is as guest friendly and fair as any I've seen.
I've looked at hundreds of others and frankly don't see it.
Maybe if all a traveler only stays in hotels with the standard 24 hour and least restrictive cancellation policy, anything more than that would be viewed as too tough..

I am with you Tim. I think our cancellation policies are just fine. I don't want the guest that is looking for an out at the last minute, and the alarm goes up for me as soon as they ask..."how close to my stay can I cancel without getting charged?"
.

I used to look at that as a red flag. But now I look at the 'cancellation question' as the guest wanting to be sure they understand the policies. I think some folks have been burned and they're just being proactive. I'm going to have to start making notes to see if there is a bigger proportion of them cancelling than any other guest.
We had 79 cancellations last year (some of them for wedding parties and other groups who cancelled multiple rooms at once) but I don't have any notes on whether they asked in advance about the policies.
.

holy cow, 79 cancellations in one year? I go ballistic if I have more than 3 cancellations in a year. How do you deal with that without getting testy on the phone?

 

[Copperhead]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.
.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.

I think you nailed it again with this - it only stands to reason that the folks on this forum care about their business in every aspect, it is the B&B's that do not participate in forums like this that is more likely to be an issue. (Not saying that if you don't participate in this forum you are not a good BB! Clearly there are thousands of great properties and owners who may not be as involved online and do a great job).
Your experience above mimics my experience as well. We have a rez request button on BB.com that still gets used quite a bit every day, and if I recall, only about half of the emails sent to innkeepers get opened-up. They are not a spam issue either in most cases - they get sent to the main contact email innkeepers have on their account, so in most cases they get delivered. I'll try and find out some stats on this.
.

We have a rez request button on BB.com that still gets used quite a bit every day, and if I recall, only about half of the emails sent to innkeepers get opened-up.

This is quite sad...they pay to be in your directory to GET business, yet they do not bother to open an email to finalize the deal - its like throwing money away...

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.
.

It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.
.

It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.

Ummm.... sorry but I thought we all worked like 150 hours per week and have nary a bad word for any of our local colleagues?
A local colleague starts using me as some guinea pig to test my response time using a fictitious name and email address and they've gotten their last overflow referral from me.
If I find out who it is, they also better have every bit of licensing, insurance, code inspections up to date and not be illegally serving alcohol to any guests for happy hour.
This ain't fun time around here for us to have to spend valuable time trying to sort out the real inquiries from the fake ones being sent by so called colleagues.

 

[Iris]

How do they know how far? A MAP. Pet peeve of mine, I click onto websites from forum members and for the life of me not only not know what state they are in, but what country! They list highway numbers which means nothing to someone out of the area. Give us a BROAD overview and then hone in locally, we can make our plans this way! It is to your benefit as we see where you are and can plan our trip around YOUR inn..

But wait, why are you trying to make reservations at an Inn before you know which state or country they are in? Should you know be pretty secure in knowing which state you'll be visiting?

 

[Morticia]

First of all, I don't share the opinion or idea that B&B owners didn't or don't choose to stay at B&Bs for negative reasons at all.
Is this topic also including ease of B&B booking in general or just for innkeepers going to big B&B conferences?
Big conferences for any industry group are held in the easiest big cities to get to, serviced by big airports, and are generally held in a big hotel that offers attendees a discount ot stay there.
Many typical and prime "convention and conference" cities may not have a vibrant B&B sector or even an attractive "old town" area where most of the B&Bs would be located. Or that area may have been miles and miles from the conference location. Or possibly the package deal offered at the participating hotel and the scheduling of the workshops, lectures just precluded many folks from staying offsite.
I've seen enough B&B websites both locally and in other locations to say with 100% confidence that onerous or highly restrictive and punitive cancellation policies do not appear to be a very widely used practice. Seems like a convenient out for some who responded to John's poll.
We all have to ask ourselves, do we find our cancellation policies extreme?
I sure as hell don't here. Ours is as guest friendly and fair as any I've seen.
I've looked at hundreds of others and frankly don't see it.
Maybe if all a traveler only stays in hotels with the standard 24 hour and least restrictive cancellation policy, anything more than that would be viewed as too tough..

I am with you Tim. I think our cancellation policies are just fine. I don't want the guest that is looking for an out at the last minute, and the alarm goes up for me as soon as they ask..."how close to my stay can I cancel without getting charged?"
.

I used to look at that as a red flag. But now I look at the 'cancellation question' as the guest wanting to be sure they understand the policies. I think some folks have been burned and they're just being proactive. I'm going to have to start making notes to see if there is a bigger proportion of them cancelling than any other guest.
We had 79 cancellations last year (some of them for wedding parties and other groups who cancelled multiple rooms at once) but I don't have any notes on whether they asked in advance about the policies.
.

holy cow, 79 cancellations in one year? I go ballistic if I have more than 3 cancellations in a year. How do you deal with that without getting testy on the phone?
.

holy cow, 79 cancellations in one year? I go ballistic if I have more than 3 cancellations in a year. How do you deal with that without getting testy on the phone?

That's low. It's usually more like 100+.
This is why when someone tells me I need to look at my cancellation policies, I laugh. If I had 100 rooms and could scoff at these cancellations. But that's a substantial amount of money that never made it into my pocket.
But, if you think about it, it's about the right %, we're slightly better than a hotel that plans on 10% no shows which is why they overbook.
As far as getting testy, I don't care why they cancel and would rather not be given some lame excuse. Be a grown up and just say you need to cancel and be done with it. They don't want to/can't stay, fine with me. It's very competitive around here with lots of options. So guests book 3-4 places and then pick the one they really want after asking 100 of their best friends where they'd stay.
But it is the reason I won't change my cancellation policies to be more relaxed. I give the guest 51 weeks to cancel and they give me a week to rebook, I think the VAST majority of the pain rests squarely on my shoulders.

 

[Morticia]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.
.

It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.
.

It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.

Ummm.... sorry but I thought we all worked like 150 hours per week and have nary a bad word for any of our local colleagues?
A local colleague starts using me as some guinea pig to test my response time using a fictitious name and email address and they've gotten their last overflow referral from me.
If I find out who it is, they also better have every bit of licensing, insurance, code inspections up to date and not be illegally serving alcohol to any guests for happy hour.
This ain't fun time around here for us to have to spend valuable time trying to sort out the real inquiries from the fake ones being sent by so called colleagues.
.

Do you do absolutely no checking on your comp to see how they do things? And, yes, testing the comps' booking 'system' is perfectly legit. If I can improve on how I do things based on what they do or don't do, why not? I study their packages, their breakfasts, their rates, how often they tweet and blog, what renovations they've done/have planned, and I sign up for their emails to see what they're offering. Getting a friend to email and ask for info is right up there with keeping up with what's happening in all the other parts of the biz.
Testing the system is not saying good or bad things about the other inns, it's just trying to see where and how I can improve over what they offer. In most cases what we offer here is completely different from the other inns. It's our niche. And they have theirs. But if I can lure some wafflers my way, without saying a negative thing but by being proactive, why not? If I know the other inns reply back in 5 hours, I reply in 1. If I know they say, 'Check the website,' then I say, 'Here are all the details.'
And, yes, I make sure my nose is clean when it comes to the health inspector. We have a known tattler in town.

 

[Morticia]

How do they know how far? A MAP. Pet peeve of mine, I click onto websites from forum members and for the life of me not only not know what state they are in, but what country! They list highway numbers which means nothing to someone out of the area. Give us a BROAD overview and then hone in locally, we can make our plans this way! It is to your benefit as we see where you are and can plan our trip around YOUR inn..

But wait, why are you trying to make reservations at an Inn before you know which state or country they are in? Should you know be pretty secure in knowing which state you'll be visiting?
.

But wait, why are you trying to make reservations at an Inn before you know which state or country they are in? Should you know be pretty secure in knowing which state you'll be visiting?

I think a lot of guests know the name of the place they want so they pop it into Google and go with the first place that pops up. So, if your place has a 'common' B&B name it's best to be sure that the state and town are prominently displayed. Also, there's a town near us that has a counterpart town in the next state and it is amazing how many people book B&B's in this state who wanted the other state. They probably typed in the town name only and figured there was only one town with that name.

 

[JBloggs]

How do they know how far? A MAP. Pet peeve of mine, I click onto websites from forum members and for the life of me not only not know what state they are in, but what country! They list highway numbers which means nothing to someone out of the area. Give us a BROAD overview and then hone in locally, we can make our plans this way! It is to your benefit as we see where you are and can plan our trip around YOUR inn..

But wait, why are you trying to make reservations at an Inn before you know which state or country they are in? Should you know be pretty secure in knowing which state you'll be visiting?
.

But wait, why are you trying to make reservations at an Inn before you know which state or country they are in? Should you know be pretty secure in knowing which state you'll be visiting?

A couple reasons- I have had guests who buy gc's on eBay. It is an adventure for them, they look for them and bid and then take their next vacation or getaway around them. They have stayed here. Another example: If you click on the featured ads on this forum (inn ads) if you stumble upon this website, then you have no idea and have to work to find out where a place is located. If I see a really neat place I want to know if it is near me, and can I go there? Like the Palm Springs Moroccan themed BnB. I have looked at Inns many times this way and got TRIP ideas from them. And of course our name is the same in a couple of states, so having the state and location easy to find saves messed up bookings.

 

[gillumhouse]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.
.

It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.
.

It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.

Ummm.... sorry but I thought we all worked like 150 hours per week and have nary a bad word for any of our local colleagues?
A local colleague starts using me as some guinea pig to test my response time using a fictitious name and email address and they've gotten their last overflow referral from me.
If I find out who it is, they also better have every bit of licensing, insurance, code inspections up to date and not be illegally serving alcohol to any guests for happy hour.
This ain't fun time around here for us to have to spend valuable time trying to sort out the real inquiries from the fake ones being sent by so called colleagues.
.

Your darned tootin' I call the hotels around here to check rates. How do I know if I am competitive? I would call the B & Bs if they were closer or real competition but I know they check MY web site to see what I am doing. And since they do not have me, they are not competition so I can give them any help possible - and I do. I send e-mails to my fellow members when I hear of something they could use in their marketing. I do not consider it wrong to stay abreast of what is going on around you.
I also keep my "skirts clean" as I, as an alien here, have ticked off a few people - ROYALLY. They would gladly sink me no matter what it might do to the economy of this town! Only cheaters have anything to fear, and that ain't me!

 

[Copperhead]

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.
.

What will keep me from booking at a B&B is location, (not close enought to what I am going to see), or price - $150 is my max, ususally. I will search high and low all over the internet to find one that fits my needs. I rely heavily on association web sites first, then TA and then b&b directories.
I find it very curious that the B&B owners that were mentioned said that B&Bs were too hard to book, don't you? Maybe too hard to find at the last minute, but hard to book? Hmmm

Yes - hard to book. Half the BB's still don't have online bookings - so you have to call, or email, and wait. Then most only have reservation requests - and we've seen in our surveys that 1/4th of people refuse to do a request, and another 1/4 strongly dislike it. Then there is the issue of a booking engine being really confusing (i won't name competitors), or not having photos next to the descriptions of rooms, or when you get to the credit card pages, having no visible hacker protection or credit card security.
Think if you went to Amazon and you were going to buy an item, and you saw no picture, you couldn't see if it was in stock - you had to email and ask them... In order to request it you had to put your credit card info onto a page with no hacker or credit card seal? And to make matters worse, when you got to the final page, they asked you to hand enter your requested product in again...
That is the experience that most BB's are still giving to guests - there is no wonder why folks are wary of the final product.

I absolutely 100% agree with those comments. As mentioned I looked at booking a getaway two times in the past month or so and both times ended up pulling my hair out. I DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT WANT TO REQUEST first cvhoice second choice, I want to book the friggin' room I see is available and get my flights set and all the rest. THIS IS COSTLY FOR ME to sort out, I must have it done WHILE I am looking at it, not wait for an email or call back. I will not wait, I will not call, I want online reservations and a confirmation #. Why are you on the internet? For the pretty pictures? Will speaking to me weed out the good or bad guests? Will you say "Oh now that I have spoken to you, I have decided we do not have availability?" No.
Sorry, soapbox got out of hand there... This is what this thread is about, making it easy for guests to book. We have to think of our guests! This is all about them, not us. If I have to squint to see your photos and I have 20/20 vision, or have to click through pages of policies and useless information I will not book there. Me and so many others.
.

I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.
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I agree with Joe. I treat my webervations requests as a done deal, and feel that my guests do too. I answer all emails within 5 minutes of them coming in unless I'm away from the house or it's overnight. Confirmations go out within 10 minutes. Since most of my business is done online with no prior guest contact, I feel I have to be super responsive. My email screen is always up, and I can see it from anywhere in our private area.
Nothing aggravates me more than contacting another innkeeper about reservations and not hearing back from them for four days. I figure Innkeepers like that are losing and I am gaining.

Yes I speak on behalf of myself as a guest and all the guests who tell me about all the BnB's they contacted and never heard a word back or were called or emailed days and days later. Apparently it is very common. I know this forum and its members, they are right on, they do not do this part time, they truly give it their all and then some.
A couple years ago I sent out an email requesting info from myself as a guest in my own state. I posted the stats on that way back, but of the 20 BnB's in a popular tourist area of our state I had these results (not exact here, as I don't have the figures right now but from memory):

• TWO had email blockers on the Inn email so I had to fill out a form before they could receive my email!
• Another handful replied abruptly with "go to our website and find the info" and it was not with a "we hope to meet you" or anything cordial.
• Approx FIVE never responded
• A handful bounced (I emailed from their posted website email address)
• A couple responded within an hour and were delightful and inviting
• One put my on a mailing list, to this day I receive promotions about their restaurant. I emailed about the BnB.

So the results were out of 20 inns only a couple of BnB's answered my question promptly and professionally. After all of that I never went to that area of the state and changed directions and went South instead, it really put me off.
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It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.
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It's a great experiment to try locally if you have a lot of comp. See how they handle it and improve your response.

Ummm.... sorry but I thought we all worked like 150 hours per week and have nary a bad word for any of our local colleagues?
A local colleague starts using me as some guinea pig to test my response time using a fictitious name and email address and they've gotten their last overflow referral from me.
If I find out who it is, they also better have every bit of licensing, insurance, code inspections up to date and not be illegally serving alcohol to any guests for happy hour.
This ain't fun time around here for us to have to spend valuable time trying to sort out the real inquiries from the fake ones being sent by so called colleagues.
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Of course you need to check out what is going on around you. Or at least most of us do, maybe you are as busy as you want to be and if so great.
Believe me ALL the hotels are doing it...they call, look online, anything and everything to see what the 'other guy' is doing and then see if they can improve their own place to one up. I know at least one of the managers of a local hotel even checks out the competitors parking lots each night as well so they can tell if their rate and packages are working better than his own.
There is NOTHING wrong with doing this. I will admit when I was new and first heard of all this I was shocked and appalled, thinking it was underhanded but this type of thing is done in every industry.
Stealing a package is wrong...creating a better package is not!
Standing at the entrance of a competitor to steal customers is wrong...having better rates or more amenities to entice them before booking is not.

 

[Mr.Design]

I'm with Joe, don't make me have to search for the rates info. No phone calls. How close is the B&B to where I'm going.
But my main reason for not booking a B&B when I'm going to a PAII conference is that I don't want to talk about business on my off hours. The conferences are wonderful and I get so saturated with information and people, that I just want annonimity and privacy when I'm in my off hours..

How close is the B&B to where I'm going.

I am not being sarcastic here, but how does the B&B owner, when designing the website, know WHERE you want to go? As a fer instance, I DO state we are walking distance to what MOST people come here for. I state it on the home page, on the rooms page and elsewhere. It's still the number one question (other than price) when guests call...'How far is it to...?'
Other than having that be my headline on my website, I'm not sure how to make it clearer!
Then, there are folks who want to be doing something I never gave a second thought to. It might be 1/4 mile from here, but I never heard anyone say that's what they came here to do so I wouldn't mention it!
So, there's another question...how do you let guests know what you are near? Map? Lists?
Because many guests have NO idea where anything is (as in they did not look at ANY map while planning their trip) I sometimes have guests booking who really want to be 3 hours north but they don't realize how big this state is. I get this when they tell me they made reservations for dinner at some restaurant that's nowhere near here!
Or, the guests who had an anniversary party to go to and they said, 'We booked with you because we thought you'd be closer to where the dinner is. It's in the next town over.' So I ask where is the dinner? It's right next door to me. They were even happier, but it shows how little anyone pays attention to where they are going!
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Use a customized Google map and put it on your site. You can put different markers (including a big one that would be your inn) and people can visually see what's close and what's not. TA one in which they show different hotels, inns, etc. on a map.

 

[Mr.Design]

I'll just add as a general comment that although some of you always have your e-mail up and are ready to reply, the guest filling out a request has no idea of that.
I won't do reservation requests, and I really hate to call. We live in an information age whether people like it or not. The consumer wants information and they want it now. I want to be able to compare multiple locations while I'm sitting in my chair right now. I don't want to have to wait for replies from different people before I can compare each place.