July 4 survey

[Morticia]

BandB.com had a July 4 survey last month. One interesting tidbit to come out of it is that, of the 1300+ respondents, only 52% offer complimentary afternoon snacks, just about 50% have a stocked guest fridge. 87% have WiFi access.
Another interesting link in the email was to travel trends. It was interesting to me because it stated that:
“A staggering 75% of people prefer to book online, with the majority (60%) of people wanting to tailor-make their holidays directly with the operator, as opposed to through a travel agent.”
which really surprises me as most of my Euro guests are walk-ins.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked.

 

[Morticia]

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked..

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked.

Well, that certainly explains the shocked looks when I tell them the price! I always thought it was because B&B's are no as expensive overseas.
I will say that most of the Euro walk-ins we get are being blown about by the wind...no plans, no idea where they will fetch up, only knowing they have to be back in Boston or NY in 2-3 weeks' time. Aussies and Kiwis the same thing. No plans, mate.

 

[swirt]

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked..

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked.

Well, that certainly explains the shocked looks when I tell them the price! I always thought it was because B&B's are no as expensive overseas.
I will say that most of the Euro walk-ins we get are being blown about by the wind...no plans, no idea where they will fetch up, only knowing they have to be back in Boston or NY in 2-3 weeks' time. Aussies and Kiwis the same thing. No plans, mate.
.

I think it has a lot to do with how B&B's opperate overseas and travel methods europeans. We get very few walk-ins by design. We've had 4 this year and three have been from europe. They always seem surprised that they would have to plan so far ahead to stay in a B&B. I think it is just a culture thing.

 

[user 26]

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked..

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked.

Well, that certainly explains the shocked looks when I tell them the price! I always thought it was because B&B's are no as expensive overseas.
I will say that most of the Euro walk-ins we get are being blown about by the wind...no plans, no idea where they will fetch up, only knowing they have to be back in Boston or NY in 2-3 weeks' time. Aussies and Kiwis the same thing. No plans, mate.
.

haha
a walkin walked in amd suprised me in my bedroom (meaning SMALL, messy, with computer and bookkeeping and stuff all around -- aka -- my mother would be appalled and i would be grounded) as i was typing away. she thought that was a guest room. i hustled her out of there and took her to a guest room. she was AMAZED at the 'most beautiful of rooms here'
too funny ... yes, here is the unmade bed with dirty clothes basket in the corner. oh my!

 

[mooseberry]

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked..

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked.

Well, that certainly explains the shocked looks when I tell them the price! I always thought it was because B&B's are no as expensive overseas.
I will say that most of the Euro walk-ins we get are being blown about by the wind...no plans, no idea where they will fetch up, only knowing they have to be back in Boston or NY in 2-3 weeks' time. Aussies and Kiwis the same thing. No plans, mate.
.

Remember they have the "beat the rack rate" mentality overseas. That means if you have a room open they get it for less than half price if they walk up. We used to do this and that was how it always worked.

Well, that certainly explains the shocked looks when I tell them the price! I always thought it was because B&B's are no as expensive overseas.
I will say that most of the Euro walk-ins we get are being blown about by the wind...no plans, no idea where they will fetch up, only knowing they have to be back in Boston or NY in 2-3 weeks' time. Aussies and Kiwis the same thing. No plans, mate.

Most my guests find me online, but call for reservations. I also have mostly walk ups or same day calls. Lots of europeans, yes. I did have most of them make reservations on their return trip tou.
Last week I had a guest, she said she found me online, showed me the print-out of my website....dated April 22, 08
and they walked up.....

 

[SandySoule]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!.

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!

Thanks for the info.
Tho that is your answer. They don't leave home without them. Why should we accessorize for them? We don't supply nintendos either.

 

[Samster]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!.

Interesting that you mention the iPod (or other music device) docking stations. We have them in half of the rooms They've really come down in price, too. The rest of the rooms have combination CD/clock radios in them. There's still a few folks that use CDs ;-)

 

[gillumhouse]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!.

Most of my guests do not come with iPods. Most are babies if they are 40 (although we did just do a 30th birthday last weekend) and if anything, my guests are new owners of GPS and are playing with the new toy with matching it to my routings.

 

[Morticia]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!.

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!

There were a few surprises in that survey. Obviously, I thought the only 52% of inns providing afternoon refreshements was more strange than only 7% having iPod docking stations. To me, nothing says 'B&B' like a warm welcome with snacks! Then again, my market is the AARP crowd. They're looking for grab bars in the showers, not electronics!
The mid-30 to early-40's crowd doesn't hang out here. We're too 'cute' for them. They're the Jacuzzi crowd. The younger crowd, 20's to early 30's like the way we do things because we remind them of their totally lame parents.

It helps to have our own kids in that age group. Teenagers just want to plug in the cellphone charger and they're pretty happy. Overjoyed that we have WiFi so they can 'call' their friends using their laptops.
And, like JBJ said, they haul all their electronics with them if they're important. They won't leave them home because not enough lodging places provide that stuff so if they are going to a string of B&B's or hotels they have to bring it along.
We DO pay attention to what our guests ask about. Number one question as far as 'amenities' goes is, 'Do you have a hairdryer in the room?' When guests start calling and asking, 'Do you have a docking station?' then we'll think about buying them. (We have looked at them, no doubt, but that was because they also have built-in CD player, radio, alarm clock. They were all too bright. You could read by the light they cast at night!)
If there isn't one yet, a wall-mounted docking station is the way to go. We're plumb out of surface space for another item!
We do have a young, wired, couple here right now. DVD player plugged into one outlet. Laptop plugged into another outlet, something charging in a backpack in another outlet.

 

[SandySoule]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!.

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!

There were a few surprises in that survey. Obviously, I thought the only 52% of inns providing afternoon refreshements was more strange than only 7% having iPod docking stations. To me, nothing says 'B&B' like a warm welcome with snacks! Then again, my market is the AARP crowd. They're looking for grab bars in the showers, not electronics!
The mid-30 to early-40's crowd doesn't hang out here. We're too 'cute' for them. They're the Jacuzzi crowd. The younger crowd, 20's to early 30's like the way we do things because we remind them of their totally lame parents.

It helps to have our own kids in that age group. Teenagers just want to plug in the cellphone charger and they're pretty happy. Overjoyed that we have WiFi so they can 'call' their friends using their laptops.
And, like JBJ said, they haul all their electronics with them if they're important. They won't leave them home because not enough lodging places provide that stuff so if they are going to a string of B&B's or hotels they have to bring it along.
We DO pay attention to what our guests ask about. Number one question as far as 'amenities' goes is, 'Do you have a hairdryer in the room?' When guests start calling and asking, 'Do you have a docking station?' then we'll think about buying them. (We have looked at them, no doubt, but that was because they also have built-in CD player, radio, alarm clock. They were all too bright. You could read by the light they cast at night!)
If there isn't one yet, a wall-mounted docking station is the way to go. We're plumb out of surface space for another item!
We do have a young, wired, couple here right now. DVD player plugged into one outlet. Laptop plugged into another outlet, something charging in a backpack in another outlet.
.

Great points, thanks! Speaking of plugging things in -- I recently stayed at a very famous, very beautiful historic New England inn, needed to plug in my laptop, and could only find an outlet by crawling on hands and knees to locate one under an enormous armoire. I suggested to the innkeeper that he might to add a power strip tucked in some inobtrusive spot.
On the subject of bathroom grab bars, I recommend these whenever I'm touring inns after nearly killing myself trying to get out of a raised whirlpool tub. It was two MARBLE steps up, and was incredibly slippery. Clawfoot tubs can be tricky too.
Have a great weekend with lots of lovely guests!
Sandy
BedandBreakfast.com

 

[Morticia]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!.

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!

There were a few surprises in that survey. Obviously, I thought the only 52% of inns providing afternoon refreshements was more strange than only 7% having iPod docking stations. To me, nothing says 'B&B' like a warm welcome with snacks! Then again, my market is the AARP crowd. They're looking for grab bars in the showers, not electronics!
The mid-30 to early-40's crowd doesn't hang out here. We're too 'cute' for them. They're the Jacuzzi crowd. The younger crowd, 20's to early 30's like the way we do things because we remind them of their totally lame parents.

It helps to have our own kids in that age group. Teenagers just want to plug in the cellphone charger and they're pretty happy. Overjoyed that we have WiFi so they can 'call' their friends using their laptops.
And, like JBJ said, they haul all their electronics with them if they're important. They won't leave them home because not enough lodging places provide that stuff so if they are going to a string of B&B's or hotels they have to bring it along.
We DO pay attention to what our guests ask about. Number one question as far as 'amenities' goes is, 'Do you have a hairdryer in the room?' When guests start calling and asking, 'Do you have a docking station?' then we'll think about buying them. (We have looked at them, no doubt, but that was because they also have built-in CD player, radio, alarm clock. They were all too bright. You could read by the light they cast at night!)
If there isn't one yet, a wall-mounted docking station is the way to go. We're plumb out of surface space for another item!
We do have a young, wired, couple here right now. DVD player plugged into one outlet. Laptop plugged into another outlet, something charging in a backpack in another outlet.
.

Great points, thanks! Speaking of plugging things in -- I recently stayed at a very famous, very beautiful historic New England inn, needed to plug in my laptop, and could only find an outlet by crawling on hands and knees to locate one under an enormous armoire. I suggested to the innkeeper that he might to add a power strip tucked in some inobtrusive spot.
On the subject of bathroom grab bars, I recommend these whenever I'm touring inns after nearly killing myself trying to get out of a raised whirlpool tub. It was two MARBLE steps up, and was incredibly slippery. Clawfoot tubs can be tricky too.
Have a great weekend with lots of lovely guests!
Sandy
BedandBreakfast.com
.

Ah, yes, the outlets...we are very lucky that the person who converted this old house into a B&B was 'up to code'. We have at least 4 outlets (very visible) in all rooms. We've added strips where we see guests moving furniture to get at the ones we never thought they would need (the ones we plug the A/C and lights into!)
We've added strips in the living room for laptops. Some days it looks like Starbucks!

 

[gillumhouse]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!.

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!

There were a few surprises in that survey. Obviously, I thought the only 52% of inns providing afternoon refreshements was more strange than only 7% having iPod docking stations. To me, nothing says 'B&B' like a warm welcome with snacks! Then again, my market is the AARP crowd. They're looking for grab bars in the showers, not electronics!
The mid-30 to early-40's crowd doesn't hang out here. We're too 'cute' for them. They're the Jacuzzi crowd. The younger crowd, 20's to early 30's like the way we do things because we remind them of their totally lame parents.

It helps to have our own kids in that age group. Teenagers just want to plug in the cellphone charger and they're pretty happy. Overjoyed that we have WiFi so they can 'call' their friends using their laptops.
And, like JBJ said, they haul all their electronics with them if they're important. They won't leave them home because not enough lodging places provide that stuff so if they are going to a string of B&B's or hotels they have to bring it along.
We DO pay attention to what our guests ask about. Number one question as far as 'amenities' goes is, 'Do you have a hairdryer in the room?' When guests start calling and asking, 'Do you have a docking station?' then we'll think about buying them. (We have looked at them, no doubt, but that was because they also have built-in CD player, radio, alarm clock. They were all too bright. You could read by the light they cast at night!)
If there isn't one yet, a wall-mounted docking station is the way to go. We're plumb out of surface space for another item!
We do have a young, wired, couple here right now. DVD player plugged into one outlet. Laptop plugged into another outlet, something charging in a backpack in another outlet.
.

Great points, thanks! Speaking of plugging things in -- I recently stayed at a very famous, very beautiful historic New England inn, needed to plug in my laptop, and could only find an outlet by crawling on hands and knees to locate one under an enormous armoire. I suggested to the innkeeper that he might to add a power strip tucked in some inobtrusive spot.
On the subject of bathroom grab bars, I recommend these whenever I'm touring inns after nearly killing myself trying to get out of a raised whirlpool tub. It was two MARBLE steps up, and was incredibly slippery. Clawfoot tubs can be tricky too.
Have a great weekend with lots of lovely guests!
Sandy
BedandBreakfast.com
.

I have put strips in all my guestrooms because in addition to the laptop etc, they need a plug for their breathing machine!

 

[Cathy]

I too am a traveling electronic junkie. We always travel with a laptop as we also never make reservations ahead of time. We make them the day before we leave a city/town when we decide on what place is going to be next.
I like to be able to charge my laptop, batteries for 2 different cameras, my cell phone and still in the dark ages my MP3 player. I hate having to crawl around looking for contacts, we have even had to use the one in the bathroom for battery charging.
When we were renovating we remembered crawling and looking for plug ins, so we have at least 5 in each room, 3 visable, and one each for the bed side tables. We have contacts on the terrace for those that sit out to use their computers and a couple in the indoor outdoor social room for computers as well. Not common here and our electrician though we were mad.
Cathy

 

[Samster]

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!.

In case anyone hasn't seen the surveys referenced at the beginning of this thread, our article on the July 4 survey is online here, and our earlier Memorial Day Survey is online here. Lots of great info.
One thing that I thought was surprising was that less that 7% of innkeepers surveyed have iPod docking stations, yet they are relatively inexpensive, and guests in their 20s/30s wouldn't think of leaving home without them!

There were a few surprises in that survey. Obviously, I thought the only 52% of inns providing afternoon refreshements was more strange than only 7% having iPod docking stations. To me, nothing says 'B&B' like a warm welcome with snacks! Then again, my market is the AARP crowd. They're looking for grab bars in the showers, not electronics!
The mid-30 to early-40's crowd doesn't hang out here. We're too 'cute' for them. They're the Jacuzzi crowd. The younger crowd, 20's to early 30's like the way we do things because we remind them of their totally lame parents.

It helps to have our own kids in that age group. Teenagers just want to plug in the cellphone charger and they're pretty happy. Overjoyed that we have WiFi so they can 'call' their friends using their laptops.
And, like JBJ said, they haul all their electronics with them if they're important. They won't leave them home because not enough lodging places provide that stuff so if they are going to a string of B&B's or hotels they have to bring it along.
We DO pay attention to what our guests ask about. Number one question as far as 'amenities' goes is, 'Do you have a hairdryer in the room?' When guests start calling and asking, 'Do you have a docking station?' then we'll think about buying them. (We have looked at them, no doubt, but that was because they also have built-in CD player, radio, alarm clock. They were all too bright. You could read by the light they cast at night!)
If there isn't one yet, a wall-mounted docking station is the way to go. We're plumb out of surface space for another item!
We do have a young, wired, couple here right now. DVD player plugged into one outlet. Laptop plugged into another outlet, something charging in a backpack in another outlet.
.

Great points, thanks! Speaking of plugging things in -- I recently stayed at a very famous, very beautiful historic New England inn, needed to plug in my laptop, and could only find an outlet by crawling on hands and knees to locate one under an enormous armoire. I suggested to the innkeeper that he might to add a power strip tucked in some inobtrusive spot.
On the subject of bathroom grab bars, I recommend these whenever I'm touring inns after nearly killing myself trying to get out of a raised whirlpool tub. It was two MARBLE steps up, and was incredibly slippery. Clawfoot tubs can be tricky too.
Have a great weekend with lots of lovely guests!
Sandy
BedandBreakfast.com
.

I started with one power strip in the rooms by the desks & now I've got two of them in the rooms...second one is by the bed. Even with plenty of wall plugs, it's interesting where people will look to plug things in
Everyone is connected these days & here's what I find in the rooms: 2 cell phone chargers, iPod (or other music) charger(s), laptop battery (sometimes 2 of them), electric razors, blow dryers, Palms or other devices like that, Blackberries, camera and/or video chargers, curling irons. Then, of course we supply TV, VCR/DVD combo, clock radios w/iPod dock or CD player.
No wonder my electric bill was so high!! haha!