Morticia, consider yourself lucky. They call.
Calling on the listed number as well as the cell phone. How they got my cell number, I don't know. But they call and they just don't give up. Just because I was pretty adamant last month that I wasn't going to attend doesn't seem to mean much to them this month. They just start all over again.
You know, like an innsitter just can't possibly give up the chance to meet so many innkeepers. Which is, of course, always a treat but not necessarily a marketing ploy I need to use.
I tell them to think of me as a 1-room B&B. Just don't really need a big influx of folks calling me. There is only 1 of me after all.
I tell them I'm booked so an inn owner can attend that conference. Still doesn't work.
Hate to block calls from associations and organizations I otherwise support. But the calls are a royal PITA, especially when I'm on the road..
At least we are not getting snail mail - trees are being saved. It is easy to hit the delete button even though it may be annoying.
As a suggestion to those of you who can not attend, maybe you can work with someone in your area who is going. I know when we owned our own B&B and went to the PAII conference, I brought back ideas that would help all of those other B&B's who were in my local area. We had a local marketing group and it worked really well. We were able to use some of those ideas in marketing our inns together. It cost us all less per inn but we did mannage to get our name out there. Also, there were many time saving hints that really could help everyone and didn't cost a dime.
I know that this year has been hard for everyone. I spoke with an innkeeper in our town yesterday. She said that she has had one guest this whole month and that was on a gift certificate. She is trying to hang on until our season starts in May.
It has been just as hard for interim innkeepers (innsitters). B&B owners are not going away due to less income coming in to their inns. This in turn affects those of us who would have been taking care of those inns while the owners were gone. It is a cycle that is difficult for all.
It is up to each one of us - owners and innsitters - to keep a positive attitute and know that this cycle will eventually end.
For any of you who are going to PAII, please stop by the Interim Innkeepers Network Vendor Booth and say hi to me. It will be nice to put a face to those of you who are on the forum.
Lynda
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InnCaring said:
It is up to each one of us - owners and innsitters - to keep a positive attitute and know that this cycle will eventually end.
I think one of the things that all of us innkeepers do well is put on a positive face for guests. It's part of the job.
I have issues, though, with many folks in the industry who are Pollyannaish about the situation out there. I'm talking about both associations who put rosy figures on the front page of their website that have nothing to do with reality as well as organizations who are not addressing the issues before them.
There are folks out there who are teetering on the edge of collapse. They're scared. They need to be able to turn to other innkeepers for support about that - and many of them come here.
IMHO, it does no one any good to downplay the serious problems that are out there. In fact, it can have the tendency to make already isolated innkeepers feel more so. That's the opposite effect a forum of any kind should have.
So, yes, keep that positive attitude with guests. It's imperative.
But that only makes the need for innkeepers to have a place to go for a reality check only that much more important.
Because when this cycle ends, there will be fewer B&Bs left. Those who survive are those who are sharing survival skill tips with each other now and putting those tips in place as quickly they can.
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