Love the "converts"

[The Tipsy Butler]

There is something particularly gratifying about converting a B&B hater - partly because it's good for ALL of us.
Paraphrasing a recent review, when the guest arrived her first thought was "Oh crap - not ANOTHER B&B" but by the time she left she was pretty happy with the experience and has promised me that B&Bs are back in her good book.

 

[JBloggs]

GO TIPSY!

 

[Joey Camb]

Trouble is in this country the awful places give us all a bad name. I had a guest recently who when arrived offered to pay me right away which is nice and had the correct money and cash. He said we want to pay you right away because you didn't ask us to. He was then telling me about when he went to blackpool with his wife and then much younger children (they were grown up now) and the moment he got through the door the chap said you have to pay right now because we have so many people run off without paying. This was infront of his wife and children and after they had traveled a long way to stay there and were tired. I have also had people say oh we don't want to stay in a B&B or Guest house becuase we want to come and go when we want. In this day and age does anyone say all in bed by 10 or I am locking the doors? They need to get real. Mind you it is always the people who have never stayed in a B&B who have the firmest opinions of what is it going to be like!

 

[gillumhouse]

If anyone would be able to make a convert, it would be you Tipsy.

 

[Joey Camb]

Also one of my biggest bug bears is that you pay to be rated in this country and if you are five star or above in this country you have to be excellent, all the mod cons, excellent customer service the works and in many cases better than a hotel but people just don't appreciate it. My partner who has worked in large hotels all his life didn't even know B&B's were rated! The trouble is in this country there are too many clasifications and the public havn't a clue what it means. You can be
1 - Guest Accomodation - we chose this as we didn't want to be tarred with the Guest House brush
2 Guest House -
3 Bed and Breakfast
4 Farm Stay - ie B&B on a farm
5 Self catering
6 Pub with accomodation
7 Restaurant with accomodation
8 Small Hotel
9 Large Hotel
All have 1-5 stars with a silver and gold level between ie 4 star gold is just below 5 stars. Each one of these clasfications has different requirements. I work in the trade and I can barely understand how we expect the general public to is beyond me! I will get off my hobby horse now! We are a bit vague about what we are and find that works for us.

 

[JBloggs]

Trouble is in this country the awful places give us all a bad name. I had a guest recently who when arrived offered to pay me right away which is nice and had the correct money and cash. He said we want to pay you right away because you didn't ask us to. He was then telling me about when he went to blackpool with his wife and then much younger children (they were grown up now) and the moment he got through the door the chap said you have to pay right now because we have so many people run off without paying. This was infront of his wife and children and after they had traveled a long way to stay there and were tired. I have also had people say oh we don't want to stay in a B&B or Guest house becuase we want to come and go when we want. In this day and age does anyone say all in bed by 10 or I am locking the doors? They need to get real. Mind you it is always the people who have never stayed in a B&B who have the firmest opinions of what is it going to be like!.

Yes Cambs, Yes! Guests tell us often of places with curfews and guardian innkeepers. Doors locked up tight and they are either in or out. This is terrific to have converts, but some inns are indeed very old fashioned and the innkeepers rule with an iron fist.
This is the year I am marketing to Gen-Y, I was delighted to see guests using the iPod dock/speakers yesterday, I was delighted to see them hiking and biking. I am trying to get away from the "antiquing" demographic who are bargain hunters and more into the Gen Y/Gen X who like to spend money locally. (Not that I don't love many of our older guests, I love the hugs!)
My hand has been forced to blog and write things like "This is not your grandmother's house" to the dismay of all the sweet grandmothers and the older innkeepers in this business, but I am trying to get the point across that it can be fun to stay at a B&B, not a lock down or lock out situation.

PS Sit up straight at the table and use your napkin!

 

[Morticia]

There is something particularly gratifying about converting a B&B hater - partly because it's good for ALL of us.
Paraphrasing a recent review, when the guest arrived her first thought was "Oh crap - not ANOTHER B&B" but by the time she left she was pretty happy with the experience and has promised me that B&Bs are back in her good book.

She didn't know she had booked a B&B? I hate when guests arrive thinking this is a hotel.

 

[Morticia]

Trouble is in this country the awful places give us all a bad name. I had a guest recently who when arrived offered to pay me right away which is nice and had the correct money and cash. He said we want to pay you right away because you didn't ask us to. He was then telling me about when he went to blackpool with his wife and then much younger children (they were grown up now) and the moment he got through the door the chap said you have to pay right now because we have so many people run off without paying. This was infront of his wife and children and after they had traveled a long way to stay there and were tired. I have also had people say oh we don't want to stay in a B&B or Guest house becuase we want to come and go when we want. In this day and age does anyone say all in bed by 10 or I am locking the doors? They need to get real. Mind you it is always the people who have never stayed in a B&B who have the firmest opinions of what is it going to be like!.

Mind you it is always the people who have never stayed in a B&B who have the firmest opinions of what is it going to be like!

They watch all those TV shows...
Altho, really, when guests ask me what it's really like running a B&B, I always ask if they've seen Fawlty Towers...

 

[Morticia]

Also one of my biggest bug bears is that you pay to be rated in this country and if you are five star or above in this country you have to be excellent, all the mod cons, excellent customer service the works and in many cases better than a hotel but people just don't appreciate it. My partner who has worked in large hotels all his life didn't even know B&B's were rated! The trouble is in this country there are too many clasifications and the public havn't a clue what it means. You can be
1 - Guest Accomodation - we chose this as we didn't want to be tarred with the Guest House brush
2 Guest House -
3 Bed and Breakfast
4 Farm Stay - ie B&B on a farm
5 Self catering
6 Pub with accomodation
7 Restaurant with accomodation
8 Small Hotel
9 Large Hotel
All have 1-5 stars with a silver and gold level between ie 4 star gold is just below 5 stars. Each one of these clasfications has different requirements. I work in the trade and I can barely understand how we expect the general public to is beyond me! I will get off my hobby horse now! We are a bit vague about what we are and find that works for us..

We have the same thing here with AAA. No one reads the fine print at the front of the book. They will book a 4-star dumpy hotel over a 3-star luxe B&B. You get the 4 stars because you have a pool. Not because the experience is stellar.

 

[The Tipsy Butler]

There is something particularly gratifying about converting a B&B hater - partly because it's good for ALL of us.
Paraphrasing a recent review, when the guest arrived her first thought was "Oh crap - not ANOTHER B&B" but by the time she left she was pretty happy with the experience and has promised me that B&Bs are back in her good book.

She didn't know she had booked a B&B? I hate when guests arrive thinking this is a hotel..

No - her boyfriend had planned a surprise weekend for her. She was thrilled with the surprise but heart plummeted when they drove up to a B&B. Luckily the weekend went really well - weather, food and everything else conspired to make it work.

 

[Morticia]

There is something particularly gratifying about converting a B&B hater - partly because it's good for ALL of us.
Paraphrasing a recent review, when the guest arrived her first thought was "Oh crap - not ANOTHER B&B" but by the time she left she was pretty happy with the experience and has promised me that B&Bs are back in her good book.

She didn't know she had booked a B&B? I hate when guests arrive thinking this is a hotel..

No - her boyfriend had planned a surprise weekend for her. She was thrilled with the surprise but heart plummeted when they drove up to a B&B. Luckily the weekend went really well - weather, food and everything else conspired to make it work.
.

I get that. I had a bf once who booked us into some out of the way chain hotel when what I really wanted was something boutique-y right in the heart of Boston.

 

[Samster]

YAY! It's even better if they extend their stay.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

It's 10:30pm and they're finally all checked in. Friday nights are always a challange getting them in "on time". Here's the strange thing. We have a full house with guests that have never been to a B&B before! Their ages seem to be from late 20s to early 40s. Gotta love 'em!! I'm hoping for some repeats out of this bunch. We'll see!

 

[Country Girl]

Congrats! I had a wonderful female guest who came several times to visit her daughter at a local boarding school, but she always came alone. She explained that her husband was "definitely not a B&B person". After her third or fourth visit he finally came with her. I couldn't get him to leave! Now he comes more often than she does. That was a great convert!

 

[seashanty]

i am glad for you, tipsy. your place is awesome.
but it makes me wonder just what the guests are experiencing at those other places and where they have been staying. do you know?

 

[domsmom]

As usual, it is great to see so many interesting responses to the topic.
Through my 5 years of being open I have found a payment plan that works really well for me, it may help someone else out there too.
Guests may not always like to pay in advance, but it has relieved alot of pressure from my life. I have a 14 day cancellation policy. I advise guests that payment is collected about 14 days prior to arrival in accordance with this policy. Many times, we never have to discuss money. If they want their receipt, I can give them a copy. Most of the time they don't. If someone wants to pay cash, I am always happy to accept, but will record a credit card number in the event of a no show. Checks are welcome as long as there is time for it to clear before their arrival.
The policy is clear and it has taken a load of concern and work off my plate. I can enjoy them while they are here rather than sorting out the financial aspect of their stay.

 

[JBloggs]

As usual, it is great to see so many interesting responses to the topic.
Through my 5 years of being open I have found a payment plan that works really well for me, it may help someone else out there too.
Guests may not always like to pay in advance, but it has relieved alot of pressure from my life. I have a 14 day cancellation policy. I advise guests that payment is collected about 14 days prior to arrival in accordance with this policy. Many times, we never have to discuss money. If they want their receipt, I can give them a copy. Most of the time they don't. If someone wants to pay cash, I am always happy to accept, but will record a credit card number in the event of a no show. Checks are welcome as long as there is time for it to clear before their arrival.
The policy is clear and it has taken a load of concern and work off my plate. I can enjoy them while they are here rather than sorting out the financial aspect of their stay..

Allnations you are in which country? Most of my bookings come in well under 14 days in advance, so I guess those are all prepay as well.
Just for me, I could never take prepayment unless it was a whole house booking, it wouldn't fly here.

 

[domsmom]

As usual, it is great to see so many interesting responses to the topic.
Through my 5 years of being open I have found a payment plan that works really well for me, it may help someone else out there too.
Guests may not always like to pay in advance, but it has relieved alot of pressure from my life. I have a 14 day cancellation policy. I advise guests that payment is collected about 14 days prior to arrival in accordance with this policy. Many times, we never have to discuss money. If they want their receipt, I can give them a copy. Most of the time they don't. If someone wants to pay cash, I am always happy to accept, but will record a credit card number in the event of a no show. Checks are welcome as long as there is time for it to clear before their arrival.
The policy is clear and it has taken a load of concern and work off my plate. I can enjoy them while they are here rather than sorting out the financial aspect of their stay..

Allnations you are in which country? Most of my bookings come in well under 14 days in advance, so I guess those are all prepay as well.
Just for me, I could never take prepayment unless it was a whole house booking, it wouldn't fly here.
.

I am in Indiana, where are you?
You would be surprised at what would "fly" when you create the policy. I get bookings from several sites and we have a variety of events that bring people to town. No matter where you are, you can give it a try-if you find it is costing you business, change the policy. If you find that people will follow it, you can collect payment and not have to discuss it again. Also, I find that trying to rebook rooms within 2 weeks is hard. I tell customers that is the reason for the policy and they generally understand.

 

[domsmom]

As usual, it is great to see so many interesting responses to the topic.
Through my 5 years of being open I have found a payment plan that works really well for me, it may help someone else out there too.
Guests may not always like to pay in advance, but it has relieved alot of pressure from my life. I have a 14 day cancellation policy. I advise guests that payment is collected about 14 days prior to arrival in accordance with this policy. Many times, we never have to discuss money. If they want their receipt, I can give them a copy. Most of the time they don't. If someone wants to pay cash, I am always happy to accept, but will record a credit card number in the event of a no show. Checks are welcome as long as there is time for it to clear before their arrival.
The policy is clear and it has taken a load of concern and work off my plate. I can enjoy them while they are here rather than sorting out the financial aspect of their stay..

Allnations you are in which country? Most of my bookings come in well under 14 days in advance, so I guess those are all prepay as well.
Just for me, I could never take prepayment unless it was a whole house booking, it wouldn't fly here.
.

Indiana

 

[JBloggs]

As usual, it is great to see so many interesting responses to the topic.
Through my 5 years of being open I have found a payment plan that works really well for me, it may help someone else out there too.
Guests may not always like to pay in advance, but it has relieved alot of pressure from my life. I have a 14 day cancellation policy. I advise guests that payment is collected about 14 days prior to arrival in accordance with this policy. Many times, we never have to discuss money. If they want their receipt, I can give them a copy. Most of the time they don't. If someone wants to pay cash, I am always happy to accept, but will record a credit card number in the event of a no show. Checks are welcome as long as there is time for it to clear before their arrival.
The policy is clear and it has taken a load of concern and work off my plate. I can enjoy them while they are here rather than sorting out the financial aspect of their stay..

Allnations you are in which country? Most of my bookings come in well under 14 days in advance, so I guess those are all prepay as well.
Just for me, I could never take prepayment unless it was a whole house booking, it wouldn't fly here.
.

I am in Indiana, where are you?
You would be surprised at what would "fly" when you create the policy. I get bookings from several sites and we have a variety of events that bring people to town. No matter where you are, you can give it a try-if you find it is costing you business, change the policy. If you find that people will follow it, you can collect payment and not have to discuss it again. Also, I find that trying to rebook rooms within 2 weeks is hard. I tell customers that is the reason for the policy and they generally understand.
.

I am in Indiana, where are you?
You would be surprised at what would "fly" when you create the policy. I get bookings from several sites and we have a variety of events that bring people to town. No matter where you are, you can give it a try-if you find it is costing you business, change the policy. If you find that people will follow it, you can collect payment and not have to discuss it again. Also, I find that trying to rebook rooms within 2 weeks is hard. I tell customers that is the reason for the policy and they generally understand.

I can't afford to test it and possibly cost business though. How do you know how many you do not get? I have Indiana on my list...there is another innmate there I can't wait to visit. I am in old dominion.