Low dollar as an advantage

[hlingeman]

US B&B owners have a way to turn the low exchange rate for the dollar into an advantage: focus on European tourists. For them going to the USA is a real bargain. If you are in or near the main tourist attractions of the US (New York, Florida, West Coast, Hawaii, Grand Canyon, etc etc), that is your opportunity. if you are doing Adwords, make sure to include Europe in your geographic selection, and check out European based worldwide B&B directories like www.avvie.eu with a free basic listing, you can't go wrong there)

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

We are all getting more O/S guests right now. Many of our UK are here looking to relocate out of what has become....well I will hold my tongue on that one. What I WANT MORE THAN THAT is to encourage staycations for our droopy dollar and boost our economy internally. Have people travel in their own backyards and see all there is to see and do RIGHT HERE!

 

[noodle-inn]

So, Hugo, you own that site -- avvie , don't you?

 

[ginocat]

A low $$ is great for tourism and we Canadian BBs sure know that!

 

[swirt]

Welcome to Innspiring.com,
What kind of methods are you using to promote this site to potential travellers?
What kinds of searches would we find this site doing well in?
The site seems more heavilly directed toward innkeepers than travellers. 4 out of the 7 links in your primary navigation are aimed at innkeepers instead of who should be your primary audience (travellers).
Sorry, I'm very detail driven.

 

[Willowpondgj]

I'm so excited! NOT!

Just thought you'd all like to see my first inquiry via Avvie: (Deleted any possible personal info)
Dear Innkeeper,
The following reservation request was sent to you through Avvie - Find your Bed and Breakfast.
Name: R. L. Email address:
Subject: RESERVATION
Message: Good day Sir/Madam, I am Pastor R.L. of ______________.I need to book reservation with you for Pastors coming from London for a pastorial work for the following dates 7th day of October to 21st day of October 2008.I need to know what you have available within that time range for their accommodation,as the Pastors who will be three(4)in number will stay for only 2 weeks. Details of the Reservation : Date:7th day of October to 21st day of October 2008. No of person:4 person. Payment Type:Credit Card Only (I hope you have credit card facilities/terminal in your place) Please confirm if you have the availability and provide me with the total cost/charges for 4 people in 14days,Then we will make an advance payment to secure the booking. Thank you and may God bless you, Have a nice day. Yours faithfully, Pastor _________:+555555555555

Thanks! Hlingeman, just what we all need-- a link to more spam!

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Good time to flag em RED

 

[Willowpondgj]

Good time to flag em RED.

done

 

[YellowSocks]

For them going to the USA is a real bargain. If you are in or near the main tourist attractions of the US (New York, Florida, West Coast, Hawaii, Grand Canyon, etc etc), that is your opportunity.

And if you're not, then too bad! Can't you just picture a nice couple in Germany... "Schotzi? How about Ashland, Ohio this summer?" NOT!
=)
Kk.

 

[swirt]

This post has been flagged several times as SPAM. I agree that it absolutely is spam, but I have decided to allow this post. If I make it disappear, then anyone who gets spam from this site may think it is legit and if they do a search they may find no one saying otherwise. I would rather that someone doing a search and checking this directory out find us and have a chance to read what we think. It has much more value to the innkeeping community that way.

 

[swirt]

I'm so excited! NOT!

Just thought you'd all like to see my first inquiry via Avvie: (Deleted any possible personal info)
Dear Innkeeper,
The following reservation request was sent to you through Avvie - Find your Bed and Breakfast.
Name: R. L. Email address:
Subject: RESERVATION
Message: Good day Sir/Madam, I am Pastor R.L. of ______________.I need to book reservation with you for Pastors coming from London for a pastorial work for the following dates 7th day of October to 21st day of October 2008.I need to know what you have available within that time range for their accommodation,as the Pastors who will be three(4)in number will stay for only 2 weeks. Details of the Reservation : Date:7th day of October to 21st day of October 2008. No of person:4 person. Payment Type:Credit Card Only (I hope you have credit card facilities/terminal in your place) Please confirm if you have the availability and provide me with the total cost/charges for 4 people in 14days,Then we will make an advance payment to secure the booking. Thank you and may God bless you, Have a nice day. Yours faithfully, Pastor _________:+555555555555

Thanks! Hlingeman, just what we all need-- a link to more spam!

.

So other than not having good anti-spam methods in place on their contact form, why else would you not want to be part of this directory?

 

[swirt]

Good time to flag em RED.

I'm more partial to Black and White. A good logical tar and feather is more useful than an eraser in this case.

 

[josh]

Most all my Business this summer was East Coast Clients and Asian oversees clients.

 

[gillumhouse]

This post has been flagged several times as SPAM. I agree that it absolutely is spam, but I have decided to allow this post. If I make it disappear, then anyone who gets spam from this site may think it is legit and if they do a search they may find no one saying otherwise. I would rather that someone doing a search and checking this directory out find us and have a chance to read what we think. It has much more value to the innkeeping community that way.

.

Good point. We ALWAYS need to mark these as the trash (in my opinion) that they are as a warning for Newbies.

 

[Penelope]

This post has been flagged several times as SPAM. I agree that it absolutely is spam, but I have decided to allow this post. If I make it disappear, then anyone who gets spam from this site may think it is legit and if they do a search they may find no one saying otherwise. I would rather that someone doing a search and checking this directory out find us and have a chance to read what we think. It has much more value to the innkeeping community that way.

.

I want to say "thank you" to all of you who have made a decision to look out and take care of the rest of us.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to say that you ALL have allowed me to build on my desire to have a B&B. You guys have been a great source of information and wisdom. There have been some posts that have triggered ideas of my own that I wrote down in my notebook of what I want to do when it's my turn. The way this forum flows among us is great. I was blessed to have found it when I did and I am honored to be a part of it.
I was reading a comment to one of my comments a few days ago and the responder wrote that what I said was true. That was a huge boost to me to see that someone validated my idea.
I do believe that if we surround ourselves with great people, we can learn great things. I have found some great people on this forum and I know that I will only be a better innkeeper because of you guys.
Each of you deserve a pat on the back... not for your innkeeping skills, but for your people skills.

 

[swirt]

This post has been flagged several times as SPAM. I agree that it absolutely is spam, but I have decided to allow this post. If I make it disappear, then anyone who gets spam from this site may think it is legit and if they do a search they may find no one saying otherwise. I would rather that someone doing a search and checking this directory out find us and have a chance to read what we think. It has much more value to the innkeeping community that way.

.

I want to say "thank you" to all of you who have made a decision to look out and take care of the rest of us.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to say that you ALL have allowed me to build on my desire to have a B&B. You guys have been a great source of information and wisdom. There have been some posts that have triggered ideas of my own that I wrote down in my notebook of what I want to do when it's my turn. The way this forum flows among us is great. I was blessed to have found it when I did and I am honored to be a part of it.
I was reading a comment to one of my comments a few days ago and the responder wrote that what I said was true. That was a huge boost to me to see that someone validated my idea.
I do believe that if we surround ourselves with great people, we can learn great things. I have found some great people on this forum and I know that I will only be a better innkeeper because of you guys.
Each of you deserve a pat on the back... not for your innkeeping skills, but for your people skills.
.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your enthusiasm about the forum. We truly appreciate having you here. Sometimes our ideas are validated, sometimes they fall like lead balloons, I know I've had a few sinkers over the years. But with a bit of patience and a sense of humor this site can provide a treasure trove of great ideas.
Sucking up is not required but pats on the back are always grand

 

[hlingeman]

Good time to flag em RED.

I'm more partial to Black and White. A good logical tar and feather is more useful than an eraser in this case.

.

it's a bit painful that people wish me tar and feathers, while just trying to create a new platform for b&b's.
but i have taken the criticism to heart and we will be working on further anti spam and scam measures.

 

[swirt]

Good time to flag em RED.

I'm more partial to Black and White. A good logical tar and feather is more useful than an eraser in this case.

.

it's a bit painful that people wish me tar and feathers, while just trying to create a new platform for b&b's.
but i have taken the criticism to heart and we will be working on further anti spam and scam measures.
.

Welcome back.
It's not that we wish you tar and feathers, but if you come here saying, "go sign up on this site, you can't go wrong" without really acknowledging that it is your own site, you have to expect some tough questions .... especially when it was your first post after creating an account.
The other thing you have to understand is that there are hundreds of fledgling B&B directories hoping to make a quick profit when they really haven't done the work necessary to do well in contributing potential guests. These half-hearted entries are usually easy to spot. They almost always make the mistake of trying to attract innkeepers, by placing the emphasis on innkeepers as opposed to travellers.

 

[hlingeman]

Good time to flag em RED.

I'm more partial to Black and White. A good logical tar and feather is more useful than an eraser in this case.

.

it's a bit painful that people wish me tar and feathers, while just trying to create a new platform for b&b's.
but i have taken the criticism to heart and we will be working on further anti spam and scam measures.
.

Welcome back.
It's not that we wish you tar and feathers, but if you come here saying, "go sign up on this site, you can't go wrong" without really acknowledging that it is your own site, you have to expect some tough questions .... especially when it was your first post after creating an account.
The other thing you have to understand is that there are hundreds of fledgling B&B directories hoping to make a quick profit when they really haven't done the work necessary to do well in contributing potential guests. These half-hearted entries are usually easy to spot. They almost always make the mistake of trying to attract innkeepers, by placing the emphasis on innkeepers as opposed to travellers.
.

Thanks for your comments. You are quite right. It was just a bit of an impulse writing this comment after reading the tar and feather entry and not being 'legit' over my Sunday Morning coffee. I do appreciate the feedback.I have a successful site in Amsterdam for a couple of years and decided to create an international version.I am an innkeeper myself, so I know about the annoyances of the quick buck guys. That is a reason to offer a free listing which is quite extensive listing, leaving it up to the inkeepers to do a paid lsitings once that becomes interesting to them, that has happened in Rome, where B&B's decided to pay to get a higher priority, and certainly in Amsterdam.
I am happy with the feedback, about the wrong impression I seem to give in the main navigation, and the spam and scam issues. Of course email addresses are shielded, we dont allow multiple requests at once and have tried to take measure to avoid using scripts to fill the forms. But appearantly that is not yet enough to keep the scammers away. But that is certainly something we will try to fix. Again: thank you for the comments.