Meet the mansumer

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JBloggs

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"Use marketing messages that emphasize simplicity, ease and value"
Click here for article (and as always think B&B and apply where applicable!)
 
Excerpt "Men see shopping as a practical activity to solve a problem or meet a need"
For my personal comments on this article:
In my experience, the mansumer is the one who books the PACKAGES at the inn. (all inclusive, one stop shopping) and the line from the article DOES APPLY to my mansumer!
So after reading the above article, perhaps we need to make it mansumer friendly-ier. The mansumer, also imo is the one who will book it all online or not at all, so all the details need to be clear and concise and bookable online.
I always use my own mansumer here as a prototype for this sort of thing. He is not a romantic, he might book something like this online for an anniversary if it appealed to him. If it was clear, easy and something he thought I would enjoy. He is a typical mansumer. He would rather NOT book a B&B, so for that I think we need to somehow bait that hook!
 
Good one! I had no idea so many men were taking over this stuff, though with B&B's I'm sure there's still some female input in the deciding.
Indeed, men do not shop for recreation. We shop for purpose.
A favorite soliloquy from a favorite program of mine (Coupling, from England). In this episode, Steve (played by Jack Davenport) is commenting on the fact that his girlfriend Susan has remodeled their apartment bathroom AND REMOVED THE LOCK FROM THE BATHROOM DOOR!
Steve says...
We are men.
Throughout history we have always needed, in times of difficulty, to retreat to our caves.
It so happens, in this modern age, that our caves are fully plumbed.
The toilet for us is the last bastion, the final refuge, the last few square feet of man space left to us.
Somewhere to sit. Something to read. Something to do and who gives a damn about the smell.
Because that, for us, is happiness. Because we are men. We are different:
We have only one word for soap.
We do not own candles.
We have never seen anything of any value in a craft shop.
We do not own magazines full of photographs of celebrities with all their clothes...ON!
When we have conversations, we actually take it in turns to talk.
We have not yet reached that level of earth-shattering boredom and inhuman despair where we would have a haircut...recreationally!
We don't know how to get excited about really, REALLY boring things like ornaments, bath oil, the countryside, small churches.
I mean, we do not even know what, WHAT in the name of God's ass is the purpose of potpourri. It looks like breakfast, smells like your auntie. Why do we need that?
So please. In this strange and frightening world, allow us one last place to call our own. This toilet, this blessed pot, this fortress of solitude.
You girls, you may go to the bathroom in groups of two or more. We do not pass comment; we do not make judgement. That is your choice.
But we men. We will always walk the toilet mile...alone!
 
This is one reason I put the grid on the website with all the room info in chart form. However, most guys just call. They find the number and that's all they need.
I did the same thing. A few years ago I 'complained' to a large hotel that I like to go to that they don't have online booking. And they had NO WAY for someone to know what is available. AND they had no way to easily find the room amenities. (I was looking for a room with 2 beds at the time.)
Right now they have only added a room sorter so you can out in your 'wants' and it will match you up with a room. And a 'these are the kinds of rooms we have open for these weeks' cheat sheet, but still no way to look at that list and see the exact rooms.
I called. I told the girl on the phone what I wanted in re amenities and she told me what was open. Took her 5 seconds. I ended up caving on some of the amenities because of the price. But I got the most important one- view! She told me the room numbers as we went along and I could look at the rooms online with her telling me which ones were available.
 
Good one! I had no idea so many men were taking over this stuff, though with B&B's I'm sure there's still some female input in the deciding.
Indeed, men do not shop for recreation. We shop for purpose.
A favorite soliloquy from a favorite program of mine (Coupling, from England). In this episode, Steve (played by Jack Davenport) is commenting on the fact that his girlfriend Susan has remodeled their apartment bathroom AND REMOVED THE LOCK FROM THE BATHROOM DOOR!
Steve says...
We are men.
Throughout history we have always needed, in times of difficulty, to retreat to our caves.
It so happens, in this modern age, that our caves are fully plumbed.
The toilet for us is the last bastion, the final refuge, the last few square feet of man space left to us.
Somewhere to sit. Something to read. Something to do and who gives a damn about the smell.
Because that, for us, is happiness. Because we are men. We are different:
We have only one word for soap.
We do not own candles.
We have never seen anything of any value in a craft shop.
We do not own magazines full of photographs of celebrities with all their clothes...ON!
When we have conversations, we actually take it in turns to talk.
We have not yet reached that level of earth-shattering boredom and inhuman despair where we would have a haircut...recreationally!
We don't know how to get excited about really, REALLY boring things like ornaments, bath oil, the countryside, small churches.
I mean, we do not even know what, WHAT in the name of God's ass is the purpose of potpourri. It looks like breakfast, smells like your auntie. Why do we need that?
So please. In this strange and frightening world, allow us one last place to call our own. This toilet, this blessed pot, this fortress of solitude.
You girls, you may go to the bathroom in groups of two or more. We do not pass comment; we do not make judgement. That is your choice.
But we men. We will always walk the toilet mile...alone!.
I can read that and hear his voice! haha
regular_smile.gif

You are the right proper Anglophile now Arks!
 
This is one reason I put the grid on the website with all the room info in chart form. However, most guys just call. They find the number and that's all they need.
I did the same thing. A few years ago I 'complained' to a large hotel that I like to go to that they don't have online booking. And they had NO WAY for someone to know what is available. AND they had no way to easily find the room amenities. (I was looking for a room with 2 beds at the time.)
Right now they have only added a room sorter so you can out in your 'wants' and it will match you up with a room. And a 'these are the kinds of rooms we have open for these weeks' cheat sheet, but still no way to look at that list and see the exact rooms.
I called. I told the girl on the phone what I wanted in re amenities and she told me what was open. Took her 5 seconds. I ended up caving on some of the amenities because of the price. But I got the most important one- view! She told me the room numbers as we went along and I could look at the rooms online with her telling me which ones were available..
Over the last year, thanks to this forum, I believe we finally have made 'shopping' on our site easy for anyone. That is until yesterday when a guy called and asked about adjoining rooms. We don't have adjoining rooms but we do have the next best thing, rooms that are adjoined by a private vestibule but explaining that was not easy. Given this is not the first time I went through this, I am going to take action and put a floor diagram on the site. Taking action while the flame is still hot. lol
 
I think all of us will agree without murmer - make it easy for the guest! they will (i can't remember the stats but I saw them somewhere) if they can't find what they want from your site they will leave in about 20 seconds! you have to make that 20 seconds count!
The only reason I don't allow online booking of our family rooms is we kept getting mini hen parties of 3 ladies which is not what they are designed for so we only allow them to book directly.
 
I think all of us will agree without murmer - make it easy for the guest! they will (i can't remember the stats but I saw them somewhere) if they can't find what they want from your site they will leave in about 20 seconds! you have to make that 20 seconds count!
The only reason I don't allow online booking of our family rooms is we kept getting mini hen parties of 3 ladies which is not what they are designed for so we only allow them to book directly..
I think all of us will agree without murmer - make it easy for the guest! they will (i can't remember the stats but I saw them somewhere) if they can't find what they want from your site they will leave in about 20 seconds! you have to make that 20 seconds count!
The only reason I don't allow online booking of our family rooms is we kept getting mini hen parties of 3 ladies which is not what they are designed for so we only allow them to book directly.
Yes we do agree, but...there are still those who don't simplify.
I told guests this past week when they were praising us for the late "self" check-in about my experience two weeks prior of arriving after 7 hours on the road (total) and being ignored. I told them how it is important for innkeepers to travel and experience what our guests might experience when they arrive here.
To me, a self check-in is the easiest route, always, and they were so appreciative.
Simplify. There are innkeepers who would never ever do a self check-in, and in fact have come to the forum and called us a bunch of lazy no good non service giving innkeepers. It can be a guest amenity. I kicked butt to get to the place by check in time, only to be ignored.
So we do what we do, sometimes we can re-evaluate how we do it.
 
I think all of us will agree without murmer - make it easy for the guest! they will (i can't remember the stats but I saw them somewhere) if they can't find what they want from your site they will leave in about 20 seconds! you have to make that 20 seconds count!
The only reason I don't allow online booking of our family rooms is we kept getting mini hen parties of 3 ladies which is not what they are designed for so we only allow them to book directly..
I think all of us will agree without murmer - make it easy for the guest! they will (i can't remember the stats but I saw them somewhere) if they can't find what they want from your site they will leave in about 20 seconds! you have to make that 20 seconds count!
The only reason I don't allow online booking of our family rooms is we kept getting mini hen parties of 3 ladies which is not what they are designed for so we only allow them to book directly.
Yes we do agree, but...there are still those who don't simplify.
I told guests this past week when they were praising us for the late "self" check-in about my experience two weeks prior of arriving after 7 hours on the road (total) and being ignored. I told them how it is important for innkeepers to travel and experience what our guests might experience when they arrive here.
To me, a self check-in is the easiest route, always, and they were so appreciative.
Simplify. There are innkeepers who would never ever do a self check-in, and in fact have come to the forum and called us a bunch of lazy no good non service giving innkeepers. It can be a guest amenity. I kicked butt to get to the place by check in time, only to be ignored.
So we do what we do, sometimes we can re-evaluate how we do it.
.
I perfer to check peoplw who havn't stayed with us before in myself - however at one time I had 2 gentlemen who stayed with us regularly ie about every 2 weeks - and nice quiet chaps and both came from london on the last train - meant they didn't have to keep me up which they liked!
 
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