Nice article on why a B&B can be a better experience than a hotel

[undersea]

Nice article on why a B&B can be a better experience than a hotel
Particularly #11. I sometimes think owners may go overboard on the venting about guest expectations. They stay with a reason, and their expectations are high. When the owner feels inconvenienced, annoyed or otherwise frustrated with guest expectations, I think they sometimes forget how to compete and provide service.
When someone pays you $175 for a room, getting served oatmeal and bananas, and getting pushed away by an innkeeper who had enough annoyance for one day, you may have had a better experience at Motel 6 for half the cost.
http://www. huffingtonpost .com/2014/04/08/bed-and-breakfast-vacation_n_5072556.html
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[Morticia]

Egads! That person stayed here! And they got oatmeal and bananas because of all their dietary restrictions!
Oops, finally got the article. Didn't realize the part about oatmeal was your editorializing. But, yeah, you paying the $175 doesn't mean you've hired a dietician along with the room.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

The pictures intimidate me. My place is no where near as fancy as any of those. So the article is setting up unrealistic expectations like those of the guy who said our breakfast was 'meh' because it wasn't plated and made to order.

 

[undersea]

The pictures intimidate me. My place is no where near as fancy as any of those. So the article is setting up unrealistic expectations like those of the guy who said our breakfast was 'meh' because it wasn't plated and made to order..

Some of the items were about a particular B&B, that no one else does. I ignored about 4-5 of the 11 items and focused on the remainder.

 

[undersea]

Egads! That person stayed here! And they got oatmeal and bananas because of all their dietary restrictions!
Oops, finally got the article. Didn't realize the part about oatmeal was your editorializing. But, yeah, you paying the $175 doesn't mean you've hired a dietician along with the room..

Was not zeroing in on anyone in particular.
But I think everyone needs to be on their toes to provide the best service possible in an ultra-competitive world.
But yeah, if someone only eats quail eggs and Rocky Mountain oysters, I do not think any lodging establishment should have to run out and get it...

 

[EmptyNest]

I thought we saw this a while back. Nothing new we don't know already. Of course, every b & b is their own unique property so you apply what you can to what you have.

 

[Morticia]

The pictures intimidate me. My place is no where near as fancy as any of those. So the article is setting up unrealistic expectations like those of the guy who said our breakfast was 'meh' because it wasn't plated and made to order..

The pictures intimidate me. My place is no where near as fancy as any of those. So the article is setting up unrealistic expectations like those of the guy who said our breakfast was 'meh' because it wasn't plated and made to order.

This article was 'torn to shreds' here last year when it was first published. Mostly for what you're saying. Unrealistic for us to try to be those properties that are owned and/or operated by corporations that hire chefs, etc. Not saying we can't be super duper at what we CAN do, just that we can't do it all unless our properties are so intimate that they can be ultra high end or so large that there is staff to do the grunt work while we swan around doing the gracious host thing.
I will say that as we age 7 rooms is too many. We could do 7 10 years ago. We can't now. We're burning out at more than 5. When we're slammed we don't do the 'fancy touches' that we can do when the days are paced out better. Soooo, we are not taking 7 rooms any longer. We block off once we've hit 5. Then we can be calm and cool when guests arrive at 11:30 AM.
It's working for me. I don't feel so stressed in the afternoon. I can chat to guests who arrive early instead of feeling put upon. We've done all we can to provide guests with immediate knowledge without actually holding their hands and making them repeat what we just said.

 

[happykeeper]

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not.

 

[Morticia]

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not..

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not.

Excellent points.
For myself, when I see these kinds of articles that portray the high end property as THE B&B experience, it makes me cringe knowing guests coming here may expect what they've seen in an article such as this when there is nothing on our website that says we are anything like these places.
PAII did the same thing with BWTS. They focused their marketing around 'high end' properties which a lot of us are not. (The inn with the bar with a bartender, the outside showers, the jetted tubs and granite bathrooms.) You are a high-end property. Mtnkeeper is. But a lot of us are mid-level properties. When someone does an article portraying mid-level properties I'll relax. In the meantime, I stress over these articles because they set expectations in guests way higher than someone in my shoes can fill.
And we then get guests who complain loud and long about how certain features in an old NE building are totally unacceptable. Someone who probably (given the address) lives in a house bigger than the entire inn and has an en suite the size of my apartment. ;-)

 

[happykeeper]

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not..

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not.

Excellent points.
For myself, when I see these kinds of articles that portray the high end property as THE B&B experience, it makes me cringe knowing guests coming here may expect what they've seen in an article such as this when there is nothing on our website that says we are anything like these places.
PAII did the same thing with BWTS. They focused their marketing around 'high end' properties which a lot of us are not. (The inn with the bar with a bartender, the outside showers, the jetted tubs and granite bathrooms.) You are a high-end property. Mtnkeeper is. But a lot of us are mid-level properties. When someone does an article portraying mid-level properties I'll relax. In the meantime, I stress over these articles because they set expectations in guests way higher than someone in my shoes can fill.
And we then get guests who complain loud and long about how certain features in an old NE building are totally unacceptable. Someone who probably (given the address) lives in a house bigger than the entire inn and has an en suite the size of my apartment. ;-)
.

Well said.
Let me add some thoughts about this. It is true that this article and the BWTS campaign painted a picture of high end luxury. I cringed along with many others. It left out a large segment of the industry.
I think it is important to remember that we opened just ten years ago as a low to mid-range property. It is only over the last 3 or 4 years that we have been able to elevate our business into a different category. (It hurts when you separate us out as not being part of the gang because we have found a way to make that happen.)
Regarding guest expectations, your stress is the same as my stress. I have the same worries. So what's different. Using class warfare to explain why one properties guests complain at what they find and another's does not lays blame at the feet of those of us that have worked extremely hard to eliminate those complaints.
Instead, I think it is better to reiterate what has already been said. You can create an original defining experience that creates lasting memories anywhere within the spectrum of innkeeping.

 

[Morticia]

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not..

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not.

Excellent points.
For myself, when I see these kinds of articles that portray the high end property as THE B&B experience, it makes me cringe knowing guests coming here may expect what they've seen in an article such as this when there is nothing on our website that says we are anything like these places.
PAII did the same thing with BWTS. They focused their marketing around 'high end' properties which a lot of us are not. (The inn with the bar with a bartender, the outside showers, the jetted tubs and granite bathrooms.) You are a high-end property. Mtnkeeper is. But a lot of us are mid-level properties. When someone does an article portraying mid-level properties I'll relax. In the meantime, I stress over these articles because they set expectations in guests way higher than someone in my shoes can fill.
And we then get guests who complain loud and long about how certain features in an old NE building are totally unacceptable. Someone who probably (given the address) lives in a house bigger than the entire inn and has an en suite the size of my apartment. ;-)
.

Well said.
Let me add some thoughts about this. It is true that this article and the BWTS campaign painted a picture of high end luxury. I cringed along with many others. It left out a large segment of the industry.
I think it is important to remember that we opened just ten years ago as a low to mid-range property. It is only over the last 3 or 4 years that we have been able to elevate our business into a different category. (It hurts when you separate us out as not being part of the gang because we have found a way to make that happen.)
Regarding guest expectations, your stress is the same as my stress. I have the same worries. So what's different. Using class warfare to explain why one properties guests complain at what they find and another's does not lays blame at the feet of those of us that have worked extremely hard to eliminate those complaints.
Instead, I think it is better to reiterate what has already been said. You can create an original defining experience that creates lasting memories anywhere within the spectrum of innkeeping.
.

My comment was meant as a compliment to what you and mtnkeeper have accomplished.

 

[Joey Camb]

we have this problem in the UK due to the actions of Visit Britain and the AA rating systems - we as an industry were pushed to improve and improve and improve until there is no one in my area less than 4 star - this means there is no budget option say for builders etc
The logic was to improve standards and make it so the public knew what they were getting ie 1 star was basically a room in a house sharing the bathroom with the family to 5 which is basically a hotel on a smaller scale - but they shot themselves in the foot with a lot of people being happy with a clean room with a kettle in and breakfast which now at least where I am no longer exists.

 

[gillumhouse]

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not..

Of course, I am very much in agreement with the comments of the innkeeper in #11 of the article.
It is where new innkeepers should set their sites. Being successful in this business is going to require that you find a way to be an original defining experience that creates lasting memories. That can be accomplished across the entire spectrum of properties.
It's unfortunate that this is misconstrued to suggest anyone should be a property they are not or that anyone should be an innkeeper that they are not.

Excellent points.
For myself, when I see these kinds of articles that portray the high end property as THE B&B experience, it makes me cringe knowing guests coming here may expect what they've seen in an article such as this when there is nothing on our website that says we are anything like these places.
PAII did the same thing with BWTS. They focused their marketing around 'high end' properties which a lot of us are not. (The inn with the bar with a bartender, the outside showers, the jetted tubs and granite bathrooms.) You are a high-end property. Mtnkeeper is. But a lot of us are mid-level properties. When someone does an article portraying mid-level properties I'll relax. In the meantime, I stress over these articles because they set expectations in guests way higher than someone in my shoes can fill.
And we then get guests who complain loud and long about how certain features in an old NE building are totally unacceptable. Someone who probably (given the address) lives in a house bigger than the entire inn and has an en suite the size of my apartment. ;-)
.

Well said.
Let me add some thoughts about this. It is true that this article and the BWTS campaign painted a picture of high end luxury. I cringed along with many others. It left out a large segment of the industry.
I think it is important to remember that we opened just ten years ago as a low to mid-range property. It is only over the last 3 or 4 years that we have been able to elevate our business into a different category. (It hurts when you separate us out as not being part of the gang because we have found a way to make that happen.)
Regarding guest expectations, your stress is the same as my stress. I have the same worries. So what's different. Using class warfare to explain why one properties guests complain at what they find and another's does not lays blame at the feet of those of us that have worked extremely hard to eliminate those complaints.
Instead, I think it is better to reiterate what has already been said. You can create an original defining experience that creates lasting memories anywhere within the spectrum of innkeeping.
.

What makes this Forum so viable is that it IS so diverse. We have high-end, mid-range, and I consider myself not low-end but definitely not fancy in any sense of the word. We all try to help each other and counsel from our various perspectives - size-wise, regional, and experience. Some struggle for every dollar and some it matters not financially as they are set with investments and pensions (I wish) - but that is OK. We are here to help each other. We are here because we need each other to commiserate, brag, cry, moan, or whatever is our need of the day. I an fortunate to usually have great guests - I need the "poor baby" most times due to Himself (he is SO lucky I do not look good in orange).