I do say this is NOT for everyone! If you are booked, and you are getting the amount of business you want/need there is no reason to consider this, period.
But, if you are not, this may be something to consider for your slower season. My promotion ran earlier this summer - this is my slow season! We sold over 250 vouchers.
This is a national (well international) campaign with a very targeted market... people have ASKED to be sent the advertisment. They are looking to purchase! According to my rep, they send an email to everyone in their distribution list within a 500 mile radius first then it is broadcast nationally and also picked up by assocated companies.
- LS takes 30% as commission if you negotiate (reg is 60/40), remaining is sent to you in a check 15 working days after close of the offer
- They absorb all CC charges & handle all sales
- You are provided a merchant page with a list of all vouchers sold along with names and stats (see below)
- You put together your best offer (see below)
Here are MY stats LS provided on the sales of MY offer, 76% were purchased from email distribution, 8.9% through iphone app, 4.4% directly from their website and the remaining 9.3% was through 3rd party companies. Over 3/4 were purchased in 500 mile radius but do have multiple purchases up to 1500 miles including Canada.
I have been taking reservations and hosting LS guests since late June and have hosted just under 50 guests so far. NOTE: this is my slow time of year!! Here are some guest stats:
- Most have NEVER stayed at a B&B - to date only 3 have ever stayed at a B&B
- Most purchased to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or even babymoon.
- Those that have offered info said they never have considered a B&B prior or were unsure what to expect at one.
- Most have been in the 25-39 age bracket.
- Aprox 1/3 of sold vouchers have booked their stay, most of those were for dates from 2 days after run date to 8 weeks after.
- Some have booked additional days, some additional packages
- Some even asking about dates in the future to return (no actual bookings though)
- Some bookings without going with the Deal, some were happy to just find us!
They have been very respectful guests, with the only thing I can say as a negative have been the actual BOOKING of the guests as some think you are trying to pull a fast one on them. (Think it is too good to be true?) Once they are booked, and when they arrive they are very pleasent.
Our Offer: We did a 1 night stay, fruit tray on arrival, discount at a local tour and $20 off at a nearby restaurant How the offer worked & what I would do different: We already had a discount offer with the local tour, this just gave them free national publicity. We contacted a restaurant we send guest to all the time, and asked if he would like to partner with us he said it was a no brainer - free national publicty and HE offered a $20 off with a certain purchase.
NO, don't purchase anything, these businesses are getting FREE publicity without risk. Remember, anything you package bumps up the sell price by 1/2 the value - this without me spending a dime.
We did the 1 night in hopes to entice some to book additional nights, while some have there have not been enough of them for me to say it worked. If doing this again, I would go for a 2 night stay and just not expect as many to sell. Another thing I would forgo is the fruit tray, while I have this in a routine now, it is an additional chore I could do without.
Also be knowledgeble of your Gift Certificate laws as these vouchers do follow those laws. While they do have an expiry date which YOU dictate, in states with GC laws the face value of the voucher may have a longer shelf life. How it was explained to me: My state has a 5yr GC law, when the expiry date passes, all the promotional items expire (fruit tray, discount for tour, $20 off dinner) but the voucher cost (amount they paid) can be applied to a stay here for anytime up to 5 years from the date of purchase. They can not ask for a refund or get cash back. This can have a negative impact if you plan to sell in the near future so take this into consideration.
I know there are still many who will balk this form of advertising and for you, I say don't even think about it. For those looking at empty room nights, no calls coming in, while the bills keep rolling in, this may be of interest to you to at least check it out FOR YOURSELF!
Sorry to be so wordy. I am sure in the comming months I will have more to share on this but in the meantime if anyone is sincerly interested in this marketing campaign and wants to ask any additional questions feel free to email me through this forum..