Then....and Now

[happykeeper]

Then...had to be on every directory.
Now...on one or less *as we are wiser to which ones work and which ones blow smoke
Then...was very involved to see where our referrals and bookings came from, "google analytics"
Now...I don't even look at it, ever.
Then...allowed people to walk over us and regret it. Like the lady who demanded a tour as we final had a moment to eat and sat in our kitchen table together. Jumped up gave a tour of every room and she opened every closet and never reserved for her "family" reunion.
Now...make an appt..

Then...allowed people to walk over us and regret it. Like the lady who demanded a tour as we final had a moment to eat and sat in our kitchen table together. Jumped up gave a tour of every room and she opened every closet and never reserved for her "family" reunion.
Now...make an appt.

Loved all three, but the third one really made me laugh. Our location means the occasional drive up looky loo. Then.. Oh my god a potential guest! Now.. we don't do tours. LOL

 

[happykeeper]

20 seasons ago:
taking reservations by phone and hand.
cleaning all 10 cottages by myself and raising baby twins while doing it. ( I now wonder how good a job I did with either, because I sure cannot do it today at 59)
no website, and, apparently being overly enthusiastic about the place, thus disappointing a handful of guests, which still haunts me to this day
Until I got my bearings in season 2, renting to anyone who came in. Quickly learning that not everyone is my desired guest, and changing that immediately
more, but I cannot remember now.

Great list. 20 seasons? Wow. Cleaning 10 cottages by yourself with baby twins wins the innkeepers medal of honor in my book

 

[undersea]

Then...had to be on every directory.
Now...on one or less *as we are wiser to which ones work and which ones blow smoke
Then...was very involved to see where our referrals and bookings came from, "google analytics"
Now...I don't even look at it, ever.
Then...allowed people to walk over us and regret it. Like the lady who demanded a tour as we final had a moment to eat and sat in our kitchen table together. Jumped up gave a tour of every room and she opened every closet and never reserved for her "family" reunion.
Now...make an appt..

"Demanded a tour" - Since when does she run your business??
I realize there is a fine line between risking a bad review and having policies. But I seriously would have said that we have occasional open houses, but under no circumstances are visitors allowed for the security and privacy of our current guests. Period. End of Story. Hasta Manana.
If she demanded anything like that, she is automatically someone I would not want as a guest!
"Tell you what - you allow me to rummage around your entire house when you have visitors, and I'll consider your request."

 

[gaelstorm]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

 

[Iris]

Then...had to be on every directory.
Now...on one or less *as we are wiser to which ones work and which ones blow smoke
Then...was very involved to see where our referrals and bookings came from, "google analytics"
Now...I don't even look at it, ever.
Then...allowed people to walk over us and regret it. Like the lady who demanded a tour as we final had a moment to eat and sat in our kitchen table together. Jumped up gave a tour of every room and she opened every closet and never reserved for her "family" reunion.
Now...make an appt..

Then...allowed people to walk over us and regret it. Like the lady who demanded a tour as we final had a moment to eat and sat in our kitchen table together. Jumped up gave a tour of every room and she opened every closet and never reserved for her "family" reunion.
Now...make an appt.

Loved all three, but the third one really made me laugh. Our location means the occasional drive up looky loo. Then.. Oh my god a potential guest! Now.. we don't do tours. LOL
.

Then...allowed people to walk over us and regret it. Like the lady who demanded a tour as we final had a moment to eat and sat in our kitchen table together. Jumped up gave a tour of every room and she opened every closet and never reserved for her "family" reunion.
Now...make an appt.

Loved all three, but the third one really made me laugh. Our location means the occasional drive up looky loo. Then.. Oh my god a potential guest! Now.. we don't do tours. LOL

When I clean, I put up a sign in the office, so that I can be found. One day, someone tried to check in while I was cleaning. She was appalled that no one was in the office. She let me know how terrible she thought it was.
Then she asked me for a tour of the house. "you want to see the inside of my residence?" No! it's not open to the public. WTH? LOL

 

[Arks]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

 

[Iris]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL

 

[gaelstorm]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.

 

[Iris]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.

Nope, it does not make sense to me. Since "modernizing" and working my reservations online, I have taken in more money. I NEVER have discounted rooms. NEVER. the opposite is true. I depend on the fishing crowd myself during the shoulder season. My people know that they get what they pay. I have to say though, we get the Eddie Ba uer crowds here. Money is almost no object.

 

[Garden_Pix_Inn]

20 seasons ago:
taking reservations by phone and hand.
cleaning all 10 cottages by myself and raising baby twins while doing it. ( I now wonder how good a job I did with either, because I sure cannot do it today at 59)
no website, and, apparently being overly enthusiastic about the place, thus disappointing a handful of guests, which still haunts me to this day
Until I got my bearings in season 2, renting to anyone who came in. Quickly learning that not everyone is my desired guest, and changing that immediately
more, but I cannot remember now.

20 seasons ago:

• taking reservations by phone and hand.
• cleaning all 10 cottages by myself
• no website,
• being overly enthusiastic about the place

Just celebrated 23 years April 1

• agree with Iris: no web, no online reservations, able to clean all the rooms (we had 5 at our first inn and 5+cottage here, inn #2), enthusiasm
• Back then, never had anyone refuse a muffin due to gluten
• didn't have TVs in the room or very many fireplaces, whirlpool tubs (urban inn at the time)
• had to have GREAT phone skills and had to be able to quickly describe (and sell) rooms on the fly, often while scrubbing a toilet with one hand
• no cell phones, obviously
• phone the CC/visa number to run a card and impress it on a knuckle crunching machine (still have that sucker in a drawer, too!)
• had a full phone system with voice mail in every room--very high tech
• doilies and florals were OK decor
• urban inn (full meals prohibited) could do enhanced continental breakfasts and no foodies complained
• comprehensive tourist maps with "all the great stuff shown" were easier to come by
• 800 numbers were useful
• call forwarding was the only way guests could find you when out of the inn (we lived next door).
• sheets were patterned and 60-40 cotton-polyester.
• They NEVER got stains and they rarely needed ironing. Nobody got free bubble bath, candles, free food baskets and other amenities in their room: just two chocolates on the pillow.
• (Urban inn): my best advertising was in the tiny neighborhood newspapers/newsletters where we had an ad that said: "Sleep well while you mother sleeps with us." (Lots of kids with small apt.s nearby and no decent motels nearby. Next best source was AAA book and directories, Christian B&B book,etc.
• You had a line drawing of your inn and you used it in ads and directory listings, NOT on your Deneen mug, which you did not have to sell. In fact, in 1992 I had no "gift shop" at all but a few people did. One woman made a fortune selling lacy Bible covers to brides...
• Eric was just founding B&B.com and he admitted he used to work for Delta Air Lines... BB online was the second most strong directory once they started being online
• Blizzard Internet Marketing was the big website maker and a std. web page might have 6 pages. (they now handle hotels and no longer do work for small B&Bs)
• PAII was owned by its founding female partners who intended to "train" innkeepers. Dues were within $75 of what they are today (pretty HIGH then).
• IIA was begging people to join and cost an arm and a leg: $300. They are now Select Registry and cost about $4000/year.
• A lot of people had never tried a B&B (medical people seemed to love B&Bs more than any other business travel group in our Atlanta market with conferences and conventions)
• I personally was able to find the "magic" words that marketed my inn most effectively. They were: Close to the subway (MARTA). Finding the words that resonate with a large market is much harder for my current inn.

 

[Iris]

20 seasons ago:
taking reservations by phone and hand.
cleaning all 10 cottages by myself and raising baby twins while doing it. ( I now wonder how good a job I did with either, because I sure cannot do it today at 59)
no website, and, apparently being overly enthusiastic about the place, thus disappointing a handful of guests, which still haunts me to this day
Until I got my bearings in season 2, renting to anyone who came in. Quickly learning that not everyone is my desired guest, and changing that immediately
more, but I cannot remember now.

20 seasons ago:

• taking reservations by phone and hand.
• cleaning all 10 cottages by myself
• no website,
• being overly enthusiastic about the place

Just celebrated 23 years April 1

• agree with Iris: no web, no online reservations, able to clean all the rooms (we had 5 at our first inn and 5+cottage here, inn #2), enthusiasm
• Back then, never had anyone refuse a muffin due to gluten
• didn't have TVs in the room or very many fireplaces, whirlpool tubs (urban inn at the time)
• had to have GREAT phone skills and had to be able to quickly describe (and sell) rooms on the fly, often while scrubbing a toilet with one hand
• no cell phones, obviously
• phone the CC/visa number to run a card and impress it on a knuckle crunching machine (still have that sucker in a drawer, too!)
• had a full phone system with voice mail in every room--very high tech
• doilies and florals were OK decor
• urban inn (full meals prohibited) could do enhanced continental breakfasts and no foodies complained
• comprehensive tourist maps with "all the great stuff shown" were easier to come by
• 800 numbers were useful
• call forwarding was the only way guests could find you when out of the inn (we lived next door).
• sheets were patterned and 60-40 cotton-polyester.
• They NEVER got stains and they rarely needed ironing. Nobody got free bubble bath, candles, free food baskets and other amenities in their room: just two chocolates on the pillow.
• (Urban inn): my best advertising was in the tiny neighborhood newspapers/newsletters where we had an ad that said: "Sleep well while you mother sleeps with us." (Lots of kids with small apt.s nearby and no decent motels nearby. Next best source was AAA book and directories, Christian B&B book,etc.
• You had a line drawing of your inn and you used it in ads and directory listings, NOT on your Deneen mug, which you did not have to sell. In fact, in 1992 I had no "gift shop" at all but a few people did. One woman made a fortune selling lacy Bible covers to brides...
• Eric was just founding B&B.com and he admitted he used to work for Delta Air Lines... BB online was the second most strong directory once they started being online
• Blizzard Internet Marketing was the big website maker and a std. web page might have 6 pages. (they now handle hotels and no longer do work for small B&Bs)
• PAII was owned by its founding female partners who intended to "train" innkeepers. Dues were within $75 of what they are today (pretty HIGH then).
• IIA was begging people to join and cost an arm and a leg: $300. They are now Select Registry and cost about $4000/year.
• A lot of people had never tried a B&B (medical people seemed to love B&Bs more than any other business travel group in our Atlanta market with conferences and conventions)
• I personally was able to find the "magic" words that marketed my inn most effectively. They were: Close to the subway (MARTA). Finding the words that resonate with a large market is much harder for my current inn.

.

• Blizzard Internet Marketing was the big website maker and a std. web page might have 6 pages. (they now handle hotels and no longer do work for small B&Bs)

So funny you bring up Blizzard. I am friends with his parents. They live here in town, his father, Wes, is teaching here in our high school and mom, Sharon, is enjoying life.
Small world

 

[Arks]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!

 

[gillumhouse]

20 seasons ago:
taking reservations by phone and hand.
cleaning all 10 cottages by myself and raising baby twins while doing it. ( I now wonder how good a job I did with either, because I sure cannot do it today at 59)
no website, and, apparently being overly enthusiastic about the place, thus disappointing a handful of guests, which still haunts me to this day
Until I got my bearings in season 2, renting to anyone who came in. Quickly learning that not everyone is my desired guest, and changing that immediately
more, but I cannot remember now.

20 seasons ago:

• taking reservations by phone and hand.
• cleaning all 10 cottages by myself
• no website,
• being overly enthusiastic about the place

Just celebrated 23 years April 1

• agree with Iris: no web, no online reservations, able to clean all the rooms (we had 5 at our first inn and 5+cottage here, inn #2), enthusiasm
• Back then, never had anyone refuse a muffin due to gluten
• didn't have TVs in the room or very many fireplaces, whirlpool tubs (urban inn at the time)
• had to have GREAT phone skills and had to be able to quickly describe (and sell) rooms on the fly, often while scrubbing a toilet with one hand
• no cell phones, obviously
• phone the CC/visa number to run a card and impress it on a knuckle crunching machine (still have that sucker in a drawer, too!)
• had a full phone system with voice mail in every room--very high tech
• doilies and florals were OK decor
• urban inn (full meals prohibited) could do enhanced continental breakfasts and no foodies complained
• comprehensive tourist maps with "all the great stuff shown" were easier to come by
• 800 numbers were useful
• call forwarding was the only way guests could find you when out of the inn (we lived next door).
• sheets were patterned and 60-40 cotton-polyester.
• They NEVER got stains and they rarely needed ironing. Nobody got free bubble bath, candles, free food baskets and other amenities in their room: just two chocolates on the pillow.
• (Urban inn): my best advertising was in the tiny neighborhood newspapers/newsletters where we had an ad that said: "Sleep well while you mother sleeps with us." (Lots of kids with small apt.s nearby and no decent motels nearby. Next best source was AAA book and directories, Christian B&B book,etc.
• You had a line drawing of your inn and you used it in ads and directory listings, NOT on your Deneen mug, which you did not have to sell. In fact, in 1992 I had no "gift shop" at all but a few people did. One woman made a fortune selling lacy Bible covers to brides...
• Eric was just founding B&B.com and he admitted he used to work for Delta Air Lines... BB online was the second most strong directory once they started being online
• Blizzard Internet Marketing was the big website maker and a std. web page might have 6 pages. (they now handle hotels and no longer do work for small B&Bs)
• PAII was owned by its founding female partners who intended to "train" innkeepers. Dues were within $75 of what they are today (pretty HIGH then).
• IIA was begging people to join and cost an arm and a leg: $300. They are now Select Registry and cost about $4000/year.
• A lot of people had never tried a B&B (medical people seemed to love B&Bs more than any other business travel group in our Atlanta market with conferences and conventions)
• I personally was able to find the "magic" words that marketed my inn most effectively. They were: Close to the subway (MARTA). Finding the words that resonate with a large market is much harder for my current inn.

.

Every one of those names resonate. All the directory books..... and each one was $25 to $50 depending on name. I think the Christian B & B book as $25.That was when you knew the names of the Directory owners and could and did talk to them - Eric, Randy, Deborah, Sandy.......
In 1996, before I even had a computer in the house, I had a web site & r-mail (the host called me if I had an e-mail) and I think it cost me $300. The upgrades cost me more than that about 5 years later. Mt first domain name was hostcompany/gillumhouse and then they made the domain name hosting more reasonable cost and I went to the current gillumhouse.com

 

[Generic]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!
.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.

Yeah, but you are rich, you drive a $500K Tesla car.

 

[Iris]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!

Precisely what I wanted to say but could not get out the words.

 

[gillumhouse]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!
.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.

Yeah, but you are rich, you drive a $500K Tesla car.
.

I love having rich friends - gives me something to reach to attain. All poor friends know how to do is reach for my pockets (and they get the lint I missed).

 

[Arks]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!
.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.

Yeah, but you are rich, you drive a $500K Tesla car.
.

Yeah, but you are rich, you drive a $500K Tesla car.

Hey, I'm not the one with the 4 story big city mansion, and I WISH I could afford a $500K Tesla.That would be the combo car/jet plane/submarine.

 

[Generic]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!
.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.

Yeah, but you are rich, you drive a $500K Tesla car.
.

I love having rich friends - gives me something to reach to attain. All poor friends know how to do is reach for my pockets (and they get the lint I missed).
.

While growing up, we had jam sandwiches... we jammed two plain pieces of bread together. My last new car, said Matchbox on it.

 

[gillumhouse]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!
.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.

Yeah, but you are rich, you drive a $500K Tesla car.
.

I love having rich friends - gives me something to reach to attain. All poor friends know how to do is reach for my pockets (and they get the lint I missed).
.

While growing up, we had jam sandwiches... we jammed two plain pieces of bread together. My last new car, said Matchbox on it.
.

That made me laugh. We had to cut it first because Mom made all our bread. We were jealous of the kids who got to have store-bought bread. I used to make ketchup sandwiches. We had all the jam & jelly we wanted - because Mom & Granny made it. Growing up on a farm you had FOOD, not much else but what more did we need. (Mom made our clothes too - feed sacks and "real material") We had chickens so plenty of eggs (and chicken dinner), milked our cows so had milk, butter, and cream (birthday cakes had whipped cream icing), and beef, vegetables, and fruit.

 

[Generic]

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to..

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.
.

I have yet to migrate from phone and paper to the cloud. Now not wanting to.

To me, that's like saying, I don't want a car because I've heard they have flat tires occasionally.
The daily, hourly benefits far outweigh the extremely rare down times.

LOL
.

I only have eight rooms and lots of repeat guests who can't make their reservations until they hear that the fish are biting and then.....all hell breaks loose, guys have to sleep in their trucks, no room at the inn for 100 miles ! So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time. Does my decision make sense now? BTW it is a "heritage" motel in our little fishing village.
.

I only have eight rooms...So I can't sell my rooms for rock bottom prices on line ahead of time.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.
It's just that these days more and more people want to be able to book immediately and be done with it, even at 1 a.m. if that's when they're up planning their trip, and if they can only book by calling and talking to you, or by sending a request and waiting for an e-mail reply later, a lot of people, like me, will just look elsewhere.
Most people under 40 would rather take a beating than talk to somebody on the phone, and people under 30 don't even use e-mail anymore. Granted, those people may not be your target. They're not mine either. But a lot of older folks, like me, have some of their youthful ways!
.

You have a lot more rooms than I do. I never lower my rates, online or anywhere else.

Yeah, but you are rich, you drive a $500K Tesla car.
.

I love having rich friends - gives me something to reach to attain. All poor friends know how to do is reach for my pockets (and they get the lint I missed).
.

While growing up, we had jam sandwiches... we jammed two plain pieces of bread together. My last new car, said Matchbox on it.
.

That made me laugh. We had to cut it first because Mom made all our bread. We were jealous of the kids who got to have store-bought bread. I used to make ketchup sandwiches. We had all the jam & jelly we wanted - because Mom & Granny made it. Growing up on a farm you had FOOD, not much else but what more did we need. (Mom made our clothes too - feed sacks and "real material") We had chickens so plenty of eggs (and chicken dinner), milked our cows so had milk, butter, and cream (birthday cakes had whipped cream icing), and beef, vegetables, and fruit.
.

My mom is not a good cook. He best recipe was this one...
3 cups of rice, chicken legs, cans of mushrooms (stems and pieces from China, no less), a sachet of onion soup and then water. Cover and put in the oven till dead.
Her recipe for spaghetti marinara? Make spaghetti until when thrown sticks to wall, drain, add ketchup... serve. (To this day, I can't even eat barbecue sauce that tastes of ketchup.)