Why we do wht we do!

[gillumhouse]

My guests arrived. She found one of my brochures at the Cultural Center where she works and booked with us for the weekend. His first words as he came in the house were how nice it is, how comfortable it feels.
As I am showing them the room, they tell me this is their first B & B. She was not sure he would like it. - but HE is the one talking about how nice everything is and how at home we made them feel (they were in the house for 5 minutes!). They are out seeing the town now. That should take 5 minutes. Will give them covered bridges, antique shops, winery for tomorrow so they can get back in time for the concert.
That is why we do what we do. The guests that love it from the moment they cross the threshhold.

 

[Proud Texan]

Our guests last night were like that. They ooed and ahhed from the moment the arrived. The husband was in heaven because he caught 18 very large bass from our pond in about an hour. The first comment in the guest book in their room: "We love this place!"
I must add that it's hotter n' hell here and we had a big thunderstorm overnight.....didn't phase them.

 

[Kailin]

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!

 

[Morticia]

You mean unlike the guest who walked in the door last night realizing we were too far from where she wanted to be? Didn't realize she was going to be staying in 'a mall'? And had to leave before breakfast and was appalled I would offer her coffee bags instead of showing her where the coffee machine was? She did like the house, tho.

 

[gillumhouse]

You mean unlike the guest who walked in the door last night realizing we were too far from where she wanted to be? Didn't realize she was going to be staying in 'a mall'? And had to leave before breakfast and was appalled I would offer her coffee bags instead of showing her where the coffee machine was? She did like the house, tho..

the guest who walked in the door last night realizing we were too far from where she wanted to be?
Oooo, that sounds like the biker we had a couple years ago who booked a couple months in advance in my best room for 3 nights and when he got here realized (but did not admit this) that we were no closer tot he event than his home - just south instead of north - and just tried to cancel everything on the spot. I told him I was going to have to charge him for the first night whether he stayed or not Instead of being grateful I let him off the hook for the other 2 nights, he was "put out", stayed and used every towel, etc and was as obnoxious as possible. I got my revenge by leaving him to DH at breakfast - who did everything except plainly call him an idiot for not wearing a decent helmet - he was a pie-plate variety Harley rider.

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!.

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!

That's weird because these are exactly the kind of guests we get who do go and write reviews after a stay. And they do it without even a word of prodding or hinting about doing it from us.
In fact, the vast majority of great guests we get usually reveal to us that it is the sincerity, originality and heartfelt satisfaction within the vast majority of our TA reviews that seals the deal for these folks.
I guess that's why it unnerves me so much when I see fellow colleagues in my area abuse the privilege and golden goose aspect of sites like TA by trying to manipulate the process to their own ends.
We're in the top 6 out of 45 B&Bs in our area, had risen to the top 3 on many occasions until the shenanegins started a few years back and now we're resolved to just do a great job and stick to our guns on the ethics involved in fully respecting the process.
We get guests all the time who have stayed at other local B&Bs and were very putoff by the TA review writing instruction sheets they were handed at check out. The not so subtle hints from owners who gave them a few minutes of "face time" during their whole stay but made sure they were around on check out day to prod for reviews, kudos, etc.
The multiple follow up email reminders about posting a review have come up also from guests.

 

[oldcharm]

Sounds like your created quite a wonderful experience and welcome for these folks. Don't you just wish everyone would react that way? Congrats!

 

[YellowSocks]

YAY!

That's awesome!
We had ravers this morning... everything here is simply fabulous. They even took some of my shiny new rack cards down to the university and convinced the mail room lady to put it where everyone would see it. Per the guest... the lady said normally you have to pay to put stuff there but just this once...
I told dh if we get enough ravers we won't need much of an advertising budget!
=)
Kk.

 

[birdwatcher]

Yup love those guests, like the bikers from Parkrsburg last weekend. It was a funny story their son stayed here aout 15 years ago before we owned the place and their last name was Garvey like our Inn Garvey House, so the son made reservations for his parents for one night, we usually don't care for one nightrs, but with the economy the way it is and our reservations are down w excepted it.
We didn't even know that they left a review and it was grand. We never ever sugest to any guest that they should leave a review but we do have comment books and lots of good comments are in them which makes us all happy.

 

[gillumhouse]

I gave them a routing for today, tailored to their interests and also loaned them the Gazetteer. He said they got to talking after they left the winery (they wanted some wine for their son and I gave them a "care package" of muffins for the vintner) that they took a couple wrong turns and my Gazetteer got them back on track.
They came to our concert and loved it. When I got home they were on the porch and he told me this was the most relaxing weekend they have had in a long time. His next words were the BEST! There are not too many places you can go where you feel like one of the family. YEEHAA!
(My tagline is - Where you are treated like a guest - but feel like family.)

 

[Kailin]

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!.

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!

That's weird because these are exactly the kind of guests we get who do go and write reviews after a stay. And they do it without even a word of prodding or hinting about doing it from us.
In fact, the vast majority of great guests we get usually reveal to us that it is the sincerity, originality and heartfelt satisfaction within the vast majority of our TA reviews that seals the deal for these folks.
I guess that's why it unnerves me so much when I see fellow colleagues in my area abuse the privilege and golden goose aspect of sites like TA by trying to manipulate the process to their own ends.
We're in the top 6 out of 45 B&Bs in our area, had risen to the top 3 on many occasions until the shenanegins started a few years back and now we're resolved to just do a great job and stick to our guns on the ethics involved in fully respecting the process.
We get guests all the time who have stayed at other local B&Bs and were very putoff by the TA review writing instruction sheets they were handed at check out. The not so subtle hints from owners who gave them a few minutes of "face time" during their whole stay but made sure they were around on check out day to prod for reviews, kudos, etc.
The multiple follow up email reminders about posting a review have come up also from guests.
.

All of our best guests have never even heard of TA. They have a life!
It's the ones with far too much time on their hands who sit and review every little detail...thankfully we get very few of those.
The very thought of asking a guest for a review or even mentioning a review just makes me shudder...yuck.

 

[EmptyNest]

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!.

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!

That's weird because these are exactly the kind of guests we get who do go and write reviews after a stay. And they do it without even a word of prodding or hinting about doing it from us.
In fact, the vast majority of great guests we get usually reveal to us that it is the sincerity, originality and heartfelt satisfaction within the vast majority of our TA reviews that seals the deal for these folks.
I guess that's why it unnerves me so much when I see fellow colleagues in my area abuse the privilege and golden goose aspect of sites like TA by trying to manipulate the process to their own ends.
We're in the top 6 out of 45 B&Bs in our area, had risen to the top 3 on many occasions until the shenanegins started a few years back and now we're resolved to just do a great job and stick to our guns on the ethics involved in fully respecting the process.
We get guests all the time who have stayed at other local B&Bs and were very putoff by the TA review writing instruction sheets they were handed at check out. The not so subtle hints from owners who gave them a few minutes of "face time" during their whole stay but made sure they were around on check out day to prod for reviews, kudos, etc.
The multiple follow up email reminders about posting a review have come up also from guests.
.

All of our best guests have never even heard of TA. They have a life!
It's the ones with far too much time on their hands who sit and review every little detail...thankfully we get very few of those.
The very thought of asking a guest for a review or even mentioning a review just makes me shudder...yuck.
.

Sorry but review sites are the way it is. TA is just the beginning..more and more of them are out there now.
I always sent an email thank you to all my guests and in it I sent a link to TA saying "if you would like to share some comments about your stay with us, please click this link. Simple as that. NO begging or cajoling. ANd, most were more than willing to do so.
For me, when I travel, the first thing I do is go to Trip Advisor to check out a place's comments. And, when I return from a trip, the first thing I do is write up reviews of the places I have stayed and eaten at TA.
We find in our area when we ask guests how they found our inns, the ALWAYS say Trip Advisor. I believe this is because we are so close to D.C. and these folks are travel savvy for the most part.

 

[Kailin]

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!.

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!

That's weird because these are exactly the kind of guests we get who do go and write reviews after a stay. And they do it without even a word of prodding or hinting about doing it from us.
In fact, the vast majority of great guests we get usually reveal to us that it is the sincerity, originality and heartfelt satisfaction within the vast majority of our TA reviews that seals the deal for these folks.
I guess that's why it unnerves me so much when I see fellow colleagues in my area abuse the privilege and golden goose aspect of sites like TA by trying to manipulate the process to their own ends.
We're in the top 6 out of 45 B&Bs in our area, had risen to the top 3 on many occasions until the shenanegins started a few years back and now we're resolved to just do a great job and stick to our guns on the ethics involved in fully respecting the process.
We get guests all the time who have stayed at other local B&Bs and were very putoff by the TA review writing instruction sheets they were handed at check out. The not so subtle hints from owners who gave them a few minutes of "face time" during their whole stay but made sure they were around on check out day to prod for reviews, kudos, etc.
The multiple follow up email reminders about posting a review have come up also from guests.
.

All of our best guests have never even heard of TA. They have a life!
It's the ones with far too much time on their hands who sit and review every little detail...thankfully we get very few of those.
The very thought of asking a guest for a review or even mentioning a review just makes me shudder...yuck.
.

Sorry but review sites are the way it is. TA is just the beginning..more and more of them are out there now.
I always sent an email thank you to all my guests and in it I sent a link to TA saying "if you would like to share some comments about your stay with us, please click this link. Simple as that. NO begging or cajoling. ANd, most were more than willing to do so.
For me, when I travel, the first thing I do is go to Trip Advisor to check out a place's comments. And, when I return from a trip, the first thing I do is write up reviews of the places I have stayed and eaten at TA.
We find in our area when we ask guests how they found our inns, the ALWAYS say Trip Advisor. I believe this is because we are so close to D.C. and these folks are travel savvy for the most part.
.

I would say our guests are very travel savvy as well, but they seem to be much more word-of-mouth oriented. By our internal tracking 50% of our new guests are recommended directly by a friend or family member.
To be sure we do get folks who say they found us on TA, but they just never seem to be the people who actually go and write their own review. Too busy I guess.

 

[egoodell]

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!.

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!

That's weird because these are exactly the kind of guests we get who do go and write reviews after a stay. And they do it without even a word of prodding or hinting about doing it from us.
In fact, the vast majority of great guests we get usually reveal to us that it is the sincerity, originality and heartfelt satisfaction within the vast majority of our TA reviews that seals the deal for these folks.
I guess that's why it unnerves me so much when I see fellow colleagues in my area abuse the privilege and golden goose aspect of sites like TA by trying to manipulate the process to their own ends.
We're in the top 6 out of 45 B&Bs in our area, had risen to the top 3 on many occasions until the shenanegins started a few years back and now we're resolved to just do a great job and stick to our guns on the ethics involved in fully respecting the process.
We get guests all the time who have stayed at other local B&Bs and were very putoff by the TA review writing instruction sheets they were handed at check out. The not so subtle hints from owners who gave them a few minutes of "face time" during their whole stay but made sure they were around on check out day to prod for reviews, kudos, etc.
The multiple follow up email reminders about posting a review have come up also from guests.
.

All of our best guests have never even heard of TA. They have a life!
It's the ones with far too much time on their hands who sit and review every little detail...thankfully we get very few of those.
The very thought of asking a guest for a review or even mentioning a review just makes me shudder...yuck.
.

All of our best guests have never even heard of TA. They have a life!
It's the ones with far too much time on their hands who sit and review every little detail...thankfully we get very few of those.
The very thought of asking a guest for a review or even mentioning a review just makes me shudder...yuck.

You must be in an area with not much compteition. Here all our guests look at reviews. We have them on both TripAdvisor and Yahoo! Travel. TripAdvisor won't let them review tours on their site.
All of our guests mention checking reviews. I think they are using the reviews to ensure they are getting the best bang for their buck.
Riki

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!.

Great point! I just wish these were the people who wrote reviews, but they never are!

That's weird because these are exactly the kind of guests we get who do go and write reviews after a stay. And they do it without even a word of prodding or hinting about doing it from us.
In fact, the vast majority of great guests we get usually reveal to us that it is the sincerity, originality and heartfelt satisfaction within the vast majority of our TA reviews that seals the deal for these folks.
I guess that's why it unnerves me so much when I see fellow colleagues in my area abuse the privilege and golden goose aspect of sites like TA by trying to manipulate the process to their own ends.
We're in the top 6 out of 45 B&Bs in our area, had risen to the top 3 on many occasions until the shenanegins started a few years back and now we're resolved to just do a great job and stick to our guns on the ethics involved in fully respecting the process.
We get guests all the time who have stayed at other local B&Bs and were very putoff by the TA review writing instruction sheets they were handed at check out. The not so subtle hints from owners who gave them a few minutes of "face time" during their whole stay but made sure they were around on check out day to prod for reviews, kudos, etc.
The multiple follow up email reminders about posting a review have come up also from guests.
.

All of our best guests have never even heard of TA. They have a life!
It's the ones with far too much time on their hands who sit and review every little detail...thankfully we get very few of those.
The very thought of asking a guest for a review or even mentioning a review just makes me shudder...yuck.
.

All of our best guests have never even heard of TA. They have a life!
It's the ones with far too much time on their hands who sit and review every little detail...thankfully we get very few of those.
The very thought of asking a guest for a review or even mentioning a review just makes me shudder...yuck.

Well, how would you know what kind of people write reviews if all of your best guests haven't even heard of TA and "HAVE LIVES"?
Are you speaking form your B&B's own experience about the stereotypical reviewer or just making an off the cuff observation on what you think drives some people to write reviews and not others?
I find the kind of presumptions you've made throughout this thread to be pretty insulting and preconcieved about people in general. TA and sites like it are user driven sites that run the gamut of user types.
From the first time user blown away by either a great or bad experience wanting to share with others to the obvious PR firm driven mouthpieces who shill for their clients by posing as "travelers" the phenonemon of consumer driven reviews is very powerful and here to stay.
When I look at the vast majority of kind folks who have shared their experience about a stay here with the cyber world, I can't think of a single one who didn't "have a life" or weren't as busy or preoccupied with daily living as all of your best guests probably are.
When I read most reviews for most places regardless of area, they seem sincere, genuine and in the case of positive reviews, I perceive them as an additional "thank you" from the guest to the establishment they enjoyed staying at.
Of course there are nit picky people in every context of life, and sites like TA do give them an additional audience for their whining, but they appear to be a minority of reviewers in my opinion.
We agree on the unsavory tackiness of prodding for reviews.