wendydk
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- Joined
- Jun 7, 2009
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I've dropped a couple of non-performing directories and am thinking of dropping another. In fact, I dropped out of our state's B&B Association because it's run by a bunch of yahoos who can't decide if they're an association, or just a directory...either way, I was a member for our first five years, and finally decided I was not getting my money's worth. Business has shot through the roof after making that decision.
BUT, I also joined the Convention & Visitors Bureau of a nearby tourist haven and that has been huge for us. Likewise, I also joined the bedandbreakfast.com online reservations program. None of our "competitors" appear in either of these places. I know alot of you are thinking "I would never...that high commission and all of that"...but let me tell you what's happened.
Our Inn is a member of this program, and while we've only taken a couple of reservations from it, the free accompanying exposure on expedia.com and hotels.com (and now travelocity.com) is worth a ton of business. Although those sites do not offer a link to our website, since joining, nearly half of our top 20 search terms now include some form of our Inn's name....this is a direct result of visitors seeing us on those sites and then researching the Inn before booking. Then, the obvious result is they book directly on our site. Thus, we snare the business without paying the big commission. And, none of the other Inns in the area appear on these sites. We ask every guest how they heard about us and our tracking program is phenomenal at showing us just where people are coming from.
We enjoyed a banner 2008, and this online reservations program is part of the reason. Not only did it result in a ton of website traffic and booking revenue, but our inclusion on these nationally promoted sites also caused our search engine rankings to shoot to the top. Well worth what it costs (far more than it costs, in our case).
And, while I was concerned about the caliber of guests that would find us on these sites, they turn out to be just as nice and considerate as everyone else.
So, I've dropped theinnkeeper.com and iloveinns.com; lanierbb.com will be going as well and they'll be cutting me a check for my money back at the end of the year, even though other Inns in the area still appear on those sites. If a directory doesn't perform, I'm not going to continue to pay them hundreds of dollars just because everyone else is. I have free directories that send me more business, and believe me, I'm on every single free site I can find...and I spend hours looking for them. The way I see it, if other Innkeepers want to sit around and throw money at the same stale sites, let them...I'll use that money to find new and creative ways to promote my place. Don't be afraid to make these decisions, it's your money for crying out loud! If all of your area's innkeepers jumped off a cliff, would you?
BUT, I also joined the Convention & Visitors Bureau of a nearby tourist haven and that has been huge for us. Likewise, I also joined the bedandbreakfast.com online reservations program. None of our "competitors" appear in either of these places. I know alot of you are thinking "I would never...that high commission and all of that"...but let me tell you what's happened.
Our Inn is a member of this program, and while we've only taken a couple of reservations from it, the free accompanying exposure on expedia.com and hotels.com (and now travelocity.com) is worth a ton of business. Although those sites do not offer a link to our website, since joining, nearly half of our top 20 search terms now include some form of our Inn's name....this is a direct result of visitors seeing us on those sites and then researching the Inn before booking. Then, the obvious result is they book directly on our site. Thus, we snare the business without paying the big commission. And, none of the other Inns in the area appear on these sites. We ask every guest how they heard about us and our tracking program is phenomenal at showing us just where people are coming from.
We enjoyed a banner 2008, and this online reservations program is part of the reason. Not only did it result in a ton of website traffic and booking revenue, but our inclusion on these nationally promoted sites also caused our search engine rankings to shoot to the top. Well worth what it costs (far more than it costs, in our case).
And, while I was concerned about the caliber of guests that would find us on these sites, they turn out to be just as nice and considerate as everyone else.
So, I've dropped theinnkeeper.com and iloveinns.com; lanierbb.com will be going as well and they'll be cutting me a check for my money back at the end of the year, even though other Inns in the area still appear on those sites. If a directory doesn't perform, I'm not going to continue to pay them hundreds of dollars just because everyone else is. I have free directories that send me more business, and believe me, I'm on every single free site I can find...and I spend hours looking for them. The way I see it, if other Innkeepers want to sit around and throw money at the same stale sites, let them...I'll use that money to find new and creative ways to promote my place. Don't be afraid to make these decisions, it's your money for crying out loud! If all of your area's innkeepers jumped off a cliff, would you?
