Ya Heard It Here First!

[gillumhouse]

This came out of the blue a couple days ago. This morning I was sent for apporval a press release that sent as JB says blood spurting as it referred to the program as a charity. I replied, "This ain't no stinkin' charity." So they sent back a revised - and here it is. They is the 1000 lb Gorilla!!!!!
TRIPADVISOR BACKS B&BS FOR VETS WITH OVER $30K IN MARKETING SUPPORT

Program Organizer Honored for Contribution to Veterans

NEWTON, Mass. – October 6, 2010 – TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announced free marketing support for B&Bs for Vets, an organization of independent B&B owners and innkeepers who are offering a free night’s stay as a gift to active and retired U.S. military members on Wednesday, Nov. 10 in observance of Veterans Day. To support the program and help spread the news, TripAdvisor has offered free advertising space in an upcoming email distribution to millions of U.S. TripAdvisor members, an advertisement valued at $30,000.

To honor B&Bs for Vets organizer Kathleen Panek for her exceptional work, TripAdvisor has also provided Gillum House, the property she operates, with a free TripAdvisor Business Listing for three months, directly connecting her business to TripAdvisor’s more than 40 million unique monthly visitors*.

“B&Bs for Vets is a laudable program and TripAdvisor would like to recognize the organization and Kathleen Panek for a significant contribution to veterans, as well as the hospitality industry at large,” said Christine Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for Business. “We are happy to do our part to support B&Bs for Vets and help spread the news of the program far and wide.”

“B&Bs for Vets was created as a way to say ‘thank you’ and offer a good night’s rest to the courageous men and women from our armed forces,” said Kathleen Panek, organizer of B&Bs for Vets and owner of Gillum House. “We appreciate TripAdvisor’s help raising awareness of our program and the bed-and-breakfast industry.”

For more information about B&Bs for Vets and a list of participating properties, please visit http://www.bnbsforvets.org/.

 

[Pollyanna]

There's a lot to be happy about over this news. Yet I still hear a jaded little voice in my head, whispering "How nice of TripAdvisor to send out a press release with their name first and prominent and to make it sound like they donated 30K to the effort." Skimming the article, I at first thought they actually donated 30K somewhere. Really? A paragraph of space in an email is comparable to a 30K contribution. Nice tax break if they are going to claim it. I would have been more impressed had they donated a year of business listing status to Kathleen. Three months just seems stingy, especially when using the vet press release to garner publicity for their listing options.
The rest of this effort is pure as the driven snow, but my cynicism alert went up at the way TripAdvisor worded their PR. Sorry if I sound more like Debbie Downer than Pollyanna this morning!

 

[Arks]

It's no surprise that a big company will take advantage of their support for this project to promote themselves. I have no criticism of that, and do commend them for helping spread the good word.
I look forward to being able to participate in the program next year. Kathleen, and the rest of you, will learn from this year's experience and make tweaks to make it run even more smoothly next time.

 

[One Day]

Yeah.....I'd be a bit jaded with TA's email....I agree with Pollyanna
And agree with Ark...it's a tremendous boost to getting the news of the program out there
At first read......I had the impression that TA was taking credit for the idea....certain the success of it.

 

[gillumhouse]

There's a lot to be happy about over this news. Yet I still hear a jaded little voice in my head, whispering "How nice of TripAdvisor to send out a press release with their name first and prominent and to make it sound like they donated 30K to the effort." Skimming the article, I at first thought they actually donated 30K somewhere. Really? A paragraph of space in an email is comparable to a 30K contribution. Nice tax break if they are going to claim it. I would have been more impressed had they donated a year of business listing status to Kathleen. Three months just seems stingy, especially when using the vet press release to garner publicity for their listing options.
The rest of this effort is pure as the driven snow, but my cynicism alert went up at the way TripAdvisor worded their PR. Sorry if I sound more like Debbie Downer than Pollyanna this morning!.

Did you notice I did say the 1000 lb Gorilla. I made certain it was not an opt out after 3 months and I agree - Johnny-Come-Lately. They did not understand what this is about - they called it a charity at first!
The ONLY really good thing this will do is even the Gorilla is recognizing B & Bs!! Everyone uses the tools presented to get what they want. WE (the B & Bs) are using the PR guy for chump change - I do not count the AP reporter because that is her job to get stories - to get the word out because until the word is out free rooms do not matter if they are not used. We are "abusing" the webmaster with all the new listing that keep dribbling in (thank goodness to replace the FULL) and entering FULL. It is wonderful to see so many full in my file.
I am on a downer though (Highjack time) because my daughter sent me a corsage today. I wore it this afternoon and then to 2 meetings. When I sat down at the computer 6 hours late, the corsage was gone amd I was too stupid to realize when it fell off. It was a beautiful Fall corsage.... Than goodness I hung the huge Fall wreath on the door immediately before I could lose that too!

 

[toddburme]

So does anyone want to buy an ad spot in their email for $30k? Nice if they really sell for that as that is a nice boost.

 

[swirt]

Nice Kudos for you Kathleen. The gorilla took notice of a project well done. Sure they are getting some promotion out of their recognition, but that shouldn't detract from the great work you and everyone else has done on it.

 

[HighMountainLodge]

This is jaw-droppingly cynical on TA's part. We didn't need them to publicize our participation in the program--a naval commander in Colorado Springs who spotted it on our website and sent out an e-mail blast to his command worked quite nicely, thank you very much. Our lodge filled in 4 hours.
It is clear that TA's powers-that-be (or wanna-be) have determined that being a source for "unbiased" information about travel destinations is not a robust-enough business model for them. They want to segue into becoming a travel-planning portal as well, using the reviews of travelers as a sweetener so that they can sucker B&Bs and other small properties into paying an outrageous premium to advertise in a putatively "unbiased" forum.
We have not and will not ever give TA a dime. The fact that we have excellent reviews on their site is a source of pride for us, and when (not "if"; it's bound to happen sometime) we get a bad review, we will deal with the particulars of the complaint on the merits. But if we're giving TA money for an enhanced listing, how can people trust that what appears is really, truly honest?
This seems like such a self-evident principle to me. Ultimately, as with any business, we will succeed if we meet or exceed our guests' expectations and manage to do so while spending less money than they are paying us while giving them a superior experience.
The really cranky people, we bludgeon to death with a garden spade and bury in the back yard.
Tom

 

[Mountain Inn]

This is jaw-droppingly cynical on TA's part. We didn't need them to publicize our participation in the program--a naval commander in Colorado Springs who spotted it on our website and sent out an e-mail blast to his command worked quite nicely, thank you very much. Our lodge filled in 4 hours.
It is clear that TA's powers-that-be (or wanna-be) have determined that being a source for "unbiased" information about travel destinations is not a robust-enough business model for them. They want to segue into becoming a travel-planning portal as well, using the reviews of travelers as a sweetener so that they can sucker B&Bs and other small properties into paying an outrageous premium to advertise in a putatively "unbiased" forum.
We have not and will not ever give TA a dime. The fact that we have excellent reviews on their site is a source of pride for us, and when (not "if"; it's bound to happen sometime) we get a bad review, we will deal with the particulars of the complaint on the merits. But if we're giving TA money for an enhanced listing, how can people trust that what appears is really, truly honest?
This seems like such a self-evident principle to me. Ultimately, as with any business, we will succeed if we meet or exceed our guests' expectations and manage to do so while spending less money than they are paying us while giving them a superior experience.
The really cranky people, we bludgeon to death with a garden spade and bury in the back yard.
Tom.

The really cranky people, we bludgeon to death with a garden spade and bury in the back yard.
[/quote]
Tom, thanks for a great chuckle! That sounds almost better than our current composting program! But we have 6 acres of gardens and meadows which would require a lot of cranky guests. So far, we just have had enough for a very small spot, thank goodness.

 

[agoodman]

I agree in the most part but then again I say
1. Don't kick a gift horse in the mouth
2. Good job Kathleen, don't look at the downsides, the wording, the who gets the better end of the stick - you did a good thing, they are doing a good thing and be happy with that

 

[Emily Spiers]

I agree in the most part but then again I say
1. Don't kick a gift horse in the mouth
2. Good job Kathleen, don't look at the downsides, the wording, the who gets the better end of the stick - you did a good thing, they are doing a good thing and be happy with that.

2. Good job Kathleen - you did a good thing.

I totally agree with this!!! And NO ONE can take that away from you. They might try to morph it into something else, but the truth will always be on your side

 

[Samster]

The winners in this are the veterans who will get a nice B&B stay. Kudos to all the innkeepers who jumped on the bandwagon to participate!! You are great folks!

 

[gillumhouse]

Do not knock it, Folks. They (the Gorilla) sent me a Wall Street Journal reporter as we were coming home today. She asked, "How did your get T A to publicie you? What did you do?" I had a wonderful smile on my face when I informed her "THEY called US!"
Wording is important. We are not a charity. We are not giving charity to the Veterans, we are giving them a gift. BIG difference to both parties. Also we are NOT an organization - it is just a bunch of innkeepers saying thank you all on the same day.
WE done good! And that WE is every innkeeper who participated.

 

[swirt]

Just read the mass email recognition from PAII too. Well done.