Holidays | Kristi Dement

Tag Archives: holidays

Frequent Stay and Referral Program

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Kristi Dement Leave a comment

Did you know that you can reward your guests for staying frequently and for referring their friends to you? Repeat business and referrals bring in money. As a bed and breakfast owner, you can put in place a program to encourage guests to come again and tell their friends about your B&B. Having a frequent stay and referral program is a great way to reward your guests.

You can say, “The highest compliment you can give us is to return again as a guest and to refer us to others.” There are a variety of arrangements bed and breakfasts offer, such as:

When five of your referrals have booked with us, you get a free night’s stay.
Refer another couple who stays two nights, and you get $50 off your next visit.
With three referrals, you earn a free night in our standard room or 50% off one of our hot tub suites.

You may need to specify certain restrictions including:

When your friends make a reservation online, they must type your name as the referral.
Must show their receipts from previous stays.
Only when your first night’s stay is on a Sunday through a Thursday.
Excludes special events, holidays, and peak periods.
Not redeemable for cash.
Other restrictions may apply.
Expiration date (if any).

You can promote this frequent stay and referral program on your website, in your blog, and through social media. Make sure you mention this as your guests leave to remind them of this unique opportunity. You will enjoy seeing the familiar faces of your returning guests as well as meeting their friends!

Image by Marcus Berg of Unique Angles Photography

Posted in Blog and Social Media, Guests, Promotion

Parents of College Students

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Kristi Dement Leave a comment

Is your bed and breakfast located near a college or university? You should attract the parents of college students who live in your area. Specify what schools their students must attend in order for their parents to receive the discount. You may decide to blackout certain dates such as graduation weekend or holidays.

One bed and breakfast offers college parents who stay six nights, to have the seventh night for free. Discounting the room rate or taking a certain dollar amount off are other ways to provide value to their parents.

You can advertise your bed and breakfast discount in a university magazine or newspaper as well as list it on your website, blog, and through social media. This is a great way to get repeat visitors since their son or daughter will likely attend the school for several years!

Image by Marcus Berg of Unique Angles Photography

Posted in Blog and Social Media, Guests, Promotion

Bed and Breakfast Restaurants

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Kristi Dement Leave a comment

Many bed and breakfasts also have restaurants. These bed and breakfast restaurants may offer the following important and useful information about their restaurant on their website:

If open to the public or just to the guests staying there
Pictures of the restaurant, cuisine, beautiful views from restaurant
Pictures of guests dining (taken with permission)
Awards won, press page, celebrities visited
Information about the chefs (including their culinary training and cultural heritage)
Hours (may be subject to change)
Menu (may vary seasonally)
House specialties (could be based on chef’s expertise or location of restaurant)
Specials (could be fresh from their own garden or holiday related)
Wine list and/or microbrewery
Catering options possible
Local delivery options
Group dining and private party rooms
Weddings (may offer a customized menu)
Making reservations (especially for large groups or holidays)
Cooking classes offered
Cookbooks for sale
Ways to contact the restaurant

They may even feature written reviews from people who have dined there. If your bed and breakfast does not have a restaurant, do you have the time and resources to add one? If you do have a restaurant, consider having blog posts written about different events or restaurant specials or musical guests coming. Continue to post new pictures to your website and blog throughout the seasons, as you add new menu items, and after you host various events such as weddings.

Image by Marcus Berg of Unique Angles Photography

Posted in Blog and Social Media, Events, Food, Promotion

Stay Inn-spired

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Kristi Dement

stay-inn-spired

Especially around the holidays, it is easy to feel like you have too much to do to actually have time to enjoy it. Remember that, as a bed and breakfast owner, you are helping to make other people’s Christmases very special.

Even if you cannot take time off from inn-keeping, you can still be inn-spired. Think of at least 5 positives that happened this year associated with your bed and breakfast. Now think of 5 positives you would like to see happen in 2014.

When you focus on the good, you tend to get more of it. You can make your bed and breakfast even more successful in the coming New Year.

What actionable steps can you take toward making those 5 things happen in 2014? The secret to success is step by step. A little bit each and every day turns what seems impossible into a reality! The solution is making progress every day toward achieving your bed and breakfast ownership goals.

Image by Marcus Berg of Unique Angles Photography

Posted in Success

Why Your B&B Needs a Blog

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Kristi Dement Leave a comment

According to the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, “A new bed and breakfast will get 95% of its guests from the Internet.” Even if you are an established bed and breakfast, you want people to find your place when they go online.

Search engines love fresh content. Blogs provide new and attractive information to your current guests and entice your potential guests. We can share your own homemade recipes, reveal how your B&B celebrates the various holidays and seasons, and let your guests know about the fun things to do in your area.

Your bed and breakfast’s blog can be tailored include keywords for which you want to be known. For example, if you want to be known for having guest rooms with hot tubs, we can write about the romance and fun of soaking in hot tubs as you renew your relationship with your special someone.

We can also emphasize the theme of your B & B. If you are on the beach and every room is decorated to reflect that, we can talk about the spectacular view, the warm sun, and the refreshing water.

We can share the benefits of relaxation and time away from everyday life. Our main goal is for you to have a waiting list of guests who want to stay at your bed and breakfast because all of your rooms stay booked!

Posted in Blog and Social Media