Innkeeping Kismet
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A fascinating story passed by my desk this week
that I thought you might find interesting......
Richard Kreibich, owner of Country Cottage B&B in San Francisco, recently attended his son's
graduation at Syracuse University where he ran into an old friend and co-worker
from 30 years past, Doug Goettsche.
Richard and Doug had met years ago as professional ice skaters for
Holiday on Ice in Europe, Richard from the Czech Republic, Doug from Windham, NY. Eventually the friends parted ways but
managed to stay in touch by the occasional greeting card wishing one another
well.
Thirty years later the friends reunite
at their sons' graduation ceremony at Syracuse University where they learn that their sons
are the same age, graduating on the same day, from the same University. Small world right? Well, it gets even smaller.
After their skating careers, both men eventually moved on to become
professional innkeepers! Richard is the
owner of the Country Cottage in San Francisco, CA while Doug is the innkeeper
at Cornerstone Victorian B&B in Warrensburg, NY. If that isn't Innkeeping Kismet, I don't know what is.
Thank you Richard and Doug for sharing your story.
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Getting Back to the Basics
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Authored by Hotel Business an ICD Publication
 In the
current economy many hoteliers large and small are finding it time to get back
to basics. Which means making sure that the absolute fundamentals are in
place so that none of your competitors can beat you out on the basics.
During the Hotel Business In-focus/Study discussion, it became clear that there
was a great deal of power in first impressions, 50% of respondents said that
the visual representation itself was very important. Here we'll focus on
bedding:
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Upon entering the guestroom, the appearance of the bed makes a strong
positive or negative first impression on guests.
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Most guests will inspect the quality of the bedding soon after entering
their room.
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Guests demand bedding that looks, feels and smells clean.
How
important is the quality of a hotel's bedding to you? 70% said very important,
often stating that bed linens should be as good or better than at home.
Some focal points behind this include....
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Featured B&B Cities:
Powerful Destination Marketing
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Our twice-monthly B&B Travel Newsletter goes out to thousands of opt-in subscribers, recommending cities, things to do, where to eat and so much more. Our most recent issues featured these U.S. and International B&B destinations:
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Is your B&B being Nominated?
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 Have you looked at your Member listing page recently on LanierBB.com? If not, you'll notice it now includes 2 places where our visitors can vote for your B&B. This is a free member benefit.
Guest's Greatest Picks
offers our readers and your fans the opportunity to cast their vote
nominating your B&B as the BEST in over 80 fun categories including our
distinguished Inn of the Year award.
While we may have already received nominations for your property (we will soon be sending you regular updates listing your newest nominations), your chances will dramatically increase if you take the following 3 Steps:
- Place your Vote button on your website, instructions here.
- Place your Vote button at the bottom of your emails (copy and paste the image located here, linking the image to your vote form or simply place the link below the image).
- Tell your guests, family and friends that
you're up for a Nomination and would appreciate their support.
Positive
referrals are the best way to build your business, one satisfied
customer at a time. We look forward to supporting your success.
Winners will be announced annually in our guidebook, website,
newsletters, press affiliates and directly to the voter.
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Dreams Do Come True for TravelersIs your B&B included?
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Dear Innkeepers,
We wrote, you responded. Over 100 innkeepers have requested that we include their B&B in our Dreams Do Come True, 2 for 1 B&B Certificate program in the 2010 edition of our Guide. We will be specially highlighting those B&B's that offer two nights for the price of one to our readers (on nights you can accommodate additional guests that is). If you want to join but have not yet notified our team, please reply to this email and we'll send you all the details (if you have already notified us, not to worry, your B&B is already included and we're holding your spot).
With Google searches for travel deals up 30% from last year, it's great you're responding to the customer's need for value and we have a tried and true method to reach the guest. Dreams do truly come true at a B&B, offering unique, often luxury accommodations to travelers at over 100 B&B's around the world!
If you have experience with this type of program and would be so kind as to share your experiences, we're listening and want to hear from you. We are offering the program in a way that increases your bottom line, repeat customers and good will, all to raise awareness about your Inn and fill your rooms! If there's something you're especially concerned about or know works best for innkeepers and guests, please do email us, we want to hear what you have to say.
Until next time,
Marie Lanier
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Need to speak with a Lanier staff member?
Please contact us by email:
lanier@travelguides.com
or by phone:
707-763-0271 (USA and Canada)
001-707-780-3338 (International)
We look forward to helping you in any way we can.
The Lanier Team
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I am excited to announce that we have already sold several thousand advance copies or our upcoming cookbook "Cinnamon Mornings and Savory Nights" due to arrive in bookstores this summer.
We will be offering a limited number of advance copies to innkeepers at 50% off the retail price so that you may sell the cookbook at your Inn and make a profit.
If you would like us to add you to the Advance Copy list, please send an email to our cookbook staff at: cookbooks@
travelguides.com and we will send you an order form when the books are available to ship.
I am very excited about this new cookbook and thank all of you innkeepers who chose to participate and perfected your recipes. We're anticipating another best-seller in our Cinnamon Mornings series.
Pamela
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Inn Season Recipes
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