Free Conference for Innkeepers
in the Big Apple!!!
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To be placed on the Lanier BBIGI member guest list, please contact us:
(707) 763-0271 nicole@travelguides.com
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No rest for the Weary
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Dear Innkeepers,
As Labor Day approaches and whispers of an improving economy begin to surface, I find myself asking, how much of my labor has contributed to the family business this year? It's been a tense year, not just in travel, but nationally as people feel the pressure to perform or, as Heidi Klum says, "you're out." There's no rest for the weary, not even on Labor Day when we're supposed to rest. Actually, it's just the opposite for innkeepers as guests fill your property on long holiday weekends and you're hard pressed to find a few moments to yourself.
So what's the silver lining in all this hard work and no rest? Work makes luck and some is coming your way! You've held tight through this economy, you've cut back expenses, put together creative marketing, shared word of your Inn with as many people as you've been able to approach. That type of commitment and effort put into your business will pay off, if work makes luck (as I know it does), then you've got plenty coming your way.
Keep the faith, don't stop promoting your Inn and remember, "without labor, nothing prospers." - Sophocles
Marie Lanier
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| Are you taking full advantage of your ALL-INCLUSIVE Membership? |
 All Lanier Members receive the same ALL-INCLUSIVE BENEFITS, check to see if you're taking full advantage of these features: Feature your B&B in 2 cities.Have you checked to make sure your two cities are checked so that visitors can find you via your primary and secondary markets? Update your property details.Our print guidebook is produced from the information you provide to us, or we create, based on your online listing. Make sure to read your listing to make sure your information is still up-to-date and relevant, you can change your information anytime. Check off all amenities that apply to your property.We have a list of over 15 amenities that may, or may not, apply to your property. Each amenity is searchable on our website and sets you apart from other B&B properties, check to make sure all that apply to your B&B are checked off. Upload up to 9 photos into your photo gallery.Many innkeepers do not take advantage of all 9 photos we allow space for, nor do they change out by season which will attract the eye of a guest. To change your photos, simply log into your account or contact a Lanier staff member. Activate your reservation request email.Guest can send reservation requests directly to you but you must activate this feature. We take no commissions and these are some of your best leads, so make sure to activate this feature. Upload your video.Do you have a video of your property posted to YouTube? If so, add to your Lanier listing at no additional charge, it's as easy as copy and pasting YouTube's video code provided to you when you log into your YouTube account. Check out our B&B video page here!Upload your testimonials.Upload as many testimonials as you would like directly from your guestbook to your Lanier listing. See a sample B&B doing just there here.Share your cookbook with our readers.Do you have a cookbook you'd like us to promote on our website, encouraging the reader to purchase from your preferred venue? Simply upload to your Lanier account, or contact a Lanier member to assist you. We have over 60 cookbooks already featured here.Load recipes into your account.One of the favorite sections of our website, where visitors come back for seconds, is the extensive Recipe archive, giving the likes of Epicurious a run for their money. Upload your recipes so that we may share with guests and possibly choose to feature in the next Cinnamon Mornings cookbook! Purchase the latest Cinnamon Mornings & Savory Nights here.
Upload your Specials & Packages When you upload your specials, they are instantly posted on LanierBB.com in the Deals section found here. Most of our viewers are in search of amazing bargains - let yours be the one they find! Also, the number of specials you may post is unlimited, so upload as many as you like.
Your membership online updates are made instantly.
If you wish to make any updates or changes to your listing(s), log into your account at our Innkeeper Log In page,
make the changes in the section you wish, and click 'Save Changes'.
Once you have clicked Save Changes, your changes are instantly shown
online!
Check your traffic from LanierBB.com at any time.
Curious on how many hits you are getting on your Lanier listing page each month? Log into your account, click on the Check Traffic tab at the top, and your statistics for number of views and click throughs to your website are available by month and year. Our tracking is instantaneous, so if you want to test it out yourself, click on your property listing, then check to see if the report when up by 1 (make sure to refresh your screen), you can even test the link over to your own website by clicking over to your site and checking to see if your in-house tracker picked it up!
You receive publicity exposure with thousands of press affiliates.
Each month, we send a press release to our press affiliates on destinations, blogs and innkeepers' stories. By doing so, thousands of press affiliates have access to timely news of interest to publish in their journals from a reputable source. To be included, please submit your "innkeeper's" short story, under 500 words with an original photo of yourself, to newsletter@travelguides.com and we'll do our best to feature your B&B! Be included in our "Guests' Greatest Picks" B&B Awards Program. Lanier is running an awards program which allows innkeepers and B&B travelers to vote for their favorite B&B! Inn of the Year winner receives a plaque and a front page feature on both our website and B&B guidebook. There are over 80 other fun categories to vote on, so start promoting your B&B! Read more about the program here.
Be included in our "Dreams Do Come True" Certificate Program.
This program allows B&B's to offer a special gift certificate for a second night's to be featured in our award-wining guidebook and website (you set the terms and conditions). Contact Shannon Holl at Shannon@travelguides.com to get information on how you can be included in this program. 1 participating B&B will be randomly chosen for the cover of the guide! Get included in our next "Cinnamon Mornings" cookbook series. When you upload your recipes into your membership account, your recipes have a chance to be featured in our "Cinnamon Mornings" series, a best-selling cookbook series featuring the most delectable recipes from B&B's worldwide. Of course, your B&B is specially featured with your contact information to further promote your B&B. Participating innkeepers are then offered a 50% discount to purchase the books for yourself when published so you can make a profit on a cookbook that was produced for you, at no cost!
Get included in our B&B Travel Newsletter.
Depending on the theme and destinations featured in our newsletter, your recipes, specials, e-coupon and/or B&B listing can be featured in this popular bi-monthly newsletter, sent to thousand of opt-in subscribers. Keep an eye out for our emails that notify you of coming special themes for the Newsletters!
We provide unlimited customer service.
If you are having difficulties using your membership account or have any questions about your membership, please feel free to contact us by phone at (707) 763-0271, Monday through Friday, 8AM-4PM Pacific Standard Time; or by e-mail at Lanier@travelguides.com and we will respond promptly. We're always happy to help!  Log In to your Account here.Your Username is: bb666999666 Forgot your password? Click here to recover it! |
Meet Hugh & Mary -
1st Innkeepers to submit their Short Story
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 Running a B&B has been great fun. Even before turning our house into a bed and breakfast, we've always enjoyed having folks over to enjoy all the "stuff" in the house and its colorful history.
In the late 1800s, our house was a high class bordello catering to society's elite and politicians. Earlier, it was home to a male voodoo practitioner, a rival of Marie Laveau II. The builders of our house were influenced by Chinese workmen who persuaded them to use Feng Shui orienting the staircase of the house. The brass doorknobs are also influenced by Oriental patterns.
We are members of Servas, a cultural exchange program, and for many years served as hosts. Until the late '70s in Georgia, we hosted exchange students from many countries: Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Panama, Columbia, Brazil, France, and Afghanistan (in our minds, it will always be Persia). When we purchased this house, we bought it as a family home in an effort to downsize as the children and our exchange students "left the nest."
One day, a friend called to say that friends from Australia were coming to visit. They had prepaid hotel accommodations for Mardi Gras, but when they arrived, the hotel had overbooked rooms. (That's of no value when there are no rooms available in the city.) Our friend asked if they could stay in our guest room. We said, "Yes." They insisted on paying us and that was the beginning . . .
In the mid 90s, we decided to go 'whole hog,' and turned our home into a B&B, initially specializing in hosting international travelers and the medical/academic community. Now, we host folks from ALL walks of life and all points of the compass. Sharing travel stories over a meal is something we've done all our lives. Now we get to meet even more interesting folks than we used to, AND we get paid for what we love doing!! Who could ask for more?
We especially enjoy helping first time visitors enjoy the rich cultural diversity of our great city. We say to folks, "Don't just visit N'Awlins - please let us help you LIVE IT, like a local." We also enjoy independent traveling by train, subway or car, discovering off-the-beaten path sightseeing and restaurants, books, art and history. Learning about other cultures is very important to us. Like many of our guests, we frequently return to places we love.
- Hugh & Mary
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Featured B&B Destinations for Visitors:
Powerful Destination Marketing |
According to PhoCusWright, "destination web sites play no small role in the travel planning and shopping process...travelers are clearly looking for local insight into activities, events and attractions to enhance their experience in addition to lodging options."
Our most recent issues featured these U.S. and International B&B destinations:
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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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Texas was filled with HOT IDEAS and incredibly friendly innkeepers.
I just returned from the terrific Texas Bed and Breakfast conference and the only thing warmer than the weather (107*) was the hospitality. We had a great time culminating with the Granbury Review, a full country music production that left us toe tapping for hours.
Board of Texas B&B Association
Also good to hear was that many innkeepers reported late season bookings picking up and the Fall weekends filling up as the economy improves ...please let us know if you are seeing improvement in your area.
Our members' deals are very popular with our viewers and I urge you to upload some new ones for this Fall through your Lanier membership account.
Another great occupancy builder is the very clever gift certificate program which innkeeper Bob Packolyk from Canada shared with us. In brief, Bob and his staff gift $50 Certificates good toward a night's stay (or sometimes toward a two or more night stay) printed in bulk (your copy shop can help you with this) which they then hand out freely at community events and local businesses, always sending them home with departing guests to share with friends. According to Bob, this one single act significantly boosts occupancy, providing the Inn with tremendous free advertising as these generous donations to local events are mentioned over and over on the radio and in print, and of course, by word of mouth. They also make donations of coupons to school and fire department fundraisers in their target cities. Read more about Bob's success here.
Dreams Do Come True, which is our new certificate program by which our members can offer our readers, both print and online, a coupon good for a second night's free stay subject to availability, is another way for you to boost occupancy on a national scale. If you would like to take part in this popular program (over 1,200 inns have participated in our similiar programs in the past), please send an email to lanier@travelguides.com and we will send you the appropriate information to be included, at no additional charge to your property. This is included with your membership and one property will be randomly chosen to be featured on the cover of our guidebook this coming New Year.
I look forward to meeting you at your next B&B conference, please don't be a stranger. Feel free to drop me a line with your deal and package ideas, I'm very interested in learning of other effective, proven methods that work for you.
Happy Labor Day,
Pamela
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Inn Season Recipes
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