Here is Part II of my exploration of the world of Twitter. I have been tweeting now for about two weeks, and have about 120 people actually following what I am saying on this incredible social media. It amazes me how fast this has grown for me from a peek at a new marketing channel to a full blown way to spread the word about what we do at Quantum Hospitality. More important, I have found so many really interesting people in the Twitterverse to follow. They are writing short notes (140 characters only) about anything and everything of interest to them. Here are my continuing observations about this exploding device.

In last weeks blog article, I described in general how Twitter works, but the simplicity of sending out very short messages belies the fact that a tremendous amount of information is being spiraled around the Internet in this fashion. By using one of many free services to shorten URLs, Tweeters are including references to blog articles and other websites within their Tweets. Once received, each person, if the information is deemed worthy, can then “Retweet” this information to his or her list of followers with a comment. It is this Retweet phenomenon which is the essence of viral marketing. It keeps the message circulating, growing and growing the number of people who ultimately see it. Just think of the possibilities. Imagine your Special Package description gets Tweeted to your friends (presumably your guests) who then spread the word to all their friends, who then send it to all of their friends, and so on. . . . This is the essence of the concept of Repeats and Referral, the two most important kinds of guests and prospective guests a Bed and Breakfast can have. In essence, the marketing potential of Twitter is endless.

Now, does it work? First, there is an etiquette happening as well. If all that you talk about on Twitter is your business, your Twitter followers (i.e. your “friends”) will likely stop listening to what you say. This is a social media after all! They want to know you as a person as well as a business. Here is where all your Innkeeper hospitality comes into play. You can spend a good deal of time on Twitter talking about what is going on at the Inn. It can be as simple as a description of that fabulous breakfast that you just fed to your guests, a description of one of your best guest rooms, or a short note about what is happening in your neck of the woods this weekend. Pictures work great on Twitter, with a Flicr account and a shortened URL, you can include great photos in your Tweets. Again the marketing potential is limitless. The key is to convey the wonderful ambiance of your Inn in 140 characters. That is the Zen of it all.

So the overall answer to the question “does it work?” is a resounding yes! What amazes me is that there are so many bed and breakfasts out there, but only a relative few have caught on to Twitter. This is a missed opportunity. Right now, it appears that the overwhelming number of people on the Twitter channel are people who are into social media as a business. The bloggers and web developers are all there. Also, you will find every form of self help and technical gurus there, as well as some really smart people who just want to learn about the anything and everything of it all. These people are basically your guests or prospective guests.

So what is the first step after signing up for Twitter? You need to get a following that wants to hear your messages. What better way than to put out the word to your guest list that you are now on Twitter. Put the Twitter link on your website, and send an email notice to your guest list with your Twitter ID. Ask them to follow you. Make sure you have the link in all your marketing pieces and newsletters. Set a goal to get a good number of your guest list into following you on Twitter.

Once you have guests following you on Twitter, you can then have a look at who they are following and who is following them. You can elect to follow anyone who is interesting to you (i.e. a potential guest). If you follow someone, they get an email from Twitter advising them that you are now following them. Usually, they will look you up on Twitter, and if it interests them, they can elect to follow you back. This is the social networking feature of Twitter, and it allows you to expand your friends and make new ones. Many, many Tweople have thousands and thousands of followers on Twitter. It is word of mouth at its highest level.

So my advice is “what are you waiting for?” Get going and Twitter on. . . .

We spent some time over the Holidays with our family outside of Boston.  Rather than displace some of my nephews, we tried the closest hotel.  This was a large chain hotel on a major route west of Boston with a huge shopping center across the street.  While there were several small (3 room) bed and breakfasts nearby, we thought we should see what the hotel industry was up to.  What a mistake!

First of all, we should say that the room itself was newly redecorated, fairly large and well furnished.  The bed was a new pillow-top king-size, and the furnishings were standard up-scale hotel furniture.  There was a very large, new flat-screen TV with Hi-Def capabilities.  There was also free wi-fi and good desk space with plenty of lights and a.c. outlets.  It contained the typical business set up with desk and swivel office chair in addition to two other upholstered seats.  The heat was the ubiquitous through the wall air conditioning/heat unit, but with a more modern temperature control on one of the walls.  The bathroom was standard size, but upgraded with a stone countertop, tile floor, and bowed shower curtain rod, giving the appearance and feel of a larger bathtub.  In short, this was a fairly up-scale hotel room, the same to be found in most cities of the Country.   What it lacked in charm, it made up with functionality; or so we thought. 

We were using reward points left over from the corporate world for one of the two nights of our stay.  This is where the trouble started.  We had paid for our second night as a deposit, with the first to be paid for by the reward.  The cost of the room was quoted as $99 plus tax.  When we checked in, however, the desk clerk advised us that we would need to check-out and then check-in again on the next day.  They said that they could not guarantee that we would be able to stay in the room, as room assignments for check-ins are made each morning.  We advised them that they needed to figure it out, but we were not moving rooms.  The next day we did, in fact have to check-out and then check-in again, but somehow they managed to keep us in the room.   We then went to breakfast in the dining room.  This was a holiday, so they were not serving a buffet.   We were seated, and then waited about a half-hour for a server to bring the menus and coffee.  Overall, the breakfast was sub-par and the service very poor.   When we finally checked out, the desk clerk told us that since we stayed in the same room, which apparently was a higher level than the rate quoted us, we had to pay an additional $50, despite the fact that our written confirmation was clear.  We, of course, refused to pay, and the desk clerk said she would discuss it with the manager.  After we left, they just charged the difference to our card anyway.  We are still waiting for the credit that they promised, but the credit card company will reverse the charge if the hotel does not do so.

The long and short is that in the battle between hotels and bed and breakfast inns, we win, hands down!  It is not about luxury rooms, amenities, or discounted rates.  It remains true that personal service, quaintness, and charm will win out every time.  It is not just about the room.  While our room was perfectly adequate, and in fact, in some respects a clear upgrade, it was sterile, lacking any “charm” or individuality.  This room could have been found anywhere in the United States.  Close your eyes, and you may not know where you are for a minute.  One of the things about old house syndrome at bed and breakfast inns, particularly those in older, historical buildings, is that the sounds of the Inn at night, the groans of the boiler or creaks and pops of the radiators, can impact your sleep, at least on the first night.  Well try those hotel thru-wall heaters which make a huge noise as they cycle on and off all night.  I’ll take charm every time. 

The most important thing that we have to offer in our small part of the Hospitality Industry is the personal service that our innkeepers give to their guests on a daily basis.  This is what clearly sets us apart from the much larger hotel business, and the one thing that will help us survive the tough times to come.   The more the economy gets worse, the more respite, peace and good old fashioned hospitality will be needed to provide our guests with a retreat to recharge their batteries.   Do not ever underestimate what we have to offer the traveling public.  It is something that hotels can never supply, no matter how many concierges they have.  The hotels of the world will compete by price to stay alive.  The bed and breakfast industry has a magic wand and can better compete with hospitality, charm, and personal service.  For all times, this is what differentiates us from the hotel business, and what will continue to make us successful in the years to come.  What we need now is to spread the world that we are open for business as usual, and that means “Hospitality” with a capital “H.”

The most recent news from the Hospitality Industry is not good for Innkeepers.  Hotel REIT giant, LaSalle Properties announced it was cutting 20% from its hotel staffing (mostly run by large hotel management companies) and has rescinded its 2008 guidance to the stock market.  LaSalle reported that its Revpar (revenue per available room) decreased by 11.4 % in October; a huge drop!  While the Innkeeping Business does not use Revpar as a measurement, it is fundamentally the same as saying that average daily rate and occupancy combined dropped by that amount.  LaSalle is an important bell- weather for Inns because it is comprised of mostly luxury and higher-priced hotel properties.  For the full story, please see:   LaSalle Orders 20% Cut in Hotel Staffing – WSJ.com.

We hear anecdotally that many Inns and Bed and Breakfasts across the Country have had good years in 2008, at least until the end of October.  Now is not the time for Innkeepers to rest on their laurels.  A sea change is coming, in the form of a recession, the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetimes.  This is also not the time to just burrow in fear of what is to come.  As we have said many times before, when there is a downturn, those Inns at the top of their game can improve market share as against the competition.  A bigger piece of a smaller pie may save the day after all.

So this is the time to be countercyclical and increase your spending on marketing, especially electronic marketing through your website, blog, and by email.  Create attractive packages rather than discount, and spend all of that extra time you have due to declining occupancies to come up with creative and imaginative ways to get your repeat and referral guests to the Inn.  Most of all, just lowering the price will not work, and may make things worse in the long run (see previous article on Discounting).

Most of all, have heart.  The biggest reason that they come back to the Inn is because your have created a refuge and a respite from all of the problems the guests face at home and in the real world.  Remember that this is exactly what the guests need in these troubled times, and they will pay you for this experience.

We are pleased to again be speaking at the PAII Conference this year. In one of our presentations Howard Levitan of Quantum Hospitality Group will be discussing how to best market your Inn with food. We hope you will be able to attend the conference, however, if you cannot attend we wanted to be sure to share our slide show presentation with you. We hope to see you at the Conference!

Marketing Your Bed and Breakfast With Food

We are seeing it everywhere, and know it’s time to take it to the inn. Going green…is it for you and your inn? The first thing that we think of is asking the guests not to have us change their towels. In reality it goes much further than this. We are talking about organic food, specialty products for the inn, marketing to guests that want to be green, enjoying nature, recycling, light bulbs, and much more. We started our investigation and were surprised by the facts.

The hospitality industry spends around $3.7 billion each year on energy, much of it going to waste, as stated by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). According to data from GreenTreks Network, Inc., a distributor of environmental education, compact fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less energy and last 10 times longer then incandescent bulbs. Not replacing towels and linens each day saves 13.5 gallons of water daily. These facts in themselves are amazing!

We welcome your comments to share with other innkeepers!