”They don’t know we’re here!” says Russell

When a B&B owner fails to exploit the power of advertising and online marketing, the result is empty rooms and stagnant revenues.

This is clearly seen in the case of Russell, the owner of a B&B on the Alabama coastline.

He candidly tells B&B owners and investors why his Bed and Breakfast has yet to maximise its revenue potential.

“From a purely business perspective, there are several things we’ve done right. There are also several things we have done (and continue to do) wrong.

Reaching the actual revenue potential involves maintaining the good things we have done while correcting the shortcomings of our business approach.

Things we’ve done quite well

• We found a wonderful location
• We created a special environment that guests love:  Much (perhaps most) of our business comes from “word of mouth” recommendations.
• We treat our guests the way we want to be treated: We combine pampering them with leaving them alone. We don’t intrude. People feel at home here.
• We carved out a special and unique niche in the marketplace: We are the only place for couples to have a few days on the beach in a quiet, kid-free environment. We are the only place on the beach for those who have less-than-a-week and who don’t want to stay in a hotel or condo. We are the only B&B on the coast. We have no direct competition.
• We attracted attention from national media: Through no effort on our part, our special place attracted attention from national media.

Things we have NOT done well

• We do not advertise: Except for one small ad in the Gulf Coast Visitors Guide and listings on two B&B websites, we do not do any advertising whatsoever. All our business comes from word of mouth, response to the Gulf Coast Visitors Guide, and searches on the Internet that target Gulf Shores. If someone doesn’t already know about us, they are not likely to find us.
• We do not permit online bookings: We insist on talking with prospective guests before they book. For many prospective guests, it’s easier to do an online booking elsewhere.
• We have an overly-simple rate structure: We do not charge more for the busier weekend nights, holiday weekends, and other very high demand times.
• We have not capitalized on our national media attention: Despite our glowing media reviews we do not have a high profile. Each media review prompts an immediate spike in bookings, which in turn adds to our “word of mouth” reputation, but our failure to market the B&B means that we have not exploited our reputation as we might have.

We know that other hospitality businesses do most, if not all, of these things. But we do not. Why? We don’t do them primarily for two reasons:

1. We are not business people. By temperament, I’m a college professor, and Carol is a mom and now a grandmother.
2. We are comfortable with our established practices and are reluctant to deal with extra complication that “doing things better” would involve.

These may not be good reasons, but they are the real reasons. We are who we are. We’re not business-minded, and we’ve done what we know how to do. It will be for someone else to take revenues to the next level.

The problem is that not enough people know we’re here. And, because we don’t advertise, this is not surprising.

Friends who are in the hospitality business in other Southern locations are shocked to hear that our occupancy rates are what they are. When they learn what our occupancy rates is, they tell us they had thought it would/should/could be 20-to-25 percentage points higher.

We know that a concerted effort to correct our business and marketing shortcomings would result in substantially higher levels of business. However, because we aren’t business-minded people, we do not feel qualified to say with any accuracy what those results might be.