The Innkeeping Blog

Have you hired someone since Feb 3, 2010 who was unemployed at the time?  If so, you might be eligible for a payroll tax credit.  Here are the guidelines under the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010.  Thanks to Deb Mosimann of the Swiss Woods Bed and Breakfast for bringing it to my attention.

Below is what’s on Wikipedia about it, and here’s a link to the official IRS page about it.

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111-147, 124 Stat. 71, enacted June 2010, 03) is a law in the 111th United States Congress to provide payroll tax breaks and incentives for businesses to hire unemployed workers. Often characterized as a “jobs bill,”^[1][2][3] the Democrats in Congress insist that it is only one piece of a broader job creation legislative agenda, along with the Travel Promotion Act and other bills. Read more »

BedandBreakfast.com®, the largest international travel website in the B&B industry and a division of HomeAway, Inc., has partnered with the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII) to become a Platinum Key Supporter and the organization’s largest patron.  The partnership aims to help the organization grow and promote awareness that B&Bs are a “Better Way to Stay” than a cookie-cutter hotel.

“By signing on as our newest Platinum Key Supporter, BedandBreakfast.com demonstrates its commitment to PAII and our goals to best serve our membership and the industry,” says Jay Karen, PAII’s president and chief executive officer.  “BedandBreakfast.com has always been at the forefront of promoting the industry, and this relationship is another great example of being an advocate for B&Bs,” finished Karen.

“We feel that over the last several years Jay Karen has taken PAII to new heights and we believe that if the organization and BedandBreakfast.com join efforts, we can together convince more consumers to try B&Bs and inns as a great alternative to chain hotels,” says John Banczak, vice president of BedandBreakfast.com at HomeAway,  “Once a traveler tries a B&B, they become B&B customers for life – our mission is to get more travelers to make that first B&B trip, ” says Banczak.

Read more »

Ok, so I have to confess about something.  Everyone who knows me and PAII also knows that you would be hard-pressed to find someone more out front than moi with regard to representing the B&B industry’s interest on most matters – especially the phenomenon of online consumer reviews.  Two years ago I engaged our industry in the discussion and began “lobbying” various entities (i.e. TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc) for changes I felt were needed.  At the same time, I brought up a criticism to BedandBreakfast.com’s top brass, Eric Goldreyer and John Banczak, about their review policies.  We were actually having drinks in the historic Driskill Hotel in Austin, just blocks from their office, having pretty lengthy and serious discussion about many matters.

My criticism at the time was this:  I did not particularly like the fact that they required a guest to furnish proof of stay when wanting to post a negative review about a B&B, but didn’t necessarily require it of those wanting to write a positive review.  While I realize this was an “innkeeper friendly” policy, and noted that they aimed to please innkeepers, but felt in the long run it might be a disservice.   My concern was two fold.  First, I felt it in someway violated the “spirit” of Web 2.0.  Why treat one guest differently than another?  Web 2.0 is supposed to be this great “democratization” of web content, right?  But I was also concerned that their site would be filled almost exclusively with positive reviews, because it was more difficult to post a negative review.  Who was going to spend time digging up a receipt or other form of proof of stay?  If guests browsing the site only saw positive reviews everywhere, when they anticipated encountering a spectrum of reviews, they might not consider the review portion of BedandBreakfast.com very legitimate.

After a couple of years of hindsight and speaking or emailing with hundreds of innkeepers on the topic of online reviews, I think requiring proof of stay when wanting to post a negative review is a good policy, simply because the damage that a false negative review can cause is too detrimental.  I think the online review phenomenon is certainly a net-positive for our industry – no question about it.  But when transgressions can be prevented, they should be prevented.  Innkeepers work too hard to fall victim to fraudulent, false reviews.  Maybe I was thinking as much as a consumer as an industry representative…concerned that I wouldn’t see negative reviews that might have made it to the site if it weren’t for a restrictive procedure.

Read more »

As most PAII members and blog followers know, for nearly two years I have been meeting with TripAdvisor about the B&B industry’s issues with their web site.  With tens of millions of visitors each month, there has been no question about the importance of their system to even the smallest B&Bs around the continent and beyond.  It is in our industry’s interest that I meet with them and share our perspective on a host of issues.  I met with senior members of their team on May 20^th at their offices outside Boston, and here is my “brief” report on the issues we discussed.

Keep in mind that the issues below represent a portion of the ongoing matters we discuss.  There are some larger issues at play (i.e. not requiring proof of stay from the reviewer when an innkeeper protests a fraudulent review) that we will often discuss, but the list I try to bring to the table involves impactful issues that I think could be changed in the near or foreseeable future, if our case is compelling enough.

Read more »