The Innkeeping Blog

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.

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Well, there is a good bit on my mind these days, as you can tell from the long title of my column this month.  I’m busy with last-minute preparations for the Innkeeping Show in Austin, which starts in a few days (although you will get this while we’re all in Austin learning and laughing together).  This column will focus on my two cents about the big purchase in our industry that was announced recently, as well as some other exciting news.  Be sure to click through and read this month’s column!

Limited-time TripAdvisor Promo with PAII

We’ve worked out an arrangement with TripAdvisor, so that all innkeepers in the B&B industry can continue to receive the 50% off deal for their new Business Listings Program through April 8^th .  You must use discount code TRIPDISC to get the deal.  If you haven’t investigated their new Business Listings program, I encourage you to check it out.  Basically, for a fee you can now add your email address, phone number and hyperlink to your inn’s web site on your TripAdvisor property page.  This is a new program for the entire lodging industry, and they’ve had several thousand properties already sign up.  I think innkeepers should sign up for three reasons:  1) you’ve poured a lot of time and effort into your own web site, and by having a direct link, you stand a better chance of getting TripAdvisor guests over to your site, 2) through your web traffic analytics program, you now have the ability to directly track the traffic coming to your web site from TripAdvisor…many innkeepers are now reporting this web link as one of their top sources of traffic, and 3) the 50% off price is low enough to give this a shot for at least the first year.  Properties with fewer than 11 rooms would normally pay $600 and properties with 11-25 rooms would pay $1,000 for this link – innkeepers can pay $300 and $500 respectively with this coupon code.  Go to www.tripadvisor.com/BusinessListings to sign up!

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Click here to read the story, which is mostly about a new web site offering “professional” reviews.

I chatted with author, Laura Bly, for an hour and a half the other night. 

What do you think about a review site made up of reviews solely from the web site’s employees who visit the properties?  Even though it doesn’t seem as though they’re interested in covering B&Bs, do you think consumers would see these kinds of reviews as more valuable than peer travelers?

PAII staff members, Michele McVay (Director of Education and Events) and Ingrid Thorson (Marketing and Communications Manager), recently spent a day with Kathryn White of the Beechmont Inn in Hanover, PA. The purpose of their trip was to get a sneak peek into the life of an innkeeper. I asked Michele to chronicle the day for our blog readers. The photo to the right is of Ingrid, Kathryn and Michele. – Jay Karen, PAII President & CEO

Michele wrote…

The trip to Hanover, PA near Gettysburg started out with much frustration, two lanes shut down at the Ben Franklin Bridge, two mile back up, and running late already from dropping my screaming one year old off at daycare. I finally make my way to Ingrid’s on the north side of Philly and after picking up my second much needed cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts we are finally off. It just takes minutes on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to be removed from the sounds, smells and traffic of the city. I take a deep breath and exhale, glad to just sit back and let Ingrid drive. We stop along the way to pick up a bottle of Pouilly-Fuisse, we couldn’t possibly arrive without a gift and we may all need a drink after our host lets us in her kitchen.

The drive to Hanover went quickly, with Ingrid and I laughing and sharing stories and nervously sharing our trepidation about what Kathryn will think of our cooking skills or rather lack thereof. Kathryn, of course, is Kathryn White, long time PAII member and innkeeper extraordinaire of the charming and impressive 1830’s, 5,000 square foot federal, 7-room Beechmont Inn. We arrived safely to be greeted by the very hospitable Kathryn and were put to work almost immediately.

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