Hot off the press – or more accurately, just in my email in-box – is the announcement that Webervations has been purchased by ELG Hospitality, which also owns BedandBreakfast.com and RezOvation. Despite lengthy messages on the PAII Forum from the buyer, Eric Goldreyer, and the seller, David Swain, innkeepers’ concerns and doubts are plenty. Many innkeepers are asking what I think about the recent announcement.

I’m a relatively fresh face to the innkeeping industry, having been on the job at PAII for a mere 17 months. My perspective is one that is pretty unbiased, since I use neither RezOvation nor Webervations. What I see are two companies that have been major players in this industry for a while, so obviously they are good, reliable products. Webervations seems to be a system that has met the basic needs of innkeepers at a very low cost (Swain admits he might have spoiled his customers with such a low price over the years). Evidence of its incredible value has been the thousands of innkeepers who have used the product for years, and the many who are now concerned about the future of the product. RezOvation is a leading full-feature reservation system, which provides a track to the Global Distribution System and is also tied at the hip to the largest online B&B directory, BedandBreakfast.com. Innkeepers are worried about their $80 per year Webervations accounts. They get a lot of functionality for $6.67 per month.

My advice to the Webervations customers? Like with any business decisions you make, you should evaluate as you go. Goldreyer is promising to make no fundamental changes to the Webervations system, recognizing there’s good reason so many innkeepers like it just the way it is. Goldreyer and his staff have a history of being risk takers and progressive business people, so some changes must be in store. Innkeepers appreciate Webervations because it is straightforward and simple. To me, this is a little like Outback Steakhouse buying McDonald’s, and people fearing hamburgers will now be $2.79 instead of $.79, or that the McDonald’s menu will change drastically. McDonald’s has great value and reaches millions of customers every day because people know exactly what they’re going to get (minimalist food that hits the spot), and they get it cheap. Webervations “hits the spot” for many innkeepers, and it’s been cheap.

I encourage members to go onto the PAII Forum and read the innkeeper concerns and the responses from Goldreyer and Swain before jumping to any conclusions. At the same time, major moves like this in our industry are not common, so customers of Webervations are well within their rights to ask questions and pay close attention to announcements of any anticipated changes or enhancements. Innkeepers, like all business people and consumers, vote with their dollars if they’re happy or unhappy. I expect nothing different here, since there are many options in our industry for reservation systems. If Outback indeed drastically changed McDonald’s, you can bet others will be looking to fill the void left by McDonald’s. Customers generally get what they want in a marketplace, and innkeepers will continue to get the reservation systems they desire regardless of the name or owner of the company. There will always be a cheap hamburger joint in every major town.

Enough with the hamburger analogy! Ask hard questions, evaluate and vote with your dollars…stay if you still like the product and believe it will continue to be a good value, or investigate what else is out there in the marketplace. That’s what a good business person should be doing all the time anyway.

I’m a bit tired right now (still on East coast time), so forgive me if I leave out some details of my afternoon and evening. I met two of the housekeepers – a couple of young ladies who seemed to really enjoy what they do and being in the inn, Kristin and Rhea. I think that’s a testament to Joyce’s virtues as a boss and co-worker. Joyce gave me a quick tour of the place and gave me a stream-of-consciousness, on-site training. When I arrived, she was expecting a fairly full house. In less than an hour, more reservations came in and the house was to be full this evening. Sixteen people for breakfast. One dog and one five-month old little girl to get ready for.

Joyce and I thoroughly reviewed her daily check list of duties, check-in/check-out lists, responded to reservation requests via Webervation emails, discussed rationale behind her policies and procedures, planned the next day’s housekeeping responsibilities (in which I will take part), emptied the dishwasher, interacted with guests as they came in and out of the inn, straightened up the living room, set the dining room table for tomorrow morning, chatted about the guests past and present, and got down to some quick ironing when we realized the linen napkins had not been pressed. See below for the awesome machine I was able to use. I had no idea what this was when I first saw it.

A Miele Rotary Iron

I took to rotary ironing like a champ. Not to brag, but Joyce was quite impressed (no pun intended) with how quickly and proficiently I jumped into this challenge. Truth be told, with some good tunes playing in the background, I could probably do this all day long. For the most riveting 45 second video you have EVER seen, see below for yours truly in action on the rotary iron. You’ll never be the same.

Rotary Iron

Later, I was able to pitch-in with the breakfast prep work by preparing the cream sauce that will be part of the fruit dish. I helped several arriving guests get checked-in, haul their luggage up the 27 steps from the street level to the front door and try to be as engaging as possible – but without letting on that I am not from Seattle. I was just waiting for someone to ask me about the area. I don’t want to let on that I’m the trade association CEO. Joyce introduces me as her assistant for the week. Joyce and I then prepared for the late arrivals, and we left for dinner and grocery shopping.

We had a nice, quick Italian meal, over which Joyce explained the ups and downs of being an innkeeper. Besides the hours and face-to-face interactions, there are some similarities between innkeeping and association management. In particular is the diversity of people and their expectations one encounters. But, that will be a blog post for another day.

After only one day, I’m learning some good stuff. First and foremost, a good exhaustive check-list of daily responsibilities is paramount to staying organized. Joyce seems to be a religious follower of “the list.” This is a good thing. With all the interruptions we encountered as we tried getting through the list, it would be impossible to run a busy inn like this without some source of consistency. This list provides the needed day-to-day consistencey. The phone rings. The doorbell rings. A glance at the computer then requires an immediate response to some emails. We chat for a while about whatever important details occur to Joyce that pertain to my education. We lose track every five minutes of what we were working on – and it all works out, because we have “the list” to go back to.

I’ve learned two other important lessons. The first is that group bookings are not for every inn or every innkeeper. Prior to my visit with Joyce, I would have assumed that any innkeeper would be foolish to turn down an offer to book the entire inn for one or two nights, even if it was over a weekend. It never occured to me that an innkeeper would likely have to turn away a great deal of business by doing so, such as those guests who want to stay three, four or more nights, which overlap the nights the group wants the inn. Plus, large groups tend to get into a pack mentality and take over every corner of the inn as though it is their own home. And, of course, they want a really good price. I can now understand the concept of a “group premium” instead of a “group discount.” Joyce runs an urban inn, so her occupancy is very high compared to the average B&B. She is in a position where she can turn away such requests for monopolizing the inn. She readily admits that groups could very well be the bread-and-butter for other innkeepers, and that is great. For the msot part, it’s just not her thing.

I also gained more respect for the “reservation request” process, rather than real-time reservations. Heretofore, I have naturally been a strong advocate of real time reservations. I’ve been fearful for the innkeepers who could be turning away business, because their reaction time to reservation requests might not be good enough for the time-starved, instant-gratification-requiring consumer. Watching and listening to Joyce interact with prospective customers on the phone – and hearing all the unique requests or situations presented to her – I can see why innkeepers still highly prefer the opportunity to engage a customer in more detail before confirming a reservation. WIth inventory levels as they are in our industry (let’s say about 6 rooms per night), it still remains possible to take requests. Someone mentioned to me recently that innkeepers can still have that all-important conversation on the phone AFTER a real-time reservation, as long as you’re collecting the customer’s phone numbers and inform them your intent to contact them. But, that would mean you – the innkeeper – having to track down the guest who preferred the relative anonymity and speed of using the internet to seal the deal. From what I saw today at the Chambered Nautlius, who has time to do that? And, it doesn’t really seem like you can convey all that you want to convey in a confirmation email. That phone interaction still seems to be paramount to the customer experience.

Off to bed for this innkeeper-in-training. I’ll be up at the crack of dawn to finish setting the tables,as I get ready to serve a wonderful meal to some hungry guests. How one does this seven days a week is beyond me at this point.