B&Bs have been offering packages for decades. It can be an important and profitable part of your brand.

Packages should be creative and compelling. An enticing activity, adventure or learning experience. Something guests can write home about, so to speak.

Airbnb has just launched their ‘Creative Class Month’. “Learn from the pros in one-time only workshops designed and led by renowned creators.”

In addition to your ongoing packages and retreats, limited or one time only packages can be very compelling as well. Think exciting and persuasive. A reason for people to stay and learn something new, especially in the off season.

Reading some of the workshops that Airbnb is offering made the creative side of my brain start to spin. Maybe it will with yours too.

One example: Portrait Photos with Brad Elterman.

“I’ll share my passion for photography and stories about working with pop culture icons while we snack on my favorite Italian (Neapolitan) food. You’ll learn how to photograph point-and-shoot style, and I’ll share my tips for getting chic and stylish shots. We’ll have a 1:1 portrait exchange and be treated to a special guest appearance. This is a one-time only experience.”

The fees from the classes offered through Airbnb are donated to charities designated by the individual teachers. Another compelling part of the package. One you may consider incorporating with one of your packages.

I found a very creative retreat package at the Vee Bar Guest Ranch in Wyoming. ‘Literature & The Landscape of the Horse-A Wyoming Writing & Riding Retreat.’

Some crafts that were once popular are making a comeback. Like macramé and decoupage (both of which I had fun crafting back in the 70’s). Found this great article listing 15 craft comebacks. A fun read that may give you some additional ideas. 15 Vintage Crafts We Should Bring Back.

Then there are the food related workshops that continue to be forever popular. Foods people may not take the time to make at home but would love to learn from pros at your Inn. Donut making, pretzels (maybe paired with local beer) and the very trendy but delicious macarons.

In every community today there are coffee roasters. How about a workshop at your local coffee roaster that would include a talk on the origins of the coffee they import, growing methods, followed by a demonstration of roasting and grinding techniques then tastings. Fun! The Barrington Coffee Roasting Co. in the Massachusetts Berkshires offers a ‘Cupping Class’ that teaches just what I mentioned. One and one half hours, $75. per person. This class is just waiting for a B&B package.

You probably have a favorite florist. Flower arranging is one of the oldest art forms. Maybe include a visit to a flower market. Arrange your own work of art to take home.

Hope this has inspired you to get creative with your B&B packages. Packages and workshops are all rolled into the category of experiential travel, transformational travel and just plain ol’ fun travel. To quote Airbnb, “turn your own ideas into reality”. Then share them with your guests.

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

While Veteran’s Day seems like a long time from now, it’ll be here before we all know it.  That’s why B&Bs for Vets is starting to focus on the 2018 program now. Hoping to build it to the largest list of B&B offers for military in the country.

You may have participated in the past… or not. AIHP once again is promoting the program, but all B&Bs are welcome to join, whether you are a member of AIHP or not.  Please consider joining this worthy “give back” program in 2018.

Our country recently lost a veteran, one we all know, John McCain. Many of his words are inspiring and exemplify what honor, duty, country really mean. Let’s take a look at a few.

“I was raised in the concept and belief that duty, honor, country is the lodestar for the behavior that we have to exhibit every single day.”

As a young man serving in Vietnam, McCain was captured and held as a prisoner in the “Hanoi Hilton,” infamously known for its brutality. He was severely injured, breaking both arms and a leg. After about a year, he was offered early release because of his family connections, but McCain refused to leave his fellow POWs behind.

McCain said, “In many ways it was the most uplifting experience in my life, because I was privileged to serve in the company of heroes.”

As an older man after serving sixty years in service to his country he was the recipient of the 2017 Liberty Medal Award.

McCain said, “It has not been perfect service, to be sure, and there were probably times when the country might have benefited from a little less of my help. But I’ve tried to deserve the privilege as best I can, and I’ve been repaid a thousand times over with adventures, with good company, and with the satisfaction of serving something more important than myself, of being a bit player in the extraordinary story of America. And I am so very grateful.”

As innkeepers you have the opportunity to host, serve and honor our country’s veterans at your B&Bs on Veterans Day. It’s a small sacrifice, only one free room to a deserving veteran and their spouse.

Something new for 2018 and beyond.

This year, beyond only listing free rooms near Veterans Day for veterans and active military, we intend to keep the website going year-long and list your other military discounts throughout the year.

As citizens of our country we have so many ways to give back, so many worthy causes. We sincerely hope you will add the B&Bs for Vets to your list of worthy causes.

Please go to the B&Bs for Vets website and get all the information needed to sign up.

To conclude here are some words of advice to all innkeepers who have participated in the past and may have had some questions and concerns about the program.

Put aside your reasons for not participating.  Vets are incredibly grateful for the free rooms offered.  We know that cancellations or no shows have occasionally been a problem in the past, so we strongly encourage you to require a credit card when the veteran reserves and then inform them that all cancellation policies apply to free rooms, and their card will be charged if they don’t live by the policy.

We know that you may receive many phone calls. You can choose when you’d like your listing to go live.

Let’s make this be the biggest year yet for participation in the B&Bs for Vets program.  Here’s to all those innkeepers who thank veterans for their service by opening their doors on Veteran’s Day and beyond.

Few of us have been tested the way John McCain was or required the kind of courage that he did but all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. In his final letter to the Nation he wrote; “Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but are enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.”

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf and the B&Bs for Vets committee

The connection of passion and knowledge in the innkeeping world has evolved. In times past when we first started our seminars for aspiring innkeepers, our attendees had slightly different answers to our pre-attendance questionnaire. Many espoused their love of entertaining and cooking. Yes, that is an important part of innkeeping, the gift of hospitality and the passion for food. But…

The comments we receive from our questionnaires now include topics they would like covered on financing, bookkeeping, operations, websites and marketing plans. All the behind the curtain essentials of operating a successful Inn. Smart.

 If our attendees don’t realize before our workshops, that the joy they receive from feeding family and friends a lavish breakfast on holidays and other celebrations is only a portion of what innkeeping is all about. They will know when they leave our seminars, with eyes wide open.

Operate a successful business and that joy of hospitality will remain joyous and the accolades from your guests, in front of the curtain, will be the icing on the virtual sticky bun.

The tools for operating a successful business are very readily available, all one needs is the desire to learn. The willingness to tackle new skills, without doubt or fear.

When Rick and I were new innkeepers (a few moons ago), one of our neighbor innkeepers asked us if we were going to attend the upcoming Innkeeping conference. We answered that we were ‘thinking about it’. He said; “Don’t think about it, just do it…go.” We did, and immediately after attending, understood the value and essential benefits of ongoing innkeeping education.

Look at the wealth of knowledge that will be available at AIHP’s ‘Knowledge Sharing Summit & Marketplace’ February 26-March 1 in Norfolk Virginia. The byline message for the AIHP summit is; ‘the connection of passion & knowledge.’ Love that! 

Here is just a sampling the workshops that will be offered.

• Ten Steps to a Successful Digital Marketing Plan
• Understanding the Power and Influence of Your Property’s Imagery
• Ten Steps to Making Google Happy and Improving your Revenue
• Advanced Paid Marketing Strategies – Beyond the Free Stuff!

And for new and aspiring Innkeepers:

• Running your Business so it Won’t Run You
• Benchmarks for the New Innkeeper: How do I Measure My First Year in Business?
• Financial Record Keeping

The list is very extensive and complete. Besides the learning, there is the networking, exploring the marketplace and the recharging of your innkeeping engines. Its’ all there. A lot of fun and food too. All of us from The B&B Team will be there. Stop by our booth.

Connect that passion you have for sharing your love of hospitality with ongoing education. They not only go hand in hand, they must be successfully married to each other.

In conclusion I will re-quote former innkeeper and good friend Lindsey Copeland, “Don’t think about it, just do it…go.”

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

Do you remember the gifts you have given more than the gifts you received? Most of us do. However you celebrate the season for giving; with 8 days of Hanukkah, Christ’s birth or a secular celebration, it is all about giving and the joy it brings others.

Here is a fun memory of mine that illustrates my point. The same year my sister and I received a stereo HiFi (it was HI before it was WI), we gave our Dad a bright orange soft cushioned toilet seat. It matched the crazy wallpaper he picked for his bathroom ‘sanctuary’.  It was the hit of Christmas morning! It was a gift that kept on giving, comfort and joy. That crazy toilet seat is a cherished memory.

Whether or not you believe that Christmas has become too commercialized, we are a country that is very charitable during the holidays. The last few months of the year make up what is commonly called the Giving Season for the nonprofit community. I love seeing the Toys for Tots box at our gym fill up three, four, five times. I love the Coats for Kids organization. New or gently used coats are donated each December and dry cleaned for free by local cleaners. During Christmas Prelude in the Kennebunks, the Historic Inns of Kennebunkport collects admission fees that go to our local food pantry. The donated food box at our local grocery store overflows.

The season for giving is not all about dollars and material items. The gift of time is also valuable. It can be cooking and serving at church suppers, driving and delivering Meals on Wheels or sharing our knowledge and talents on town councils and chambers of commerce, the list is endless.

Innkeepers are givers, in all seasons. Innkeepers go beyond and above when it comes to the giving of their time and knowledge. In this season for giving, The B&B Team celebrates you. We thank you all for your hard work and dedication. 

The B&B Team wishes you all comfort and joy in the season of giving. 

Peter & Peggy Scherman   Rick & Janet Wolf   Eliot & Tish Dalton   Dana Moos   Linda Hayes   Scott & Marilyn Bushnell

Join our fight against the B&B stereotype. Last week you may have seen the scathing, meant to be humorous article in the online travel section of the Boston Globe; Does B&B stand for blah and bummer? One man’s stand against breakfast with strangers.  If not I have provided you with the link. I suggest you read it.

Now that you are as incensed as I became, you can now read my immediately response to the author, Christopher Muther. I share it with you now.

Dear Chris,

Have you ever had a terrible meal at a small chef/owned restaurant? Maybe you go on TripAdvisor and give it a 2 or 3 star review and probably won’t go back. But you know that not all small chef/owned restaurants are the same. Right?  I am not going to continue with this thread of thought because you are obviously a bright guy and get it.

What I am going to say is that writing about one, allegedly out of touch, living in the past B&B and giving it a scathing review based on your prejudiced (unfounded?) assumption that all B&Bs are similar to Mrs. Butterworth’s B&B. (By the way, do they really still make that stuff?) This is very unfair and articles like yours can unfortunately hurt the small independent lodging businesses.

Fact: B&Bs are changing, it is Darwinian. But it takes time. Of course we like to see positive press about our industry. Like the article just published in Down East Magazine featuring a selection of new Maine innkeepers entitled, The New Innkeepers.

This quote from the article says it all…

“Baby-boomer hoteliers — long the driving force behind the state’s inns, B&Bs, sporting camps, and other accommodations — are handing over the keys, and a new crop of hosts are bringing with them fresh aesthetics, new investment, and novel ideas about what it means to be a guest of the house.”

Chris, I know your article was amusing and was meant to initiate a chuckle or two but it really just dragged out another stereotype that our industry is working very hard on diminishing.

Now if you want to write something positive about our industry, take a look at the B&Bs for Vets program.

Thanks for Listening… Janet Wolf

Our industry’s B&Bs are changing. Innkeepers, new or seasoned, with the ‘fresh aesthetics, new investment and novel ideas’ are the future. Keeping up with hospitality industry trends is key. One way of doing this is education, education, education! How, when and where? The Knowledge Sharing Summit & Marketplace is THE place to be. February 26-March 1, 2018 in Norfolk, Virginia. Our forward looking association, AIHP, Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals, has a very forward thinking education program planned. Please consider attending.

The B&B Team is committed to the fight against the B&B stereotype. Join the fight, let’s move forward and once again…

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

B&Bs for Vets 2017 is now in full swing, accepting B&Bs signing up to offer our veterans a minimum of one free night (or more). Have you signed up? If not take a look at the Innkeepers Information and please consider joining the growing group of inns thanking our veterans and the many sacrifices they make.

Found a great blog written by a woman who knows! Listing four major sacrifices our veterans face. Veterans put their lives in danger while life at home moves on without them. The joys of daily family life we civilians often take for granted.

Missing the birth of their baby is a definite number 1. Depending on where a new daddy is, communications can be sketchy. Their wives go into labor, give birth and they may have no way to contact them. Or they may have watched over video chat the birth but then not physically able to hold and touch their child.

Stress of not knowing the where and what of your service member’s status. Months may go by without a word, not knowing if the person you love is hurt or worse.

‘Normal’ life planning for veterans is challenging at best. Buying a home in a neighborhood of your choice for your children with good schools and securing roots in the community. Not happening for military families.

The ultimate sacrifice is the unthinkable but the reality. Saying goodbye, permanently, yet knowing full well that the ultimate sacrifice was for a cause they felt deeply about. A void to live with for the rest of the loved ones lives.

Thank you Rachel Engel for your blog; ‘4 major sacrifices military families make. It’s not just missing out on celebrating anniversaries and milestones.’ Her insights are close to home for her. Her writings specialize in military and military family issues. She lives in a military installation with her active duty military husband and children.

The B&Bs for Vets program is our industry’s humble way of saying thank you to our veterans for the multitude of sacrifices they make. ‘Sacrificing’ a room or maybe more on Veteran’s Day is our way of recognizing and honoring their many sacrifices.

IMPORTANT NOTE: “Because of where the holiday falls, we are asking innkeepers to give their free rooms away on November 9, 10 or 11, 2017 (innkeeper’s choice of dates).”

I will close with a quote from an innkeeper that hosted an ‘innfull’ of veterans last year.

“What we also did not imagine, was how rewarding, personally, doing this would be. We enjoyed pleasant conversation with the vets and spent hours talking with them about their experiences in the service. We look forward to participating in this program again next year. Thank you for providing the mechanism that makes this all possible.” Larry and Patricia Reynolds. Gracefield Hall Bed & Breakfast

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

Day 1…The InnSpire Summit & Marketplace, The Queen Mary, Long Beach CA. Ran into and old friend and colleague. Started chatting about innkeeping conferences, current and past. He told me about a comment from an innkeeper that he would never forget. He asked this innkeeper, what is the value you get from attending an innkeeping conference?

“Attending a conference gives you the opportunity to place yourself high on a mountain top and view the battlefield landscape to help plan your attack. The alternative is to stay bogged down in the trenches, trying to dig yourself out and getting nowhere.”

Love this!

Here is a sample of some of the sessions offered, the landscape.

There are different paths or categories to choose from.

New Innkeeper Path

Guest Experience Path

Heads on Beds Path

Back of the House Path

One of the first sessions was for the newbies, ‘Benchmarks for the New Innkeeper: How do I Measure my First Year in Business?‘ The room was packed with new and seasoned innkeepers. Peter Scherman, and innkeeper Don Lynch presented some tools and stats to help you gauge your business success. Ways to work ‘on your business’, not just ‘in your business’. Big difference.

The ‘Guest Experience Path’ offered, ‘The Dynamics of Creating Consistency’. A panel of seasoned innkeepers talked about their approach to brand consistency at their inns. How they deliver on the promise their marketing presents. Their experiences triggered lively audience participation with questions and more great examples. You could see light bulbs go off.

Heads on Beds Path. ‘How Airbnb and Professional Bed and Breakfast Can Collaborate and Win Together.’  Now you can imagine how packed this session was! Led by Chip Conley, Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, Airbnb. How the future of a collaboration between B&Bs and Airbnb is one that can benefit both. The presentation and discussion, among many, involved the plan for Airbnb to launch a ‘Professional Designation’ category on their website. This has been promised in the past and is still in the working stages.

Lunch was served in the Marketplace for attendees and Allied Partners. Time to shop and network with variety of old friends and new. 58 booths in total. From Amenities to Website Design. The buzz and enthusiasm in the hall is invigorating.

After we all refueled, back to education. How about some help with Social Media?  ‘Mastering Social Media Advertising’. Alex Cameron, founder and CEO, Signature Marketing Consulting offered great ‘how to’ advise on Facebook Ads. Step by step tools, simply presented and applicable for our business.

Late afternoon sessions. Time to grab some coffee at Starbucks. The landscape is broadening.

Back of the House Path offering, ‘The State of the Marketplace: Are Inns Selling? Are Banks Lending? Are There Buyers and What Are They Looking For? Rick and Peter are finishing this session as I am writing. I hope they left time for plenty of questions.

There was a total of 23 sessions today. Most innkeeper couples and/or staff divide and conquer the battlefield then gather to plan their next attack. Day 1 coming to an end. See you tomorrow.

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

After spending the day with all these great innkeepers I was thinking about the best group noun for us all – and it’s obvious: “A smile of innkeepers”!” Reflections of The AIHP Summit and Marketplace by Peter MacLaren, innkeeper of the West Hill House B&B in Warren Vermont.

The first AIHP Summit and Marketplace in Nashville TN ended with a huge round of applause. I can say, and many others who attended would agree that the conference’s success rate…five star.

CEO Rob Fulton released a newsletter on April 18^th post summit, and shared some innkeepers and allied partners comments. I thought Peter MacLaren expressed his feelings so well. So much that it is the title of this blog. I wish now that I had taken some time to take photos of all those smiles. Luckily others did.

Those of you who did not attend may ask; why was this conference so successful and why did it evoke so much emotion and enthusiasm? We were all attending for one core reason, to become better innkeepers and partners with innkeepers. We do this by learning new skills to help our businesses grow. We also do this by developing relationships which requires give and take, we learn from each other. And what better way to do this then face to face, smile to smile.

There was an ‘energy of solidarity’, if you get what I am trying to say. We were all working together. This is what I believe helped create all those smiles.

There was of course a lot of planning and investment in time to create the summit. From the time of AIHP’s conception to the opening of the summit it took only 18 months! I think this is incredible. A total positive and forward thinking group of individuals formed the foundation of AIHP that resulted in a CEO search and hire, board creation and staff hire and recruitment of membership.  Then a wonderful group of volunteers completed the package. With CEO Rob Fulton and a strong board of directors at the helm and an experienced crew in support, the future looks very bright.

Speaking of helms and crews. These terms will come in very handy at the next summit. If you haven’t heard already, the 2017 Summit and Marketplace’s location will be on the solid foundation (docked in Long Beach) on the original Queen Mary in Long Beach CA. CABBI (California Association of Boutique and Breakfast Inns) and Select Registry have come on board as partners with AIHP for this conference. Forging relationships like these make all of us stronger.

Mark your calendars Knowledge Sharing Summit, Marketplace & InnSpire Conference January 29 – February 1

More smiles to come and…

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

This past weekend Rick and I went to a Peter and Paul concert. They are still on tour, unfortunately without Mary, but still sounding strong and with the same strong message delivered in their songs. When it came time to sing ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’, written by John Denver in 1966 which later became a hit by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1969, Peter gave a little background story which I was unaware of. He said that the song came to be associated with soldiers leaving for Vietnam. Think about this when you read the beginning lyrics.

All my bags are packed I’m ready to go

I’m standin’ here outside your door

I hate to wake you up to say goodbye

But the dawn is breakin’ It’s early morn

The taxi’s waitin’ He’s blowin’ his horn

Already I’m so lonesome I could die

Makes you think about the song a bit differently. This made me recall a story Kathleen Panek told me about her first veteran guests she welcomed to her Inn, the Gillum House B&B. She and some of her fellow West Virginian B&Bs started the grass roots B&B’s for Vets program over five years ago. From Kathleen:

“Early on in the B&Bs for Vets program (before it went viral), as I was showing my Vet and his wife the room, I told her what this program was all about – to me. I told her that this was a way to not only say thank you to our Military and Veterans, but to thank the unsung heroes, the person no one ever thinks of to thank you to – HER.”

She went on to say:

”This is my way of saying thank you to YOU. The spouse/partner is the one who takes care of everything while their soldier is on TDY or deployment. YOU are the one taking care of kids, house, bills, school, sports, the animals, taking out the garbage and everything else and the whole time, keeping a smile on your face so your soldier does not worry about anything other than staying alive and coming home. And when it comes time to move to the next assignment, YOU are the one who packs up, stops utilities, starts them in the next place, gets the kids registered in school, and deals with the kids up-rooting issues. So this is for you as much as it is for him.”

“When I finished, my Vet had tears in his eyes and was thanking me for telling her that. He said he had been telling her how much he appreciated all she had done and it was so good to have someone else tell her.”

Now the time has come to leave you

One more time Let me kiss you

Then close your eyes I’ll be on my way

Dream about the days to come

When I won’t have to leave alone

About the times, I won’t have to say

Oh, kiss me and smile for me

Tell me that you’ll wait for me

Hold me like you’ll never let me go

‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane

Don’t know when I’ll be back again

Oh babe, I hate to go

The B&B’s for Vets program is our industry’s way of saying, “thank you for your service.” But also a way of saying, “thank you BOTH for your sacrifice as a couple and a family”. Innkeepers have so much to offer and what a great opportunity to give something back.

Hope you have signed up and joined your peer innkeepers.  And for all the innkeepers who have been giving over the past years, I would love to have you share some of your stories on B&Bs for Vets Facebook.
Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

Found a good article titled ‘5 Reasons to Attend Live Business Conferences’. Some great tips to remind us all why it is a good and healthy business choice to attend a live business conference. A great way to start the New Year!

Here is my spin on these tips.

1. Learn. The opportunity for education is incredible. There are some great online webinars that PAII and others make available. But the opportunity to get your face away from your computer screen and connect face-to-face at a live business conference. Priceless. See, feel, touch and absorb. Be a sponge!

2. Networking. With your fellow innkeepers which is most valuable, but also connecting with vendors. Building relationships with them that will be ongoing throughout your career. It is not only the product that fits your business brand, it is also the confidence you have for the people who represent the product. Find vendors that you connect with on an emotional level, the product and the people.

3. Discover your strengths and weaknesses. Networking with your peer innkeepers can help you discover what other innkeepers are doing well. Gather information on what you see as their strengths and incorporate them into your business. You can also pick up on mistakes that innkeepers have made and file them away, making sure you don’t make the same mistakes.

4. Be open minded. When you decide to attend you are probably already in a learning and networking mode. Keep that attitude throughout the conference. Be that sponge.

5. You are taking a break from your day to day innkeeping routine. That is reason enough to attend! The activity and buzz of a well-run conference can stimulate and ‘can help you spark your creativity, develop new ideas and think in innovative ways.’ One of the first tips Rick and I got as newbie innkeepers at our first conference was… if you come away with just one idea to stimulate and ultimately improve your business, it is worth the trip.

Conclusion and final advice from the author.

“If you invest the time and money to attend a live event that offers value for your small business, you can almost guarantee that you will return home with new tools, valuable contacts and a renewed approach that will help you manage and grow your business better than before.”

If you can embrace all these 5 tips you will be on the road to improving your business. Just one idea! But I bet you will come back with more. The B&B Team will be there, stop by our booth. We love sponges!

6. I forgot there is another reason. You get to go to Charleston, South Carolina.

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf