Promoting the Industry
Our goal is to generate great publicity for BedandBreakfast.com members specifically, and for the B&B industry as a whole. In this issue we cover:
Upcoming Publicity for BedandBreakfast.com members
Ask the Pros
Let's Hear it from Innkeepers
Let’s Hear it from the Media
Recent Media Coverage
Current and Upcoming Publicity: May and June
BedandBreakfast.com’s recent publicity has focused on travel trends, Mother’s Day, wedding gifts of travel, and gardening packages.
Click on the headlines below to read the releases created for April and May:
5/22/2008: BEDANDBREAKFAST.COM SURVEY SHOWS AMERICANS POISED TO TRAVEL MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AND THROUGHOUT SUMMER
5/15/2008: GIFTS OF TRAVEL PROVE LOVE IS BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND
A Customized Getaway Gift Card from BedandBreakfast.com is the Perfect Wedding Gift for the Second, Third or Fourth Time Around
5/7/2008: POLITICIANS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES SLINGING MUD.
BEDANDBREAKFAST.COM MEMBERS INVITE GUESTS TO GET DIRTY
...WITH CREATIVE GARDENING PACKAGES, OF COURSE!
4/10/2008: ONE GOOD DEED DESERVES A MOTHER. THIS MOTHER'S DAY, GIVE A LOW CARB (ON) GIFT TO YOUR MOM, AND TO MOTHER EARTH, TOO!: Ten percent of online BedandBreakfast.com gift card sales from Earth Day to Mother's Day will be donated to American Forests Global ReLeaf Fund to plant trees in honor of Mom
Kudos to survey respondents: Hat’s off to innkeepers who responded to the recent surveys regarding Memorial Day travel trends and Thanksgiving. Thanks to you, BedandBreakfast.com was able to supply the media with exclusive and timely information about the B&B industry from more than 1,000 innkeepers. Be on the lookout for upcoming surveys where your input will be valuable for answering questions about travel trends and B&B amenities.
Do you have B-roll? BedandBreakfast.com is building an up-do-date list of all members with TV quality footage (B-roll). Ideally, your footage will be shot in Beta or Beta SP, but more and more stations can now accept professionally shot digital footage in DigiPro, MiniDV and a few other formats. If your footage is shot in European format (PAL), it can be converted for use in the U.S. if necessary. If you have professionally shot television quality footage, please email and let her know the length and format of your footage.
Coming up next month: Although there’s still time to post your creative Girlfriends Getaways for our upcoming story, we’re turning our focus to fall and the holidays; be sure to post Thanksgiving and Holiday specials soon.
To add specials: Click here to go to your Home Base on BedandBreakfast.com, then click the Specials link to add your packages. Be sure to include all relevant information including rates, validity dates, whether children/pets are welcome, and the costs. (Silver-level members and above may post specials; simply log in with your Property ID and password. Select Specials from the table in your Home Base. Enter appropriate offers for Free Gas Promotion. Bronze member? Please click here to upgrade. Not yet a member? Join today!
Ask the Pros: I was just going over the many reviews we have on our property posted on BedandBreakfast.com. I am thrilled about the numerous positive comments about our inn but equally delighted with the number of postings. Is there any way our inn can get some additional press exposure as a result of this? -- Innkeeper, Rhode Island
A: Perfect timing! We will soon be gearing up for the 2008 Best of BedandBreakfast.com Awards<http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/AwardsWinners.aspx>, offered to the top-reviewed B&Bs and inns. Both the quality and quantity of reviews will be considered in the selection of the winning inns; balanced comments are vital. Fewer reviews where guests have taken the time to offer details are just as salient as more reviews that were quickly jotted without many details.
Awards will be given for the top U.S., Canadian, European, Central American, Caribbean, and other international inns, supplemented by regional awards, themed awards for pet-friendly, family friendly, romantic inns, and more. Winners will be announced in September 2008. The 10 top overall winners will receive free Platinum memberships, and all winners will receive recognition plaques or certificates and website badges, as well as inclusion in our winners’ publicity campaign recognizing the top B&Bs.
It’s not too late to begin or to continue encouraging guests to post reviews on BedandBreakfast.com. Remember, B&Bs with reviews get more reservations than those without. The independent feedback offers credence to potential bookers and may help land a Best of BedandBreakfast.com Award, too.
Let’s Hear it from Innkeepers
“Thanks to BedandBreakfast.com's Tanks a Lot free gas promotion, we were part of a ‘pain at the pumps’ feature on Hartford's NBC30 evening news. A reporter found our special in your list of Connecticut B&Bs. We wanted to let other innkeepers know that the specials posted on BedandBreakfast.com can benefit in more ways than they realize. We also want to thank you for continuing to provide new advertising and promotional opportunities for us.” -- Becky and Dave Barrett, The Wallingford Victorian Bed and Breakfast < is TV link still live? If so, would be good to link>
“BedandBreakfast.com does a great job of making my inn known to people all over the nation, which is very important, since I can't possibly afford to advertise in any other national venue. Thanks for providing a way for people from far and wide to find my B&B.” -- Sherrie Hansen, The Blue Belle Inn Bed and Breakfast, St. Ansgar, IA
Let’s Hear it from the Media
“I really find the BedandBreakfast.com website helpful on our photo shoots. I prefer to shoot at B&Bs, so feel free to send ideas my way. I am always on the lookout for large B&Bs with private grounds in the United States. Thank you.” – Carrie Lucero, Playboy Entertainment/ICS
Recent BedandBreakfast.com Media Coverage
BedandBreakfast.com’s press release outlining all the Tanks a Lot offers has continued to garner tremendous media coverage. Media from major newspapers to TV to Internet sites are sending their readers and viewers to BedandBreakfast.com to learn about free gas promotions. If you have not already added your package, please do so today. As gas prices soar, the media continues to search for great gas specials.
Here is a sampling of the media coverage we’ve enjoyed over the past month or so. In late April, Tanks a Lot was included in an article on the front page of Yahoo! Finance<http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/104853/Hotels-Offering-Gas-Incentives-to-Lure-Guests> along with individual offers from B&Bs including the CW Worth House and the Wallingford Victorian B&B, both listed on BedandBreakfast.com’s Specials pages. Smartmoney.com< http://www.smartmoney.com/dealoftheday/index.cfm?story=20080414-hotels-offering-gas-incentives> also listed the same article and MSNBC < http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24846718> featured Tanks a Lot in a story that also mentioned a clever offer from the Tin Lizzie Inn. MSN<http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveonaCar/4DollarGasHeresHowToGetItFree.aspx> also included a mention about Tanks a Lot in a story linked recently from their home page. The Boston Globe<http://www.boston.com/travel/articles/2008/04/27/save_on_gasoline_but_dont_scrimp_on_mom> headlined one travel story with BedandBreakfast.com’s Tanks a Lot program, including a photo of the Pilgrim’s Inn in Deer Isle, ME and offers from the Inn at Ellis River, The Ruby of Crested Butte, Colonial Terrace in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Wilder Farm Inn in Waitsfield, VT. Tanks a Lot was included in USA Today’s<http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2008-05-01-gas-rebates_N.htm> round up of great gas deals, along with another story that appeared in the Detroit Free Press<http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/FEATURES07/805200385/1032/features07>.
BedandBreakfast.com has also had great pick up from national and regional TV news shows, with stories about Tanks a Lot featured on CNN<http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/28/pf/saving/toptips/?postversion=2008052812>. The CBS Early Show<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/24/travel/main4040303.shtml> included it in a story about saving money on summer vacations. WESH2 in Orlando, Fl advised listeners to “Try a website like BedandBreakfast.com to find bed-and-breakfast locations. Many B&Bs are offering special discounts or promotions to help offset fuel costs”. NBC’s WESH 2 News Sunrise serving Orlando and Daytona Beach, FL told viewers “Time for a money-saving secret. Try a website like bedandbreakfast.Com to find B&B gas promotions.” Additionally, the May 2 issue of TIME Magazine mentioned BedandBreakfast.com as a resource for free gas offers and as did the Miami Herald, <http://www.miamiherald.com/living/travel/spotlight/story/539317.html> Atlanta Journal Constitution, <http://www.ajc.com/travel/content/travel/deals/stories/2008/05/30/Clara_travel_deals_0531.html > and the Fort Worth Star Telegram http://www.star-telegram.com/travel/story/661893.html.
While the media has been preoccupied by gas stories, additional coverage for BedandBreakfast.com’s garden getaways appeared in St Petersburg Times: <http://www.tampabay.com/features/homeandgarden/article495620.ece> and coverage of Memorial Day travel trends< http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/about/press.aspx?year=2008&article=05222008> from BedandBreakfast.com appeared in Earth Times,<http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/bedandbreakfastcom-survey-shows-americans-poised,405188.shtml>
Houston Chronicle, <http://markets.chron.com/chron?GUID=5542351&Page=MediaViewer&ChannelID=3197> the Wall Street Journal Marketwatch <http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bedandbreakfastcom-survey-shows-americans-poised/story.aspx?guid={4C8CC77A-06B6-4EB5-82FD-00B0E1A80EF8}&dist=msr_8> and the Austin, TX American Statesman<http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=AUSASTRA.story&STORY=/www/story/05-22-2008/0004819136&EDATE=THU+May+22+2008,+07:50+AM>, plus Yahoo! <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080522/neth017.html?.v=53> and the LA Times<http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=LATSVY.story&STORY=/www/story/05-22-2008/0004819136&EDATE=THU+May+22+2008,+07:50+AM>.
Just when you thought BedandBreakfast.com’s Pancakes with Personality Contest story was old news, winner Joanne Nichols from the Arbor Inn in Rye, NH, appeared on WCSH6 in Portland, ME’s feature show “207” < <http://www.wcsh6.com/life/lifestyle/207/recipes/article.aspx?storyid=86654
> wearing her BedandBreakfast.com apron and demonstrating her award-winning lemon blueberry ricotta cheese pancakes. Click on video link to watch her in action.