As many of you know, Rebecca and I have moved our base of operation from Maine to Southwest Florida.  What started as a vacation a year ago has turned into a permanent move to a place as close to paradise as we have ever found.  We are both profoundly happy with our decision, and have [...]

The following comments were prepared for the Spring Meeting of the Distinctive Inns of New England.  This is an incredible group of Inns for whom we are privileged to act as the facilitators.  They meet twice a year to decide on their group marketing efforts and to catch up on important topics of concern to [...]

So you ask what is added value for a Bed and Breakfast? It can be many different things, but one of our clients is the Old Field Inn which is located in Intervale, New Hampshire. They have a unique business and 90% of their guests are traveling as families. They have a new Blog and [...]

As we travel to work with Innkeepers this spring, we are hearing the same from everyone. Advance bookings are down. So, what are we suggesting that Innkeepers do? It gets back to the basics. We all know what they are, but it does not hurt to step back and think about them again:
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I posed the question on Twitter yesterday as to whether Innkeepers think that their Cancellation Policies help or hurt their businesses.  I received some really interesting answers; not a scientific survey, but the reactions of some very smart people in our Bed and Breakfast Industry.  It turned into a sort of on-line discussion, and Twitter [...]

In the April 23, 2009 Edition of the Wall Street Journal, there is an interesting article by Diana Ransom, entitled “Smart Ways to Cut Prices.”  Ms. Ransom’s theory is that while the pressure on businesses to reduce prices is hard to resist, if price cutting is too severe, the result is lower profits and loss [...]

We spent some time over the Holidays with our family outside of Boston. Rather than displace some of my nephews, we tried the closest hotel. This was a large chain hotel on a major route west of Boston with a huge shopping center across the street. While there were several small (3 [...]

In troubled times like today, Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers have an overwhelming feeling that the best way through this downturn (say recession!) is to put their room rates on sale. Isn’t that just what the retailers do at Christmas time to survive a bad season? The answer is that discounting in the [...]

With a clear downturn in the economy facing us, it is really time to put your Inn’s business practices in order. Metrics is the study of measuring past performance so that you can improve your business. The basic concept is that you cannot improve the future without looking at what happened in [...]

The only way to improve your Bed and Breakfast or Inn business is to effectively track where you are today and to make realistic goals for the future of your business. At the 2008 PAII Conference Howard Levitan of Quantum Hospitality Group will be discussing the best methods to track where your [...]