Atlanta Georgia was the host site for this year’s Professional Association for Innkeepers International (PAII) conference. I was amazed at how much information was available in one place over the course of the week. Available education tracks included food, marketing, operations, technology, strategy, legal, and financial.
Although some people may think that innkeepers of bed and breakfasts are mostly grandmas and grandpas who do nothing but bake and talk all day, you might be surprised at how techno savvy, innovative, and creative innkeepers of all ages actually are. Many of us are on the cutting edge of technology and have already integrated generation y’s social networking techniques into our everyday operations on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more.
It is up to thousands of innkeepers–most over the age of 40–to use the internet and other resources to compete with large hotel and motel chains for a share of the lodging business. The PAII conference was loaded with ideas and techniques to lure and capture the traveling public.
As an industry, we are trying to do the same kinds of things the major players do, but on a more personal level. Every single guest is a large percentage of our total business. We try to make the guest feel important because just one unhappy guest could significantly effect the inn’s total business–that is not always so with chain hotels where each guest is just one of millions. We try to take the extra step to assure people that they are important, they are special, and we do apprectiate their patronage.
The trade show was filled with ideas that could improve the look, feel, and taste of each individual inn. Every part of our business was addressed from linens, towels, and bedding; to photography, websites, and promotion; to statistics, analytics, and emerging technology.
The conference has inspired me to improve my website, to make online reservations easier, to brand my breakfast, to give my rooms a facelift, and to blog, blog, blog. Some things are a quick fix, many take time, and everything else is ongoing at the Munro House B&B in Jonesville, MI.
It wasn’t all work and no play, though. My wife, Lori, and I took a morning to relive our honeymoon trip to Stone Mountain. It’s a ginormous granite stone with 3 Confederate Generals and their horses carved in the side with a cable car that goes to the top.
Life is good in Jonesville, but after I implement a few of the things I’ve learned, it will be even better.
Mike Venturini – Innkeeper
“Life is good in Jonesville”