A Call About Photographs

I was fascinated by a recent phone call. We’re about to launch an update to the website using a couple of new services for both the listing properties and their potential guests. We’re partnering with Jumping Rocks Photography to supply a broad collection of images from Inns and bed & breakfast properties from around the country. Their work is terrific, providing an accurate look at today’s hospitality options from our segment of the industry. But I digress, back to the phone call. The caller was interested to know from where we gathered the “stock images” on the new test site! Said caller went on to say the images were beautifully done, very clear, very representative of hospitality, romantic in tone, sophisticated, and finally shared that he thought even the food, which he thinks is a real challenge to photograph, looked amazingly delicious. I assured my caller that the images were in fact provided by Jumping Rocks Photography, who specialized in capturing the flavor of today’s Inns and bed & breakfasts from across the country. I further assured him they were true representations of the environments of these properties, not air-brushed or photo shopped to make the experience look potentially better than would actually be experienced by any future guest. The caller was amazed, simply amazed that there were places around the country that provided such great environments, food, and obvious extraordinary hospitality! We finished our business and I went about the rest of by day. But the exchange has come back to me time and again in the few days that have passed. Are there a lot of people who might not recognize that the images on so many property’s websites are images of the actual property and experience? Have we collectively done so poor a job sharing our experiences that people outside our sphere of influence don’t believe us? Are Inns and Bed & Breakfasts really so small an industry that the general public would more easily believe an air mattress on a bare floor is more likely the experience than the images that are painstaking produced in an effort to show the very contradictory actuality? Have the owners and operators of these professionally operated businesses gone so far beyond the public’s expectations that the average consumer doesn’t identify the images as reality? Or, are the Jumping Rocks photos just that good?! When I was an Innkeeper myself I went to any number of professional development workshops that encouraged us to under sell and over deliver. It made sense at the time. We would use phrases like, “we’re just a beautiful example of the period, offering warm hospitality and an abundant breakfast so no one goes away from the table hungry”. In fact, we were a five star, five diamond property with the highest quality of amenity, service, and extraordinary food. We wanted to provide that “wow” factor, far exceeding any expectations our guests might have had, and it worked every time. I took a call from a potential guest one evening who wanted to know if she was calling a “Bed and Dread”. I’ve told this story many times during my innkeeping days. I replied asking the caller what she was asking, because I didn’t understand the question. During the course of a brief conversation, she went on to explain, that while she’d never stayed at a B&B, she’d heard horror stories…..somewhere, not entirely sure where, and had vowed years ago to avoid B&Bs because of the stories she’d heard. Based on anecdotal stories, she’d discounted an entire segment of my industry! We owned and operated two properties, a large bed and breakfast and a small hotel. They were across the street from one another and identical in amenity, style, and service in practically every way. So I booked her a room in the hotel. I followed up with her while she stayed with us. She had a terrific stay, was thankful that we had hotel rooms available, and was planning to make a reservation for a year later before she left us! I will never forget the story, nor understand what she saw as the difference in her mind. Maybe as an industry we’re doing ourselves a dis-service. We’re underselling ourselves in an effort to wow our guests. But in the meantime the general public, potential guests, are not getting a true image of all the fabulousness that are the Inns and Bed & Breakfasts around the country. We have the photographs to prove fabulousness! It’s time Inns and Bed & Breakfasts toot their horns, and I don’t mean with a whimpy kazoo, but with the full power and force of 76 trombones and 110 cornets! This segment is truly, for a wide variety of reasons, a truly better way to stay, in fact by any measure it’s the only way to stay!

Why Bed and Breakfast Bashing?

Now and again I come across negative remarks about bed and breakfasts aka B&Bs via social media, online reviews, newsprint, or during the course of conversation. This segment of the lodging industry seems to be a target for this sort of negativity and I’m not entirely sure why. Any of us can experience a less than satisfactory overnight stay in any segment of the industry, no matter the price, location, style, or reputation. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to travel a great deal. I’ve visited nearly every state in the continental United States and most Canadian provinces. In those years I have stayed overnight in everything from the most modest, to luxurious world class award winning accommodations. From these experiences I’ve come to know that good or bad experiences know no boundaries by way of type or cost of stay. What I’ve come to appreciate about bed and breakfast inns is the personal investment the owners and their staff have in the quality of my experience. These folks are the staff that I interact with while I’m in their facility. They’ve helped me with a reservation, cleaned my room, worked in the garden, planned and prepared the food I will consume, and on and on. The facility, furnishings, amenities, services, cleanliness, and menus, are a matter of pride in ownership for these business men and women. I know proprietors who have painstaking selected every detail for their guests i.e. the quality of pillow, fabric content for bedding, menu selections and specific food items. They may even grow some of the foods they use. They are personally mortified if every detail of every guest experience doesn’t meet their highest of standard. These same entrepreneurs often take their pride well beyond the boundaries of their real estate and further invest in their local, regional, or national community. During these same years, I’ve become more and more suspect of larger more industrial properties and ownership. I doubt a corporate officer of a large commercial property, franchise or not has helped me with travel plans. Reservations are often made at central services at some off site location. Housekeeping staff is large and impersonal. Rooms have a cookie cutter look and even less to my liking a cookie cutter smell that seems to travel with me home. “That” smell hits me in square in the face when I open my overnight bag. Dark colored, highly patterned acetate bed covers give me the creeps. What’s hiding in that pattern, color and slick surface? The food is commercial and sometimes needs to be unwrapped, nuked, and consumed from a foam container. Or worse yet, it’s extraordinarily expensive and hard to find, hidden away in a very fancy intimidating space. Finally, it seems I can never find anyone if I have a need. Extra towels can be a housekeeping production. I’m sure there are required ongoing education classes, but I wonder how that translates to my personal experience in such a large facility. This comparison reminds me of my recent eye exam. When the doctor gives you two intensity choices of lense and asks the question, “Now which is better? This, or this? For me, bed and breakfasts are clearly a better way to stay. I like the intimacy. I’m not talking about intimacy that some people have described as that overbearing nosey innkeeper or staff member. I’ve never had that experience in the hundreds of places I’ve stayed overnight. I’m talking about knowing the environment and have a sense of comfort with the people in that environment. I’ve kept a diary for many years, recording my travel experiences. I’ve met some great people, seen some great parts of the country, and enjoyed unimaginable foods. I think I may revisit those travel diaries and share some of the best experiences here.

Change.

At American Bed and Breakfast Inns we’re about to launch a new service. It was clear a year ago that a change of some sort had to be made because the business wasn’t performing for us as we’d planned. It seemed we had one of two choices, either abandon the project or look for added value. We decided we couldn’t give up……possibly because I’m just stubborn, but I prefer to think there is niche for the service we offer. Being on the threshold of change has had me thinking about the simple concept of change. Many years ago a business consultant said

"If you always do what you always did, you’ll like always get what you always got".

Brilliant huh?! I’ve used it many times facilitating strategic planning sessions for organizations around the country. On one hand, if you’re completely satisfied with the result of your behavior, then by all means always do what you do and enjoy the satisfactory results you always get. If on the other hand………then change may be necessary. Case in point #1: Those who embrace change with a clear purpose and goal. Some dear friends started a business some twenty plus years ago. It was located in a seasonal community and they were not happy with the seasonality of the business for a variety of reasons; too many to go into here. Suffice it to say, a change was needed if they were going to be satisfied with the results of their endeavor. So they went to work to change their own mindset and that of fellow business owners. It took years to do, but with concerted, disciplined efforts, they achieved the change they sought and the results in their business far exceeded their initial expectations. They were the voice of change. In those same years they reviewed every aspect of their daily operations and constantly looked for better and more efficient ways to do the hundreds of daily tasks involved in their work. They refined their operations until the business ran like a fine oiled machine. Again, through their planned disciplined efforts toward change for efficiency, they reaped financial rewards far beyond their expectations. Case in point #2: Those who don’t consider change as an option. I visited with a friend yesterday who was lamenting the woes of an enterprise that has struggled for many years. In fact, by all accounts for the last thirty years the enterprise has largely done the same things they have always done, and has consistently struggled to keep their doors open. I asked what changes they had considered, what plans they had to work toward success. They have determined that it’s an industry wide problem, and that if they can just hold out long enough for their competitors to go out of business, their business will then flourish. They have waited thirty years and are satisfied to simply wait for outside forces to determine their success or continued failure. We all know that change is inevitable. Babies are born. People die. Businesses open. Businesses close. Public officials are elected or defeated. Some would say,

"It is what it is. It’s going to be what it’s going to be"

However, as I think about example after example, it seems managed change makes a bit more sense in those situations where we hold some degree of influence for our destiny. I’m talking about substantive behavior change to what it is we do and how we do it. Not merely a new coat of paint or a new logo. That’s like putting lipstick on a pig. After the effort, you’re still stuck with a pig. I for one have decided to embrace change. There are some elements of life that I find less than satisfying. I’m on a mission to work through a plan for change and am committed to be disciplined sufficiently to work the plan. As a dear friend said to me years ago,

"A man without a plan is planning to fail"

I’m not prepared to fail just yet. Are there change you should consider?

Calling all OHIO B&Bs and Inns!

We've begun to get requests for B&Bs and Inns in OHIO and could have many more properties that represent Ohio's diverse Bed & Breakfast community! In the next few weeks, I'm visiting with Bed & Breakfasts and Inns in Ohio. If you're interested in more information about American Bed & Breakfast Inns, our video production services, our video marketing services, and hosting your video, I can put you on my itinerary!

After listening to the needs of our many clients across the country, we've instituted a tiered pricing structure for our video production services. Some Innkeepers are interested in very simple videos, while others want videos that are a bit more sophisticated. Our six different levels of video are meant to meet those differing interests. Take a look! www.abbinns.com, video production page.

I hope everyone is having a great summer!
Mike

We recently tried something different with one our client’s videos. The property is in a California gold rush town and one of the staff here suggested we try a theme to match the location. So we gave it a try and passed the finished product on to the Innkeepers to get their reaction. Here’s the completed video and the Innkeepers response. What do you think?

The Weaverville Hotel - Weaverville, California from American Bed and Breakfast Inns on Vimeo.

"OH! WOW! This is fabulous! I am just amazed! You guys are astonoshing! My husband and I could not be happier...the results are a spectacular selling tool for our inn. This is a product well worth the investment of money and effort. I cannot say enough!"
-Jeanne Muir, Weaverville Hotel & Emporium

Pie Success or Failure?

Its been a week since the Lemon Meringue Pies were delivered. The pie plates have been returned. I love those glass pie plates so am always grateful when they find their way back to my house. I've been told they were a great success. Family members seemed to enjoy and my good friend Lou tells me a member of his family ate half of their pie. If a man eats half a pie he clearly enjoyed it right?! Why then, if that's the case, have they suggested I need more practice?! That maybe I should practice trying Banana Cream, or Chocolate Cream, or both?! Yesterday afternoon Mom asked if I needed to practice making pies anytime soon, and wondered if I should try Coconut Cream. It seems she's entertaining her card club in a few weeks and thought maybe I could "practice"?!!! What do you think.....were the pies a success or are they trying to tell me someting? Maybe I'll bake again this weekend.

Spring trip in the south east coming to a close!

My trip to Florida has been a great time, but sadly is coming to a close. In just a few days I’m starting back to Ohio. I have to say, it’s getting too hot for me! I know, I know, they say just as we northerners stay inside more in the winter, southerners stay inside more during the height of the summer heat. But for me, I can add layers when I’m cold, but once I’m hot, there are only so many layers I’m willing to loose! Besides Mother’s Day is next Sunday and I promised to be home by then and to make my Mom’s favorite Lemon Meringue Pie!

For you foodies out there I’m including the recipe I’ve come to rely on. A few words of caution for the recipe: I prefer the texture and the bright flavor from loads of fresh lemon peel zest. I also think it’s a clear indication that I made the pie myself! I know some people find that texture objectionable and prefer the smooth texture as a result of using lemon extract. Meringue pies can “weep”. I’ve found that if I add the warm lemon filling to the pre-baked pie shell, top the warm filling with the meringue, make sure it is perfectly sealed all around the edge of the crust and put it directly into the oven to bake the meringue, there is no weeping, except those tears of joy from everyone enjoying the pie!! It seems the warmth of the filling helps cook the meringue from the underside while the heat of the oven cooks the top.

For you mothers: HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! For those of you who have mothers: Remember them next Sunday and every day of the year!

Here’s the recipe: Mike’s Favorite Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 lemons, juiced and zested
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 4 egg whites
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 6 tablespoons white sugar
Process
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
• To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
• To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.
• Chill