How Much Time Should You Spend Attracting Direct Bookings for Your Bed and Breakfast, Guest House or Inn?
Hi there, I’m Yvonne Halling from www.BedandBreakfast Coach.com and in this video I’m going to address the issue of how much time should you spend attracting direct bookings for your bed and breakfast, guest house or inn, so if like so many owners I talk to, you’re not spending much time at all on this vital element because you don’t know what to do, then my 3 top tips in this video will help you.
In a recent poll in my Facebook group, I asked the question – how much time do you spend on a daily basis attracting direct bookings and the answers were very surprising.
Almost everyone wants more direct bookings, without paying commissions to online travel agents, but hardly anyone is devoting themselves to the task.
Is it any wonder that over 70% of owners surveyed said this was their biggest challenge?
I believe the challenge is how do I find the time and what specifically should I be doing, so let me help you with a quick story of how this worked for me in my own B&B.
Back in 2010, when my own little B&B in France had suddenly become our only source of income, and in the past had only ever made me less than €10,000, the bailiffs were at the door and I had to come up with some kind of plan to keep my home.
I decided I needed to make €40,000 that year, and I had no clue how to do that. But I invested in a coach and he said something to me that I’ve never forgotten, so let me tell you what that was.
He said, the only way you’re going to reach that goal is to get your head out of the toilet and start focussing on your real job of marketing to attract bookings. The time you’re spending cleaning bathrooms, making beds, doing laundry and other low value tasks is valuable time you should be spending learning how to market yourself. That is your real job.
So I’m telling you right now, that you simply have to stop doing the daily chores and hire some help, so you too can focus on your real job, which is attracting guests. No-one else can do this but you.
I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, well I can’t afford any help right now. I’ll hire some help when I have more bookings but the truth is that it simply doesn’t work like that. You’ll never get any more bookings until you do hire help.
Put on your big girl/big boy pants and get some help, so you can free up at least 2 hours every day of your precious time to do the work you need to do, otherwise you’ll be on this treadmill forever.
So now you’ve got some of your time back, what can you do to start attracting those guests you want to welcome?
Step #1
Make sure you’re really clear on who your ideal guests are. You know, the ones you love to welcome, because of your own preferences, interests and passions.
Step #2
Find groups on social media where they hang out, and make friends with as many of them as you can. Post often on the main platforms so you’re constantly top of mind for them.
Step #3
Make sure your website is set up specifically for those people, so that when they visit you online, they’ll know that your property is perfect for them.
Join up the dots for them, with what they’re looking for with what you offer and bingo, you’ll have a ball.
If you’d like to know more about how these strategies and many more have helped my clients to get off the hamster wheel of cleaning, laundry and maintenance and become great marketers of their businesses, then click on the link below to register below for my upcoming Masterclass where I’ll show you how to make more, work less, pay less commissions with less stress!