Always dreamed of a romantic California Wine Country Vacation?

Always dreamed of a romantic California Wine Country retreat? Stay at a beautiful Napa, Glen Ellen, St Helena, or Cloverdale B&B today!!

Visit a Key West Florida B&B today

Visit a Key West Florida B&B this cold winter. Enjoy the tropical breezes while staying at a seaside or beachfront bed and breakfast.

This may prove to be the coldest Winter in history

This may prove to be the coldest Winter season on record…cozy up to the fire at a warm, intimate bed and breakfast.

TheBedandBreakfastDirectory.com blog now interacts directly with Twitter

New to TheBedandBreakfastDirectory.com, now any new blog posts will be instantly displayed on our Twitter page, http://twitter.com/thebedbreakfast.  Check our blog page for new tweets, or our twitter page for new blogs. We will be updating both pages regularly and look forward to providing our fans and followers with new bed and breakfast news, articles, and information to keep you up to date on the latest happenings in the B&B and travel industry.

Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Innkeepers in 2010

The new decade is upon us, and 2010 is poised to be a stellar bounce back year for our economy. Most importantly for bed and breakfast owners, this includes the travel and tourism industry. Unemployment is declining, and with people going back to work, this means more money will be pumped into our economy as workers plan their upcoming vacations and trips. January 2010 is the perfect time for innkeepers to put together their individual business plans for attracting and retaining guests for the year, and well into the future. Adopting the correct plan is crucial to take your inn’s business and revenues to the highest possible levels in 2010. And always remember, proper planning prevents poor performance, and therefore the owners at TheBedandBreakfastDirectory.com have put together a finite top 10 list of what we feel are the most important resolutions for innkeeper owners to focus on during this new decade.

1. Take care of the customers that have taken care of you: Repeat, loyal customers are a constant revenue stream, and the more time and contacts you make with them over the years, the more they will come back and stay at your B&B, not to mention recommending your accommodations to their friends and relatives. Do whatever is necessary to maintain these relationships once you have put the resources and time into creating them.

2. Prioritize your time: Make a list of what is most important to spend your time on when it involves working on your business. Look at the bigger picture and stay away from short term, time intensive goals that in no way will enhance or help maintain your business. Bottom line, become more efficient and concentrate on your strengths, not your weaknesses.

3. Market your inn effectively: Research what advertising and marketing mediums are the most cost effective, and pool your resources into those avenues. Online directory marketing has been proven to have the highest return on investment, but be wary of sites that promise results without the user friendly site structure and traffic to back up their claims.

4. Incorporate social networking: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln, and blogging are practically free ways to spread the virtual word about how wonderful your inn and surrounding areas are to visit, and why potential guests should stay with you versus one of your competitors. Create a meaningful network of ‘fans’ and ‘followers’ which can prove to be a invaluable way to collect feedback and consistently connect with your guests.

5. Use careful bookkeeping: 80% of new businesses fail in the first 2 years, and even established businesses can go under from poor accounting and bookkeeping skills. Manage your cash flow and keep careful records, not only for tax reasons, but also to compare different years expenses and revenues to see where you are improving on cutting costs and increasing profits, but more importantly, in what areas you can improve.

6. Minimize your losses: Poor management techniques, work ethic, marketing investments, and business strategies can all be a detriment to your B&B’s long term survival. Pay close attention to what is working, and be quick to cut out and drop what isn’t. The longer an ineffective and costly strategy continues, the higher the likelihood it will become a serious financial drain and could possibly put your inn out of business.

7. Continue to educate yourself: Stay on top of industry trends and abreast of market information.  Attend bed and breakfast seminars, trade shows, and read the latest news and notes about what is happening in your local and national economy. By broadening your educational scope you greatly enhance the possibility that your B&B business will not become another statistic.

8. Trust those around you to get the job done: No business can succeed with only one or two people running every aspect, unless you are a very small operation. Surround yourself with a trusted network of employees and create a positive and thriving work environment where they can prosper and help you in all aspects of day to day operations. It has been proven in multiple studies that the higher the employee satisfaction with their job, the higher their output will be for your bed and breakfast business.

9. Don’t be afraid to ask for input: Sometimes the best view is an unbiased one, an outsiders opinion on what your doing right, and their opinion on ways you can improve your operation. Many innkeeper owners can be resistant to the thought there could be possibly anything they could do better, but looked at through others eyes, valuable feedback can be acquired. Do not become offended by their opinions, remember, its ideas to improve your business, not personal attacks.

10. Live a balanced lifestyle: Don’t become too obsessed with working and bettering your business that you forget about your personal well-being. Take time to spend with your family, an occasional trip when applicable, and exercise and eat right. This will create a holistic and healthy mindset necessary for the occasional stressful environment you and your co-proprietors might endure.

The new decade and new year is an ideal time for an innkeeper owner to reflect on things that were done properly in the past and ways to better yourself and your business for the future. But be aware to never become complacent with your business practices, because as soon as you stop changing and improving your methods, the competition is sure to catch up and perhaps surpass you. And remember, the owners and staff at TheBedandBreakfastDirectory.com are here to help in anyway we can to be sure your B&B business will continue to succeed well into the new year and beyond.

Bed & Breakfast Inns Going Green

With the preservation of our planet’s natural beauty on everyone’s mind today, ‘Going Green’ not only helps the environment and protects our natural resources, but involves only minor lifestyle changes and minimal expense for individuals searching for ways to contribute to the ‘Green Earth’ preservation effort. When shopping for your favorite signature B&B recipe ingredients, bring along your own reusable bags. Green reusable bags reduce the amount of paper and plastic bags that are typically discarded after a single shopping trip. Plastic bags take thousands of years to decompose at local landfills, and if disposed of in our oceans, are often confused by sea creatures as food such as jellyfish, and they can be killed upon consuming them. There are many ways to save on electricity usage as well, therefore reducing power demands on local coal and nuclear power plants. Wash your clothes in cold water, open windows for natural lighting, turn off unneeded lights and appliances, and unplug or shutdown unused electronics such as computers and laptops. Automobiles are one of the largest contributors to global pollution, as every gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, so keep your vehicle tuned-up and tires properly inflated to conserve fuel. Going the speed limit and avoiding rapid acceleration also will save on gas costs. Shop and support your local farmers markets. You can cook fresh, organic meals impressing your bed and breakfast guests while assisting a local farmer who uses less or perhaps no pesticides that contaminate soil and can seep into your water supply. Buy a reusable water bottle to take with you on the go and re clean with soap and water after each use. This will eliminate the buying of bottled water at the store, and save you money as most bottled water costs are comparable to soda or juice prices. And, below 20% of all water bottles purchased today are actually recycled, and they are quickly becoming the main trash item in most of our countries landfills. Also, most plastic water bottles are made with petroleum, and when the bottle warms, can leach dangerous chemicals into your water. As you can see, ‘Going Green’ does not require paradigm shifts in your current lifestyle, and with minor changes you can help preserve our planet’s beauty for generations to come. And don’t forget, be sure to share with your guests the various ‘Green’ environmental techniques your bed and breakfast has implemented, because we all care about the future of this beautiful planet and the preservation of it’s illustrious future.

Join the best B&B directory av…

Join the best B&B directory available to market your inn online today, TheBedandBreakfastDirectory.com! Over 5,000 members and growing.

The Summer season is a perfect…

The Summer season is a perfect time for a romantic walk on the beach at sunset while staying at a scenic oceanside bed & breakfast.

Hemingway Days in Key West

A celebration of the Nobel Award winning author Ernest Hemingway is coming to a close today. It began on July 21st celebrating the 110th anniversary of the day of his birth. He first came to Key West in 1928 with his wife to pick up a new Ford he had ordered to drive back up north. The vehicle’s arrival was delayed for about seven weeks forcing the couple to stay at a 2nd floor apartment which was then known as “The Trev-Mor Hotel”, the Ford Factory being on the first floor. That place is now known as Casa Antigua, a very unusually structured residence with a beautiful soaring atrium and lush gardens. He ended up falling in love with Key West and staying, writing his epic novel A Farewell to Arms.

Now 110 years later, thousands flock to Key West, Florida in honor and celebration of the Author’s works. Events include theatrical performances, a look alike contest and a writing competition judged by his estranged granddaughter Lorian Hemingway. The major themes of this year’s competition were the economic hardships of families and the Isolation being caused by modern day technology and people’s yearning to escape from it. This is the 29th year of the competition, all short stories are reviewed and judged by Lorian. This year’s competition was won by Gregory Loselle, a Michigan school teacher who earned the contest’s $1000 first prize. The award ceremony was held in Casa Antigua.

55 year old David Douglas of Cypress TX won the look alike contest that consisted of 139 contestants all trimming their white beards, and fashioning attire the famous author wore throughout his eccentric career. The winner wore a sweater from a famous 1957 photograph of Hemingway, sweating it out in the high 90’s temperatures.  This was his 8th attempt which originally started as a dare and now has turned into victory!

This was followed up Saturday night by the infamous “For whom the bull tolls” event that consisted of all the Hemingway look alikes parading from Sloppy Joe’s down Duval Street. A much more harmless tradition than the event in Spain, using fake bulls and higher quantities of alcohol intake.

There are many more events coming up, one being Lobster Fest on August 8th and 9th. The Florida Keys are a beautiful place to visit stretching 126 miles and 42 bridges.  There are many lush gardens and flowerbeds, a popular one being Nancy’s Secret Garden created and maintained by Nancy Forrester a local artist. Hemingway lived in Casa Antigua from 1931 to his death in 1961. It has been wonderfully restored and is now open to the public for tours between 9am and 5pm year round.  He wrote mainly of turbulence and self-anguish, even tough he left for Cuba, he kept the home like many others not wanting to completely remove his ties with Key West. It was probably his remembrance of a kinder brighter side of life and this annual event will carry on his legacy in the place he loved most.

Top 5 Summer Cost Saving Tips for B&B Innkeepers

Summer is a short, but busy time of year for B&B proprietors. Many guests plan their vacations during this season, taking advantage of the long, picturesque Summer days. With their children out of school for Summer vacation, it is also a popular time for parents to plan their annual Summer family retreat to their favorite destination, including staying at their preferred bed & breakfast. Because of the influx of Summer guests checking in and out, it is understandable for innkeepers to be pre-occupied, and accounting for your inn’s monthly expenditures becomes more taxing than usual. The owners and staff at The Bed and Breakfast Directory.com understand the demands placed on today’s B&B owners, and offer innkeepers the following money saving tips. These 5 tips will help to ensure you have the background knowledge to procure higher profits by lowering your day to day operational costs. Below is our top 5 cost savings tips for inn owners to consider this Summer:

Tip 1:  Turn off your air conditioner overnight:  This may not apply to B&B’s in hot, humid climates where the temperature does not decrease adequately enough to turn the air off overnight, but by being aware of the nightly temps and cooling trends an innkeeper owner may be able to maximize efficiency and cut cooling costs by turning the air off before going to bed and opening a few windows to keep the air circulating and your guests comfortable.

Tip 2:  Replace your dirty, old air conditioner filters:  This simple and inexpensive cost-saving tactic should be done regularly, approx every 1-2 months depending on air usage. Dirty filters increase cooling costs by restricting the air flow into the A/C unit forcing it to run longer and inefficiently, translating into higher electric costs for our B&B owners.

Tip 3:  Dry your laundry outside:  Let the warm, summer breeze dry your clothes at no cost. Traditional dryers typically use 2-3 times the energy of a washing machine, especially on the highest heat setting, so why not hang your clothes on an outdoor clothesline and let mother nature do the work for free! If outdoor drying is not an option, try using low heat or partially drying your clothes then hanging up to allow to dry thoroughly.

Tip 4:  Grill food outdoors:  Not only are stoves and ovens taxing on your electric usage, they also increase the overall temperature in your B&B by releasing excess heat throughout the house. Consider fine-tuning your grilling prowess while impressing your guests by having a traditional outdoor BBQ. By grilling outside and not forcing your A/C unit to re-cool the house after using the oven/stove, you will be pleasantly surprised with how much lower your electric bill will be this Summer.

Tip 5: End of Summer Sales:  As Summer begins to come to a close, it is an ideal time to plan ahead for future home and garden projects by taking advantage of ‘End of Summer’ sales. Preparing for cooler weather, people typically spend less time outdoors during the end of the Summer season. This equates to lawn, garden and other project materials going on sale at drastically reduced prices as stores attempt to liquidate their vast Summer inventory.