Reading time: 2 minutes
Many bed-and-breakfast owners make a subtle mistake online: they hide their true essence. In an effort to appear “professional” to the market, they conceal their family history, the reason that led them to change their lives, or the hard work that went into building each of the cottages.
Worse yet, they believe they need to adopt a corporate, cold, and impersonal approach. But trying to imitate the rigid standards of large hotels negates your bed-and-breakfast’s greatest commercial strength.
Here’s the plain and simple truth: at a bed-and-breakfast, people aren’t just buying a bed to sleep in. They’re buying an experience of connection and warmth.
Here are some tips to turn your story into direct bookings today.
1. A Guesthouse Is a Guesthouse, a Hotel Is a Hotel
Stop comparing yourself to the big hotel chains. They sell standardization and large-scale processes; you sell personality and exclusivity. You definitely don’t need to compete on the same playing field.
The true luxury of your guesthouse lies in the details that tell a story.
It could be the service (where guests are addressed by their first name), the breakfast featuring artisanal local recipes, or that rustic architecture that blends seamlessly with the local landscape.
Focus on that, not on the physical features you think you should have.
2. Define Your Ideal Guest
If you try to speak to everyone online, you’ll end up speaking to no one. Your story needs to resonate directly with the right person through one-on-one communication.
Find out who you cater to most. Are they city dwellers seeking peace and quiet on the weekend? Executives looking to unplug? Athletes passionate about ecotourism?
Other customers will eventually find their way to you as a result, believe me. But your primary communication must be laser-focused, aimed exclusively at addressing the pain points and desires of this ideal guest.
3. Find Your Unique Selling Proposition and Repeat It Ad Infinitum
What does your property have that absolutely no other inn in the region has?
It could be your grandmother’s cornmeal cake recipe, served warm at 4 p.m. It could be the fact that you designed and built the wooden furniture in each suite yourself. Sometimes it’s simply the option to bring your pet into the room. If your direct competitors don’t allow it, maybe it’s time for you to explore this option.
The golden rule: Identify this unique selling point objectively. Then, highlight it in your Instagram bio, on the homepage of your website, and maybe even in your tagline. Repeat it until this detail becomes instantly synonymous with your brand.
4. Trade a Stay for Content
A great story needs good storytellers to reach the world. This is where micro-influencers come in: digital content creators who can help spread the essence of your business.
The key is to select profiles that speak directly to your ideal customer (the one you defined in step 2).
To get started, it’s simple: search for profiles on YouTube or Instagram, define your offer, and reach out via direct message. Offer a trade so they can experience your bed-and-breakfast firsthand, and in exchange, ask them to share behind-the-scenes content organically. This can triple your results without costing you a single real.
5. Tell Your Story and Make It Irresistible
It’s time to bring your journey out from behind the scenes and share it with the world in a captivating and professional way. Don’t be shy about your roots or your daily processes. That’s what will create the connection we mentioned earlier. Example…
Show the “before and after” of your property on social media. Introduce the staff who lovingly prepare the rooms and highlight the local origins of the ingredients used in your kitchen.
An authentic, well-told story is what will help your bed-and-breakfast grow sustainably. The competition may always copy your prices and promotions, but they can never copy your identity.
Your mission is to welcome guests. Technology takes care of the rest…
To have time to tell stories, warmly welcome guests at check-in, and focus on personalized service, you can’t get bogged down in the bureaucratic side of management.
If your day is swallowed up by spreadsheets, financial reconciliations, and manual check-ins, your time and energy to delight customers simply disappear.
And that’s why Erbon created Atlas. Our PMS handles all the heavy lifting of your operation—automating reservations, billing, and availability—so you have plenty of time to focus on what really matters: your guests.
To learn about the only system that cuts your operational time by 40%, click the button.
Related articles:
Comments
Post a Comment