How Bed and Breakfasts, Guest Houses and Inns Can Make More Money with Less Work Yvonne Halling - Bed and Breakfast Coach

- Remain adaptable and able to pivot 
- You don't have to take everybody 
- Define who you would most like to welcome 
- OTAs don't own you, they work FOR you
- Airbnb is not the competition, they cater to a different market 
- Maintain higher prices to reflect the high value you offer 
- Platforms have attracted a new demographic that aren't interested in true hospitality 
- Many B&Bs (especially Airbnbs) went out of business during the pandemic, because they don't "own" anything 
- There are always people with money, willing to spend it on what they value 
- Creating your own paycheck is different from working for someone else 
- Do you have what it takes?
- The future of traditional B&Bs 

In this episode I discuss what I believe has been a massive shift away from "true" hospitality to essentially real-estate businesses, pretending to offer hospitality, when the majority of them don't.  I'd love your thoughts :)

Interview with Chris McDonagh of Stewart Hindley on how to attract funding for your new or established B&B in the UK only

Contact details:
•Email: info@stewarthindley.co.uk
•https://www.stewarthindley.co.uk/
•Tel: 01488 684 834

Join my Facebook group here:  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DynamicBedandBreakfastOwnersGroup/
Visit my website and take our quiz here:
https://www.bedandbreakfastcoach.com

With my guests Tony and Nicki Vee, Expert Relationship Coaches we explore:
Challenges that often face B&B owners when life partners become business partners
How to ensure that your relationship comes first, not the guests
What a shared vision and teamwork can do to explode your B&B business

Get more resources and help from Tony and Nicki Vee here:  https://tonyandnickivee.com

Hello I’m Yvonne Halling and this video is about the changes already taking place in our industry, and those I see coming, so if you own or are planning to own and run a B&B, guest house or Inn, then please pay close attention to what I’m about to reveal.




First, let me speak to you if you’re an established owner, and have become demoralised with the online travel agents, and the way they’ve positioned themselves between you and your guests online, and in many cases intercepted what should have been direct bookings for their own benefit.




This is going to continue.  And even though they’ve been slapped recently for making false claims and offering fake discounts, and as a consequence the public have lost trust, resulting in fewer bookings via those channels, they will be back.




And they’ll be more aggressive than ever in my opinion.  They want to completely dominate the market making it impossible for you to be seen on Google.  And Google is already preventing you from using some of the tools available to other small businesses, because they can see the enormous potential cash available to them if they manipulate the searches to their advantage.




You cannot win in this game, so I encourage you not to play it.




I’ll tell you how in a minute because there is a way, and it’s easier than you think




Now let me speak to you if you have a dream to run a B&B, guest house or inn and you’re in the research and planning stages.  




My one piece of advice to you is this.





This business is NOT what you think it is.




If you think you can invest in a beautiful property in a touristic area and make people happy with your stylish rooms and delicious breakfast and all will be well.  It won’t.




It’s way more complicated than that these days.




Now, I’m not here to burst your bubble, or destroy your dream.




So if you’re established or brand new, then here’s what I see coming and how you can take advantage and have the business you dream of.




First, build a brand and a platform for yourself.  By all means use the online travel agents if you need to, especially if you’re in the starting out phase, but know that they are not your friend and to depend on them year after year will be disastrous for you in the long term.




Second, more and more people are travelling.  That’s one good thing to come out of the online travel agents’ activities – they’ve opened up the travel market.  It’s never been easier to book a weekend away at the drop of a hat.




But more and more travellers are looking for an enriching experience, and that’s where you can really shine.  Larger hotels cannot offer personal experiences.  That’s not what they do.  But you can.  So give some thought to the actual experience you offer, beyond the stylish rooms and delicious breakfast, and lead with that instead.  This is your unique value that only you can offer.




And third, put your unique value out there online.  If you’re giving out local knowledge over the breakfast table, then write about it, or better still, shoot a video about it and put it online, so those looking will find it.  The internet is not just for the online travel agents, it’s for everyone and that includes you.  Don’t hide behind your property.  Come out and show us what you’ve got.




There’s a huge shift in human consciousness going on right now and from what I’ve seen from trusted astrologers, this will continue for many years.  Many of our trusted structures of the past, such as banks, governments and systems are breaking down, which means that new ones will emerge.  Be part of the new rather than clinging to the old way of doing things.





Learn, grow, contribute and bring all of you to the online stage, so we can get to know you, like and trust you, and then book with you.  




I’m taking a handful of owners through a brand new process called “From Commodity to Celebrity – the Ant

Hello I’m Yvonne Halling and in this video I’m going to show you how to take yourself from a commodity to a “celebrity brand” in 3 easy steps, so you can attract the guests you want to welcome and charge the rates you want to charge.




So if you’re frustrated by the guests you’re getting from the online travel agents and the commissions you pay to them for those guests, then this video will help you see why.





First, let’s define what I mean by a commodity and a celebrity brand and why it matters.




A commodity is something that can be bought anywhere usually at low prices, and has nothing much to differentiate itself from its competitors.  It usually looks the same as everything else in its market.  




A celebrity brand is something that is exclusive, is rarely discounted and has a higher perceived value so it can command a higher price.  It usually looks and feels completely different from everything else in its market and it’s well known.




So why is this important for you as a B&B owner or innkeeper?




If you’re frustrated because you can’t seem to attract enough guests yourself, and you’re still relying largely on online travel agents to bring you guests, even after many years, then you’re probably looking like a commodity in the marketplace.




I see very few owners building a “celebrity brand” and yet it’s the quickest and easiest way to attract guests yourself, without using the OTAs.




Here’s the steps:





Step 1





Decide on who you want to welcome.  Really dig into this, and you’ll probably feel some resistance to doing this, because you may think that honing in on a certain type of guests means you’ll be turning people away.




But the truth is you won’t have to turn anyone away.  What will happen is that when your message goes out there into cyberspace, it will start to attract MORE of the guests you want to welcome and the others will be fade away naturally.  You won’t have to do anything.





Step 2




Once you’ve decided on WHO it is you most want to welcome, then you craft a message that calls them out, and you put that message everywhere online.  That means firstly, on your website.  Go take a look at your website now and read the first piece of text your visitor will see when they land there, and ask yourself these questions – am I calling to the guests I most want to welcome?  If I was that guest, would what I’m reading inspire me to stay and read more?




If the answer is no to those two questions then you have work to do.





Step 3




Now that you have your ideal guests in mind, you’ll need to create some content for them to consume.  This can be in the form of blog posts, social media posts, and videos.  You’ll want to position yourself as the best source of information around for those guests, and online content is the way to do that.  Think about what content you’d like to create and play to your strengths.  If you like writing, do some blogs.  If you like talking, then video would be great for you.







If you’ve liked this video, then hit the subscribe button to be the first to be notified when I post the next one, and if you’re curious to know how other B&Bs, guest houses and inns have put these basic steps in place to add at least 25% to their income in one season, while working less and having more fun, then click on the link below to register for my next Masterclass.




Click on the link and I’ll see you there!




Register here for my next Masterclass:  https://www.bedandbreakfast.com/masterclass/