If you haven’t heard, The B&B Team (starring Peter and Rick) completed a business video. We launched it last month. Here it is once again for your viewing enjoyment!

It takes some work and a bit of capital but a business video is worth it. Ask Peter and Rick and they will tell you it was also fun. Here are some more great reasons.

“Videos allow you to further craft and shape your brand. Videos allow you to convey emotions that you can’t bring across with text and still photos only; it provides you with an opportunity to add different attributes to your brand.” This is from an article, ‘8 reasons why you should create videos for your business.’

Conveying emotions. This is one of the key reasons I picked up from this article. Branding is all about creating emotional connections and what better way to do this than in a video. Some of the best bed and breakfast videos are ones that evoke a real feel for the Inn, innkeepers and the location.

A business video lets you project a personal profile. That was one of our goals for The B&B Team video. Hospitality is a very personal business and most innkeepers are not shy retiring types. So putting your face on your bed and breakfast should be fun. And if it brings more viewers to your website that result in bookings. Say no more.

The statistics are also compelling.

• “According to Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research, watching a minute video is the equivalent of reading 1.8 million words.”

• Look to the future. It’s coming. “Roughly 66% of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2014.” Most smart phones are optimized for video.

• YouTube is the second biggest search engine. This is nothing new but it is growing.

So who is out there that produces good business videos? The B&B Team used a local company near our Maine office in Kennebunk, Video Creations. I think the best advice is to look at some B&B videos and see which ones you like and go from there. Your web designer will also be able to give you some direction. But go professional. Good video photography as well as production is just as important as good professional still shot photography for your website.

A good example of a bed and breakfast business video is from Woods Hole Inn . Take a look at their website and then the video. One complements the other, the way it should. I believe it covers all the 8 reasons why you should create a business video for your bed and breakfast.

Consider adding a video to your marketing for 2014. A great opportunity to tell your story because your story is your business.

Thanks for Listening (and viewing),

Janet Wolf

Are you seeking a unique, one of a kind lodging property? The Charlotte Hotel and Restaurant located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is a prime example. ‘Charming in Virginia’, this is the way The B&B Team’s has described this truly one of a kind boutique hotel and restaurant lodging property. Eight guest rooms in a beautifully renovated building, a thoroughly modern inn and acclaimed restaurant. Small but mighty!

We believe that today’s traveler often seeks lodging that communicates a unique, compelling and authentic experience. The Charlotte Hotel & Restaurant offers this all inclusive experience plus convenience. Exploring the charming small town of Onancock (pronounced “nan-cock”) is just steps away from the hotel’s entrance. Walk the quaint streets and soak up the local flavors.

When one thinks of the Chesapeake Bay it is often Maryland and Delaware that comes to mind. But tapering off the end of the peninsula is a 70 mile sliver of Virginia.

The area has always been known as a leisure week-end destination. But the inn has excellent upside potential for the mid-week business traveler with NASA’s increased development and reliance upon the installations at Wallups Island less than 30 minutes away. In addition a new hospital is under construction in Onancock, which will be a source of business for years to come.

The area has so much to offer guests who are looking for a “Slow Down Vacation”.

Travelers can go as slow as they want or…explore over a dozen deserted islands and beaches. Go on a Kayak Winery Tour. Explore additional nearby historic waterfront towns like Cape Charles and Wachapreague. Or ‘sail back in time’ to the car-less isle of Tangier. That is a road trip vacation worth the journey. Sign me up!

The Charlotte Hotel’s restaurant is also a large part of the property’s success and profitability. The owners and chef take pride in supporting local watermen, farmers and area businesses. The menu reflects the uniqueness and modern artistic feel of the boutique hotel and restaurant. It completes the package!

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

In mid-2009 Buck Davis contacted PAII with the idea of wanting to create a reality TV show about Innkeeping. He wanted to showcase the industry in a positive light, but he also wanted to create something entertaining. Having been mentioned in a PAII newsletter, we at The B&B Team® contacted Buck to offer our assistance in any way we could. The ensuing phone calls were very interesting.

Buck picked our brains about different topics. He wanted to showcase really beautiful and interesting inns. Could we direct him to some really nice ones? We did, and he was thrilled. He wanted to feature a variety of inn owners, including minorities and gays, could we direct him? We did, and he was even happier. He wanted to do a show that followed inn buyers through the process of acquiring an inn along the lines of House Hunters on HGTV. Oops. If he had a few years to follow someone around the country while they looked, and then weeks (or months) while they did due diligence and got financing he could do that, but maybe not. Well then, how about following an Innkeeper as they readied their inn for sale and sold it? Double oops. If he had the typical 2-3 years to hang around while the right buyer arrived, he could do that, but maybe not.

Poor Buck was getting discouraged. What did we do with innkeepers that he could film and make into a TV show, he wanted to know? It had to be a shorter term proposition. We discussed some of our different consulting arenas and suggested that an Inn Tune-up might be something he could track. After all, for an Inn Tune-Up we go through an inn in great detail, make recommendations, and hope that the innkeeper will implement and enjoy an increase in business. That sounded like a good idea. Of course, we reminded him that sometimes success only shows up on a spreadsheet, which isn’t exactly great for TV, but at least we had a plan.

As a test run Buck and Suzan Satterfield, the producer at Picture Window Productions, traveled to Bruce, Mississippi to observe Rick and Peter do a Marketability Assessment and Valuation (including an Inn Tune-up) at the Cart Barn Inn @ Yoda Creek. After that, they were sold on The  B&B Team!

Since the production company Buck was going to work with was based in Atlanta (they had produced Ground Breakers for ten years for HGTV) he wanted to find an inn in the region for their “sizzle reel,” a short piece they would use to pitch the show to networks. They found the Ashford Manor B&B in Watkinsville, GA. Picture Window Productions flew us down to the location. When we arrived at the B&B, there were a pile of vehicles and a van in front. No sooner did we knock on the front door when we were greeted with a smile and a finger to the lips to keep us quiet. Lights blazed in the parlor, people were standing around, and we were told (in a whisper), “Make-up!” as we were rushed to the kitchen. Wow, this was real stuff!

We spent a fascinating weekend with a bunch of fun and extremely talented professionals. Everyone from the makeup artists to the producer, cameramen, sound folks, and hands were amazing. Dave and Mario, the innkeepers, were real sports, hamming it up as needed. Sadly, the sizzle reel, which was presented at a major TV convention, wasn’t picked up. Probably a good thing, since they needed to do 16 episodes, and the problem was, as soon as we would start to get into any real substance with Dave and Mario we’d hear “Cut!” and we were moved on to the next scene. This was TV, not real consulting.

Earlier we had put out a call to ask for volunteer innkeepers with ideas on how their inns could be used in the show, and we had a great response. To all of you who did email us (some with terrific ideas), we thank you. And to those of you who were wondering whatever became of it, here it is. Peter and Rick are NOT big TV stars, but these guys sure made us feel like it for a weekend. Enjoy!

Do you think Jay Karen, PAII‘s CEO is nervous? Rick Wolf, partner in The B&B Team, Inn Consultants and Brokers, is a certified EMT. At the recent conference of the Florida Bed & Breakfast Inns the theme was “Recovery,” and they asked us to dress and present with a medical theme. The Innkeeping industry is in recovery, it seems, and everyone had a good time. Well, maybe not Jay, as he gamely volunteered to have his blood pressure taken ON VIDEO!!! Way to go, Jay!

You won’t learn a lot from watching this, but it’s kind of fun! Please let us know if your business is recovering!

The numbers are convincing, but not surprising when you see the explosion of Social Media and technology in our industry.  These figures, presented by Stephen Schweickart, CEO of VScreen, were detailed by Stephanie Andre in an interview published in RISMedia’s April 28 Ezine.

SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH A B&B?  Everything!

Gone are the days when having a few photos on your website was all you needed.  The leaders in the inn industry recognize the power that video offers when grabbing the attention of the consumer.  Everybody has heard that you have 3 secondsto grab the attention of a web surfer once your SEO efforts brings him to your site.  If he subconsciously discovers he likes the look of the site, he gives you another 4 seconds to discover if your site can meet his needs by looking at the functionality and navigation. If you fail at either of these steps, he hits the BACK button and he’s lost.

Video, per Mr. Schweickart, extends that window of attention-span to 14 seconds.  People enjoy movies, they like the action.  We are a visual society and the days of stagnant photos of the bed in the guest room will not grab the attention of the potential booking anymore.

It’s time to update websites to meet these evolving interestsof the traveling market.  Check out the YouTube video made by Dallas and Nancy Renner of the Chocolate Turtle B&Bin Corrales, NM.  Not only do you get to see a bit of the inn and its colors, but the video takes you into the community to see the shops, the animals and the mountains, and you get to meet the innkeepers as well…always a part of the guest memories you want to create.  That’s a marketing advantage over the competition that throws water on the fiery argument that it’s the current recession that is causing business to be down.

Your breakfast presentations are fabulous.  Make your inn’s presentation on the internet fabulous too.

Here are a few ideas to consider as you work to improve your website:

• Replace the stills of the guest bed with video of the guest rooms…panning around the room and out the windows to the scenic river below.
• Pan across the deck or private patio with the colorful breakfast settings to the bird feeder with the orioles and bluebirds or to the water feature in the garden.
• Film the scarecrow festival in October, the strawberry festival in June, the sleigh rides in January and the flower fairs in April in your region.  These are the places your guests are going to want to see to have the full experience.
• Loan your digital camera to your guests heading out hiking or to the battlefield re-enactment, show them how to use the video feature, and put their live testimonial on your site and blog.
• Link your blog with a feed to your Facebook account to have your videos shown to your fans around the world.

Grab them with your inn’s beauty, your creativity and your innovation.  You only have 3 seconds.    Scott

It seems that Oscar's parents, Mike and Laura at The Craftsman B&Bin Pacific City, Oregon, taught Oscar to type, and with that new skill (Weimaraners are smarter than your average dog) he's decided to share all the things he's learned about blogging and how it works. Oh, and how it can help a B&B.