Transformational travel can be defined in simplest terms as a travel experience that becomes a “trip of self-discovery”. This almost sounds like 1960’s jargon (different kind of trip though).

Seriously folks. A recent article by Tamara Gillan for The Drum Network; ‘Tapping the power of transformational travel’  explains what transformational travel is all about.

“One’s destination is never a place, but always a new way of seeing things” Henry Miller

Mr. Miller wrote a lot about Paris in the 1930’s. His writing transforms you to the city of light in that era. Very descriptive writing has that power.

“Travel has that power. Part fantasy, part reality, travel is a way of experiencing life that takes you beyond the familiarity of your day-to-day and transposes you to another place. The destination differs but the intent remains the same – the incomparable pleasure of experience…”

Are you giving your guests a transformational travel experience?

“We know from speaking with consumers that 36% of travelers would pay more for their travel experiences if they felt it was based on their personal preferences, which is why, when done well, travel becomes a marketing ‘enabler’ because it directly engages the customer and has the possibility of positively impacting their behavior and attitudes.”

Here is a great example of how to receive a slice of that 36% that is willing to pay more.

Wolf Cove Inn blog post titled ‘Maine in the Fall-Covered Bridges and Waterfalls’  may not be a match for Henry Miller’s writing talents but it is just as powerful. According to innkeepers Sue and Roy Forsberg, this blog has brought more reservations since it was published than the innkeepers ever thought possible. Why?

• Expands the readers knowledge of the area and what there is to see and experience.
• Engages the reader with good photos, a video and detailed directions on how their days will be filled.
• The reader can picture themselves on the road, camera in hand with the beauty of the Maine countryside surrounding them.
• The blog ends with directions back to the Inn with a choice of a direct or more leisurely scenic route.
• The reader can then picture themselves relaxing and experiencing what the Wolf Cove Inn has to offer at the end of their day’s journey. Perfect.

Transformational travel involves not only a trip of self discovery but a trip that feels crafted for you, a trip that guests feel is a valued experience.

The Wolf Cove Inn ‘Bridges and Waterfalls’ writing transposes the reader to a different place. It engages and entices the reader. That is it’s power.

All of our small lodging properties in varied locations across the US have the opportunity to engage guests in transformational travel experiences. The power of travel can transpose your guests away from the day-to-day and take them to another place. If done well and the experience is perceived as valuable and authentic you can get that portion of the 36% that is willing to pay more and… come back for more.

The B&B Team works with a wide variety of Inns in varied locations waiting for new innkeepers to take the helm. New innkeepers have the energy, vision and opportunity to expand on the transformational travel experiences the Inn and area have to offer. We are here to help.

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

Blogging for Hospitality-What is your story?

The question always comes up…what should I blog about? Composing can be a daunting task if you look upon it as a task.  Suggestion: Think of it as a creative outlet for self expression and a way to communicate who and what you are with your readers. What is your story? Open up your creative juices, and you will be surprised at the multitude of things you can blog about.

We recently conducted one of our ‘Better Way to Learn Innkeeping’ seminars at The Inn at Weathersfield in Vermont. Innkeeper Marilee recently came up with a very clever approach to incorporate into her blogging. Something that may give you some inspiration.

Like many historic Inns, The Inn at Weathersfield was built as a private home. During the early years of our nation in 1792 a gentleman named Thomas Prentice and his family settled near the village of Perkinsville in the town of Weathersfield. The home he built was a modest colonial farmhouse with keeping room and kitchen hearth with outlying barns and carriage house. Settlers during the post revolutionary war were described as ‘knowing their future lives would be lives of toil and self sacrifice, for this reason they were prepared to grapple with adversity in whatever form it might appear.’ Thomas Prentice and his family were of this breed of settlers.

Thomas now has become the inspiration in the creative blogs of innkeeper, Marilee.

“Each day, I write a letter to Thomas Prentis (or Prentice as we’ve found two spellings), the revolutionary  war veteran who built the original house in 1792. I thread it in an old  typewriter @iwvermont. I look at this writing assignment more like a diary of sorts, a way to connect this house’s past to the present. If you’d like, follow along our journey as faithful  caretakers of Thomas’s house.”

“A way to connect this house’s past to the present.” Love this! Also a way to connect to their guests. Marilee and her husband Richard are passionate people; they love what they do, and it shows.  People love people who are passionate.

Today, 226 years later, The Inn at Weathersfield is a hive of activity. A wonderful farm to table restaurant, The Hidden Kitchen, music on the patio, cooking classes, wine cellar dining, gardens filled with vegetables and flowers with outdoor dining area, weddings in their amphitheater chapel tucked away in the woods or their meadow by the pond. Plus so much more.

Thomas would be proud to see how his humble house has become a hospitable oasis open for guests from far and wide to enjoy.

What should you blog about? Take a fresh look at your Inn, your town and surrounding area. What makes it special? What are you passionate about? What is your story?

Please take the time to read Marilee’s blogging for hospitality, hoping it gives you some inspiration. As she ends her letters to Thomas, “Until next time, your house’s faithful caretaker.”

Thanks for Listening,

Janet Wolf

Why would I NOT want my children as "friends" on Facebook? Most parents would KILL to have the insights that being a "friend" can give about their kids. It wasn't that I didn't want and wouldn't love the chance to be their "friend," it was simply that Facebook, for me (and, I suspect, for many who are reading this post) isn't really a social tool. It's a business tool. So why should that matter?

I have a tendency to tweet things every so often, usually about great hospitality-related articles that would be of interest to my Twitter followers in the lodging industry. Those show up on Facebook. And I usually comment on hospitality related subjects on Facebook, though not as much as I might or should. Blog posts like this on The Innkeeper's Resource sometimes show up on my pages, too. It's coming along, little by little, as I develop more of a network with innkeepers and become a fan of more inns. The thing is, when I look at my kids' Facebook pages, they really do carry on conversations with friends about cultural things, personal things, politics, and humor. My conversations, such as they are, are business related. And that kind of throws cold water on their youthful musings.

Maybe I should get a separate "personal" Facebook page. Don't get me wrong, I've had some old friends from my past find me on Facebook. And it's a treat to reconnect. But Facebook for me is a networking tool. And, as I get the hang of it and others in the innkeeping industry get the hang of it, it's bringing some of us together. That's fun. I think it will be to our mutual benefit. But somehow, Dad's business just seems out of place on a 30-something's page.

Am I wrong? Have any of you experienced a similar dilemma? Let's hear about it!

Peter

In both of these presentations we focus on the contemporary traveler, the i.guest, who is intelligent, independent, informed, imaginative, Internet-savvy and empowered, and Identified. This i.guest is using the Internet and social media to make travel decisions, and one of the topics that always comes up when we mention blogs is, "Does a blog bring innkeepers business?"

While we have anecdotal evidence that it does, based on some innkeepers who swear by their blogs, there is some new evidence of a blog's effectiveness in generating new business.

Stephanie at the Albert Shafsky House Bed & Breakfast in Placerville, CA has been writing a blog for a year and a half. Before speaking to an eager audience at CABBI about blogging and social media, she showed us her Google Analytics page that proved that one of the top referrers to her B&B's website is her blog. And her bounce rate on those referrals is a mere 25% or so. That's quite something. She thinks that the blog is integral to their marketing, along with the B&B's Facebook page and other efforts. Steph and Rita are really working social media, and it's paying off.

This morning I received a Google Alert linking to My Bella Vita, a blog by an American innkeeper in Italy, Cherrye Moore, at Il Cedro in Calabria. We exchanged an email or two, and I asked her if she got any business from her blog. Her reply was that her "blog site has been a great source of leads for our B&B." She also made an incredibly valuable point, that many people go out of their way to book with them, "because they feel like they know us through the blog." That, folks, is what social media, Web 2.0, Travel 2.0, and all the other stuff is about. Successful innkeeping is about building relationships and providing enduring experiences.

If a blog at your inn could help you build relationships before you've ever met a potential guest, that's really getting a head start on a long term relationship that can pay great dividends, both financial and "psychic," as Holly Stiel likes to say.

For all the inspiration from all the innkeepers mentioned above and those that keep us going every day, all I can say, again to echo Holly Stiel (and some guy with sideburns), is "Thank you, thank you very much!"

Peter

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.