B&B Trends | Bed Breakfast Traveler

August 4, 2017

IWBMob is a New Mobile Booking Technology

Bed Breakfast Traveler is a brand operated under the Instant World Booking umbrella. A few weeks ago we introduced a brand new concept in mobile booking. Yes, Bed and Breakfasts can be booked on the fly, from anywhere. And, as an innkeeper you can host your booking engine on your B&B website, and be assured that people from any location using any type of devise can book your rooms instantly. This includes users of mobile phones, tablets, and any computer.

The first phase of this re-branding has just been released. It’s a mobile-first design. This means that your profile page, and the entire booking process, has been redesigned. Our new design features leading edge mobile aesthetics and streamlined user experience. For users of our new booking engine, the experience will surpass almost any modern booking site available today.

What does mobile-first mean?
Mobile-first means that our site will respond flexibly to all types of computers and devices, with an emphasis on mobile users. After all, more than 25% of worldwide travel bookings are made on mobile devices. In the coming weeks, additional phases of our IWBmob re-branding will be visible across our entire website.

One thing to consider when selecting your primary booking engine is this. Have you gone through the booking process on multiple different mobile devices such as an iPhone, an Android phone, and a tablet? Are the email confirmations that your guests receive equally mobile-friendly? Instant World Booking has this all covered for you.

We invite you to check out your new profile pages. We’re sure you’ll agree that it works better on mobile devices, and is easy for users, than most other booking sites.

Here are some of best profiles we’ve seen. We recommend you check them out for ideas. Remember, add your best photos!

Hotel Convento Santa Catalina, Guatemala
Wander Inn Bunbury, Australia
Amigos Hostel Cozumel, Mexico
Bondalem Beach Club, Indonesia
New Ostel Florence, Italy
Nanu Guesthouse, South Korea

We will soon introduce some innovative methods of integrating your IWB experience with Facebook and other social media. These are brand new innovations that are currently not used by any other booking service. Look for future announcements to learn how to take advantage of these innovations.

For more information, please see:

http://www.instantworldbooking.com/blog_iw/2017/06/introducing-iwbmob-mobile-booking-concept/

November 7, 2012

Hurricane Sandy forum introduced by PAII

PAII CEO, Jay Karen and Lisa Kolb, owner of Acorn Internet Services, met at the Washington B&B Guild Annual Meeting earlier this week. Due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy and the relatively little information we’ve been hearing about impacted B&Bs and inns, the two thought a more public-access information sharing site would be helpful.

From that discussion, PAII has since created a public forum for the innkeeping industry to post any innkeeper needs, as well as offerings of help those affected. This forum is the place to go to post any requests for assistance or awareness of the need for assistance of your peers on the East coast, and to offer help in whatever way you can. Some examples of needs might be finding places for guests who had reservations at now-closed B&Bs, knowledge of any trouble getting a response from insurance carriers, supplies, places for weary innkeepers to stay or relax, etc.

Visit www.innkeeping.org/sandy and you’ll see the Hurricane Sandy forum. Once inside the forum, use the two conversations to post your information. Thanks for any help you can offer.

October 12, 2012

How to Properly Interact with Facebook Fan Pages

We all know that social media interaction works well for small businesses and tourism and bed & breakfast hotels in particular. But how does the whole “Like” system work? And what is the best method of socially interacting with Facebook?

For those asking for clarification on exactly how the “LIKE” procedure should go, here it is. We’ve found that this procedure works best, and is fast when trying to like multiple pages:

1) Log in as your personal page.

2) Go to the facebook fan page you want to like.

3) Click the like button (this increments the like count since you are logged as your personal profile).

4) Click the little down arrow in the upper right corner of your window, and switch to “Use facebook as” your business page.

5) Click the backspace button. This takes you back to the fan page you are liking.

6) Click the like button again. This likes the page as your business page, which has the benefit of allowing you to comment on and continue interaction with the page in the future (Don’t underestimate the value of this step).

7) Now, post a comment on the page you have just liked. This has the benefit of leaving a link back to your facebook page on the timeline of the liked page.

Again, don’t underestimate the value of steps 6 and 7 when it comes to social media interaction. Step 6 allows you to follow the page on your business profile and continue interaction in the future. Step 7 allows you to place a comment and link to your facebook page on the liked page. This means that every person who has liked that page (perhaps hundreds) has the potential to now see your comment and your link in their newsfeed. Since you already liked the page in step 6, you will be able to track and return to that page again in the future to leave further comments, and of course your link.

September 30, 2012September 29, 2012

Praise for Britain and Ireland Bed & Breakfasts

As part of an introduction to Europe’s bed and breakfast accommodation, travel specialist Rick Steves recently had some very positive things to say about UK & Ireland B&Bs in the Seattle Times.

An obvious fan, Steves begins by giving a warm impression of B&Bs in general and makes a number of pertinent observations: “While B&Bs often lack the conveniences of a hotel — such as fancy lobbies, restaurants, and in-room phones — I happily make the trade-off for the personal touches that they do offer, whether it’s joining my hosts for tea in the afternoon or relaxing by a common fireplace at the end of the day. […] But even though B&Bs are family-run, it doesn’t mean you have to feel pressure to become ‘part of the family.’ Chatty friendliness is not forced on guests. Depending on my mood and workload, I am often very business-like and private during my stay. On other occasions, I join the children in the barn for the sheep-shearing festivities.”

Book Bed and Breakfasts

January 19, 2012January 12, 2012

Volcano Bed and Breakfast

Aloha,

We offer several Bed & Breakfast Suites.

Our beautiful Fern House hosts two cozy rooms with private baths on the second floor. It has a common sitting room with microwave and coffeemaker on the second floor as well. Guests of the Ohia Room and Ola’a Room can use the large 60 ft swimming pool in the back yard of the Fern House.

Our Ohia Room features a queen size bed, saterllite tv and dvd player. It is furnished with bamboo hardwood flooring, teak wood bed and furniture. It has a private marble bathroom with walk-in shower and Jacuzzi tub. From the windows you have an intimate view of the Volcano Forest with Ohia trees and Hapu’u ferns.

Our Ola’a Room features a queen size bed, satellite tv and dvd player. It is furnished with Lyptus Fire hardwood flooring, mahogany wood bed and furniture. It has a private bathroom with shower. From the windows you have a view into the forest of Ohia trees and Hapu’u Ferns and onto the 60 foot salt water swimming pool in the spacious garden beneath you

This beautiful Bed & Breakfast lies on virgin land in the middle of the Volcano Forest, 10 minutes north of the famous Volcanoes National Park. The Spanish-style Fern House with yellow stucco and red tile roof is surrounded by Hapu’u ferns and the famous Hawaiian Ohia trees that grow on elevation and carry red blossoms in the spring.

The Fern House is very classical in its set up. It features hard wood floorings, teak furnitures and cozy rooms.

Due to rising quest inquiries, we now offer three more rooms at only 3000 feet away from the Fern House.

Our Forest House features three spacious rooms; the Ginger Room and the Hibiscus Room for couples and the Orchid Room for families. Outside the house is an area with two Jacuzzi tubs and a sauna for use by the guests of the Forest Rooms only.

Our Ginger Room in the Forest House features a 300 sqft room with king size bed, satellite tv, small seating area with coffee maker and private bathroom with tub and shower. Laminate flooring and island style furnitures. Guests of this room can use the outside lounge area with two Jacuzzi tubs and a sauna and the large common living room with wireless internet.

Our Hibiscus Room in the Forest House features a 300 sqft room with king size bed, satellite tv and private bathroom with tub and shower. Guests of this room can use the outside lounge area with two Jacuzzi tubs and a sauna and the large common living room with wireless internet.

Our Orchid Room in the Forest House is ideal for families. It is a 400 sqft unit with one queen bedroom and one twin bedroom, satellite tv and private bathroom with tub and shower, washer and dryer. Guests of this room can use the outside lounge area with two Jacuzzi tubs and a sauna and the large common living room with wireless internet.

December 27, 2011

Top Bed and Breakfasts with the Best Offerings

Bed and breakfasts promise the warmth and comfort of home for those on the road. But, how many of us are cozily welcomed home with a glass of wine by the fire or awoken by the smell of coffee and freshly baked scones every day?

Like at your most generous friend’s house, the innkeepers live on site, so they know the area backwards and front and they can’t wait to show you the best of it. The houses themselves, often in an idyllic setting, harbor a rich history and ooze character.

Whether they’re haunted, were once homes of grand families, or have been passed down by generations of B&B owners, every portrait and floral bedspread tells a story.

http://news.travel.aol.com/2011/08/06/8-bed-and-breakfasts-with-the-best-fixings-photos/

April 19, 2011April 17, 2011

Introducing IWBFrontDesk, a Full-Featured PMS

At BedBreakfastTraveler.com, we have received a literal outpouring of interest in IWBFrontDesk, a new full-featured property management system to be released in just several weeks. At Instant World Booking, one of our core principles is that technology should not only make your life easier and more efficient, it should also reduce your costs. IWBFrontDesk certainly achieves these goals.

IWBFrontDesk is priced at a significant discount over many popular front desk systems. Here are just a few examples of typical savings, but rest assured we’re prepared to beat any competing price.

Rezovation GT Online 65% – 75% typical savings

Webervations 2.0 10% – 30%

HostelPower 5% – 35%

SuperInn 40% – 55%

Resnexus 65% – 80%

IWBFrontDesk offers all the features you would expect from a property management system (PMS), and much more.

Availability Calendar Management
Guest Management
Reservation Management
Accounting and Reporting
Billing Statements
Fully online solution (no backups or software updates needed)
Attractive, Uncluttered, and Effortless Interface
Full Customer Support

With this level of capability, our PMS makes it easier and cheaper to run your property and front desk. It’s also nice to know that IWBFrontDesk has no setup fees, and hassle-free startup.

To learn more about IWBFrontDesk, please check this blog for updates, or add yourself to our distribution list. We will notify you as soon as this excellent new system is ready for demo and purchase. And remember, don’t overpay! Switch to Instant World Booking today for all your online booking and marketing needs.

April 18, 2011April 17, 2011

White Oaks Bed and Breakfast Anxious For Spring

Well hello robins. We so welcome the robins in and around our water features. It surely means spring is just around the corner.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNqvSEs0vdo

February 28, 2010February 28, 2010

US Travel Promotion Act

In a nutshell, the Travel Promotion Act is: “A bill to establish a non-profit corporation to communicate United States entry policies and otherwise promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel to the United States.”

International travelers are an important customer in the US travel industry. Visits to the US are below 2000 levels, and this has a great impact on the North American economy – especially the micro-economy of the travel industry.

Some B&B owners and innkeepers have do not support this bill because it would involve a new $10 fee on travelers from visa-waiver countries. Compared to what Americans pay in similar fees when visiting European countries (most fees are hidden in taxes and fees in your airline ticket) this is very minor. The question is whether $10 fee that is good for two years would prohibit people from traveling to the US.

PAII.org, the Professional Association of Innkeepers International, supports the bill. For more information on what the bill might mean to your bed and breakfast business, please see their blog at:

http://www.innkeepingblog.com/2009/09/action-alert-to-innkeeping-industry-help-pass-travel-promotion-act-now/

To understand more about the powers of the bill and how it would be funded, click here.

December 22, 2009December 21, 2009