Improving your B&B Website to Increase Bookings
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Copyright © 2014 Leonardo Worldwide Corporation Technical Difficulties? Contact Citrix GoToWebinar 1-800-263-6317 [email protected] om How to Improve Your B&B Website and Drive More Bookings August 27, 2015 Darlene Rondeau, VP, Best Practices, Online Merchandising, Leonardo Mark Hayward, Digital Marketing Consultant and Former Innkeeper Cecilia Williams, Owner, Hillard House Inn Technical Difficulties? Contact Citrix GoToWebinar 1-800-263-6317 [email protected] om
Transcript of Improving your B&B Website to Increase Bookings
Copyright © 2014 Leonardo Worldwide Corporation
Technical Difficulties?Contact
Citrix GoToWebinar1-800-263-6317
How to Improve Your B&B Website and Drive More Bookings August 27, 2015
Darlene Rondeau, VP, Best Practices, Online Merchandising, LeonardoMark Hayward, Digital Marketing Consultant and Former InnkeeperCecilia Williams, Owner, Hillard House Inn
Technical Difficulties?Contact
Citrix GoToWebinar1-800-263-6317
Darlene RondeauVice-President, Best Practices, Online MerchandisingLeonardo
@darlenerondeau
Follow:
@VFMLeonardo
Tweets & Questions:
#LeoWebinar
Mark Hayward Digital Marketing Consultant and Former Innkeeper
@mark_hayward
Cecilia Williams OwnerHillard House Inn
Feature the benefits & debunk the myths
74% of leisure travelers use the internet as a travel planning source
Beat out your hotel competition with value
Why Your B&B’s Website is Critical
#LeoWebinar
Mark Hayward Digital Marketing Consultant and Former Innkeeper
@mark_hayward
Pursued my dream to own a B&B in the Caribbean
No marketing or hospitality experience
No bookings, no cash flow, and no real online presence
Nobody knew we existed (except my mom)
Needed to meet large monthly mortgage
My B&B Story
Top 5 Goals I Wanted to Achieve
Direct Bookings Guest Engagement
Revenue A Better Web Presence
Receive Great Reviews
My Marketing Strategy
Create my own website
Learn everything about web marketing
Start blogging
Respond to all reviews
Get active on social media
Website design and development Search engine optimization 24/7 technical support Optimization across all devices Security Copywriting Promotions, specials, TripAdvisor reviews Booking engine integration
What I Didn’t Know About Web Marketing
Search engine optimization Web & mobile experiences are the same Loads quickly Visual first to really grab attention Navigation easy to use and figure out Descriptive text Frictionless booking options Knowing your target guest
Website Best Practices
The Big Picture: My Results
Ranked on the front page of Google
Featured in travel magazines and newspapers
Direct bookings increased
exponentially
Maintained a Top TripAdvisor ranking
for five years
Key Takeaways
#LeoWebinar
You’re not out there alone
Tell your story visually
Establish goals and measure
Set guest expectations early
Ensure your website works on all devices
Encourage and promote reviews online
Don’t forget what people came for: Bookings!
Cecilia Williams OwnerHillard House Inn
We bought the property in 1999 Started operating it as a B&B in
2006 3 guestrooms and a suite Self-taught in digital marketing and
technology Online presence is our most
important marketing expenditure
History of Hillard House Inn
First website designed by a family member
Adequate for the time (2006) but very basic
Few pictures; no videos No maps No booking button
Free website template Added slide shows, thumbnails of
rooms, reviews and Google Maps Program was difficult to work with Customer support was non-
existent
Our 2nd Website Our 1st Website
Updated, clean, visually-oriented desktop and mobile websites
A method to easily update my information and make changes on social media sites and OTAs quickly
User-friendly system and personal support in a timely manner
3 Objectives to Improve My Website
Before
Updated, clean, visually-oriented desktop and mobile websites
A method to easily update my information and make changes on social media sites and OTAs quickly
User-friendly system and personal support in a timely manner
3 Objectives to Improve My Website
After
Our Biggest Challenges In the past two years, over
1,000 hotel rooms have been added to the area
Need to visually convey what we have to offer and why travelers should stay with us
Improve social media marketing
New visually-driven website that’s easy to use and update
Expanding our online marketing on Facebook
Using Vizlly, Leonardo’s Digital Marketing System
Absolutely love the professional and dedicated Success Coach
How We’re Solving These Challenges
“I remember this from your website”
Makes the unfamiliar, familiar
Virtual tours and videos establish a connection with travel shoppers
The Importance of Our Visual-First Website
Facebook Apps Increase social conversations
with guests
Book directly from Facebook
Everything managed in one place makes it quick and easy to keep up-to-date
Mobile to reach 1/3 of all U.S digital travel sales by 2017
83% of leisure travelers have had a poor experience on a mobile travel site
Only 23% of those who have encountered a mobile site that wasn't optimized actually pushed through
The Importance of Mobile
Results To Date Increase in online
bookings for business travelers during the week
Travel shoppers are better engaging with our content
Website Tips for B&B Innkeepers Your website is a travel shopper’s
first impression – make it as pleasant as your B&B
Use quality photos Look for a simple and clean web
design Booking button on every page Online marketing is getting more
complex – take advantage of professional expertise
Key Takeaways
#LeoWebinar
Commit to digital and stick with it to stay curre
Clean, visually dominant websites make a
difference
What’s in and around you is key
What your guests say about you matters
Leverage digital marketing to fill in the gaps
Support is available
About Leonardo
Invitations to upcoming webinars
Recording of this webinar Share it with your
colleagues
It’s a Wrap
Connect With Us!
leonardo.com1.877.593.6634@VFMLeonardo blog.leonardo.com
[email protected] @mark_hayward
hillardhouseinn.com [email protected]
Mark Hayward
Cecilia Williams
