Why Online B&B Promotional Videos Are a Terrible Idea

The gaudy music, cheesy voice over’s and awkward one-liners. All reasons why you shouldn’t let anyone talk you into a promotional video.

They are really awful aren’t they? I’ve seen countless promo videos, made by so-called ‘production companies’ (who actually charge to make these things!) and 95% of them are as dull as a ditch full of dull ditch water.  

A wooden voice reading a script, along with an IMovie music track and zooming in and out shots just don’t convey any kind of personality or distinctiveness to potential guests. As a B&B owner your USP is you, not the bricks and mortar.

So what to do? How does one present a video that will stand out in the online world without coming across like some kind of hotel chain B&B?

The answer is simple and will only cost a free night stay.

Get a friend to film their visit.

We all know someone who knows someone who is into film editing. Offer them a free night for a short video of their stay.  

Post the video stating that it ‘s a video one of your guests has made. This is completely true, it is a guest video.

I guarantee that something made by a guest will get more visits than a promo video. Viewers won’t expect anything of particularly high quality but will be looking for A) the quirky amateur feel and B) an unpolished view of your B&B.

We are so used to seeing professional productions on TV; that an amateur film makes for a refreshing change.

The secret to making these kind of videos work is to give them a focus. Something else of added value to fill the piece out a little and add more interest. The big local event would be perfect.

 

Here’s an example of a video sequence from my fictional B&B

Scene 1

Guest arriving at B&B and having a good look around before putting their bags in room.

Scene 2

Guest at Local cheese festival tasting lots of cheese and local beers.

Scene 3

Guest at B&B speaking to me about how and why I set up the B&B in an informal manner.

Scene 4

Guest sets up camera on tripod in dining room and films breakfast being served. Then makes lots of nice appreciative noises of beautiful breakfast and says he would recommend staying at my B&B.

Simple, fun and effective. 

Below is my video of a gothic B&B in Whitby. The owners weren’t keen to be on camera so I took the local sunset boat trip to add a little extra value, and also because I like sunsets. Admittedly it’s about as amateur as it gets and the sound is awful, but it sure beats a hotel promo video.

Paul@bedandbreakfastclub.co.uk

The B&B Twitter TTSF Technique

As with all social media, Twitter can be highly addictive. To get the best out of it you have to set yourself certain guidelines and stick to them. 

Firstly a few words about Twitter etiquette. The old analogy of a cocktail party is a great way to help describe and understand what Twitter is. For a hotel like yours it’s like a cocktail party full of your old guests, future guests and probably a few gatecrashers you’re not too concerned about! 

If you were at a cocktail party, would you constantly be telling people about your cheap room rates and ‘sympathetically’ decorated rooms? Would you real of extremely blue jokes, or share pictures of your hotel to any stranger that would listen? No! Unless you were incredibly drunk!! 

Twitter has a code, that if broken will see you being ‘unfollowed’ by potential guests (the equivalent to having your back turned on in a cocktail party!)

Think carefully about how you should connect with strangers, (but don’t be overly concerned or you won’t do anything!) The trick is to be entertaining, interesting, engaging and fun to all. In 140 characters or less!

Before you begin using Twitter, or if you haven’t already, have a look at the business guidelines.

Twitter should be a small, but important part of your marketing plan to win guests.

 Remember you are now a Publisher, so think about each tweet carefully. Though there are exceptions, I don’t believe that most tweets should have a link to a picture or web site. Busy people only have time for 140 characters!

However tempting it may be to show pictures of a nice breakfast or something personal that you made, don’t do it unless what you've made is particularly exceptional. 

The first thing to do is gather guests usernames. This is fundamentally important to making Twitter work for you as a hotelier. Change your booking form to include the field ‘Twitter Username’. You’ll be surprised how many people will fill in the box and think it's cool. This will become far more useful than a phone number or email address.  If they don’t fill in the box, then your follow up email, (which asks guests to write a review on Trip Advisor if they enjoyed their stay) can also ask for guests’ Twitter ID.

Hopefully you have every email saved on your machine, of every customer who has ever booked with you on the internet. Send one mass email to all asking for their Twitter user IDs.

Now you have all your past guest Twitterer’s (?) user names, have found them online and started following them, (and some of them are following you) it’s time to start thinking about content.

 This will either make you or break you as a successful Tweetist (I’m making these words up now). Four tweets a day is probably a good rule to start with. Think what will interest people as well as jokes and amusing anecdotes. Talking about walking the dog or a picture of the pet rabbit just doesn’t cut it anymore. There’s so much to choose from out there that people will only remember you if you’re interesting. Think of each tweet in the same way that you would think about writing literature or advertisements. It’s important to get the right tone and not be too formal.

Lots of people tend to tweet three times in a row because they are on their PC or phone at the time when they have things to say. This is a mistake because only a small number of your audience are likely to be online at one time. Spread content throughout the day.

Here is what I think would make for a good day’s worth of tweeting from a B&B. By making sure your tweets fit into the following categories, you will ensure each tweet is successful at engaging your audience.

TOURISM - 10.00am Just heard on the radio that ‘my area’ has won an award for Most Beautiful Village in the county. Congratulations Paulsville! 

 TEASER - 2.00pm Guests have been out walking the fells. Lucky people, such a lovely day. Braised pheasant for tea. Mmmm.

SPECIAL DEAL (FOR TWITTERERS ONLY) - 5.00pm Guest cancellation for the 25^th! Would anyone like to stay for half price? Special Twitter deal, expires tomorrow!

FUNNY - 10.00pm Apparently the Disney Corporation are mounting a legal battle with Scotland, demanding they change the way they say 'Does not'.

Good magazine editors 'spike' content that is not interesting, informative, funny or engaging. Begin to think like a Publisher, because you are one.

If you have a Facebook account, save yourself time by downloading this application, which allows you to update FB and Twitter at the same time,  when you see fit. Not all your updates/tweets are suitable for both networks so Selective Twitter is a great idea.

 

 

Energy Savers - How to Save Money and the Planet

'It's not easy being green' may have been Kermit's sorry mantra but it's not the B&B Clubs! Going green isn't all that difficult and can be kind to your bottom line! Here are some great green products to save you money, all typed in lovely green ink..

 

Put Out the Red Light

Figures from the Energy Saving Trust show that VCRs, DVDs and TVS left on standby cost British households £282 million and produce 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 every year.

First seen on BBC 2s Dragon’s Den, the Standby Saver cuts all standby power, by detecting when an appliance is switched off.

For £22, the six-socket extension claims to save the average home £43 a year. Payback time – six months.

http://www.thestandbysaver.co.uk

 

Wonder Wash Balls

The bulk of evidence out there suggests we should be using Eco Balls for every day use. Not only are they chemical-free and environmentally friendly, but could save around 85% compared to brand leading washing powders.

Place three eco-balls in your washing machine and for just £29.99 the makers claim they will last for 1000 washes.

http://www.ecoballsdirect.co.uk/

Heat Spreader

This Radiator Booster uses a small fan to draw heat from a standard radiator, gently distribute it into the room and warm it faster. The result is a saving on lost energy and a reduction in heating bills.

The maker’s claim an average household saving of between £70 and £140 per year.

£19.99 

http://www.radiatorbooster.co.uk/test.html

Precision Boiling

Every time we brew up we boil on average twice the water needed. Which means twice as much energy and twice as much time.

The ECO Kettle has an internal reservoir that holds a full capacity of water ready for use. Simply turn the control knob to select the required number of cups.

Tea for two, or three. Precisely.

£30.00

http://www.ecokettle.com/

Supreme Shower Power

This shower head boasts a turbine vane innovation which drives water in cloud burst releases, harnessing the physical properties of water drops like no other. But you don’t need to know the science bit!

According to the Norwegian makers an average shower head releases 19 litres per minute. Using Nordic the release is just nine litres per minute.

£44.99

http://www.nordicecoshower.co.uk/

 

Water Hungry Hippo

If your toilet was installed before 2001 then it could be flushing away nine litres per visit. Toilet’s fitted today only use six. Instead of fitting a new toilet, install a Hippo Water Saver and you could reduce flush volume by up to three litres.

Three litres at 10 flushes a day = 30 litres a day!

£7.99 

http://www.hippo-the-watersaver.co.uk/

Super Sucker

This PerformAir bagless upright vacuum cleaner by Morphy Richards is part of their awesome energy saving range. It is light, and easy to carry and has a unique pivot point that is further back than on most vacuums, so can access hard-to-reach places.

Its 1000W low energy motor delivers the same performance as a 2000W motor, but without the running costs.

£78.99 

http://www.morphyrichards.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Product=73383

 

 

USB Kidding?

 

These batteries can be used like any other normal battery, only they can be recharged by plugging into a USB port.

What did we do before computers? They’ll be walking the dog next.

 

http://www.usbcell.com/