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2014Advice for Bird’s Nest B&B Facing Airbnb Competition?
This small Northwest Mass. inn was interviewed by PBS along with an Airbnb property in the same town. The Airbnb host’s home was lakefront and offered a treehouse unit with no facilities which the reporter booked. He did not book a room at the Bird’s Nest B&B but interviewed the innkeeper there. Innkeeper Cyndy Weeks, noted that her Bird’s Nest B&B’s occupancy was cut by 1/3 this last year but that originally she attributed the this reduction to the poor economy. Now she thinks it’s due to all the additional un-licensed properties being offered near her.
Watch the PBS perspective on these two properties – it’s heart-wrenching in many ways. In addition, please comment on any strategies you might offer this innkeeper to stay in the industry successfully against the kind of competition and new challenge of the “sharing economy”.
What is Your Response to PBS and What Advice Would You Offer to Cyndy Weeks and Other Innkeepers
- Trade with a photo class and get sharper, better and bigger photos?
- Inexpensive tips that could make this inn more inviting than the Airbnb property?
- What marketing tips would you offer?
- What could be done in a day? A week? A month?
Justin Rue
Photos are such a big deal! It makes a huge impression on clients. Great tip guys!
Rachel Beck
*Feature your fantastic user reviews from Trip Advisor and Yelp–people LOVE this place!
*As Justin said, invest in high quality photos. Show off the beauty of your property. A professional would be best, but an amateur with a passion for photography would probably do a nice job for less (or for trade!).
*Finally, the ability to book online is crucial. Riddle: A potential guest is comparing your inn with an AirBnB listing. Where is this person? Answer: Online. Make it easy for them to book without going offline.
Best of luck!
Sally Becker
An additional issue is that AirBnB does not collect taxes. Therefore states and local communities are also losing revenue.