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A few days ago, I mentioned that we had accidentally tripped over a "room swap" program for B&B innkeepers in Oregon that is in effect a bare-bones version of the idea that led us to B&BInnterchange.
Since then, Heather Tyreman at the dazzling Bronze Antler B&B in eastern Oregon has kindly added an informative and encouraging comment to the original post, which can be accessed here.
For readers who don't wish to delve into the BBBizBlog archives, here's Heather's comment:
Hello Ian:
Concerning the Oregon Bed & Breakfast Guild (OBBG) Innkeepers Getaway Progam (IGP), it is a program developed by OBBG for use by its membership. Innkeepers desiring to make their properties available for getaways list them on a page in the members only area of the OBBG website. Innkeepers are free to place whatever restrictions they want (such as weeknights only, last minute only, call first, etc).
Traveling innkeepers can log onto the OBBG website, review the list, and contact the offering innkeeper for availability.
Fees involved are small--a portion going to the IGP innkeeper to offset their costs of housekeeping and providing breakfast. Another portion goes to OBBG to help sponsor this and other membership programs.
In essence, it is a closed system as it is open (only) to the members of the Oregon Bed & Breakfast Guild.
We use the program on occasion and have had wonderful stays with various innkeepers as you've already noted. We've also hosted innkeepers on their getaway. It's fun to talk shop with innkeepers from other areas. It also helps put a face to a location when a paying guest asks for a recommendation of where to stay in other parts of Oregon.
Good luck with your program!
Heather
We could hardly ask for a more eloquent summary of the idea that popped into our heads back in 2004 when we were running the Artists' Inn in South Pasadena, Calif., and occasionally welcoming other innkeepers as guests.
Heather said in a separate e-mail to us that she was doubtful that innkeepers without staff to step in for them and an abundance of spare time to spend on vacation visits to other B&Bs would be interested in such a program, and that's really the whole point of the exchange aspect of B&BInnterchange.
As Heather and her fellow Oregon B&B professionals have discovered, interacting with other innkeepers and talking shop is fun.
Jenny and I learned that much on our rare and wonderful getaway outings way back when, and ever since we have been allowing the original concept to evolve and expand.
What we have now is more complicated than the Oregon program, but not unnecessarily so, we hope.
We knew from the start that some up-front room charge would have to be included, so that a B&B host's immediate out of pocket expenses would be covered.
And we also were aware that many B&B owners shy away from exchanges for the very reason that Heather mentioned in her cover e-mail: they can't afford to get away from their businesses as much as they might like if someone has to be paid extra to run their inn in their absence.
Other innkeepers can be a powerful resource for anyone in the B&B business, and the fun of sharing ideas and comparing notes on experiences is just a part of it.
We see great potential for "inter-Inn" marketing and cross-pollination extending beyond state and regional boundaries.
State and county B&B guilds are a great way to bring innkeepers together, and competition is only rarely an issue.
Bed and breakfasts that are well run, giving guests good value and a memorable experience while utilizing every marketing and promotional tool available to them, have nothing to fear from nearby hotels with hundreds of rooms. So another B&B in the same neighborhood with just a handful of rooms is no threat.
(Inter-Inn and Inn-to-Inn were among the contenders when we were looking for names for our new project, by the way; B&BInnterchange won the day, but remains a "working title," as they say in Hollywood!)
When Jen and I were in South Pasadena, there were two B&Bs barely a mile apart, and both did well. Now, a third has been added, and as a result, the "pie" got bigger (it certainly was not a matter of the same pie being split three ways instead of two!).
The economy's nose-dive has had an impact on those three inns, as it has on others elsewhere, but when spring is sprung and people start traveling again, there will be, as before, plenty of business to keep all three owners smiling.
We just have to keep reminding ourselves that while vacation and getaway budgets have been slashed in the downturn, more people than ever are looking for good value closer to home, and those are the guests we all need to reach.
The objective of B&BInnterchange is to foster "innsider" relationships that will work to mutual benefit in ways that we have not even thought of yet, the primary goal being to make more effective use of unsold inventory, which is a handy euphemism for empty rooms.
We believe that the potential for this unique concept is virtually limitless.
It will give B&Bs everywhere a marketing resource that not only connects them with one another but gets the word out to a large number of potential guests who are drawn to the website by the prospect of finding better getaway deals than are available anywhere else.
The foundation for the service is the innterchange aspect. But there is also the Marketplace, which lists unused exchanged nights for purchase by subscribers, as well as giving participating inns the opportunity to advertise unsold inventory in a centralized location that is commission free.
Subscribers (the service is free to participating B&Bs but bargain-hunting guests have to sign up and pay a membership fee to get access to all those wonderful deals) will also be introduced to unusual getaway options in an area of the website devoted to "Neighborhood B&Bs," which are small operations--family homes functioning as extra-intimate B&Bs, usually with two guests rooms or fewer.
There's also the GPS or Getaway Planning Service resource, which enables subscribers to plot a never-get-lost itinery and download it to a GPS unit they already own, or rent a top-quality unit with their getaway route preloaded and ready to go.
Each participating inn will be asked to make personal local recommendations in every field, from dining through sight-seeing and entertainment to shopping. We in turn will provide website visitors with GPS coordinates or waypoints so they can avoid getting lost en route to recommended locations.
We believe that B&BInnterchange needs to offer a range of services that will appeal to as wide an audience as possible.
But at its heart, it will always be a resource for innkeepers.
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