Marketing Bed and Breakfasts for Beginners

Unlike marketing a hotel or a vacation rental, bed and breakfasts tend to be unique in that they require more targeted promotional tactics. Just as not every traveler wants to stay in a B&B, finding the right combination of marketing strategies can be the difference between a full B&B or an empty one.

This article will explain the three main tenants of bed and breakfast marketing: where you should start, where you are, and where you should consider going.

1. Your own website: any B&B that wants to consider itself serious in this day and age needs to have its own, attractive, functional website. If you think that your 10 year-old website will do, think again: the more attractive, persuasive, and informative your site is, the better. Be sure to use professional photographs, some sort of online payment system (so guests can book rooms right there on the spot), prominent contact forms, and testimonials showing how other guests enjoyed your property.

2. Acquiring backlinks: for all the jibber jabber about search engine optimization that you’ve read, arguably the most important factor is backlinks pointing at your website from other industry or authority sites. Backlinks can be acquired a number of ways: primarily through article submission to directories or blogs. It’s important to use accurate link text when acquiring these links if at all possible.

3. Pay-per-click: Google AdWords makes it possible for just about any kind of business to launch a marketing campaign and usually for quite a small investment. Open yourself an account and start selecting keywords that apply to your B&B. If you have a B&B in Arizona, try also using phrases that use the word hotel as it will garner broader web traffic volumes.

4. Press: Getting published in major magazines is not reserved for the expensive PR agencies anymore. Sign up for any one of the free repositories that link journalists with experts and your B&B may soon be featured in an industry publication.

More than money, the best bed and breakfast marketing experts use creativity and innovation to get that leg up on the competition. Because small B&Bs cannot compete with large chain hotels, it’s imperative that they use unique and original marketing tactics. It can also be useful to browse Bed and Breakfast owner forums online to see what others in the same position are up to.