innkeeping: Attn: b&b owners - I need suggestions for marketing my b&b!

[Virginia Dickenson <tygger@ix.netcom.com>]

I have a b&b just outside of Houston, TX in Baytown.  This is an
industrial area, with many refineries, and not much culture.  The
"classiest" hotel is a Holiday Inn Express on the freeway.  From there,
the choices drop to La Quinta, Budgetel, Hampton Inn, and the like.

We have many travelers in the area who visit the refineries.  If they
wish to stay at a "nice" hotel, they have to go to Clear Lake, which is
30 mis. away, almost the same distance as Houston.  Additionally, the
prices start at $130/night, corporate rate.

Our place is right outside the city of Baytown, closer than the motels
on the freeway, but still in the country.  We are on five acres, ranch
style brick home, decorated with american and english antiques.  Our
rates are very competitive with La Quinta.

The problem:  we are not getting the word out by conventional means.
Our success has been when I am calling these folks with personal
marketing calls, but this seems to be a "one-at-a-time" approach.  I
have done a couple of mailings to the corporations in the area, but the
problem is that I am not mailing to a central travel booking dept. - our
business could come from any group in the corporation.

Has anyone else tried this approach, in terms of this type of business?
Any suggestions for your best rate of success?  I dont mind paying for a
bit of marketing, but I cannot afford to pay someone to sit on the phone
and make calls.  Additionally, we don't have a booking agent that is
going to bring in the business we want...what I wouldn't do to have
booking agents like my friends in New Orleans!  We would gladly pay 20%,
if the person was targeting the right client base!

Any suggestions would be helpful.  We currently have a website, and are
on about 10 b&b listings online.  This is NOT going to be a vacation
b&b...the location is NOT going to promote that...we are too far from
Houston, and Baytown is NOT scenic.  Our market is the corporate
traveler who needs to be close to the client, and has no choice in
having to travel here.

I have tried to create what I consider a "haven" in a fairly
industrialized setting.  Our website is http://hwi.com/tygger.  Any
suggestions would be appreciated!

Jenny





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