RE: Innkeeping: Great to hear from you

["Robert Carlson" <aubergestadolp@qc.aira.com>]

Good question! I bought my small country Inn (4 rental rooms) last
September. This place had been in operation for 5 years prior to my
purchase. The previous owners did not do much of any marketing, and the
place was badly in need of renovations and a new look. All of the furnishing
including the sheets, towels, etcetera looked like they were bought at a
flea market.

Anyway, I renovated, bought new everything, created a web site
www.adolphe.net, listed on every internet site I could find, and with just
about every tourist bureau or whatever in the region, and made new
brochures. The results are finally coming in. I am doing this for a living,
and not for extra income. I also have a 34 seat restaurant on site (opened
in January).

Bottom line is, you need to do marketing to bring the customers to you
(eventually you will have referrals-word of mouth is great!). You also need
some themes; relaxation, wine tasting, whatever, to differentiate yourself
from other places.

Hope this helps,

Robert Carlson
Auberge St-Adolphe
St-Adolphe d'Howard (Quebec) Canada

-----Original Message-----
From: innkeeping-admin@innsite.com
[mailto:innkeeping-admin@innsite.com]On Behalf Of Anita Mathews
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 10:22 PM
To: innkeeping@innsite.com
Subject: Innkeeping: Great to hear from you


I have just started and business is really slow.  I only have a small 2
bedroom rental and just want to make enough for extra income for retirement.
  It is near to town, but the only attraction close by are the wineries and
just for city people to be out of the city and come to the country to relax.
  I try to push the local theaters, but that doesn't always go over so
great.

I'm going to try and hit the city towns and see what happens.  Sometimes I
just think I may be wasting my time.  How long does it take to begin to
build a clientele.
anita-innkeeper

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