PAII newsletter September 2015.pdf

Executive Director‘s Welcome 

September 2015 

IF NOT NOW, WHEN? 

“We’re waiting to see what happens.” 

We’ve been hearing this from some innkeepers and industry partners regarding 

whether to join PAII or renew their membership in PAII. 

Waiting for what, exactly? 

Since March of 2015, we’ve been communicating every week with you. The brief 

“News You Can Use” offers snippets and links to articles and updates on our 

innkeeping industry, social media, and features a video on a timely topic from our 

archives. Once a month, you receive (as you are now) the Members’ Monthly, an 

e-magazine with full-feature articles, and ads/specials from our industry partners. 

Quarterly, the InnKeeping NOW e-magazine takes the aforementioned subjects to 

the next level. 

We continually address the ‘share economy’ - which we heartily publicize as a 

misnomer: payment for lodging (or a ride) is a business transaction. We chronicle our efforts and that of innkeepers 

around the country to “level the playing field” by advocating that all lodging is to be licensed, inspected, and pay the 

applicable taxes. We’re fielding calls from writers / reporters and officials on this issue regularly. 

Yes, of course … for much of 2014, PAII was ‘quiet’ while they regrouped. By January of 2015, a dedicated crew 

presented a successful Innkeeping Show in New Orleans. The attendance was respectable, the education sessions were 

solid, and for the first time in years, the conference turned a modest profit – which was then used to retire some debt. 

And, speaking of “profit” – perhaps some of you are waiting for PAII to officially become a non-profit organization? 

First of all, ‘rest assured’ that PAII has never MADE a profit nor has its owners. (One can consider that good news or bad 

news.) Secondly, we have made considerable progress on this – which is not particularly 

simple since PAII is a ‘subsidiary’. 

Simply put, the purpose of any association’s very existence is to provide a service to its members. To accomplish that 

purpose, individuals and businesses must become members and support the association. 

Here at PAII, we’re operating now with a small paid staff and many of those same very dedicated volunteers. Sure – we’d 

welcome the opportunity to increase our staff, and the first hire would be a Membership Coordinator. We’d very much like 

to reach out to you – the members and prospective members – on a regular basis. 

When will this be possible? 

When you make the decision to support PAII through your membership, and be engaged in your Professional Association. 

~Kris Ullmer, Executive Director 

Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII) 

295 Seven Farms Drive, Suite 236-C 

Charleston, SC 29492 Phone: (856) 310-1102 

http://www.innkeeping.org

Board Members’ Note 

The first “Board Members’ Note" kicks off a new Members’ Monthly feature. 

This month, Jack North on right (Mayhurst Inn, Orange VA) and John P 

Finneran, Jr. on left (Caldwell House Bed and Breakfast, Salisbury Mills NY) 

review PAII past, present, and future 

In the past couple of years PAII has been mired in change, has tried new initiatives that have 

had varying degrees of success and significant costs, has delved into marketing versus the traditional 

PAII roles of Advocacy, Education and Training, Information Dissemination and 

Support, has had several leadership changes, and to quote one of our members, has seemingly “been a ship wandering without a rudder.” 

Without effective leadership, it often seemed that PAII would self-destruct and that a new organization would have to be created. 

Most of us also knew that creating a brand new organization would be significantly more work than fixing an existing organization that 

already had national and international recognition. 

We have heard from members who have wondered how this happened to such a vibrant organization. We’ve also heard the membership 

repeatedly say that what they really wanted “their PAII” to do was to help them successfully compete in a radically changing 

accommodations market. It is time to end the rollercoaster ride. Your PAII Board is committed to re-invigorating and re-creating PAII to 

respond to the ever changing and expanding needs of its membership. 

We’ve all felt the positive and negative impacts of the WEB. Yes, having a great web site with excellent SEO ratings, creating a fascinating 

Facebook, maintaining an interesting Blog, creating a large Twitter following and exploiting other web based tools like Pinterest can bring in 

more business. However, all of these have dramatically increased Innkeepers marketing costs while consuming our most valuable 

resource – TIME. We all need simpler, easier, cheaper, less time-consuming tools to manage our businesses and have been waiting for PAII 

to help all of us find and use them. Your PAII, and our Industry partners are doing this now. 

We’ve all felt the huge impact of the OTA’s (e.g., Expedia, Priceline, etc.) who undercut the real value of B&Bs while either charging exorbitant 

rates to list our properties or who collect huge commissions – or both. Attempts to “negotiate” better terms are ignored because of the 

lack of a national voice that speaks forcefully for all B&Bs. PAII will lead this effort 

The number of bookings from the traditional B&B listing sites has significantly decreased over the past several years (and some former big 

names no longer exist). All this while their listing cost has increased. We all understand that the OTA’s have hurt them too, but PAII should, 

and will be, pushing for answers, solutions and lowers costs and not simply standing by watching things happen. Your PAII can do this. 

Playing the “ratings game” is being felt throughout our industry and it is not just Trip Advisor; it's Google, Yelp, BedandBreakfast.com and 

several others. We have all had to learn how to encourage good reviews and deal with bad ones. All of which takes more of our most valuable 

resource - time. To make matters worse many of the rating organizations have become part of, or partners with, the OTA’s and expect 

B&B’s to pay – and pay a lot – to be “listed on their sites”. While PAII has had some positive impact in this arena, the efforts were often 

diluted with other on-going marketing efforts. Your PAII will provide a concentrated effort in this area. 

The latest trend of “Airbnb” listings is having a significant and negative effect on all legitimate B&Bs (and hotels). Many Airbnb hosts 

don’t play by the same “rules” we do – like paying taxes, multiple fees, adhering to building, fire and safety codes, health department regulations, 

zoning limitations, annual inspections, special use permits, Liquor Authority Regulations, business licenses and commercial insurance - 

to name a few. With the right kind of information and advocacy, we can provide, legitimate B&Bs with the information and tools they need 

to eliminate this double standard – and some already have.

Your PAII can give you the training, information, and tools so that you can lobby your local governments and “take on” illegal, noncompliant 

“innkeepers” and win. Your PAII will also help state Associations work to successfully change state laws, codes, and regulations 

in order to level the playing fields. 

Who are “We”? We – the PAII Board - are all PAII members who currently run an Inn. We are not outside investors. We too got tired of 

not getting answers, tired of wondering where our PAII was going, concerned that our PAII had lost its way. We decided it was time to do 

something about it. So, working with some DIA members, we gathered a group of unpaid volunteers and started the effort to re-create 

PAII. “We” are an all-volunteer, temporary, Board of Directors who are creating your “Non-Profit PAII”. We are working to ensure that 

PAII remains the Innkeeping Industry’s leading national Advocate, Educator, Trainer, and B&B Supporter. 

We, the Board, do not have all the answers. We don’t have all the solutions. We’re not sure we even know what all the questions and concerns 

you may have are. We are not perfect – and we are not pretentious. We need your input and help. Got an opinion? Got issues? Then 

volunteer to serve now! Be part of the solution and be ready to work! 

To make your “Non-Profit PAII” a reality we have gone to DIA, essentially asked that the remaining shareholders release their shares, received 

a favorable response, and have started the process to make PAII a standalone Non-Profit organization. . We have already taken 

some big steps to create a debt free, non-profit, PAII. 

We had a great start with the 2015 PAII Conference which, for the first time in many years, actually finished “in the black”. This allowed us 

to pay off some debt. We have also further reduced the red ink accrued over the past several years by negotiating very favorable reductions. 

Our goal is to give PAII back to the members – with all the “transparency” a non-profit should have, including the financial transparency that 

has obviously been lacking. We are in the midst of a new beginning but one that harkens back to the original goals of PAII - Advocacy, 

Education and Training, Information Dissemination, Comradery, and Support Your PAII Ship has a rudder again and a new/old compass 

reading to follow. 

So what does this mean to an existing member or a prospective member? 

• First, we will keep Innkeepers and Industry Partners informed. You are seeing a steady stream of messages from PAII. We know that 

many of you have questions, suggestions and, even a few complaints. We will try to answer these questions in a timely manner. We 

will also watch the Forums and try to be responsive to any problems, issues, questions raised by the members. 

• Second, none of the temporary Board of Directors, or the Executive Director, comes from DIA, nor were any of us on the Board prior to 

the last year. To some questions we may have to simply respond that “we don’t know” because we are new to this too. Since the separation 

process from DIA is ongoing and is not yet final, we do not have a lot of history to look back at nor do we have access to all historic 

Records. We do have PAII Financials and know where the money went, what is still owed, what is coming in, and what is going to 

be spent. It is important to note that, despite what you may have heard otherwise, DIA Investors have never received any return of, or on, 

their investment in PAII. 

• Third, your PAII is not a marketing organization so we are not going to be running ads and spending member money on marketing. We 

are going to concentrate on doing the original mission of PAII – and doing it well. 

• Fourth, we need the continued membership and participation of B&Bs and Industry Partners in all aspects of the organization - including 

the 2016 PAII Conference. This should be a VERY interesting conference for a revitalized, restructured, and vibrant PAII. 

• Fifth, we need your ideas, comments, criticism, but most of all a willingness to help. 

Together we can make PAII the kind of organization that other innkeepers and industry partners want to join because it truly provides value 

to its members.

Blueberry Orange French Toast 

Serves: 6 

Ingredients: 

• 4 eggs 

• 1/2 cup orange juice 

• Rind from one orange 

• 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract 

• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 

• 10 slices French bread (3/4 inch thick) 

• 4 cups frozen blueberries (or combination of fresh and 

frozen) 

• 1/2 cup sugar ( a 1/4 cup sugar if you are adding the 

Grand Marnier) 

• 2 tablespoons Cointreau or Grand Marnier (optional) 

• 2 tablespoons butter melted 

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch 

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1.) Mix the eggs, orange juice, orange rind, vanilla, baking powder together. Butter a 9 x 13 inch pan or individual baking 

dishes. Place bread in the prepared pan and cover with orange juice/egg mixture and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate 

overnight or let soak for ½ hour in the morning. 

2.) In the morning combine in a medium bowl the blueberries, sugar, Cointreau, melted butter, cornstarch and cinnamon 

3.) Remove the bread from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking and gently remove the bread and then spread the 

blueberry mixture on the bottom of the baking dish and then place the prepared bread on top of the blueberries 

4.) Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until golden & bubbling. 

Diane writes, “I created this recipe because one of our guests was lactose intolerant so I experimented with a French Toast 

recipe by replacing the cream with orange juice. I also decided to add a little Grand Marnier and some fresh orange rind for 

additional flavor. With this simple change I was able to create a delicious lactose free recipe for our guests and discovered 

that the recipe was indeed better and healthier with orange juice than using half and half cream.” 

She also mentions that this recipe can be gluten free and if you don’t make you own GF bread, “Essential Baking Company 

from Seattle, Washington has a stay-fresh oxygen-free package that has a three month shelf life and does not need to be refrigerate 

until it is opened. Our GF guests have all agreed that it is the best and it is perfect for vegan guests too. TIP - 

Look for it on the bread shelf and not in the freezer section like most GF breads.” 

Recipe courtesy of 

Diane Greene, Making Waves Boatel 

Toronto, ON 

http://www.boatel.ca

Association Corner 

Recommended Reading: 

Road to Relevance: 5 Strategies for Competitive Associations 

(ASAE/Jossey-Bass Series) 

by Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers 

Help move your organization to greater discipline, focus, and value 

Association leaders must be disciplined strategists, focusing the organizations they 

serve on value they can deliver and structuring accordingly to compete in the "new 

normal." Road to Relevance is the follow-up and complementary companion to the 

bestselling Race for Relevance: 5 Radical Changes for Associations, which identified 

six challenges that forever changed the association environment and five needed 

changes. Authors Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE, provide real insight into 

how to adapt the strategies of Road to Relevance to your organization's circumstances. 

Clearly explaining the five key strategies, the authors show you how to: 

• Identify strengths that deserve a concentration of resources 

• Achieve a coordinated product and service portfolio 

• Root out marginal or underperforming activities that are negatively impacting 

your organization 

Case studies, adaptable examples, and provocative questions help you use the insights 

from Road to Relevance to lead your organization to an ever-more-valued, 

sustainable, and relevant future. 

Recommended Blogs to Check Out: 

Membership Renewal – Make it a No-Brainer 

http://www.fernley.com/bestpractices/membership_recruitment/renewal_no_brainer.asp 

The Value of Professional Organizations - Overview 

http://www.fernley.com/bestpractices/membership_recruitment/value_of_professional_organizations.asp 

Tips for Using LinkedIn for Nonprofits 

http://nonprofit.about.com/od/socialmedia/a/Tips-For-Using-Linkedin-For-Nonprofits.htm (https:// 

nonprofits.linkedin.com/nonprofit-resources) 

The Sharing Economy of Nonprofit Organizational Strategies: The Top 10 Nonprofit Blogs 

http://npengage.com/nonprofit-news/the-sharing-economy-of-nonprofit-organizational-strategies-the-top-10-nonprofitblogs/# 

Recent PAII Association Webinars: Member Retention and Acquisition for Associations 

Webinar with transcript http://paiiinnkeepers.blogspot.com/2015/09/member-retentionand-acquisition-for.html

PAII Innkeeping Conference 

& Hospitality Marketing Summit and Trade Show 

That lengthy moniker gives you a glimpse of what is waiting for you in Austin TX, January 10th through the 14th. 

PAII Innkeeping Conference: Planning a conference – which so many of you have been involved in – is like putting together 

a puzzle – the frame is the first task. These pieces are fit together now, with a new venue and the conference schedule 

of events and education sessions. 

It’s a first for PAII to hold the Innkeeping Conference at a convention property (not a hotel) and in reviewing our options, 

we found this to have advantages with more space for a bigger trade show and more rooms for educational sessions. And, 

the pricing structure is permitting us to offer great conference registration rates! The Palmer Events Center, located in the 

heart of Austin, is a unique & beautiful convention center, with views of the downtown skyline. 

We are especially pleased that this convention center option provides you, as attendees - whether innkeepers, aspiring, interim, 

or exhibitors - an opportunity to support and enjoy our own industry by staying at the local B&Bs and Inns! We've 

invited the Austin B&B Inns to feature their property on the lodging list, which will also include the 3 hotels within walking 

distance and other options. We’ve included a list and are working on a interactive Google map for your reference, and 

we'll be posting the list on our website with updates. 

Come meet with us – innkeepers and industry partners - for special events, mixers, and cutting-edge education, tailored 

to aspiring to novice to master innkeepers. Your PAII conference will provide insight and perspective on our vibrant, challenging, 

and ever changing industry. You’ll learn new ways to drive your business forward, refine your services 

and exceed your business goals at over 40 live sessions. We’ll be announcing which presenters are at which sessions as we 

finalize them (filling in the puzzle) – and we’ll keep you up-to-date. 

Hospitality Marketing Summit (HMS) 

PAII is very excited to announce the first stop of the HMS On-The-Road Tour is at the PAII Innkeeping Show in Austin! 

The HMS portion of the conference is included with the rate you pay for conference attendance and is a huge perk for you! 

You get all the expertise of HMS without any additional costs. 

HMS at PAII: Monday January 10, 1:30-4:40: Tuesday January 11, 8 am – 11:30, and 3:30 – 5:45. Here’s an overview 

from HMS: We will be presenting nearly 2 days of nothing but the best speakers and the most up to date marketing content, 

advice and presentations. We will be featuring expert panels, audience participation with Q and A’s, and professional reviews 

of your marketing. Quite simply – nothing you have experienced at a conference before! Come see what you missed 

from our first conference: 

“Hanging out with and hearing from people who are serious about hospitality marketing was both fun and productive. This 

conference was excellent in every way: location, speakers, schedule, and participants.” 

“The overall quality and learning was “Over the top”! It was the best conference I have ever attended and the hosts did an 

amazing job in planning and presenting to the hospitality industry.”

“This was the Best Conference Ever in terms of the amount of pertinent information and amount of actionable material. 

All the speakers were knowledgeable in their areas of expertise. I got something (often a lot!) out of each session I 

attended.” 

Speakers: Featured speakers will be top experts from White Stone Marketing and Acorn Internet Services and a host of 

other professionals who specialize in our unique lodging niche. 

Sessions will be comprehensive, informative with plenty of action items to immediately put in place. We will be serving 

up the following content: Working with the OTA’s, Taking advantage of Airbnb, Live Website Reviews, Live Marketing 

Analysis Panels, Yield and Revenue Management, the Rise of Facebook Search and what Google is doing about it, and 

Round Table Discussions across a variety of subjects so you are able to interface with other innkeepers and experts. 

Trade Show 

More ‘firsts’ here, too! Our Trade Show is open for a total of 12 hours – what an opportunity to engage all of 

your senses! You'll shop and consult face-to-face with industry professionals who are experts in their field of inn management, 

marketing, and guest amenities. 

We’ll see you in Austin! 

PAII Innkeeping Conference & Hospitality Marketing Summit 

and Trade Show Schedule 

January 10, SUNDAY: 

Aspiring Innkeeper Seminar 

Association Leaders' Seminar 

January 11, MONDAY 

GRAND OPENING – GENERAL SESSION 

Vendor Intensive: Think Reservations 

Vendor Intensive: Cloudbeds 

1:30 - 4:30 Hospitality Marketing Summit (HMS) 

1:30 - 4:15 Break Out Sessions 

3:00 TRADE SHOW OPENS 

5:30 - 7:00 TRADE SHOW Welcome Reception 

January 12, TUESDAY 

8:00 - 8:30 General Session 



11:30 - 3:30 TRADE SHOW & LUNCH 


6:30 - ? Dinner on your own OR Hosted Party 

January 13, WEDNESDAY 



11:30 - 3:30 TRADE SHOW & LUNCH (Trade Show 

closes after 3:30) 


6:30 - ? Dinner on your own OR Hosted Party 

January 14, THURSDAY 



ADJOURN ... Explore Austin!

Over the past few years, hundreds of B&B’s and inns across the 

United States and Canada have offered active and retired veterans 

free lodging for one night on, or around Veteran’s Day. 

This program was started by Kathleen Panek, a West Virginia 

Innkeeper, and was appropriately named "B&Bs for Vets." This 

year, AIHP has agreed to manage, coordinate and publicize the 

B&Bs for Vets program to honor our hard working military. 

PAII and our member innkeepers have been invited to join in this effort – and we most certainly accept! 

All innkeepers are invited to participate in the 2015 B&Bs for Vets program by offering a 

minimum of one room for one night and totally free. At the founders’ request, innkeepers are 

asked to provide at least one stay (no strings attached, no buy-one night/get one night) in order 

to participate. After offering at least one free room, innkeepers may offer other discounts to vets. 

Many innkeepers will offer more than one room, which is encouraged. We are asking 

innkeepers to provide a free stay on either Tuesday November 10, 2015 or Wednesday the 11th 

(Veteran’s Day). If innkeepers want to offer more free nights to vets, it is of course welcomed! 

AIHP is working with a developer on a website for innkeepers to list their participation in B&Bs 

for Vets. More details on the website and how you can participate will be coming soon. 

Stay tuned for updates via the AIHP and PAII newsletters. 

The Argument for Loyalty Programs 

An interesting debate took place on LinkedIn last week about the topic of Hotel Loyalty Programs. There were many good points for and against 

creating a program to incentivize your most loyal guests. Creating a loyalty program is a smart business move because it shows guests appreciation 

and offers added value to an independent property. But, there are many things to consider when deciding whether or not to create a loyalty program. 

We explore the pros and cons below. 

Pros: 

Show guest appreciation. One of the foremost goals for a loyalty program is to show appreciation for your most loyal guests. Some would agree 

that loyalty programs are great if kept simple. Large chains with loyalty programs, such as Hilton and Marriott, change constantly. Constant change 

leads to a complicated experience for the guest. If independent hoteliers build a loyalty program, they need to ensure members know what to expect. 

Loyalty programs can show appreciation by offering surprises, special rates, and enhanced experiences. 

Draw back previous guests. It is no marketing secret that it takes a lot more money and effort to obtain a new customer than to entice a previous 

one to come back. Hoteliers dramatically increase their ability to target guests when they already have guest contact information. But, you can increase 

your marketing efforts even more if guests join a loyalty program. A loyalty program adds another touchpoint for a guest. A hotel can offer 

loyalty members special offers unavailable to the general public. Hoteliers are able to bypass rate parity agreements when marketing directly to 

guests. (We’ll touch more on that below).

The Argument for Loyalty Programs continued….. 

Skyrocketing OTA Commissions. OTA commission rates are skyrocketing and rate parity agreements make it difficult to offer varying rates across 

different platforms. However, there is one (legal) way of getting around these agreements. If a customer already exists in a hotel’s marketing database, 

hoteliers can offer them different rates. Hoteliers can do this through a variety of marketing channels such as email, social media, phone, etc. 

Rate parity agreements have been in the news a lot lately as Europe put pressure on the major OTAs. Regulators in Sweden, France and Italy have 

eased rate parity clauses in contracts with Italy allowing hoteliers to change their rates more freely. 

Loyalty programs also drive direct bookings, helping hoteliers reduce OTA commission fees. Targeting loyalty members with special rates and 

packages deters those same guests from researching other options. 

Hospitality Net reports that it costs between 1-5% of room revenue to create and manage a loyalty program. However, the commission taken from 

OTAs and the marketing costs associated with obtaining new customers ends up taking the same if not a larger percentage of room revenue. 

OTAs are good and necessary for the hospitality business. They drive new business and offer hoteliers and guests alike a lot of value. However, it 

is always a good idea to get more direct bookings. 

Increased Customer Data. Loyalty programs offer hoteliers the ability to understand a lot about their guests. Hoteliers can use information about 

past, current, and future visits to target those guests, and guest like them, in future campaigns. Understanding consumer habits is invaluable and 

can offer hoteliers a lot in the long run. 

Cons: 

Loyalty is Gone. Even beyond the hospitality industry, many believe that brand loyalty is dead. In the era of infinite information, it is true that customers 

are aware of their many options. In the end, a consumer will choose the option with the most perceived value. 

That said, a loyalty program can be the selling point that drives guests to book. A perk, rate, or upgrade available to a guest from a loyalty program 

could be the difference between booking one property over another. 

People Don’t Revisit Hotels. According to some, guests simply do not return to hotels after one stay. If all your guests are first-time, one-time customers, 

then it definitely does not make sense to create a loyalty program. 

However, data shows that many customer segments do, in fact, regularly revisit hotels. Sure, there are many who only intend to stay at a property 

once, but what about families and business travelers? These two consumer groups often seek familiarity, and would be perfect markets to target 

with loyalty programs. The New Yorks times reported on hotel brand loyalty and business travelers. Business people, who are on the road close to 

50% of the time, find value in familiarity. 

Added Expenses. As mentioned above, there is an obvious expense to creating and maintaining a loyalty program. Costs associated with setting up 

and marketing a program may seem high. But, if done correctly, they will be offset by increased direct bookings. 

However, The Centre for Hospitality Research reported that once a guest signs up for hotel’s loyalty program, the frequency of stays booked by a 

guests at that hotel rose on average by 49%. It also found that loyalty programs accounted for a 57% rise in bedroom revenue. 

Alternatives 

A hotelier could also consider a private customer loyalty program. Without telling guests, a hotelier can implement a private program that surprises 

guests opportunistically. Then, when a guest does get upgraded or receives a special rate, it doesn’t feel calculated or expected. To me, the idea 

sounds fun. But, evidence shows that public loyalty programs offer a lot of value to guests, especially in the purchase process. 

The conclusion: 

There are both pros and cons for an independent hotel to implement a loyalty program. Looking at the data, we conclude that loyalty programs are 

worth the investment for independent hoteliers because it can drive direct bookings and offer guests a lot of value, among many other points that 

outweigh the negatives. 

Contributed by: Cloud Beds 

2655 4th Ave, San Diego, CA, 92103 

https://www.cloudbeds.com

Contests…Contests……Contests……Contests!!!!!! 

PAII members looking to stretch their chops at their photography skills and/or get competitive in the kitchen, 

have we got a contest for you! Enter one (or more!) of five categories for best photography and/or best recipes 

and the winners will be featured in the Winter issue of Innkeeping Magazine Quarterly! 

For Our Winter Innkeeping 

Now Magazine 

Best Exterior Picture-Holiday Wreaths 

Best Interior Photo-Holiday Decorations 

Best Photo-Desserts 

Best Recipe-Savory Muffins 

Best Recipe-Christmas Cookies 

Get out your cameras, your smart phones, your whisks and your springform pans out and get ready to 

rumble! Questions? Email marketing@paii.org 

Each photo and recipe will be judged by an independent, 

team of professional photographers and executive chefs. 

As well as having a peoples choice award. 

The deadline for the last round of recipes and 

photos will be December 1, 2015 

This is great FREE publicity for 

your inn, take advantage of it! 

ALL contestants will be featured in the monthly newsletters as 

well as their photos and recipes (with credit) posted on PAII’s 

Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages. 

Rules for the Recipe and Photo contests 

can be found at 

http://paiiinnkeepers.blogspot.com/2015/07/paiirecipe-contest-for-our-fall.html 

http://paiiinnkeepers.blogspot.com/2015/07/paii-photocontests-for-our-fall.html 

Gwenn Eyer, Innkeeper 

Blessings on State 

Bed & Breakfast 

www.BlessingsOnState.com 

Thank you to the innkeepers that 

submitted photos for this summer’s 

photo contest! 

Summer is a very busy time of year and 

we appreciate the submissions! 

Kathleen LoVerde 

1837 Cobblestone Cottage 

www.1837cobblestonecottage.com

EMV/Chip Card Information 

EMV or chip cards are making their debut in the United States. A chip card is a standard credit or debit card with a mini-computer or 

microprocessor embedded on the chip. EMV/chip cards have been in use all over the globe for several years and have helped 

reduce card–present fraud. 

Liability Shift Effective October 1, 2015, if a chip card is presented and a business is unable to read it as a chip card, and the transaction 

is later deemed fraudulent, the 

business will be out the cost of goods/services sold and will be required to reimburse the issuer of the card. 

Why the Shift to Chip Cards? 

• Chip cards help reduce card-present, counterfeit fraud 

by authenticating each transaction. 

• Chip cards require cardholder verification through a 

PIN or signature, which reduces fraud through lost or 

stolen cards. 

• Each transaction is dynamically authenticated when an 

EMV-capable credit card machine and a chip card are 

used to make a card-present payment. 

• The chip secures data more effectively than a magnetic 

stripe. Dual Verification In EMV transactions, unlike 

traditional magnetic stripe read transactions, the credit 

card machine and chip-enabled card work together to 

validate the card and cardholder, sometimes referred to 

as dual verification. The credit card machine validates or 

authenticates the card with dynamic information in the 

chip. While the 

card is still in the credit card machine, the cardholder 

validates with either a PIN or a signature that they are 

the cardholder. 

Point-of-Sale Prompts for EMV 

When using an EMV-enabled credit card machine the 

machine will prompt both you and the cardholder to insert the chip card if you attempt to swipe it. This protects your business from 

potential fraud. The credit card machine will also prompt the cardholder to either enter their PIN or sign for the transaction. 

Updating Your Point-of-Sale (POS) 

The checkout or POS environment for most small businesses will need to be updated for chip card acceptance. Credit card machines 

or readers may need to be updated to accept chip cards, as the transaction involves interaction between the credit card machine, the 

chip card, cardholder and business. Cardholders will need access to insert their card into the credit card machine to be read. Some 

businesses may have already made this shift to accept Apple PayTM or contactless payment methods. 

Contributed by: TSYS Merchant Solutions 800-354-3988 

http://tsysmerchantsolutions.com

10 Marketing Tips to Boost Profitability at Your Inn 

by Scott Frangos 

Innkeepers and hoteliers wear so many hats, that it can be hard to concentrate on lifting your marketing game. Fortunately we live in an era with 

a wealth of online marketing resources and technologies plus research for boosting results. But the the best solutions go beyond tactics and 

technology to the core of persuasion psychology. I’ve learned a lot about all this in close to 35 years in the trenches, so I’m pleased to share my 

own top 10 list to help you win the quest for heads in beds: 

1) Tri-Leverage your blog content: Make your blog do triple duty. First, write each blog post with highly relevant content to increase your 

rankings. Second, use an automation tool (we like Hootsuite, or Delvr.it) to automatically push posts to social media — set it and forget 

it. Third, set your blog RSS feed to go out monthly with excerpts from your posts and a special or two using a smart email service 

like MailChimp (great pricing — send to 2,000 subscribers monthly for free). 

2) Sell the sizzle, not the steak: Should a sailboard manufacturer sell the composition of the board, or the experience of sailing across the water? 

Should a restaurant show it’s store front and food only, or sell the social experience the venue affords? Should an Inn show only its rooms 

(the steak); or show guests enjoying breakfasts and heading off to local adventures (the sizzle)? You get it. Sure, it’s easier to settle just for 

room and building photos, but you’ll sell more when you present the sizzle of the vacation. 

3) Upgrade your Inn’s Social “Tradeshow Booths”: Recently I’ve reviewed over 100 independent “boutique” hotel and inn websites. Only 2% 

are taking full advantage of the opportunity to present compelling images and an authentic presence across the major social venues. Would you 

buy a tradeshow booth, then fail to have any photos of your property and locale? Worse, would you fail to staff the booth with friendly people? 

The answer should be no to both questions, but innkeepers and hotel marketing managers are pressed for time, so often they only do this 

well on one social venue (or “tradeshow booth”) like FaceBook. I’ll be doing a webinar on this soon, but for now remember to use attractive 

images properly on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ (yes — this G+ is important in a number of ways including to garner reviews which place you 

higher on maps), Pinterest, YouTube, Yelp, and LinkedIn. Pipe your blog posts to these venues automatically, and periodically use a time saving 

tool like Buffer or Hootsuite to show up live in your tradeshow booth, field guest questions and post some engaging tweets. 

4) Capture prospective guests before they reserve a room: I’ve seen many inn and hotel websites with some great package specials. 

While almost all hoteliers have a basic contact form — it’s on a different page. Very few think to put a form on the special pages, and fewer 

still think to give folks incentive to fill out the form. Why? Your webmaster can do this very affordably. And when you wed a form with a 

smart “call to action” (ie. “Get on our list and we’ll send you our packages plus an exclusive special”) you’ll capture a marketing list of those 

showing interest in staying at your hotel. 

5) Test. Analyze. Test: What is your reservation system abandonment rate? How many people are downloading key PDF brochures at your 

website? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you can’t make any improvements. Install analytics (we like Google Analytics, it’s 

free but powerful). Then when you have a handle on key performance indicators (KPIs… this industry is full of acronyms), test your landing 

pages for incremental improvements. We like to use A/B tests where every other visitor sees a different version of a page to test key elements 

like headlines, graphics, and specials. Google analytics has a built in mechanism for this, and on average we see 20% – 40% improvements in 

lead gathering. This tactic alone will boost profitability though it is often overlooked by your competition. 

6) World Wide Web = World Wide Market: Our preferred cloud booking provider, Checkfront, has recently added translation features on booking 

listings, and we’ve worked with hoteliers to configure translation systems (manual or automatic) for WordPress websites. Plug in translations 

and turn on the power of an occupancy boost from international guests. 

7) Make your OTA play pay: Get a smart Online Travel Agency (OTA) game plan and automate it so that your inventory system stays current 

and up to date, you increase occupancy rates, and don’t lose bookings to competitors. I’ve written a longer post about an inventory allocation 

technology we like. One opportunity a lot of properties seem to miss is allocating rooms to TripAdvisor, where millions surf each month. When 

you fail to do this, TripAdvisor shows competitors in your area that have rooms in inventory. What about AirBnB? Think progressively and 

embrace the breakthroughs of a new generation of travelers. Why not AirBnB if it will help you increase occupancy rates?

10 Marketing Tips to Boost Profitability at Your Inn continued…... 

8) Smart questions win reservations: Do you have a bland, standard “contact us” form, or do you ask about prospective guests interest in weddings, 

wine tastings, local tours, and events, then deliver an auto response that caters to their desires? A good WordPress plugin, or smart forms 

program (Wufoo is one, plus we offer 1-2-3 Forms for all our clients) will facilitate this. One example is how the form at a mini-site we just 

built for a hotel client, will send a PDF weddings brochure if respondents indicate an interest in weddings, or different information if a different 

interest is selected on the pop-down field. 

9) People buy on emotion — use it as a sales tactic: I know this is difficult for the scientific mind to accept and a lot of innkeepers have backgrounds 

in accounting, finance, business, economics with a no nonsense mindset. Ok. Just realize that the same science shows, in study after 

study (here’s a recent one), that even though you may believe you’re making a nice rational decision about where to stay — emotional arguments 

win more guests every time. Just one of many tactical examples — smiling guests versus a tidy but empty room photo. Sure… you can have a 

nice room photo in your booking engine, but should they be primary on top-level web pages? No. Sell with emotion. Sell the sizzle. 

10) Your stories engage prospective guests: Humans love stories. When a story is told well, we live within it — every fiction lover knows 

this. So, smart innkeepers and hoteliers will keep this in mind when writing blog posts and website copy. Don’t just tell me about your inn — 

instead tell me a compelling story detailing a particular visit, celebration, event you’ve held… so I can place myself in the story and in your hotel. 

This way I’m in the scene and more likely to book a room. 

11) BONUS TIP: Become a connected concierge: Lodging industry studies show that a good percentage of guests list smart concierge services 

as a bonus in their stay with you. The most successful hoteliers and innkeepers we’ve seen go beyond a simple list of local tourist attractions 

(which you should have and deliver automatically to guests and prospective guests), to setting up cross promotions with local tour operators, and 

event promoters. Imagine if you can offer a special to your guests for a tour of a local winery? It’s a win-win-win for you, the winery and the 

guest. Most of this relies on your negotiating and business connection skills along with key memberships in the local chamber of commerce and 

similar groups. Our preferred cloud booking platform, Checkfront offers a “partner” technology where you can set-up discounts with event promoters 

and other businesses. You can even give them a snippet of code to place on their own websites, so people can book rooms there for your 

property. Imagine a winery, or jazz festival even website showing and helping book your rooms. The Checkfront system automatically updates 

you, and pays a commission to your promotional partner. This gives you a powerful local travel agent (I like to call that an “LTA play”) option 

and makes you a well connected concierge. 

12) BONUS TIP: Smartphone-Ready Booking AND Website: I almost left this one off, because the overwhelming statistics and so the parroting 

by “experts” must have already reached you — the percentage of guests booking on mobile devices is rapidly increasing. Great… you know 

that. Now when’s the last time you took a look at your website on a small screen smartphone? Do it. Too many times I see sites without true 

mobile ready (browsing with fat little fingers) booking systems. Worse… I’ve seen a number of websites whose booking pages are mobile-ready 

but getting there is very difficult because the main site is not optimized. If you can’t click a small 

little link to your reservation page with your finger, then your site is not mobile ready. 

- 

Contributed by: Webdirexion, LLC 

4400 NE 77th Ave. – Suite 275 

Vancouver, WA 

http://webdirexion.com 

Are you a member with news, helpful information, 

ideas and recipes to share? 

Please send your articles to marketing@paii.org 

Deadline is the 10th of every month. Photos welcomed!* 

*Please make sure photos are yours or you have permission to use.

PAII is delighted to welcome Trent 

& Kristen Blizzard to the 

Innkeeping Show, for a special 

seminar! 

This full-day seminar on Sunday January 10th is an 

additional fee of $195 … their recent well-attended 

seminar was offered at four times that – and according to 

attendees, worth every cent at that price! 

Take Your WordPress Website to the Next Level 

Do you want to learn more about how to use 

WordPress? Maybe you already have a WordPress 

website already and want to learn how to update it? 

Or, how to help it rank better in search engines? Maybe 

you want to learn more about WordPress so you can build 

your own site! In this class, innkeepers will learn how to 

manage their WordPress site. Topics include: plugins, 

widgets, blogging, media, SEO, security, backup and 

more. Special attention will be given towards making 

your website more usable by your guests and optimizing it 

to rank higher in Google. Trent and Kristen Blizzard will 

be teaching the class and providing lots of 

one-on-one personalized attention. 

Make sure you bring a laptop! 

Find PAII online at: 

https://www.facebook.com/Innkeeping 

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Ads can be submitted in JPEG or PDF format, at least 300 

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The deadline for ads is the 10th of every month for publication 

on the 15th of the month. 

Have questions about PAII? 

Email questions@paii.org 

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+InnkeepingOrg 

https://twitter.com/innkeeping 

https://www.pinterest.com/Innkeeping/

Upcoming Webinars (more dates and topics coming soon!) Free for Members! 

Register at http://www.innkeeping.org/?page=webinars (you must login to your account to register) 

Wednesday, Sept 16, 2015, 2:00 PM EST 

7 Strategies to Increase Traffic to Your Website 

-Q4Launch 

Wednesday, September 23, 2015, 2:00 PM EST 

Mistakes That Cost You Money 

-Acorn Internet 

Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 2:00 PM EST 

Top 10 Online Marketing Recommendations for Inn 

Websites 

-Webdirexion 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015, 2:00 PM EST 

Email + Social Media: Strategies & Tools 

-Cloudbeds 


Topic To Be Announced 

-Living Social 


10 tax tips for B&Bs 

-Legare, Bailey and Hinske, LLC 


Mobile Armageddon Has Come and Gone - Were You 

Left Behind? 

-Acorn Internet 

Wednesday, November 4, 2015, 2:00 PM EST 

Yield Management 

-Q4Launch 

Wednesday, November 11, 2015, 2:00 PM EST 

Optimizing Landing Pages to Gather Prospects 

-Webdirexion 

Wednesday, November 18 2015, 2:00 PM EST 

Interim Innkeeping 

-Interim Innkeepers 

Wednesday, December 12, 2015, 2:00 PM EST 

How to sharpen your online pricing strategy? 

-Xotelia 

Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 2:00 PM EST 

How to convert your visitors into bookers? 

-Xotelia 

More Dates and Topics to be announced shortly: 

Check http://paiiinnkeepers.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-webinars.html for the most updated schedules. 

Interested in 

advertising in the 

monthly newsletter? 

Please send 

inquiries to 

marketing@paii.org

Local Bed and Breakfasts within 1/2 an hour of the conference. 

To the West 

Casa del Sol Bed and Breakfast 

3905 Highland Dr 

Austin, TX 78734 

http://www.casadelsolbedandbreakfast.com 

To the South continued 

Decker Creek Bed & Breakfast & Biscuit 

16029 Decker Lake Rd 

Manor, TX 78653 

http://deckercreek.com 

Robin's Nest Bed & Breakfast 

1010 Stewart Cove 


http://robinsnestlaketravis.com 

La Villa Vista Bed & Breakfast 

6701 Oasis Pass 


http://www.lavillavista.com 

To the South 

The Abode 

916 E 37th St 


http://www.theabodeaustin.com 

Adams House 

4300 Avenue G 


http://www.theadamshouse.com 

Austin Folk House 

506 W 22nd St 


http://austinfolkhouse.com 

Austin's Inn at Pearl Street 

809 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd 


http://www.innpearl.com 

Austin Zen Stay 

2215 E Anderson Ln 


http://austinzenstay.com 

Brava House 

1108 Blanco St 


http://www.bravahouse.com 

Strickland Arms Bed & Breakfast 

604 E 47th St 


http://www.stricklandarmstexas.com 

Quarters At Hardin House 

2206 Rio Grande St 


http://www.quartershardin.com 

Star of Texas Inn 

611 W 22nd St 


http://staroftexasinn.com 

1110 Carriage House Inn 

1110 W 22nd 1/2 St 


http://www.carriagehouseinn.org 

1110 Carriage House Inn 

1110 W 22nd 1/2 St 


http://www.carriagehouseinn.org 

To the North 

Gold Coat Inn Bed & Breakfast 

2901 Co Rd 175 

Leander, TX 78641 

http://www.goldcoatinn.com 

Pecan Manor Bed & Breakfast 

819 Hackberry St 

Taylor, TX 76574 

http://www.pecanmanorbb.com 

San Gabriel House Bed & Breakfast 

1008 E University Ave 

Georgetown, TX 78626 

http://www.sangabrielhouse.com

PAII Innkeeping Show – January 10-14, 2016 

Austin Additional Lodging Options Nearby 

We did some price scouting for you, using a booking.com search and a 4-night stay (arrive 

January 10 depart January 14). Prices do not include taxes. 

Within two blocks of the Center 

Extended Stay America 

507 S. 1st Street Austin, TX 78701 

Phone: 512.476.1818 Fax: 512.476.0451 

130 suites 4 night stay: $432 

Embassy Suites Austin Downtown 

300 S Congress Ave Austin, TX 78704 

Phone: 512.469.9000 Fax: 512.480.1641 

262 suites 4 night stay: $636 

Hyatt Regency Austin 

208 Barton Springs Road Austin, TX 78704 

Phone: 512.477.1234 Fax: 512.480.2089 

446 rooms 4 night stay: $1086 

North of the Lake 

Extended Stay America Downtown 

600 Guadalupe St. Austin, TX 78701 

Phone: 512.457.9994 Fax: 512.457.0924 


Omni Austin Hotel Downtown 

700 San Jacinto Blvd. at 8th Street 


Phone: 512.476.3700 Fax: 512.397.4885 


La Quinta Inn - Austin Capitol 

300 East 11th Street Austin, TX 78701 

Phone: 512.476.1166 Fax: 512.476.6044 


Hampton Inn & Suites @ The University/Capitol 

1701 Lavaca Street Austin, TX 78701 

Phone: 512.499.8881 Fax: 512.499.8882 


Courtyard Austin Downtown 

300 E Fourth Street, Austin TX 78701 

4 night stay: $976 

Hilton Garden Inn 

500 N Interstate 35, Austin TX 78701 

4 night stay: $756 

PAII Innkeeping Show & Hospitality Marketing Summit and 

Trade Show Registration Rates 

REGISTRATION PREVIEW: The Early-Birds get much more that the ‘worm’! The registration rates below are 

available from the opening of registration through Monday September 28, 2015 at 5 pm CST. Early Bird registration will be opening soon! 

• $349 FIRST ATTENDEE: PAII MEMBER (through January 31 or beyond) 

• $199 ADDITIONAL ATTENDEES from PAII MEMBER’s INN (as above) 

• $538 FIRST ATTENDEE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION $349 PLUS $219 INNKEEPER / ASPIRING INNKEEPER MEMBERSHIP 

NOTE: $199 FOR ADDITIONAL ATTENDEES AS ABOVE APPLIES 

• $518 FIRST ATTENDEE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION $349 PLUS $199 INTERIM INNKEEPER MEMBERSHIP 

NOTE: $199 FOR ADDITIONAL ATTENDEES AS ABOVE APPLIES 

• $599 NON-PAII MEMBER REGISTRATION 

(NOT INCLUDED: Aspiring Innkeeper Seminar and TBA WordPress Session)

PAII newsletter September 2015.pdf

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