5 Ways To Make Your B&B Unique

When your customers are looking for a bed and breakfast, they don’t want “just another B&B.”

They want to stay in a lovely, unique place that makes them feel special.

If you’re looking to stay ahead of the competition in your town, you want to do some things that set your bed and breakfast apart.

To help you, here are five ways to make your B&B unique.

#1: Text Messaging

The digital age has ushered in new technologies that make meeting the needs of your customers easier than ever before.

What’s more, with smartphones, you can offer your guests something they didn’t even know they needed or wanted, but that they appreciate once they get.

Text (SMS) messaging with your hotel guests is an intriguing way to create the ultimate customer service experience for your guests.

As a bed and breakfast owner, you can utilize text messages to personalize your guests’ stay.

You can offer texts in the following ways:

• One day before arrival: remind them of important check-in times.
• Right before arrival: confirm any dietary or room needs
• During stay: offer concierge services or ideas for an evening out
• During stay: remind guests of meals and snack times
• Right before departure: Offer check-out options
• After departure: Send thank you messages with links to leave a review

Your text message is a show of caring and support for your bed and breakfast guests.

While large hotel chains are conducting this type of service, you can stand out because of the size of your inn. This allows you to send more personalized texts that capture the essence of your B&B.

#2: High Quality Photos

Search for bed and breakfasts online, and you’ll find a plethora of websites with poorly taken photos.

You can make your B&B unique by only using the best, most professional looking photos.

As your potential guests search online for a place to stay in your city, you can bet they’ll be drawn to the B&B with the best-looking photos and the most interesting and modern website.

Guests make their decision on where to stay based on the quality of your website photos.

Include photos of your rooms, your menu and a tour of your property. Make sure your photos convey the ambiance of your bed and breakfast.

Spend a little extra for professional photos to help your B&B shine.

#3: Personal Touch

When guests visit a hotel, they usually know they’re just another paying customer.

Yet, when guests visit a bed and breakfast, they expect to get to know their hosts as well as the other guests.

To help your B&B be unique, make sure your atmosphere is one of openness, friendliness and accommodation. (tweet this)

Make sure you know each guest by name and greet them this way each time you see them. Visit with them during meal time, explain to them the best places to visit and make sure they know the schedule at your inn.

Your goal is to personalize the experience so your guests remember you and become your brand ambassadors.

#4: Partnerships

Another way to make your B&B stand out is by building partnerships with other businesses in the area.

For example, let’s say you decide to only serve wine in your bed and breakfast from a local winery. You might then partner with the winery to offer free tours to your guests.

The partnership benefits both you and the winery because your guests will appreciate the “discount,” and the winery will surely sell some wine.

Or, consider the bride whose family decides to rent your bed and breakfast for a week before and during the wedding. You might offer a package where you partner with a florist who is also a wedding planner.

Perhaps the wedding planning services are complimentary if the bride stays at your inn and uses the wedding planner as a florist.

The key to partnerships is to think outside the box.

#5: The Signature Dish

Another way to make your B&B unique is with your signature dishes.

Your menu has the ability to tantalize your guests, making them crave your food long into the future.

Did you know that your food alone can bring guests from miles away as well as local residents to your B&B?

When deciding on a few signature dishes, do some research. Learn about local specialties.

Consider your B&B theme and tailor your dishes to it. For example, if your inn is French country, your meals should reflect that.

Or, think about your own country of origin and highlight family specialties.

Do you offer farm raised eggs and chicken and your own herb garden? Perhaps you make your own cheese or jellies. Create a menu that focuses on these unique items.

Another option is capitalizing on the unique talents of your chef. It doesn’t matter if it’s you or someone else, just make sure to highlight the best dishes.

For example, if your chef is a trained baker, ensure that your menu options center around baked goods.

You can also use your menu to take your customer experience to a new level.

Offer weekend evening meals, provide breakfast to go or offer picnic lunches.

Meet your guests’ needs and make a memorable experience by using your food.

Unique Selling Point

Finally, we want to talk about your unique selling point. What’s this?

This is the one (or two) things that make your bed and breakfast different from all the rest.

It could be the talents of your chef, the décor of your rooms (think European linens, completely modern features, or a 200-year old home), the atmosphere and friendliness of your staff.

Your unique selling point(s) drives customers to your bed and breakfast. The uniqueness of your inn is what people remember and what gets spread by word of mouth.

To figure out your unique selling points, sit down and finalize your mission. Why are you running a bed and breakfast? What do you want guests to remember when they leave? What things do you have to offer that no one else does?

Once you have your unique selling points, you are well-poised to make your bed and breakfast unique.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to marketing your B&B and setting up your strategy as a place that is unique, you want to make sure you do everything you can to make your bed and breakfast memorable.

Your ultimate goal is to stand out in a crowded hospitality market.

When you stand out, you’re more likely to succeed.

The best thing you can do to set your bed and breakfast apart as the “best place to stay and dine” is to concentrate on unique amenities, customer service, your food and the quality of your rooms.

You’ll soon find that once you make your B&B unique, your customers will do all of your advertising for you.

At Hotel Propeller, we build functional, beautiful websites to help you stand out in the crowd. You’ll find everything you need to attract guests to your website through your email marketing. Take a look at our showcase and contact us today.

Images: Whitney Wright and Pete Bellis on Unsplash