A year five business women will never forgetFive women in Louisville Kentucky, who own bed and breakfasts, were faced with the same problem. It was 2008, an election year, and the media was bombarding the country with horror stories about the economy. The candidates were battling it out, trying to convince everyone that they knew how to save the sinking ship; each party blaming the other for the predicament we were in. The stock market was failing, banks were failing, large and small businesses were going under, and people were getting fired right and left. The country was scared about the economy, and even more scared about the upcoming election. No one knew what to expect.
Effects of the economy on the accommodation and travel industries
After the election took place in November, 2008 , everyone continued tightening their purse strings because of the economy. Many industries had been hit hard; two of which were the accommodation and the travel industry. The airlines were suffering, the hotels were suffering, and the bed and breakfasts were definitely suffering. Christmas was coming up and potential customers and guests were not about to take vacations at such a critical time. People had been waiting to see how the election played out and if any of the stimulus packages promised would do the trick. Well, of course nothing happened right away. A few large businesses and banks were saved, the stock market twisted and turned and people continued to lose their jobs.
The accommodation business nearly came to a stand still. Eventually, though, people got tired of depriving themselves and started taking week-end get-aways. Business people started traveling again. In the meantime, Nancy, Marsha, Linda, Mary, and Devona, all business women running their own bed and breakfasts in Louisville, had started coming up with survival tactics and creative ways to save their Inns. With determination and hard work, these five women, managed to hang in there through some tough times over the past year and a half and are on their way to having one of the best years ever. All passionate about their Inns, they have learned that it takes perseverance and ingenuity to make things work. At no time did they give up and throw in the towel; a mark of dedicated entrepreneurs.
Stories of hope
Aleksander House Bed and Breakfast, in Old Louisville, and Woodhaven Bed and Breakfast, which is south east of downtown Louisville, are both owned by women who run their businesses on their own. With some housekeeping, gardening and maintenance help, both have successful businesses which have been operating for over 15 years. Each addressed the slump in the accommodation business is different ways.
Nancy Hinchliff, who owns the Aleksander House decided not to lower her prices, in fact she raised them for some rooms, as she had planned. "I did, however, construct a new website and cut back on food and supply costs. The new website is definitely bringing in more reservations. Cutting back on food and supply costs (without lowering the standards of my breakfast) has helped lower my overhead costs. I also designed some interesting and unique packages and increased my on line presence and marketing. All of this is paying off. I've sold more packages this year than ever. Except for January, I've had a good year so far."
At Woodhaven, Marsha Burton says that she has managed to stay at her normal 80% occupancy during the downturn. "I might have increased our rates this year but decided not to rock the boat. Many people and even my regular business travelers are trying to keep costs down so I wanted to give them a break and keep them coming. Guests tell me we offer a lot of value for their money [in the way of] complimentary fresh cookies, soft drinks, coffee, tea and [in room] snack stations. Breakfast is bountiful and full of choices and most ingredients are organic from local suppliers and Whole Foods. Our last minute 20% special discount and green special for guests within 45 miles are very popular this year as well."
Although Old Bridge Inn is in Indiana, the owner has been president of the Louisville Bed and Breakfast Association for the past three years.. Linda Williams, with a little help from her husband, does a great job of running her Inn on her own like Nancy and Marsha. Since the downturn in the economy, she says that "while everything else is rising in cost we have NOT raised prices." One thing she's done to survive this critical time is to start blogging and to utilize social networks in order to get her name out there on the internet. She has made cutbacks on food and supplies and dropped bed and breakfast directories that were not sending visitors to her website. " I'm not sure what the future will bring, but we're still here and plan on being here for quite some time to come."
After three years of steady growth since 2007, Tom and Mary Austin at Austin's Inn Place have seen the last eighteen months gradually flatten. Despite the decrease in sales, they have resisted discounting their packages and have kept the rates the same as when they opened in 2005. "We've also asked our guests to write reviews on line or send comment cards into review sites, resulting in some nice reviews, [which we] have posted to our own website." Tom says. They are also doing more events and cross pollinating their real estate business with their inn business to bolster awareness. "We held a seminar, at the Inn, for real estate first time buyers and hosted a fund raiser cocktail party for the Greg Page Foundation, a relationship that came from our real estate efforts." Ladies groups gatherings, and business meetings have added additional exposure. "Summer 2009 was slow, says Tom, but September and October give us hope that the hospitality business is picking up again."
Devona Porter at Tucker House Bed and Breakfast, a lovely historic inn in a bubcolic country setting, admits times have been tough, but they appear to be looking up somewhat. In an effort to maintain their Inn, they are offering more packages, lowering prices during out-of-season months, and emailing past guests with offers of specials. One successful idea was to offer a free night to a couple who brings three other couples with them for a weekend in January or February. Another idea was to accept more wedding and special event bookings. Devona, who runs the business with help from her husband Steve, actually "cold-called" businesses in her neighborhood. She passed out brochures and let them know that her Inn offered competitive rates for business travelers. "Things are looking up now and I think the changes we have implemented and the effort we have put into generating new business has paid off."
Image: courtesy Beth Clark
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