I started a small B&B in Tennessee about 6 months ago. My business has been OK but not to the rate that I would like. Perhaps getting started after 9/11 hurt a little but I need some customers now.

I hate sending out trashy pamphlets and banner ads on travel sites are too expensive.
I thought I would go directly to people who travlel alot and ask how you find your B&Bs. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can boost business?

I'm no travel or internet professional, but I'll tell you how I find places to stay. I'm using printed guidebooks less and less to locate lodging, mostly because the internet works better for me.

I will do a web search for the area I'm planning on staying in (for example, searching for "Boothbay Harbor"). That will direct me to local listings of places to stay. I don't think those are "banner ads," they're just listings - some of them appear to be prepared by something like the town's chamber of commerce, though not necessarily. Then I'll look at the web site for any lodging that has one. I LOVE web sites, the more information on them the better, and the more pictures, the better. I don't book online, I just call to make reservations, so I don't care if there's a way to reserve online. Hope this helps...

If you'd done any research before opening, you'd find that there are extensive B&B registries online. I'm sure you pay to be included, but people looking for this type of lodging will use these searches.You should also contact the local/regional paper and try to get a review - offer them a free night. Ditto for all state travel magazines and publications.
I'm being real nice here ;-) here's a start:
www.innfinder.com, bestromanticinns.com,BnBfinder.com,innseekers.com

The two registries I have used recently to find a b & b in the NYC area are:

bbonline.com
bedandbreakfast.com

I would also recommend getting your own website with your own domain name. You want search engines to be able to list your website as a hit when people do keyword searches for b & b in your area.

Good luck; owning and operating a b & b has always been a dream of mine.

I think the registries are a good idea. The best advertising for a bed and breakfast is word-of-mouth. As more people stay there, they will tell others and your business will grow. However that will take awhile to build.

For the present, I would suggest getting a professional to help plan your marketing/advertising/PR execution. Try this website:

www.shotgunconcepts.com

It's a marketing firm that specializes in small businesses like yours.

I agree totally with the previous posts. I will always choose a b&b with a great web site over one that does not have one, or offers little information. The more information the better. Pictures are great. and PLEASE, post your rates if possible,at the beginning of a browser's on-line tour. It drives me crazy to expend lots of time when I may have a number of sites to access, to find that there is no way to easily learn whether this b&b is an affordable option. I don't see where there's any benefit to be gained by not immediately disclosing this information, I generally won't bother with b&bs that leave out price info, and look elsewhere. At least post a range of rates for the current season, and UPDATE your information regularly.
And be honest - I once visited a b&b that advertised hiking out the back door, a row boat, and friendly, animal-loving hosts. As it turned out, the trail was overgrown and impossible to follow, the boat was in disrepair and had probably not been off the dock in years, and the host kicked his dog!

The local chamber of commerce probably puts out a handbook with tourist info, so you should try to get in on that.

Send info about what makes your inn special to travel editors at local and majour newspapers

I have no idea of what you should do, but I do have to congratulate you on not using this site as an advertising medium. You asked a legitimate question, to a relevant audience without ever mentioning the name, phone, website, email, or anything like that!

People should learn from your example.

The last few times I've stayed at a B&B, I found it on the internet. If you can have your own website in addition to being listed with several registries, that's a plus. After reading some responses above, I realized that each place I ended up staying had their own site so I could get more information. I assumed that B&Bs with better websites (easy to use, lots of information, maps, picture of rooms and surroundings, etc.) were also better places to stay.

We never stay at a bed and Break until someone else we know has stayed there before. So I would suggest getting the BUZZ goooing by giving away a trip every now and then to get people talking.

I'm sure the B&B industry has at least one trade publication. If you haven't already, subscribe to one or several. That should give you some good ideas. Giving away a free stay would be a good idea. You might consider offering it as part of a high-dollar charity auction in a nearby large city.

Please forgive the ignorance but what do you mean by getting your own "domain name"?

domain name= for example if your business is called "Bestbusiness", 'buy' the website www.bestbusiness.com
so that it will be an easy name for people to remember and guess at. Typically you can also then also have e-mail addresses like [email protected] or [email protected] instead of an AOL or Yahoo or Hotmail e-mail address
If you don't have your own domain, you may have a website 'hosted' on a larger company's domain so your address might be something like www.aol.com/members/blahblahblah/123/456
which is both cumbersome to type and hard to remember!

Wow, thanks for the info xx. I love being educated. I have always wondered about some of the web terms but you know if you ask someone they start treating you like the computer nerd on SNL treats people who can't do everything.

Yes, thanks for the information xx!

Great suggestions. Here's one more:
Show photos or accurate descriptions of your breakfast food on your website. Cold continental versus hot and hearty make a big difference to some.

Digital Photos inside and out is a must! I've rented many but never one that didn't include photographs no matter how complete the description was. Marcie

Thanks so much for everyone's suggestions. I went the Shotgun Concepts website and have hired them to help implement some of these plans. My account rep was very impressed by all of the suggestions here and we plan to implement some of them soon. I will post in a few months and tell everyone how it's going. Thanks again!

And by the way...I will put one little "ad" in...... Visit the Crossville/Fall Creek Falls area in TN!

and don't forget to read your emails every day, and respond to them promptly.