First Impressions Count!

When a guest walks up to the front of your business, what is their first impression? Is the paint peeling? Are the flowergardens filled with weeds and dead plants? Are the grounds unkempt? Are the windows dirty or broken? For any innkeeper who wants to be in business longer than their first guest says, the answer should be “No”. Unfortunately, many innkeepers these days are giving the same first impression as letting their inn’s exterior fall by the wayside.

Regardless of what percentage of your guests actually book online or pick up the phone and call, you have to assume that 100% of them have or will look at your website. When people are booking their vacations these days, it is pretty certain they will go to the internet to research possible places to stay. Whether they are checking prices at the Holiday Inn or looking for that special B&B as a home away from home for a weekend or more, the internet is the defacto research tool.

That being said, it’s time to look at your own website and perform an honest review of the first impression you are giving your potential guests. For example, perform a web search for your local area to see what all the other B&Bs or inns websites look like. Have a good friend perform a comparative analysis for you and give you honest feedback about how your site stacks up against the others.


In our marketing research, we have found that for most regional searches, 9 out of 10 websites are seriously lacking in terms of overall design, user interface, user experience and general updates. Often when we are researching regional B&B activity, we are left wondering if the inn on the website is still open. It is amazing to see the number of sites that look like they were either built by the innkeeper or on an extremely low budget. The site was likely intended as a way for people to get your location and phone number and show a few photos of the grounds. In 2003, if you had a website for your bed and breakfast, you were probably among the more technologically aware innkeepers, regardless of what the site looked like.

Things have changed drastically since 2003 and they have even changed a lot since 2006. Consider Moore’s Law of technology, which states essentially that technology changes drastically in 18 months time. If your website is 3 years old (twice Moore’s Law), it’s likely things are looking a bit dated. If you spent top dollar 3 years ago to get something that was really cutting edge, it’s likely your site is probably on par with what would be considered average now. If you went cheap with the design and build three years ago, it’s likely your site is looking very long in the tooth. If your site was built 5 years ago, it’s well overdue for an overhaul.

Take a few minutes to critically evaluate your own website. Is it giving your potential visitors the same impression you would want to give if they were walking up your front steps? Are they impressed by what they see? It is likely that the inn with a modern, professionally designed website is going to realize a higher percentage of bookings from website visitors.

Take a peek at Jay Karen’s latest entry on his Innkeeping Blog. Pay specific attention to number 4 on the list of things to do this year.

Sacramento Photographer, William Foster