How to Start & Run a B&B BandBED2eBook-1 | Page 91

Local contacts and networking
Inevitably you will be thinking a lot about advertising your B&B nationally and
internationally – but don’t forget that local contacts can be just as important. And often
these don’t cost anything.
Sit down and think through all the reasons people come to stay in your area, what they
do when they get there, and even where else they come to stay apart from your B&B.
Even competitors may be able to help you!
Taking the example of our own B&B, The Pheasants in Sherborne, when we were
planning opening The Pheasants, we went through this exercise. People come to
Sherborne for weddings at the Abbey or the Castle, for functions at the various
boarding schools here, and to explore and admire the historic architecture. We
therefore contacted the Castle so that couples planning to marry there included The
Pheasants on their list of local accommodation for wedding guests; we did the same
with the Abbey. We contacted the schools and got put on the information they send to
parents, and on their websites. We made sure we were listed on the official town
website. And we established friendly relationships with the hotels in town and with
the other B&Bs. We now get bookings referred by the hotels or other B&Bs when they
are full, and in return when we are full, we refer enquirers to the hotels or B&Bs who
have done the same for us.
That is the best kind of marketing: simple, effective, permanent, and costs nothing!
Exactly who you will benefit from contacting will vary in each location, so think though
the equivalents in your own location. If people come to visit a particular attraction, see
if you can get added as a link on the attraction’s website for those who want to find
local accommodation – and go in and speak to the people running the attraction, and
crucially to those who deal with cli