Bed and Breakfast Backlash?
Both Sides Respond
| Navigate this article: B&B Backlash? (Introduction) Why Christopher Elliott is Wrong Why Christopher Elliott is Right Where To Go From Here Interviews with Elliott and Hardy |
Following are the transcripts of each interview.
From Christopher Elliott (http://www.elliott.org/):
As you can imagine, I've been inundated with e-mail from angry innkeepers. I hope my response to your questions, and the resulting story, will be helpful to your audience.
Your current position is that you'll "choose a B&B only under duress." It seems as though that position was reached -- after five years of being a "loyal" B&B customer -- because of bad experiences at one inn. Is that really a good enough reason to stop using all B&Bs (except under duress)?
Is there a bed and breakfast backlash? Tell us what you think on the Bed and Breakfast Forum. Read Christopher Elliott's "Bothered & Badgered at B&Bs" at CNN.com. Elliott also wrote a pro-B&B column for ABCNews.com two years ago. |
A lot of innkeepers have asked me why I kept going back to that particular B&B. Well, occupancy levels in that town were pretty high, for starters. Also, I really believed that the experience had to get better. Instead, it got worse.
In an article on ABCNews.com two years ago, you explained that B&Bs don't always offer great privacy. Nonetheless, at that time, you wrote: "Still, these are minor inconveniences in the overall scheme of things. Given the choice of tolerating the occasional quirkiness of a B&B and staying in a shrink-wrapped box, the inns have it." How did this one experience have changed your opinion so dramatically?
Again, I wouldn't say it was a single experience -- although the series of weekends in Pennsylvania were the proverbial straws that broke the camel's back. I still agree that B&Bs offer many advantages over a hotel, but my position has changed. I think anonymity is good in some cases; I think quirkiness can sometimes be a little unnerving to a visitor who wants peace and quiet; and I think business travelers should consider staying at a hotel before they go to a B&B.
No one would argue that the door-pounding innkeeper was way, way out of line (to put it mildly). But doesn't staying at a hotel potentially offer similar problems -- such as the housekeeper who steals your watch, or the in-house restaurant that serves inferior food?
Of course.
I want to mention one other thing. I've received several hundred messages from angry B&B owners, and I'm absolutely amazed at their tone. They start off telling me what an awful article I've written and then tell me what a horrible person I am. Then, by the time I get to the end of the e-mail, they've changed their tone to "next time you're in West Virginia (or wherever they happen to be) come stay with us! We'll put you up for free!"
This leads me to believe that:
1) The industry figures I reported are correct. B&Bs not only need more customers, but they're desperate for positive publicity.
2) Inn owners are, generally speaking, thin-skinned. Any criticism of the industry is construed as a personal attack on them. I can't tell you how many B&Bs in Pennsylvania I've heard from who think I stayed at their property.
3) Many B&B owners are not professionals. Again, looking back at the e-mails, I see a lot of very mean-spirited attacks on my person. This is hardly the way a professional behaves. I'm left with the impression that a lot of B&B owners are doing it "for the love of it" - as a second career or because they're simply bored.
4) Finally, I'm worried about this B&B "schizophrenia." One minute mean, the next minute nice. As a customer (or former customer) I now wonder if the smiling innkeeper who greets me at the door really means it, or is just putting on a good show.
And from Pat Hardy (http://www.paii.org/):
First, I have to say the Chris has been a lamb in all this. He has responded to innkeepers' calls and emails with dedication even though they have sometimes been cruel. I have a whole "Kitchen Talk" (coming up in PAII's newsletter) on (responding to negative reactions) and have done them before. The personal-ness of this business -- where you not only come into my house but you eat my food and see my kids and family photos -- is one that is hard for most people to understand, but there is a soft vulnerable spot which is easily wounded with criticism for most innkeepers.
Elliott wrote, "For the last five years I've been a loyal B&B kinda guy -- until I stayed recently at a small property in Pennsylvania for a few weekends in a row..." (In the interview above,) he explained that the Pennsylvania inn actually was just "the straw that broke the camel's back." Still, is it fair to end five years of "loyal" stays at B&Bs because of one -- or even several -- bad experience?
Aspiring Innkeeper Resources Running a B&B Christopher Elliott's Web Site PAII Web Site |
Elliott also wrote, "The Professional Association Of Innkeepers International reports that growth among corporate travelers has been practically flat lately..." And, "Statistics show that the numbers of other visitors -- pleasure travelers, people hosting meetings at an inn or attending other special occasions at B&Bs -- have remained stagnant, too..." Can you provide the actual statistics, along with some comments?
Again, I wrote Chris: "I do fear that you didn't hear the second part of my quote (about the) percentage of business travelers. Yes, the percentage of overall B&B travelers (business, special occasion, tourists, weddings, etc.) has remained flat, but the incredible increase in the number of guests who are travelling to inns means that the number of business travelers is also increasing. When occupancy goes up and rooms are added to inns, but the percentage of overall travelers remains flat, what that means is that more business travelers are going to bed and breakfasts and country inns.
"Thank you for helping me to understand this confusion. I have learned from you that I need to be more clear when I give a statistic -- that this should be the increase in the number of, not the (relative) percentage change."
Elizabeth, with 50.5 million inn guests a year, 11 percent are business travelers. Thus, inns are hosting 5.5 million business travelers a year -- up from 3.7 million in 1995. This is from the PAII Industry Study or extrapolated from it.
Elliott does raise some interesting points about intrusive innkeepers, but it seems that in many cases such things could be avoided by asking questions in advance of making reservations. What are some questions you would recommend that guests ask before choosing an inn?
This is certainly the $64 question, isn't it? We all want guarantees, myself included. Let me give this a stab.
How is breakfast served? What time is it served?
What is the configuration of the room in relation to the inn? Does it have an outside entrance? Must you always walk through the parlor to get to your room?
If this is a big concern, I would say what your needs are: "I am here on a honeymoon and don't want to see anyone. Have I come to the right place?" Or, "I am coming to be on business, what kind of accommodations do you make for business travelers?"
Clearly, some innkeepers treat their occupation with a greater degree of professionalism than others do. How can travelers distinguish between the two?
Sometimes you can tell on the phone. Sometimes you can tell by the handling of the reservation and confirmation process. What is professional for one guests is not so for another. Some love to have long chats on the phone with the innkeeper; others just want to get down to business.
Professionalism includes not just phone handling and reservation confirmation, but also people skills -- and that is a tough one. You might get a great innkeeper wife on the phone, but the husband is a bear. At some point, guests need to be responsible for their own responses to individual styles and clearly state their needs. In most cases, if you tell the innkeeper you fear this kind of hovering attention, the innkeeper will back off and leave you to your own devices.
One organization (not PAII) called for readers of its email newsletter to write to CNN and "defend the industry." Does the B&B industry really need to be defended at this point? That is, shouldn't the industry as a whole be secure enough in its own legitimacy to respond in a reasonable way? (Especially given Elliott's comments that many innkeepers attacked him personally in emails, calling him an "awful person" -- but then turning around and inviting him to stay at their inn.)
I don't think the industry needs to be defended. We so rarely get this kind of (negative) coverage. I respond to at least a media call a week and I cannot remember the last lambast we received. They happen.
You know what this kind of coverage means? It means we're in the big leagues now, and people have expectations of how a B&B should be. Unfortunately, we are too large a genre to be categorized any more. Yep, people have bad experiences just getting out of bed at home. The research done on guests has consistently shown there is a very, very high level of satisfaction with their stay at B&Bs.
As soon as we can have a writer write about a B&B and it not be genericized (is that a word?) to all B&Bs, then we will really be grown up as an industry.
Many thanks to Christopher Elliott and Pat Hardy for taking the time to respond to these questions.
Navigate this article:
B&B Backlash? (Introduction)
Why Christopher Elliott is Wrong
Why Christopher Elliott is Right
Where To Go From Here
Interviews with Elliott and Hardy
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