In one of my first blogs, I noted that our bed and breakfast found diminishing returns from our membership in the local chamber of commerce and posed the question: What are your feelings about Chamber membership? Is it cost-effective or has its value been replaced by a good personal website and the power of TripAdvisor?
A number of readers offered their replies and, ultimately, their observations on the effectiveness of, and their participation with, their own local Chamber depends largely on what they expect to receive in return. In some cases it’s the anticipation of business, in others it’s a way of showing their support for their community.
In one note, Joe Smith pointed out that after six years in business few referrals have led to even fewer bookings.
“On the other hand,” writes Smith, “we watch our Web stats and the chamber usually falls in the fourth or fifth position behind BedandBreakfast.com and other B&B search engines. We are considering not renewing our membership because we just don’t get enough ROI for our participation.”
Also in business for six years and also keenly aware of his Web stats is innkeeper Brian Young. Having been a member of his local chamber since 2005, he recently decided to direct his advertising funds elsewhere.
“I paid $460 a year and what started me thinking about cancelling my membership was when I began tracking the leads they claimed their website was generating. I discovered that they were overstating their claims wildly. They were not being truthful on the number of leads and when I tried to bring it up, I was met with heavy resistance and was kind of shooed away.”
An Internet expert, Young launched his own travel and tourism site which has given him greater control -- and greater results.
“The Chamber is not an investment unless it is promoting your business and if that’s not the case then I’d suggest that you take whatever money you would think of investing in the Chamber and put it into a Google Adwords campaign and watch the results.”
What Is A Chamber’s Role?
In addition to direct referrals, there are easy ways to determine if the Chamber is supporting your B&B. Ashley, an innkeeper, noted that her two-year membership with her local chamber came to a close after she conducted a simple test.
“I called saying I was coming into the area and could they recommend a place to stay,” she wrote. “The woman on the phone suggested I go to the hotels section on their website; never mentioned bed and breakfasts. After testing a second time with the same results, I dropped our membership. That money has brought in much more business from our membership in various directories such as BnBfinder.com and BedandBreakfast.com.”
But getting referrals and generating hits on your website aren’t the only reasons to join your local Chamber B&B expert Bill Oates noted.
“We have always urged our clients to join the local chamber(s) not for the direct referrals, but for the ‘presence’ the chamber provides.”
As Oates sees it, innkeepers can use the Chamber to network with other business people and “demystify” your B&B within the community.
“We often underestimate how much of our business is generated locally,” he adds. “Functions, weddings, family reunions and, yes, funerals are most often planned and executed locally. Room night referrals from the Chamber are a welcome extra, not the driving force.”
For more than fifteen years, Bob Scott has been a member of three local Chambers and is a board member of one. Like Oates, he feels that Chamber membership is about more than traffic; although he stresses the importance of being aware of its Internet effectiveness.
“One thing to consider is that Google appears to automatically rank chamber websites near or at the top of page one if you type your city name in the search bar,” he shares. “I agree that walk-in traffic is very small, but web traffic is significant for us thru them… So check out their web design and check your stats. Chamber WEB presence may be worthwhile.”
Fran Ambroselli agrees that Chamber membership is not strictly for business; it’s also about being a part of the community.
“When you invest in the community you really can never track the business you receive as a result of that involvement,” she observes. “One person refers another person and it is often simply passed on during conversations away from the actual Chamber of Commerce venue. I once had a guest from South Africa who overheard a lady in a beauty salon discussing the wonderful weekend she had spent at our inn. Go figure!
“The marketing dollars you spend on the Internet should be considered separately from community-spent dollars,” Ambroselli concludes.
The New World of Web Promotion
Joining the conversation from a small town on the California coast, innkeeper Tony Goetz has mixed feelings about the role and return of Chambers of Commerce.
“We don’t consider our Chamber dues to be a waste of money,” he writes. “It was never about getting business, it was about creating goodwill in the community and getting to know people. That has been the real payback on our membership dues.”
But, like Young, Goetz sees that the return on investment has limits.
“I can count on one hand the number of referrals we’ve received from the Chamber. As a matter of fact, no staff personnel have even been to our property. Well-placed Internet advertising gives you ROI that the chamber can never touch. TripAdvisor, which I consider integral to our continued success is almost a ‘have to do’, right behind Google.
“When people come into town they don’t go to the Chamber for information,” he believes. “They go to their smartphone to see what is around and to TripAdvisor to see how it’s rated.”
‘Deb’, whose inn has been open for one year, shared that her business has been “wooed by our Chamber” but the high cost of membership has prevented her from joining. Instead, “Google has been free and so also Manta and TripAdvisor. All have worked for us as well as Facebook -- also free. Hopefully word of mouth will also be helpful too after we have been in business longer than a year.”
So in an increasingly tight economy, where should your money go? In the end, it seems, it all depends on your motivation. Is it the income that’s the result of heads in beds, or the bigger picture of supporting the community by supporting your Chamber? That’s all up to you.
Although maybe the better question to ask is:
What is your Chamber of Commerce doing for you?
