InnSpeak Podcast

Steve Short, CEO & Founder of Frictionless Guest App (https://www.frictionlessguest.com/) joins the podcast to talk about the value of the guest experience and being connected with other businesses in your destination or community.

Diane Rogers joins the podcast to talk about what she's been doing to stay busy and do some marketing while waiting out Covid. She talks about PR opportunities she's uncovered and taken advantage of along with some thoughts about how the pandemic will change guests.

Diane also started her own hashtag #quarinntine (get it? with the INN in the middle). Use it for pictures you take while you're treating yourself like a guest.

Odysys CEO Kent Schnepp shares a solo podcast focused on 9 things properties can be working on during the pandemic to prepare for the return of guests.

Check out the "Episodes" page on https://www.innspeakpodcast.com for the list of "9 things" along with links to resources to help you implement the 9 things.

1. Understand your ideal guest - always true but because of the pandemic, your marketing can adapt by thinking about what those specific types of guests are going through during the pandemic and when they do decide to start traveling again, what are the things they're going to be most concerned about? Cleanliness, social distance, etc
   1. Related resources: Identify Your Ideal Guests, Create Marketing Personas https://support.odysys.com/en/articles/3553645-identify-your-ideal-guests-create-marketing-personas
2. Continue to invest in your organic search strategy - maintaining your google business listing, evaluating your strategy for getting and replying to reviews, developing a content and link strategy
   1. Related resources:
      1. How to rank better in google hotel search map results: https://support.odysys.com/en/articles/3780189-odysys-academy-march-2020-how-to-rank-better-in-google-s-hotel-search-map-results
      2. Ongoing SEO for traffic growth: https://support.odysys.com/en/articles/3547430-odysys-academy-ongoing-seo-for-traffic-growth
3. Comarketing - work with your complimentary local businesses to identify comarketing opportunities for your destination and complimentary businesses
4. Build an audience with content - you have time to work on your content calendar and create valuable content for your ideal guests
   1. Related resources: Blogging & Creating Content for Direct Bookings https://support.odysys.com/en/articles/3655153-odysys-academy-january-2020-blogging-content-for-direct-bookings
5. Shift your mindset to providing value - what is going to set your property apart when your ideal guests are deciding which accommodations to choose.
   1. Related resources: Extras, Packages & Upsells https://support.odysys.com/en/articles/3528352-odysys-academy-extras-packages-upsells
6. Tell your story - focus on your brand and value proposition for your 2-3 ideal guest types and make sure that's clear on your website.
7. Analytics - take the time to look at and understand your analytics and what it means to your property. Or if you aren't getting transaction and booking information, work with your booking engine partner and your marketing partner to properly implement google analytics
   1. Related resources:
      1. https://support.odysys.com/en/articles/3300592-odysys-academy-september-2019-google-analytics-odysys-analytics
      2. https://www.odysys.com/learn/google-analytics-for-innkeepers/
8. Go on an information diet - there's too much information and it keeps changing, so perhaps it's better to limit your intake to authoritative resources and be prepared to take action when travel does start to pick up again.
9. Learn a new skill - are there things you can implement to improve your business or your service or your value when guests do start coming back.
   1. Related resources: Setting your marketing goals and a realistic marketing budget https://support.odysys.com/en/articles/3661392-odysys-academy-set-marketing-goals-and-a-realistic-marketing-budget

Coronavirus is hitting hotel marketers, innkeepers & hoteliers hard. How do you cope? What can you do? It's time to take your brand by the horns.

Janice Hurley and Tim Wilson of bnbfinder join the podcast to talk about the refreshed bnbfinder website, directory and marketing program for bed & breakfasts. We also talk about changes in the industry and the importance of options like bnbfinder for driving direct bookings and for championing B&B's.

In this episode, Ben visits with multiple guests from various associations to find out what they're doing to stay relevant and be successful in today's climate. Guests include: Texas Bed & Breakfast Association, Michigan Bed & Breakfast Association, Washington Independent Inns Network, California Association of Boutique & Breakfast Inns, and Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association.

Rand Fishkin, CEO of SparkToro joins the podcast to talk about data that shows "Less than Half of Google Searches Now Result in a Click." This 'evolution' of Google search has been kind of a tough reality for a lot of businesses. Hotels and Inns have been hit by this pretty hard over the last year or two with more and more Google results dedicated to their 'own' content like hotel search, your Google business listing, travel guides and more.

Rand talks with me about the data, how innkeepers & hoteliers can adjust their marketing, and his own efforts to do something about it.

Ben meets with Janice DeLerno to talk about how she works with other local businesses and innkeepers to put together really great, targeted extras, upsells and packages for her guests. This is a great how-to episode!

Janice DeLerno is the owner of The Stockade Bed & Breakfast in Baton Rouge Louisiana and Treasurer of the Louisiana Bed & Breakfast Association.

Ben talks about the importance of identifying our ideal guests by creating marketing personas. Those personas can be used to make all your marketing better from your website to your guest relations. This episode also features some bonus content - Ben gives you his seasonal recipe tip for "Tequila Por Mi Amante".

This podcast features renowned digital marketing luminary Rand Fishkin, CEO & Founder of SparkToro and Founder of Moz. We talk about reaching the right audience online, story telling as marketing strategy, and all things tech-startup and tech-startup finance.

This episode is co-hosted by Matthew Brown & Tim Resnik from the never actually launched "Distracted" podcast.