What are b&bs shit at?

[jamcorrosion]

Hey! I’m hoping for some good ideas or thoughts - my friend has a guest house at the coast UK. He’s not getting many bookings and those he gets are generally elderly. He wants to get the word out more. I’ve stayed they’re and it’s really lovely, brekkie included and right on the seafront.
Now I know lots of places advertise family friendly but rarely they actually are more than the basics.
He is looking at marketing towards families with children and being really family friendly. What does this mean to you? And what would you love to see at a bed and breakfast that would make a difference for kids? Things that in the past you’ve been away and thought ‘I wish they had or did ….’
Any and all thoughts welcome!

Which town?
Things that put me off booking are dated and/or cheap furnishings.

Are bathrooms shared?

What's the competition like?

Would help if you link to the b&b

Things the ones I’ve had to stay at could have improved:
Soundproofing the rooms
Minor decoration quality issues such as scuffed skirting boards, mould on window frames
Decoration too much to the owner’s taste
Owner wouldn’t leave us alone at breakfast
Owner needed to know exactly what time we would arrive and we didn’t know, but wanted to be able to arrive at some time between 3-6pm without having to negotiate this in advance
Child-specific, not having a fold out bed in the room for the DC would be a deal breaker

Llandudno. Private bathrooms, not sure on competition.

Didn’t link on purpose as wanted to get opinions that aren’t based on now - it will change depending on the demand for truly kid friendly places and what would make it stand out.

Personally I thought kid friendly would be a great USP. As long as it’s done well and covers the stuff most places don’t

Thankyou!

Thh I meant more like child specific and not even only standard facilities. Things available that aren’t anywhere or in many other places. Eg; toys for hire. Rubbish example off top of my head!

If he's not getting bookings then looking at what the competition is doing is important, they're clearly offering something he isn't and its much quicker and more effective to look at his b&b and do a quick comparison to others.

If families are going elsewhere then there will be clear reason why - an immediate appeal which he doesn't have - supplying extras is unlikely to change that if he's not getting the fundamentals right.

I would be put off by a b&b with toys for children, it'll disturb the peace of other guests. Board games and books are always excellent to keep and needn't be limited to families with children.

The trouble with marketing it as kid friendly is that he will then probably lose his elderly guests. As I get older “adults only” is one of the biggest draws for me when booking holiday accommodation.

Having said that if he does want family friendly I think the first thing would be to ensure there are enough beds in a room for families. If any of the rooms are big enough to genuinely fit a family of five that would be a bonus (so many families with three kids find it hard to find accommodation without booking two rooms). I don’t know if it’s still a thing in B&Bs to expect guests to be out most of the day but obviously with kids you want to be able to spend time in your room if kids need a break. Any kids’ equipment like high chairs needs to be absolutely spotless and breakfast options need to be suitable for kids. Can he suggest local babysitters he can vouch for?

I’m not sure I would ever have been drawn to B&Bs for family holidays tbh. We certainly never took our kids in 25 years of family holidays. I either wanted self catering so we could relax and do our own thing or a hotel with all its facilities.

The rooms actually being big enough to accommodate a family. So many places we stay the extra beds are shoehorned in making it awkward to spend time in the room if we wanted.

You can get a vibe from photos if a B&B isn’t really geared up for families but it’s hard to articulate. If there’s lots of ‘stuff’ about, that toddlers or kids would be drawn to fiddling with while the owner grimaces on, you know it’s not really family friendly.

Well maintained board games, puzzles etc is always welcome.

A decent kids menu too.

Also, wildly specific and not necessarily a selling point but always a welcome addition is decent tea and coffee making facilities in the room and some biscuits.

My DC are early risers so being able to sit in bed with a coffee and them eating biscuits is a nice slow start to the day.

If it has a garden I'd recommend some kids activities outdoors, simple this like hop scotch chalked on a garden path or similar. Also I think for families quite a lot of value is flexibility with food and drinks arrangements. E.g. provide a fridge so people can store some milk in there or facilities to heat baby food or whatever. I realise it's a B&B not a restaurant but these practical things make a difference with young kids.

Does he advertise via booking.com?

I would be put off by anything that made being child friendly a major selling point tbh. 😂

Non-chain B&Bs are almost invariably grim - dirty, cramped and not fit for purpose.
Showers that are so weak that they're almost pointless, leaky toilets, mold, dust etc. I have stayed in one or two nice ones, but a 'nice' old building is just not always suitable for lots of people to stay in.
Keep them clean and leak free!

I honestly don’t know anyone with a family who would choose to stay in a BandB

its such an old fashioned term and conjours up images of pine bedroom furniture, dusty skirtings and dolly toilet roll covers.

I would be changing the description - something along the lines of ‘AirBnB but we make the B!’

Air BnB is always going to be main family choice because the pricing is generally so much better. So if they can position themselves as that, or as a small family hotel, rather than the term BandB I think it would work better.

In terms of what would help - a babysitting service, a bespoke, curated guide to the local area with kids, cosy reading/play nooks for the kids, little chairs and maybe their own seating for breakfast. Options like pancake stacks for breakfast. Little workshops for kids on a Saturday morning so parents can have a lie in or storytelling time.

I'd binge watch 'Four in a bed' for ideas.

I just wouldn't stay in a B&B with young kids, and I know many parents who agree. We prefer the impersonal nature of larger hotels, or AirBnBs/caravans that are away from other people. I would focus on adults.

Flexible breakfast timing- we’ve just stayed in one where we had to say what time we would be down the night before- made it a bit stressful!

How about video baby monitors in the room with a place downstairs for parents to have a glass of wine?

Late check out

I know this isn’t what he asked but my first thought was why not try to increase the number of bookings in the group / demographic that likes the place as it is. Do some marketing aimed at the elderly.

They are no more likely to be demanding or difficult than younger people. People who are like that are like that regardless of their age. They aren’t going to be haring around having accidents the way children will. They aren’t likely to be coming back roaring drunk as some younger people will. He won’t need cots and high chairs, kid menus. Unless he charges a lot extra for the children he won’t make much more money on a room.

I also think older people are often more realistic with their expectations because they’ve been around a bit more. They know what to expect from what they spend. And he already knows his B&B meets their expectations.

Just a thought

Price will be a major point for families.

I look at a mix but if I can get a hotel for £110 for the 3 of us i’m not going to pay £150 for a b&b

Does he have plenty of allocated parking for the number of rooms? That's the main thing that puts me off booking somewhere, if it's onstreet parking only and you have to take your chances, I'd be more likely to book a hotel with a private car park especially with kids. Llandudno also has loads of caravan parks nearby which families with children would probably be more likely to choose for the onsite swimming pool, arcade, evening entertainment etc.

I dont know if B&Bs are set up for families.

Kids are noisy, intrusive and messy, young kids need naps at certain times.

I see B&Bs as more of a base, a place to sleep, rather than a place to 'stay' during the day, which is what families need.

If he has a garden, make it secure and stick a couple of those little tykes cars in

A B&B will be a hard sell to families as there is nowhere to eat dinner. He should include details of local restaurants in his blurb, the closer the better. But he might do better to lean in to the adult market more.

A lot of families with young kids prefer self catering, it's just easier.

Marketing - what's his social media like? And website. An ancient website would put me off. Good quality insta particularly will attract a younger market.

What booking platforms does he use currently? A lot of people automatically go for Booking.com and Airbnb and won't look further.

I live in a touristy area and owners talk of having to 'resort to' using Airbnb as they have gaps where in previous years they didn't. Equally, tourists are on our local FB groups saying they can't find accommodation because they presume all providers use Airbnb (which most of them hate being linked up to).

My DB, SIL and their 2 young DC are the same, would avoid a b&b.

Too hot
Too cold
Uncomfortable beds
Decor puts me off. Difficult to get right. I wouldn't touch somewhere with tired old dated furnishings
Early check outs especially on Sunday
Later check ins. 4pm To 10am is such a piss take.
I expect good directions, good communication in advance, easy flexible check in, good breakfast.

I also like a kettle in the room and ideally some biscuits and nice shampoo and shower gel but most b&bs are rubbish at this.