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!

Agree that we would never have stayed in a B & B with children, always self-catering, camping, occasionally a hotel with good facilities (pool, play area, decent grounds, restaurant etc). We wanted space for kids to run off steam outside and to be able to save money by eating in. No way in today’s climate would we want to eat every lunch and dinner out (and we’re probably an average middle income family).

I think concentrating on a good deal, quality for the adult market is likely to be best.

Marketing is what they're shit at. They are so hard to find. I go away a lot (walking is my hobby) and I often want a cheep and cheerful b&b but I usually give up as it's painful to find them. By comparison, finding a self catering cottage is simple as you just go on Sykes/Cottages/AirBnb etc. The UK would really benefit from a single website that lists b&bs nationally. (If I'm missing something, please let me know!).

One important thing for your 'friend' would be to make sure their b&b comes up on a Google maps search. Another one is that they must have online, live availability info and booking. If I have to call/email to find out about availability, cost and/or book I just look elsewhere. I dont have time to find out if you have vacancies or not, I want instant booking.

Charging the same as a hotel. B&Bs used to be the cheaper alternative but these days they seem to be in the same price bracket which kind of makes you wonder what's the point.

I would never stay in a b&b with our 2 littles, it would be an air b&b as i value having a separate lounge for the evening.

The reason I picked the b&b we stayed at in Llandudno was because there was a small room off our room with a bunk bed in it for the kids!

B&Bs are very few families with children's choice of holiday accommodation. Maybe he needs to do more to appeal to the market he does have, and let Premier Inn etc take the families in bigger rooms. Llandudno needs all those older visitors, they go year-round and their needs are met easily. Maybe he needs to make himself known to a couple of coach holiday companies to keep his occupancy up.

I thought this too, by trying to make it family friendly they may alienate their existing guests without attracting new ones.

Its really hard to make a small place family friendly as you have different needs across different ages. Cot beds and facilities to warm up milk / baby food. Baskets of toys for toddlers. Rentable beach toys for children. Access to a games Console / chill out space for older teens.

If they were to stick with the “grey” pound what could they offer to enhance the experience? Something like a complimentary cream tea, ( homemade scone, nice jam, clotted cream and a nice pot of tea) for guests might distinguish them from the competition.
I’ve booked b&bs for this sort of thing when everything else is of a muchness.

We never stayed in a B&B when our children were young, always self catering, for all the reasons others have given. I think a guest house full of families with small children would appeal to very few people. Now there is just the two of us we would look at nice B&Bs but we’re unlikely to be visiting a seaside resort. I’m not sure what market guest houses appeal to now. Round here there is a huge market for golfers, but that’s pretty niche to this area.

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

Hard agree for all @Wampwhad ’s reasons.
Who wants to stay in someone’s else house if they don’t need to.
I’d call it a family run hotel just to get rid of the b&b image. And someone made a good point about lunch and dinner - are there kid friendly places within walking distance?

If it’s genuinely well suited to kids - gardens, space and large rooms then possibly but personally other people’s kids are hard work to please.

The best thing for families is a big room or interconnected rooms. It's hard to put these in later.

I wouldn’t use a B&B for a holiday with my toddler. You need flexibility and the ability to come and go, it just doesn’t seem to match up.

Llandudno is an old person town. Families go for the fabulous beach but IMO would stay in the many caravan parks nearby.

Why would a family of 4 cram into one bedroom when you can get more space nearby?

I'm not sure families is the way to go.

Lots of people I know go who are retired and have spare cash to go year round.

I would try to appear more to those. Does he have accessible bathrooms? Showers not baths? Onsite parking? A lounge for afternoon tea/evening drinks?

Oh Llandudno! Can I have the link? I have family in Rhyl and I have two young children so I could be a guest if it looks right.
I’d always look on booking.com, is your friend on there?
For family friendly, in the summer, I’d be looking for an outside area for the kids to run around while we had a coffee or something maybe (not essential).
Ensuite rooms.
Pram friendly (for baby babies), do they have a lift if it’s on multiple floors?
Is it ridiculously expensive with it being on the seafront? Families with young children often can’t afford luxury.
Is there the option of extra beds/cots in the room? Is a travel cot provided on request?

My first questions before doing anything would be:

Is Llandudno a popular resort for families?

Do families visiting Llandudno want to stay in a B & B?

Because without doing that that research, targeting families may be pointless.

Clean high chairs
garden with adult seating and child toys nearby - swing, climbing frame
access to fridge, kettle, microwave, hob
rooms you can put a crawler down in
clean toys, clean books
flexible timing, space and sound proofing so you can go and do something when your kid wakes up at 6
linked spaces so adults can have a drink in the evening near sleeping children

all this sounds unrealistic in an Airbnb but it’s what families with small kids need

Location will determine a lot of things but generally a fresh clutter free clean looking exterior, rooms that aren’t full of trash furniture from a million years ago. A website that doesn’t look like it’s been updated since the 90s. No dodgy smells. Communal spaces that don’t look like youth centres or social clubs.

Problem with Llandudno/north Wales is he's surrounded by caravan parks and self contained air bnbs so probably isnt right type of property to market to families.

If he's getting older folks booking, why not ramp that up? Market to coach companies as well that do holidays there?
Older folks will cause less wear and tear too.

B and Bs are too personal for young families. I don’t want a phone call harassing me asking what time exactly I will arrive. I want a quick and friendly check in experience, I want a clean, up to date room. I want a buffet style breakfast for kids where I can come down in a large time frame rather than having to commit to a time. I want a fuss free checkout, I want easy car parking (not on street). I can’t think of many b and bs which offer that hence why I will always go self catering if 3 nights or more, or a hotel for a short stay.

I would stick to his elderly/middle aged market and try to maximise it.

Pricing. Would a few nights in Llandudno with food and activities for a family of 4 cost the same or more than a package holiday somewhere hot? If so he needs to abandon a family market, most families are under huge financial pressures and need their holidays to combine nice and cheap.

My gripe is that the children's beds in family rooms are often not suitable for taller teens. Why would I let my DS sleep in an inferior bed (often a fold up one or one of those foam fold out armchairs) when I am paying for the privilege?

Families with young kids are not going to B&Bs in Wales they will either go to caravan parks or air b&bs , there is nothing wrong with catering to older adults and couples, your friend isn't doing anything wrong I just don't think parents want to take their young kids to guest houses .

Definitely. Also binge watch the Hotel Inspector.

Rooms should be spotlessly clean, uncluttered and simply styled (like a Premier Inn!). Nowadays people want ensuite facilities. If a couple of the rooms could have an interconnected door, that might be good for a family or groups.

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!

I used to run a B&B and I would ask for a rough breakfast time because who wants to be drumming their fingernails from 7am on a Sunday morning when the guests fancy a lie-in until 10. Also, it meant that I could arrange 5am breakfasts for the big local event that cost a fortune to attend and people wanted to get their money's worth and get there early.

Tell him to watch a few seasons of Alex Polizzi’s Hotel Inspector, especially the B&B ones. He’s bound to get some good pointers.