How to effectively market a New Orleans B&B

We're in the orange house

I was contacted by a reporter the other day.  Someone referred her to me to do an interview about how to effectively market a bed and breakfast.  After she told me what she was up to, all I could say was, "Whoever you talked to was pulling your leg."  Turns out it was her masseuse.

Luckily, it wasn't serious journalism.  She is an internet freelancer who specializes in writing lists of top 5 amazing tips.  I love to read those, don't you?

I told her that I just happened to have an expert in the house.  I turned over the phone to Tammie the Housekeeper, who was less than pleased to be given a new chore.  She played along anyway.  It gave her a break from making the bed in Les Fleurs Suite.

Tammie the Housekeeper

"How can I help you?" Tammie the Housekeeper asked in her best phone voice.  The reporter asked if we advertise on any online booking engines.  "We do," Tammie replied.  

The reporter said, "I saw your listing on grabonescapes.co.nz, on hotelplanner.com, on roomstays.com, and on bestonlinehotel.com.  That must take a lot of coordination."  Tammie the Housekeeper looked at me.  I shrugged.  I'd never heard of any of these sites and I'm in charge of these things.  I did check them out afterward and we are listed on them.  Who knows why?  I suspect we are just chum to fill up the pages.  Put in your dates and the answer comes up No Rooms Available. Small wonder.  It must make us look very busy. 

Their descriptions of our inn are somewhat accurate.  We are located in New Orleans.  One of us is bilingual, but they don't say what languages we speak.  If you speak anything but English, German or a tiny bit of slow French, we'll only be able to communicate through pictures and gestures.  While playing charades can be fun, it's going to make for a long weekend for everyone involved.  Tammie the Housekeeper said, "Oh, it's no work at all."  No point in lying.

It's the house in the middle

We do list our inn with two OTAs, as I've recently learned that they're called.  It stands for Online Travel Agents.  Now you've learned something, too.  I toss it into casual conversation all the time now.  The OTAs we're partnered with are booking.com (more fondly referred to as booking.yeah, hereabouts) and with bedandbreakfast.com and, by extension, expedia.com.  I think most people call that last one just expedia.  At least that's what I do.   

The reporter asked a few more questions and Tammie the Housekeeper gave some more honest answers.

"What do you find is the most important thing you do online for marketing your brand?" the reporter asked.  Tammie the Housekeeper got a smug grin on her face as she leaned back in my chair.  "It's our blog," Tammie the Housekeeper said.  "All our success comes from our blog." Then she stuck her tongue out at me while she placed her thumb on her nose and waggled her fingers in my direction.  

That isn't entirely true.  All our success comes from running a tidy and tasteful boutique inn in a beautiful neighborhood that is within walking distance of the usual tourist destinations while being in a neighborhood that offers much, much more than people expect.  I see that on the AARP travel site we are rated 4.6 out of 5, whatever that means.  I should google our name more often to find out what people are saying.  Did you know we have five reviews on Yelp?  They're all 5***** stars, too.  You can watch our video there.  I think it will be up until October this year.  If you're trying to link to it after then, I'm afraid you'll be out of luck.

"What's the real secret to your success?" the reporter asked.  Tammie the Housekeeper got serious.  She looked me right in the eye and said, "Frau Schmitt."  She's right of course.  I say that all the time.  Frau Schmitt is too modest and she would disagree.  This is one of the rare times when Frau Schmitt would be wrong, and she is usually right about these things.

If you are thinking of staying in New Orleans, we're the orange house on Esplanade Avenue.  There is only one.  If you choose to stay with us, make sure you say it was because of our blog.

Our front porch

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.