I own a Bed & Breakfast and are looking for innovative ways to attract new business. What ideas do you have?

Do murder mystery weekends...i would love to go to one of those:-)

Start a rumor that your place is haunted. You will have all sorts of crazy people flocking there to get scared. This will mean you will have to bang on the pipes in the middle of the night or do some special effects every now and then.

Have a good website! It should be attractive and functional: ideally, people should be able to book their lodging, get all their questions answered, get a look at the room and surrounding area, get a sense of who you are, locate it on the map, etc.

Do wine tastings in the evenings. If you do not have the expertise, leave wine in the lounge so that guests can help themselves.

The hotel inspector series are forever looking for B&b /Hotels to feature, that is if you are based in the U.K.. if you are I can find out who the production company is and post it here for you, it airs on channel 5 and they have justcommisioned a new series of 15

Owning a B * B sounds like so much fun! There are lots of things you can do to increase business. Include pictures of your room and any gardens you have on the website. Advertise your back lawn as a place for couples to hold weddings. Also, offer discounts for AAA members and people who've been referred by friends. And advertise, advertise, advertise...on the radio, on TV, in local newspapers and area magazines. Make pamphlets and mail them to the visitor's center in your city, and also to local coffee shops and restaurants. Hold seminars and local civic gatherings there so that people will want to come. Good luck!

Ladies love to attend social things like teas. Host a tea on Saturday afternoons in the springtime- you can even have themes; like a mother-daughter theme, or an Easter theme, or bridal theme. Hope that helps :)

Try a super-deal.
"Stay 2 nights, the third night is free!"

Have an answerbag convention...Id probably come.

Hey create a web profile in wowzzy.com web portal and you get web presence along with wide range of flexibility tools for marketing and to attract potential customers.

Getting a photographer is a good start. If a B&B has photos online from 1997 which are small & blurry it makes it feel unattractive.

Where as a professional photographer can make a living space look inviting, lovely, warm and welcoming. If you invest a little more (Say < $1500) you could a beautiful website that is keyword specific to search engines as well.

Food for thought

Tell people it's haunted you will get all kinds! Lizzie Borden's house is a B&B.

Get a massage therapist to give massages to the visitors.

Flyers, hang em.
Find some real tasty breakfast recipes.
Make the beds very very very comfortable.
Get rid of all pets, lol. Or lock them up in a SOUNDPROOF room.
Maybe offer them if they stay a third night, make it free.

You can get it advertised on the radio for a small fee and you can make a commercial for a fee. The two best ways to get heard and seen. People will hear about your business while driving to work or school and see you during various shows after a long days work.. Which might just catch a few more eyes than you think...

1.) Create a simple video for your website that lets people sense the ambiance of your property and the experience that awaits them.

I did a simple one for a client that was struggling... even during the busy season. Within 3 weeks of adding the video to their site; they'd booked out for the next 4 months. If you'd like to supply and email address; I'll send you a link to their video.

2.) Check public records in nearby counties for marriage records. Create a mailer for a personalized "anniversary invitation" offer and then mail (Individually addressed and signed) it 30 days in advance of the anniversary.

3.) Build a referral program, offering a free night to any customer who refers a friend that does a 3 days weekend with you.

4.) Create a "business planning" package for M-Th... booking the property to nearby firms for an intimate, productive planning venue.

Wishing you great success!

I own a company that provides placemat advertising very affordable and very effective believe it or not placemats have an 85% readership rate. A ver large percentage of my customers receive new business and a tremendous amount of phone calls from clients wanting to buy their product or service. If you would like more info shoot me an email.

Create a web site for your business and place an address of your business on every page. Submit the site to a few directories. There is a good chance for your site to appear in google local search results, if you will do it.

Also you can hire some celebrity (or local celebrity) and organize a local event. This way you attract the press and free publicity in local newspapers.

Advertise, The web is a great place to start as it can be inexpensive and a great way to show people that you may be a bigger more experienced B&B then first meets the eye, I always find my B&B's online and they've all been brilliant