Since January the 2000 Tracking Study - Use of the Internet by Innkeepers has profiled how Innkeepers and Guests use the Web. Based on the Innkeepers who participated in the Fourth Annual Tracking Study this 4th, and final in the series, reports on 'Listening to the Guest - Never mind what you think - What do Guests think.'

A Perception Gap exists between Innkeepers and Guests!
As has been widely reported there is often a gender gap that exists on many subjects. Not surprisingly there also seems to be a perception gap between Guests and Innkeepers. To identify where significant perception differences seem to exist, this last installment reports how actual Guest behavior differs with what Innkeepers said Guests want or do.

'He said' - 'She said' or
Innkeepers are from Venus - Guests are from Mars!

• Innkeepers say:
  Our property is unique.
• Guests' behaviors:
  Despite the uniqueness B&B's, 95% contacted more than 2 B&B's before making a selection.
• Our Observations:
  The Web makes it easy to find more alternatives and e-mail makes is easy to contact Innkeepers. It's the Good News - Bad News litany. While the Web enables a B&B to be found more easily, the bad news is that it's also easier for the Guest to find other B&B's in the area.

  'He said' - 'She said' or
  Innkeepers are from Venus - Guests are from Mars!
  

• Innkeepers say:
  We want to personally talk to our Guests.
• Guests' reported:
  When contacted by e-mail Innkeepers almost always respond by an e-mail even when the Guest has suppplied a phone number.
• Our Observations:
  Innkeepers mirror and match how they are contacted. There is discontinuity between what Innkeepers say they are doing and their actual behavior: 99% of Innkeepers who have an e-mail address are now providing it on their Web sites.

  'He said' - 'She said' or
  Innkeepers are from Venus - Guests are from Mars!
  

• Innkeepers say:
  Only 30% of Guests used e-mail to contact us about our room availability or to ask us questions. While it may go up to 38% next year, most Guests still prefer to call us.
• Guests behaviors:
  The next time they plan to go to a B&B - 81% indicated they would prefer to use e-mail or some on-line availability system to make the 1st contact to ask questions about room availability.
• Our Observations:
  The path of least resistance usually is the most traveled road.

  'He said' - 'She said' or
  Innkeepers are from Venus - Guests are from Mars!
  

• Innkeepers say:
  I answer my e-mail promptly.
• Guests reported:
  Only 10% said that they received a response within an hour. 59% said they did not receive a response the same day they e-mailed while 10% did not receive a response at all and had to contact the Innkeeper again.
• Our Observations:
  If you are the typical Innkeeper, you are probably not prepared to provide the instant responses that Guests crave. While what constitutes a "'timely response" will always be subjective, "the early bird catches the worm" is the prevailing mantra to keep in mind. Sluggish responses equal lost Guests.

  'He said' - 'She said' or
  Innkeepers are from Venus - Guests are from Mars!
  

• Innkeepers say:
  Guests won't book on-line because they are concerned about credit-card fraud
• Guests behaviors:
  92% who said that they want to check availability on-line, but don't want to complete the process on-line (actually book the room), have purchased something on-line and have provided credit card information on-line to pay for that service or product.
• Our Observations:
  Guests are selective about on-line purchases. Concerns about credit card fraud are not the prime reasons that Guests prefer not to book a B&B room on-line. Based on the research we have concluded that they do not consider this to be a commodity purchase. They prefer personal contact to complete the process while eschewing the personal contact initially.

In Conclusion
With today's upscale consumer there is a common thread related to purchase decisions and behaviors for both products and services. This better educated consumer wants access to information and they don't necessarily want salespeople involved trying to influence the selection. Once they have made narrowed the selection, they want help and assistance to a) confirm the wisdom of their decision and b) complete the process. Ultimately, consumers want someone involved to ease to purchase process and to reduce the associated hassles.

It's definitely a competitive world for Innkeepers. Don't forget to keep listening to your Guests.

We and our co-sponsors -- B&B Getaways (www.bbgetaways.com) and PAII (www.paii.org) would like to thank the many Innkeepers who contributed their time and input. As in all good research, you often raise more new questions than you help answer. These contribute to future research surveys that we may conduct and share with you. If you have questions you would want to include in future surveys, or if you want to participate on future surveys, please drop us a note by e-mail: info@digital-direct-marketing.com or write us at: DDM, A Communications Agency, Inc., P.O. Box 1039, Kingston, NY 12402.

Nothing contained in the above article can be used or reprinted without the express prior permission of the authors.