Bed and breakfast packages include extra amenities, upsells, and more. This enables innkeepers to provide an even better guest experience as well as potential to increase profits. It makes sense to offer more than overnight stays to guests. The key is understanding what additional perks YOUR guests will appreciate.
Moreover, being creative about what you offer while considering your accommodations, amenities, and local area. Guests appreciate the convenience of your already planned arrangements for their stay and the additional experiences they participate in.
Bed and Breakfast Packages, Amenities, Upsells, & More
Adventure & Fitness Package
For guests who enjoy physically challenging exercise such as biking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, yoga, and ziplining, you can offer Adventure & Fitness bed and breakfast packages. Some inns have many bikes available to guests, offer on-site yoga classes, and arrange for other local adventurous activities.
Beach & Ocean Experiences
If you are on the water, beach or lake house, it makes sense that people will visit your inn because of its beautiful view and easy access to the water. Perhaps you have a way to make jet skis and/or private boat trips available to your guests (for an additional fee). If you’re on the ocean, what about arranging for guests to have scuba diving and snorkeling options?
Culinary Classes & Private Dining Options
Some innkeepers hire, or are themselves, culinary-trained chefs who can offer cooking classes to guests. You may offer additional gourmet snacks, picnics, and, desserts. Moreover, your inn may have an on-site restaurant and/or offer private dining options to guests (at an additional fee).
Elopements & Wedding Venue Packages
Many couples choose to have their wedding ceremony and/or wedding reception held at a bed and breakfast. Lately, the trend has been towards elopements and mini weddings. Some inns require that the guests rent all the rooms (to ensure this is a private event). You can partner with a preferred photographer, florist, bakery, and/or catering company, who are familiar with you and your property.
Environmentally Friendly Options
There are some guests who specifically look for overnight accommodations with environmentally-friendly practices. This can include having solar panels on your roof, line drying your laundry, providing on-site electric vehicle charging stations, encouraging guests to reuse towels, having recycling bins available for guests, using energy efficient lights & appliances, etc. While you may not charge any more for your rates, guests will seek you out because of your responsible living. Consider implementing more green initiatives.
Farm Experiences & Products
Some bed and breakfasts are on farms. These B&B farms can allow guests to work on them to gain the experience and fun of farm living. Some have a small petting zoo. Other bed and breakfasts have stables and horses the guests can ride. The Inn at Celebrity Dairy, a bed & breakfast and working dairy farm in Siler City, North Carolina, sells goat milk cheese and goat milk soaps.
Golf Packages & Games
Inns located on or near golf courses often offer golf packages. Moreover, bed and breakfasts can have game rooms with a pool table, table tennis, darts, huge flat screen television for movie viewing and video gaming, and so on. By offering additional recreational opportunities to your guests, both on and near your location, you increase the desire for guests to choose your accommodations over other places to stay.
Gardening Classes
Gardeners and others who appreciate the beauty of plants and landscape design will appreciate your gardens. For example, this includes flower gardens, vegetable gardens, rock gardens, or ponds with fountains. By offering on-site gardening classes, you can teach (or arrange for) on-site gardening instruction as an opportunity for your guests perhaps make their own mixed plant container or learn specific techniques.
Gazebos, Porches, & Other Outdoor Spaces
Bed and breakfasts with gazebos can appeal to those who are seeking a quiet place in the shade to soak in the beauty of your land, those seeking a place to picnic, and even those exchanging their wedding vows! Bed and breakfast often have porches with rocking chairs to enjoy relaxing while taking in the view or reading a book.
Historic Bed & Breakfasts
If you have a historic inn, people may visit out of interest to learn more about the original family and sometimes famous former residents or famous guests of your bed and breakfast. Consider offering a historic tour in costume of your inn or a ticket to local historic homes. Especially if you live in town know for attracting history buffs and private tour vacationers.
Kid-Friendly Amenities & Family Packages
If your inn is family-friendly, you can focus on promoting family vacations. Show pictures if you have a swimming pool with a fun slide, a porch swing, or actual swings and other playground equipment. Offer a family package that includes takes to a nearby amusement park, kids’ museum, ice cream parlor, and more.
LBGTQ+ Welcoming
Some B&B inns take the time to especially welcome anyone in the LBGTQ+ community. Perhaps, especially during the month of June (which is Pride Month in the United States), there is a local Pride parade that your guests can attend or participate in.
Meetings & Retreats
With an increasing number of guests taking “bleisure” time (mixing business with vacation leisure), your inn may offer a conference room and/or other open areas enabling you to accommodate these goal-oriented guests. Some inns have formal libraries with meeting space. Perhaps you can attract companies to choose your property to consistently host their annual (or quarterly) leadership retreat(s).
Murder Mystery Weekends
Your guests may love solving mysteries. Some inns host murder mystery weekends. Did you know that Agatha Christie is the best-selling mystery writer of ALL time?! Some B&B’s that offer Murder Mystery weekends provide suggestions for clothing to their guests (to get in character). You may include a formal dinner during a Murder Mystery weekend. The guests do not have to know each other beforehand in order to have an entertaining time.
Pet-Friendly Places & Packages
Can’t leave Bella or Buddy behind? Bed and breakfasts can have pet-friendly rooms to offer guests. Some require that pets be crated when left in the room. Some rooms have separate exits (so that guests with allergies do not have to come in contact with the visiting pets). Every room at the Barksdale House Inn in Charleston, South Carolina welcomes four-legged pets. Perhaps you can give the option to your pet-owning guests to select a Pet Pampering Package that includes a gift card to a local pet store as well as your own homemade dog treats.
Romantic & Adults-Only Options
Some bed and breakfasts are known for being a romantic place to stay. They may limit their guests to adults only. Romantic bed and breakfasts offer amenities like hot tubs and spas. Romance packages can include in-room hot tubs, spa pampering, local fine dining, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, & floral arrangements. Perfect for the partner wanting to propose marriage or for couples to celebrate their honeymoon & anniversaries!
Shopping Sprees
Your bed and breakfast may have its own shop that sells anything from antiques to postcards and tee-shirts to coffee mugs. If your inn has its own cookbook of recipes that you serve your own guests, this is a great way to motivate guests to want to get your cookbook. Then they can “bring home” a way to remember your bed and breakfast by cooking themselves.
Spa Packages
Bed and breakfasts with spas on-site can emphasize the convenience of being located right at a spa. This is great for couples’ massages to facials to guests getting a manicure and pedicure. Moreover, B&B’s that offer in-room massages can also indicate the convenience of having a masseuse that comes to the guest!
Tea Time
Some bed & breakfast inns host teatime or even offer a tearoom. Tea can be accompanied with deletectable items like finger sandwiches, tarts, and scones. Did you know, according to a recent study, that tea is the second most widely consumed beverage worldwide following only water?!
Vegetarian/Vegan
Bed & Breakfasts and Local Restaurants
Did you know that Asheville, North Carolina is known for their vegetarian and vegan restaurant options? The blog, Uncorked Asheville, recently shared a post about “25 Delicious Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in Asheville.” Moreover, Asheville is known to have many high quality bed and breakfasts to choose from, including Asheville B&Bs who are members of North Carolina Select Registry inns.
Bed and Breakfast Packages
Bed and breakfast packages can be uniquely customized based on your inn’s accommodations and amenities, your local area, your unique talents, and based on what your guests want. Moreover, you can offer limited time specials based on seasons and holidays. This encourages guest to visit several times a year.
B&B Consulting
Realtor Rob Sales, a former B&B owner and innkeeper with his wife Jane, is an experienced B&B consultant and licensed realtor. Rob specializes in bed and breakfast real estate. His knowledge of the hospitality industry, combined with his expertise in real estate, means that Rob is uniquely positioned to serve your best interests, whether you are buying or selling a bed & breakfast inn located in Georgia or North Carolina. Contact Rob for a complimentary consultation today!