Cottages are not a new phenomenon. They have been around for a while and because of this industry has matured. They are forced to compete with other forms of accommodation, so now you can get more for less. The B & B offers free coffee / tea / snacks, free WiFi, full breakfast and more, while most of them are add-ons to the typical hotel. But how can we do better? Cottages are seasonal. They almost always a high and low season. Plan your trip to enjoy this. Even a B & B that survives on skiing will be a part of the ski season they are out of season. Our B & B is very close to a ski resort, about18 minutes and winter is the slow season. We discount 40% discount on summer rates. If you can be flexible on your dates, you win.

The greatest way to get a better price midweek. Cottages are refuge sites. They are placed where you want to go a day or two and then go home. This is ideal for the weekend. So the obvious thing is to not go on weekends. Mid Week rent is much harder to find, so they give a lower rate. And generally, it is significant. I know this is a major concern for you, but we have reduced by 25% on the room rental in midweek. Again, flexibility is at stake

Today, another thing is the size of coupon sites in the group. Many Bed and Breakfast are jumping on the bandwagon to fill up rooms. Be careful because they are very aware of this and often it is limited to the above date as the season mid-week and out. If you are not flexible, it could lead to a purchase that will cost money in the long term if you can not use.

B & Bs are small operations, you can always ask. Are you going to stay for a few days? This has value for you and the owner of B & B so you can ask for the price difference. We carry a large number? Again, it should be something so let’s see what we can do. As the owner of B & B, I can say that you do not want to empty rooms. When the day is done, we can never get that back to a loss of income. Booking last minute? Yes, I can give a lot.

Burmeister Todd is the owner of the pen and Quilt Bed & Breakfast in Cannon Falls, MN

So you have a beautiful beach vacation rental, condo or bed and breakfast, you have a great location, the pillows are fluffed, the windows are cleaned and the weather is perfect, now all you need is some bookings. Sometimes the web can seem too big, too many choices, far to easy to get lost in the millions of websites competing for position. What is your first step towards making money with your beach vacation property or bed and breakfast? How do you use the internet to your best advantage?

We know it can be expensive getting your property found on the internet so you want to maximize your marketing on promotional budget. It is not enough to create a website and launch it on the web, the top search engines are constantly looking for sites that have many connections across the web, the more links back to your site the better you will look to search engines.

A great way of driving specific traffic to your beach accommodation is to take advantage of Google AdWords. They allow you to specifically target your customers using beach related keywords such as, pet friendly beach, beach accommodation, beach bed and breakfast, beach rental, beach vacation rentals etc. Create your custom ad using your own words and try different wording to test your results. If you are on a budget, don’t worry you can set a daily expenses to match your budget.

A good free option with Google is to add your vacation property to Google maps, simply go to the Google local business center and register for a Google account if you do not already have one, at this point you can click on the add a new business icon. And fill in the details of your beach vacation property. After you finish this process you will have a presence on the internet.

Join an online forum, search for a couple that is directly related to you property, whether it is a bed and breakfast, vacation rental or beachfront condo. Make insightful contributions to the forum you join and sign each contribution with your property name or web address.

One of you best tools is to use a beach accommodation directory. There seems to be quiet a few general accommodation directories out there, the drawback with these accommodation directories is that they are often huge and unfocused, visitors must trowel through hours of listings before they find what they are looking for. These sites are very general in their focus, your listing can get lost in the crowd. You need a more specific accommodation directory that focuses in on the key market your customers are looking for, you have a beach accommodation by or near the beach, make it easy for your customers by sending them directly where they need to be.

Find an up and coming beach accommodation directory site. These sites have a few things going for them that you can take full advantage of. First of all, a beach accommodation directory caters to a very specific niche, it caters to beach accommodation on or near the beach only. There is no risk of being absorbed into the masses on other listing categories like other directories. Find very user friendly site that is appealing to eye the site developers should be working extremely aggressively to have top search engine positioning. Secondly, find a site that offers their listings free of charge. New directories will offer this service for the simple reason that they need fresh content on their site.

Find a relatively new and developing site, a directory that is still in the development stage, can work to your advantage. Any accommodation directory you can find in its development stage will often offer great value to their new members, they are hungry to develop their search engine positioning. Take full advantage of these free directory deals, because you never know, a aggressive beach web directory could be sending hundreds, if not thousands of potential customers to your beach bed and breakfast, beach house, beach rental, beach rooms or beach condo, and you didn’t pay a penny for it. You had the foresight to take advantage of a beach rental directory in it’s early stages, frankly as a accommodation provider you have nothing to lose.

Remember none of this will help you if your business website is not up to much, your site is most likely the very first look possibly guests will have of your property, make a good impression, with all the choice on the net, you do not want to lose any guests once they have actually found you. So make sure your photo’s are not to dark, the site is easy to navigate through, the content relevant with easy access to rates, availability, location, and general area information, highlight any special features of your property whether it be a stellar location or is wheel chair accessible. Savvy net users know to check how many visitors have been through there site every day using Google analytics, they know how long each visitor stayed and what pages were most popular, if you find that you are getting the visitors but they are not hanging around, it might be time to update the site or update the pics or even update the property, something is not appealing to visitors and if you do not want to lose business you have got to make it right.

Good luck, the internet is a mine field but if you follow the above advice it could help you drive extra traffic to your property.

If you are interested in experiencing your coffee in a whole new way, then why not tour the Kona Coffee Belt in Hawaii? Hawaii is actually the only state in the US that grows a coffee crop because coffee trees can only thrive along the equator. Hawaii also has a rich and fertile volcanic soil, which gives it ideal growing conditions for its coffee crops. The reason that Kona Coffee is so valued in the coffee community is because it is a rare type of coffee that is grown in a smaller area with deeply developed flavors.

If you are interested in traveling and enjoying your coffee at the same time, then why not visit many of the different bed and breakfasts found in the Kona Coffee producing region of Hawaii? Coffee plantations are something that are highly prevalent in Hawaii, and you can expect to enjoy sunny mornings with clouds in the afternoon, including seasonal rainfall. To start your journey, why not try the Hawaiian Oasis Bed & Breakfast Inn as a wonderful place to begin? This is a tropical bed and breakfast filled with antiques, and it also has a pool fed by a waterfall, tennis courts, and a spa. Breakfast will be served outdoors overlooking the ocean, and you can expect to try native Kona Coffee seven days a week while you are there. This is a highly popular location, and you can even book your own special event, like a wedding!

Next on the list, why not check out the Honu Kai B&B? This is a serene location that has a garden environment, and it is also centrally located. You can have your own in room massage, concierge, and of course, a full breakfast every day served with authentic Kona Coffee. The Hale Maluhia Country Inn is another beautiful choice, and it has large shade trees, fruit trees, waterfalls, Koi ponds, and stone gardens. This is a truly authentic Hawaiian location, and there is even a treehouse cottage for your enjoyment. This beautiful location also features a breakfast buffet with 100% authentic Kona Coffee.

If you are noticing a trend here, it is specifically because Hawaii celebrates their love for their coffee crop. Kona Coffee is something prized by coffee connoisseurs all over the globe, and it is also quite expensive for what you will get. You can expect to purchase a pound of this coffee for around $40 in the continental United States, but of course, if you are staying in Hawaii, then you may be able to go to the source to get it even cheaper.

If you are someone who loves to travel and also has a fine love for your cup of Joe, then why not merge these two worlds together and visit exotic coffee producing locations? Hawaii is one of the best places to begin, and as you can see, there are a number of traditional and beautiful bed and breakfasts to choose from. This will give you the atmosphere to relax in a beautiful location and sip your cup of Joe!

Another popular accessory for coffee is the commercial coffee maker! For a great selection, check out Mark Ramos’ website, The Coffee Bump.