Inngoers Insights

Foliage Reports for the US & Canada

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:22:00 GMT

Fall is spectacular. And you can see foliage colors in almost every corner of the US & Canada as long as you're timing is right. Fortunately, the internet has made hitiing peak foliage much easier thanks to numerous foliage tracking websites. These sites are usually extremely current, often relying on reports by "leaf peepers" who are in various locations and send emails and pictures to these reporting sites.

Suggestions to Innkeepers: Taking Pictures of Guest Rooms

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:11:00 GMT

As a former Assistant Innkeeper, avid photography junkie, and web site designer, I have taken and seen my fair share of pictures of B&B guest rooms. I've also seen too many bad pictures on B&B websites. I know that it isn't always a walk in the park for some innkeepers who put their own images on their B&B websites, but I cringe when I see an underexposed room picture, or one that is poor quality. Bottom line: potential guests visiting your website who don’t like what they see in the first 2 or 3 seconds on your website click away and go to another site!!

Spring Festivals

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:14:00 GMT

It is so nice to say that is it truly Spring, but for some corners of the country, I know it can be a mean tease. Having lived in Vermont for many years, I remember the bittersweet feeling when Spring had arrived, only to look out my window at 2 or more feet of snow, with more in the forecast. But, rest assured my snow-covered readers, you, too will soon experience the signs of Spring! Plan ahead and book a trip to a warmer climate. You don’t have to go far, either. Places like North Carolina, Louisiana and Gerogia all have lovely weather right now. And chances are that wherever you hail from you can drive 5 hours or less to someplace t

Using Twitter

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:53:00 GMT

So, I have been trying to integrate myself into the phenomenon known as Twitter. I had signed up for a Twitter account many months ago, but didn't quite get what it was about. I found I would tweet (\ˈtwēt\, intransitive verb, meaning to type your thoughts or what you are doing on Twitter) more as though I were on Facebook, which was not conducive to my business. So, I abandoned it.

Great Deals from Member Inns

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:48:00 GMT

Today’s economy is a hardship for many people. But if you’ve somehow managed to find yourself emerging ahead of the crowd, you’re travel options are a bit sweeter. Airlines are lowering fares every day. Lodging deals are everywhere and are practically begging to be taken. Lines are shorter, crowds are fewer, and you can even get lots of extras for free just for booking travel.

Below we list a handful of sweet deals being offered by our member inns...

Some of Our Favorites

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:22:00 GMT

It’s safe to say we’ve seen our fair share of lodging web sites. After all, we’re not just an inn directory – we are also a full service web design, hosting and advertising company. So we understand a little something about design simplicity and ease of use when it comes to web sites. So when we see a site that is really done well, we say “Bravo!” because it isn’t always easy to achieve. You really need the right balance of text, images, and information in order to capture your target audience before they click away to some other site. Then of course there is optimization, but that’s a whole other ball of wax and I am blogging about design, not search engines. So, I’ve compiled a list of a handful of our Charming Country Inns Members who have really done well in the web design department (in no particular order):

If Ever There Was a Reason To Travel

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:30:00 GMT

...it's beer! While perusing state tourism websites, I came across this portion of Montana's Official State Travel Info website: http://visitmt.com/virtualvisitor/microbrew_montana/

Yes, it's a handy dandy map that steers you to Montana's local breweries and tap rooms. I've never been to Montana, but always wanted to go. Now I want to go more.

Our new Specials Feature

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:04:00 GMT

You may have noticed our newest feature: we now list specials by member inns on our home page!! Just click the state you'd like to travel to (or click to view them by city to narrow them down), select the special you'd like to know more about and when you're on that inn's listing page, hover over the special in the left column to see the details. The feature is new, and we're still spreading the word to our innkeepers so that more of them will enter their great deals and packages!!

Happy Holidays from Charming Country Inns

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:38:00 GMT

Happy Holidays to all of you!

From all of us at Charming Country Inns!!!

Economic Crisis - Is it Affecting YOU?

adriane@charmingcountryinns.com — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:23:00 GMT

For our economy, the last two weeks have been a roller coaster ride for many Americans. Add to it the hotly contested race for President and you have a recipe for mass meltdown. Gas prices aren't any better than they've been for months, health care costs are continuing to rise and most Americans are about to feel the proverbial slap in the face that they've been told is coming in the form of their first seasonal heating bills. Everyone is talking "Recession, Depression" and, well, it is depressing.

But from what we have been hearing, a lot of Americans are holding firm in their faith that, even without a bail out, which many oppose,