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Oh AirBnB where have you been?

Posted on by Pauline Giles

So I’m sitting on the terrace of my beautiful 5 bedroomed house in Cornwall, with bills to pay.

I feel very lucky to live in such an amazing house, the terrace is upstairs, and overlooks Duchy woodland full of stunning walks which I often explore with my dog Cody.

A friend popped in for coffee, which invariably turned into a gin as it was after 2, and thats acceptable right?

‘I don’t know why you don’t join AirBnB and rent out one of your bedrooms, I bet people would love to stay here, great location, off road parking, stunning view, why not give it a go?’

That night I consulted with my partner, ‘Pauline, your a great host, fab cook and you have a lovely home, do it.’

So that night I sat down and constructed a page, with trepidation I hit the button, I was live! Three hours later, my mobile phone pings, I have a message, my first booking! The next day, another!

It felt like wishy washy’s here, bedding stripped, washed, ironed and back on for the next guests, but there was a definite spring in my step, the house was alive and the appreciation from guests, the compliments on its decor AND my wonderful breakfast was positively thrilling.

I now have a lady staying for a week, another challenge, she is a celiac, and as part of the service, I offer a cooked meal at an extra cost.

Planning what to cook, whilst also feeding the rest of the tribe took some thought, no matter what I looked at, it seemed to contain wheat!

A bag of wheat free flour from the supermarket opened the options, finally settling on chicken, ham & mushroom pie, roast potatoes and vegetables, followed by blackberry & apple crumble and cream.

My guest was suitably impressed that I had gone to so much trouble, stating that the usual option was salad and fruit salad, so eating what the rest of the family were eating was a rare occurrence.

I have to say, it gave me an insight to how hard it must be for a celiac to dine out, everything is cooked with, or thickened with flour! Options were sparse and most restaurants don’t event cater for such a thing.

Soooooo my first attempt at wheat free pastry wasn’t the best! perhaps had I known that it wouldn’t brown like ordinary pastry I wouldn’t have cooked it quite so long, but hey! The crumble was more successful, but everything was edible which was a triumph.

Customer service is the key to everything in business. Ensuring whatever product or service you are supplying is presented in its best possible way, gives people confidence in it and will often result in repeat business, which is what we all want in business right?

So why do big corporates think its acceptable to put the office junior on the frontline phone? The first point of contact the public has with their company! Someone with little training (not their fault) with the expectation that they’ll know just who it is the phone caller wants to speak to.

I digress, but pertinent to the point!

Putting yourself up to serve the public, means you (in theory) intend to give the client the best possible experience you can, for the payment you receive. If the need for money out ways that idea, then AirBnB is not for you. You are on show, every guest is asked to give feedback, a rating, which will invariably impact on the amount of future booking you’re going to receive.

For me it is easy, I love to please, the gratitude from my current guest, that I had actually gone out of my way to make her feel included both at dinner and in the household, is thanks enough.

Most people have 5 weeks off from work per year, they want to enjoy that time. If I go away and stay in a grotty hotel with sullen staff, it impacts on my overall enjoyment, I want exceptional service, so why shouldn’t I give it?

So AirBnB has breathed new life into my home, I have met some lovely people already, who tell me they intend to return. The world is a big place, the chance to meet people from all over the world, share stories and make friends is within our grasp with AirBnB.

I know when I am planning to go away for long weekends in the UK, or travelling the far flung countries of the world, I shall be looking to book within a community that I now belong, and hope that with whomever I stay, they will want me to enjoy their house as much.

And the bills? they’re paid, and what a great way to do it!

If you’re planning a trip to Cornwall and need somewhere to stay, come make a booking, we’re over £40 cheaper than a local budget chain hotel and your stay will be a lot more pleasant.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/12441945?checkin=26-08-2016&checkout=27-08-2016&guests=1&s=UsWLJnPV

 

 

 

Social Media is the key to a successful business!

Posted on by Pauline Giles

So many people make life hard for themselves! They put up barriers, tell themselves they can’t do something, reject someones ideas and all manner of other things, but they are their own worst enemy!

This is the 21st Century, people are still living by 20th Century rules! rules which hold them back, and don’t allow them (or others) to grow.

With the advent of Social Media, which is growing rapidly every day, we can talk to people and do business with them all over the world! Family who emigrated many years ago are now accessible to loved ones by the click of a button!

I wonder what my Grandparents would have had to say about such things, indeed my Mother at 82, is somewhat bewildered by the whole thing, but loves nothing better than being able to see her beloved granddaughter on skype, even if she thinks her entire face has to fill the screen (which, at the other end, is somewhat scary)

I wouldn’t say I am the most proficient with IT, but recently I have rolled my sleeves up and created two websites! Yes me!!!!!!

Embracing the unknown, not being afraid to accept change and running with new ideas can be so joyful, I know when I hit the button to set my website live, I was like a 5 year old child at Christmas!

People who do not accept change, in the main, do so through fear, fear that they are going to look silly if they don’t understand, or won’t listen to the arguments for!

I was recently talking to a business who doesn’t use social media in their business, their reasoning being, ‘they don’t need it’ After a lengthy conversation and a look at their business bank account, it was evident that they did!

Here are some interesting facts that I shared with them, that made them change their mind!

Pinterest has over 70 million active users worldwide, 68% are women, 32% male, if you make bespoke clothing where you can upload your designs and hit a worldwide market that vast, why wouldn’t you do it?

Google+ Is social networking built around growing your circle, there are a staggering 925,000 new users every day! and currently 400 million active users.

Instagram is a social sharing site of pictures and 15 second videos, use hashtags and write a lot more, then attach it to your twitter account, this way there is no restriction on the amount of characters used, AND your sharing that content with not only their 150 million active users, but the 560 million twitter ones too!

With 240 million active users, Linkedin is the business orientated social networking site, which many businesses looking to employ someone will look. 79% of its users are 35 and older.

Twitter has 560 million active users worldwide, its largest penetration being in the US, 5,700 tweets are sent every second! It is a great way to interact with celebrities and share your views about television programmes, world affairs, literally anything, and by added a hash tag, gain followers with similar interests all around the world!

The biggest player is Facebook, with over a staggering 1 billion users worldwide! Users ‘share’ 2.5 billion pages of content per day!

And the great thing is, you don’t have to be a whizz on the laptop! Creating content once and sharing it to all your Social Media sites via sites like Hootsuite, allows you to spread your business globally with the touch of a button!

For the more flambouyant amongst you, why not give youtube a go! With over 1 billion users every month and 4 billion views per day, if your clever enough to make a video clip which goes viral, your business could become a million pound business over night!

So who thinks they don’t need Social Media in their business? Food for thought hey?

Don’t let your self limiting beliefs hold you back, if you are in a rut with your business, this all bewilders you and you are thinking, I need this, but I don’t know where to start, contact me! You’ll be a social media genius and increasing your business within weeks!