Dear FBBI Members,
The days of summer are upon us and it's time to become as creative as possible when marketing our properties to potential visitors. In a tough economy many people are more willing to travel close to home and that is good news for our members who take advantage of promoting their B&B Inn to the in-state drive-market. Can you provide a $50 gas card to any guest who books three nights or more? Can you partner with a local attraction to do a "Dog Days of Summer" package? Is there a local or regional radio station "morning crew" that you can contact to see if you can make and bring in your homemade specialty breakfast for the crew to enjoy on air and talk about your property? All of these ideas are ways to think outside of the box and get people talking about your B&B Inn.
You will be contacted by a representative of Inside Out Solutions in the next two months regarding the new web site we are planning to launch at the end of August. Our members will be thrilled at the ease of finding an Inn, letting potential guests know if you host Weddings, the ability to update and add specials to your own listing and much, much more.
Next month we'll talk about blogs: what they are, how to create them and how to use them to promote your property. But, the very best thing you can plan to do this summer is make some time to attend the FBBI Annual Conference September 21 - 22, 2008. The conference will bring together some of our industry's best and brightest professionals to share their ideas and secrets of bringing in business.
Warm regards, Pattie Detwiler FBBI President
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Green Inn Tip of the Month |
GreenINN' Tip for June Courtesy of the BNB Finder Blog, we found this easy to implement GreenINN' Tip for making your own 'Earth Friendly' air freshener. Since cleaning is an obsession among most innkeepers, we thought that you would enjoy this recipe for making your own air freshener without any damaging chemicals. This recipe is simple and easy to follow and it leaves a lot of room to show off the personality of your B&B by creating a signature scent. Mix 1/4 cup baking soda with water in a clean spray bottle. Next add 10 drops or so of your favorite essential oil like Pine, Frankincense or Cedarwood. Shake well and spray. The baking soda will absorb the odor and the essential oils will add a unique scent to the room. Essential oils are made from natural plant and herb ingredients and they smell wonderful. You can experiment with mixing several different oils to create a signature smell for the rooms at your B&B. This is a nice to way to have guests remember the wonderful time they had staying with you whenever they come across a similar scent in their daily lives. Also, if your guests enjoy it, make up a little recipe card for them to use to re-create your eco-friendly air freshener at home.
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Cool Tips to Save Energy
Close the Curtains.
Use curtains or blinds as insulators when the sun beats in on the southwest side of the house on a hot summer afternoon. Sun streaming through windows can make the air conditioner work two to three times harder. Stir up a Breeze.
Ceiling fans create a wind chill effect, reducing the need for cooling by about 5 degrees. Rozanne Weissman, spokesperson for the Alliance to Save Energy, recommends Energy Star-qualified models, which can be up to 30 percent more efficient than regular ceiling fans. But turn them off when you leave. Ceiling Fans cool people, not rooms, she says.
Check your Cooling System.
A well maintained cooling system is the number one thing you can do for energy efficiency in the summer. Besides having the system and ductwork inspected, don't forget to change the air filter once a month. A dirty filter slows down the system and makes it work harder to perform.
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Conference News: Please to announce Pamela Lanier and David Caples will be additional speakers at the Conference. We are especially excited about the Town Hall Meeting Planned for Tuesday, September 23, in which David Caples will moderate and everyone will be able to ask questions and interact with most of our speakers. |
Recipe of the Month
Cedar House Pecan Pie Muffins
Ingredients
1 cup chopped pecans 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar � cup all-purpose flour 2 large eggs � cup butter or margarine, melted Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Beat eggs until foamy. Stir together eggs and butter; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Place foil baking cups in muffin pans, and coat with cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes, or until done. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks. Yield: 30 mini muffins
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Mammogram with Ultrasound Improved Detection of Cancers
By Reuters
Published: May 14, 2008
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Using ultrasound in addition to mammography helped doctors spot significantly more breast cancers in high-risk women compared with mammograms alone..."Mammograms saw only half of the breast cancers that were present," said Dr. Wendie Berg of American Radiology Services at Johns Hopkins at Green Spring Station in Lutherville, Md., who did the study. "If we added ultrasound to mammography, we saw 78 percent of the cancers."Dr. Berg, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said most of the cancers found with ultrasound were small invasive cancers that had not spread to the lymph nodes. "These are types of cancers that we most need to be finding," she said. The study was designed to see whether ultrasound might improve the chances of finding breast cancer in high-risk women with dense breast tissue, which makes cancer harder to see on a standard mammogram, a type of X-ray. Dr. Berg and her colleagues standardized the scanning technique and interpretation criteria for the ultrasound examination. They studied 2,809 women 25 or older from April 2004 to February 2006 at 21 sites, who underwent either a mammogram alone or a mammogram and ultrasound. Within the first year of screening, breast cancer was diagnosed in 40 women. Mammography alone found 12 cancers, and mammography with ultrasound found 20. The initial screening missed seven cancers that were found by later tests, and one cancer detected when a lump was felt....
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Featured Article |
2008 FBBI Conference |
FBBI ANNUAL CONFERENCE IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER! BOOK NOW! SPACE IS LIMITED!!!! "Marketing: The Keys to Success" Are you Thriving or Surviving? September 21 - 23, 2008 Go on-line now to register! www.florida-inns.com or
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FLORIDA MONTHLY
Every Year since 1981, Florida Monthly has featured a semi-annual Bed & Breakfast Guide in the January and August issues.
HERE'S YOUR BIG CHANCE!
Get your Bed & Breakfast Inn exposed in the next issue!
Sizes and rates availabe:
1/12-$595
1/6-$1000
Reserve your spot immediately to be included in Florida's original Bed & Breakfast Guide.
Contact Michelle Westberry- Advertising Sales Director
(407)816-9596 X211
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"HUMOR"
YOU MIGHT BE AN INNKEEPER......
If people usually ask what you used to do ... when you use to work. _____________
Cleaning Tip of the Month
Sophie Uliano's Veggie Cleaner Spray *From the show Oprah's Earth Day Event.
If you can't buy organic produce, you need to make sure you wash it thoroughly. Use this spray to make sure your fruit and vegetables are squeaky clean.
INGREDIENTS 1 cup water 1 cup distilled white vinegar 1 Tbsp. baking soda 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract* Combine all ingredients in a large container. Then, transfer to a spray bottle with a pump. Spray mixture on produce, and rinse thoroughly after 5 to 10 minutes.
*Grapefruit seed extract is available at your local health food store.
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Uncovering many uses for WD-40
15. Camouflages scratches
in ceramic and marble floors
16. Keeps scissors working smoothly
17. Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors at home
18. It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on floorings.
It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you don't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
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Advertising Opportunities
are NOW AVAILABLE on our Website and our Monthly Newsletter
Click here
for more information!
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Gift Certificates are
Now Redeemable at:
FBBI
106 S. 4th Avenue
Wauchula, FL 33873
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Commercial
Capital Network,
LLC
Richard K. Newman Direct: 570-595-2120 E-Mail: [email protected]
www.BedandBreakfastFinancing.com
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"Get a Virtual Tour Of Your Inn" Starting from only $499
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Increased Reservations From Day1!
888.598.6562 toll free
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