January/February 2008 issue
Australian
Places bed & breakfast news forum
Please
take a moment to leave your own comments or news items relating
to luxury B&Bs, cottages and small hotels in Australia. For
spam-free contact with Peter Robinson, click
here. Your helpful comments, published here, can benefit guests
and operators.
Happy New Year!
Recent events caused a minor glitch in this website - the hosting server was invaded by a hacker from the Netherlands, apparently, and many websites sustained damage - this one included. While the site was back up and running within a couple of days much data was lost and I've had to restore hundreds of images from my home PC files, taking weeks of work.
Apologies to those who visited and found either a blank or corrupted Australian Places website. The last 2007 newsletter was also lost.
B&B news
Many of my long-time favourite B&Bs are on the market, including The Bank in Beechworth which goes to auction on January 19th. Capably run by Sharon Cook for some time now, I can only hope The Bank's new owners will be excellent hosts and continue the same high standard of food and service.
Ian and Irene at Marwood, luxury villas in the Grampians, are back in residence after some health gremlins, and this terrific place is still in top shape thanks to their son who has been involved there for many years.
Some other "for sale" B&Bs (which I won't name here) will hopefully sell to enthusiastic, competent professional hosts who can ensure the fine reputation of most Victorian B&Bs is maintained.
HOT OFF THE PRESS!!! The Bank has sold to a Queensland couple who intend updating the property and running it themselves - word has it that they have experience in the food world.
Other exciting news... beautiful historic house Koendidda, a B&B at Barnawartha South (north of Beechworth) will soon be operated by a very capable host with long experience as a chef...stand by for more.
Reviews
I have continued to review and re-visit B&Bs. In order to maintain this site's integrity, I have declined to include one property, although it was a good standard. My reviews are impartial and factual - words will never be inserted at owners demand, which happened in this particular case.
Welcome to two new full-review properties:
Waves at Port Campbell, large spa guest rooms, good bistro restaurant.
Grenoca at Avoca, updated self-contained heritage house for up to 4 couples
COMING SOON:
I have been busy with a graphic designer creating a new print-based publication for luxury accommodation. The name (a very catchy one) has been selected and registered; details and progress will be reported in the next newsletter.
TOP TIPS for operators:
be contactable at all times - divert your landline to your mobile when off premises, as guests often want to book direct. Message bank is barely good enough, and an early call back is essential.
consider discounting room rates for multiple nights - especially mid-week. Remember, a direct Australian Places booking has no commission payable.
check out the noise level of your rooms - traffic noise, toilet flushing, spa use, thin walls between guestrooms, door slamming. Why do people slam doors??? Rubber door-jamb padding can help reduce this bane of sleeping guests.
a small giveaway for guests arriving after booking from Australian Places - perhaps a bottle of regional wine?
Website links back to Australian Places work for the benefit of all properties listed, especially those with full reviews. Please spend a few minutes to create one now.
Publicity:
The Pantry, much favoured by the "in" crowd of Brighton, has re-launched its little magazine. The February issue will feature Tuki at Smeaton, together with a giveaway prize of 2 nights accommodation. Great publicity for Australian Places.
Full
page B&B reviews have proven successful on the Australian
Places website. Properties say they have received booking enquiries
from my site when they've opted for the full page review. It's only $110 for this - a bargain, although the basic listing is still free.
Australian
Traveller magazine in February will feature my article and photos on Daylesford - "under the pump" Look out for it at the newsagents.
Site optimisation:
australianplaces.com.au ranks extremely well on Google searches - first page on at least 18 search criteria now. Over 60 pages fully indexed. This is fantastic!!!
2007 newsletter archive: April/May June/July Aug/Sept Oct/Nov
If you would
like your B&B reviewed for possible inclusion on this site,
need professional photography, or guidance on how to achieve success
in the B&B business, just contact me.
For the past
25 years Peter Robinson has travelled far and wide but Australia,
being home, is his first love. As an experienced travel writer
and professional photographer, his wealth of knowledge is revealed
in travel and accommodation reviews that have freelance integrity
and honesty. The main focus of this site is to present brief reviews
of a select group of places to stay for the weekend. Each place
has been visited at least once and evaluated for high standards
before inclusion - and after reviewing over 600 places Peter has
done the hard work so you can enjoy Great
Weekends Away.
