An Association of People with Similar Interests & Pursuits Summer 2016

Iowa Bed & Breakfast Guild

IBBG Fall Fun Conference Sunday, October 23, 2016 Amana Colonies

Save the Date! IBBG Fall Fun Conference

Amanas Colonies Sunday, October 23, 2016

Event starts at the Amana Heritage Museum

705 44th Ave. Watch for details!

An Amana Colonies Tradition since 1940

"Message from the Chair" As I write this note, I have been visiting our member B&B’s. We are producing a video with all of our members. I still have several more to visit, so if you have not heard from me yet, don’t worry, you will. So far I have visited B&B’s that are new to me. I am so pleased at how nice these properties have been. Sure, they are old houses so there are blemishes here and there. But the houses are beautiful. But more importantly the people are great too! When you open up your house as a B&B you are allowing people into your lives. That is partly why folks stay at B&B’s. They want to experience the local culture. They want local foods. They want to know what to see. You should always know if there are any events in the area. It doesn’t have to be just in your town. The next town over may have something fun going on too!

In my prior job I got to travel all around Iowa. As I work on this video project I am happy to be traveling the back roads of Iowa again. It is so beautiful. I have found beauty about everywhere I go in the world. I have been to every state in the US and five countries. Traveling outside of Iowa makes me appreciate Iowa that much more. We are so very green. Our rolling hills and oak savannahs are so pretty. Every town has something to see. It can be a beautiful courthouse or a wonderful county or state park. We are blessed with lots of attractions. The problem is we Iowans are too modest. We don’t talk about the great things we have. My challenge to you is to tell your guests about what they can see and do in your area. I would encourage you to put together a one-page sheet that lists all the attractions nearby. You will find it is not that hard. For instance, I was in Bloomfield and while there I stopped and admired the beautiful courthouse and the nice little Carnegie Library. I stopped at one of the Amish stores and I watched Amish buggies go around the square that surrounds the courthouse. To people in Bloomfield this is an everyday occurrence. I can tell you we don’t see or have those things in Des Moines. Be proud of what you have, and don’t be shy about telling your guests about it. We live in a great state. I wish our state had a bigger tourism budget so more people could find out about us. The next time you are visiting with your legislator, please encourage them to increase our budget. As I drive around, I am so pleased to see all of our unique attractions and beautiful landscape. I look forward to seeing your area soon!

Clark Clark Smith Butler House on Grand B&B clark@ButlerHouseonGrand.com www.ButlerHouseonGrand.com 515-255-4096

Please Welcome IBBG’s Newest Member!

Queen Anne Bed & Breakfast Innkeepers: Barbara & Lawrence Howard

1110 9th Street Nevada IA 50201

515-382-3022 Email: queenannebedandbreakfast@outlook.com

www.queenannebedandbreakfast.com

Please click on the email link above to send Barbara a “welcome” note.

IBBG COMMITTEE MEETING May 26, 2016 Tourism Grants Clark will start taking the videos over the next three weeks. The video clips will include B&B sign, greeting by innkeeper(s) at the door and, if time allows in the video, to show a feature item (attraction) in the area. State Fair – Quiche Contest – August 17, 2016 at Noon 2016 Judges: Bob Brooks, Marie Fitzgerald, Judy Mills & Dorothy Spriggs 1st place $200, 2nd place $150 and 3rd place $125.

Clark volunteered to pick up IBBG members’ brochures when out doing the video clips to have available at the State Fair.

Admin Report Spring Conference Report – March 13 & 14, Four Mounds & Hotel Julien, Dubuque Due to several evaluation responses regarding the Inn-Credible Stays Contest the committee needs to review or consider something different. In 2014 all conference attendees received a certificate for participating. Innkeepers can set out a guest book where guests can right comments if they like. It was suggested we offer online for those that wish to do so. Clark will work with the Moores to do online. It was also suggested that if we continue the Inn-Credible Stay Contest we not recognize winners at the conference and mail their certificates to them. It was suggested we do an online survey to see what the members want to do. Clark will create and provide suggestions. Membership: 59 IBBG members; 55 B&Bs, 2 associates and 2 Friends of the Guild. Gift Certificate Report: 2016 sold to date $1510 reimbursed $0 2015 sold to date $9140 reimbursed $1550 2014 sold to date $6860 reimbursed $5235 Newsletter: All committee members are encouraged to provide articles for upcoming newsletters. Notes from the meeting minutes could be included in the newsletter to keep the membership informed. Regional Directors are encouraged to host meetings in their region prior to our August 16, 2016 and be prepared to provide a report on area activity. Des Moines Register Advertising The agreement with the Des Moines Register to advertise at the $50 rate is no longer available. The Register no longer publishes the lodging section in the paper. There was not enough participation for the Register to continue the program. IBBG Website Due to BookingSuite’s high fees the committee will seek proposals for a new web designer. WebWise Solutions was invited to share a presentation with the committee on services they offer for our consideration. New features requested, if funds available; 1) the option to pay online via credit card (PayPal). This could be used for credit card purchases, conference registration payments, membership renewals and new members joining. 2) The option to print the directory off in a PDF format. 2016 Fall Fun Conference – October 23, 2016 – Amana Colonies Bob Brooks volunteered to make contacts at the Amanas and share the information with Shellie and Clark.

IBBG at the 2016 Iowa State Fair “NOTHING COMPARES” to my Iowa State Fair! IBBG will hold their annual “Quiche Me in the Morning” breakfast quiche contest on Wednesday, August 17th at NOON. REMINDER: You may want to send me some of your B&B brochures. While the contest is going on I will have them on display for fair goers to pick up! Consider how many people are at the Fair on any given day...potential guests! If you would like to have your B&B brochures on display at the contest please send them to: Michelle Bliss, 700 5th Ave. SW, Altoona, Iowa 50009. Questions; contact her at 515-689-8915 or email Michelle at michellebliss55@hotmail.com. To see more on what the State Fair has to offer this year, visit their website at: www.iowastatefair.org. Last but not least, if you are interested in being a judge for the 2017 State Fair contest please contact Dorothy Spriggs at the Carriage House B&B at 641-236-7520 or send her an email at irishbnb@iowatelecom.net.

Hope to see you at the Fair!!!

Adobe Flash is Being Phased Out (Article appeared in PAII newsletter)

May 23, 2016/in Blog, Hotel Digital Marketing /by Mary Haley Does your hotel website use Adobe Flash to create eye-catching graphics and animations? Do you create banner ads using Flash? While using Flash was a common website practice in the past, the increased use of mobile devices and the threats to security Flash poses are two big reasons to stop using the software. More and more guests are accessing online content via their smartphones and tablets. Guests use mobile phones to conduct research on different hotels and resorts, to book a room, and to search for attractions and activities while they are staying at your hotel. However, most smartphones are not compatible with Flash, and mobile users cannot see Flash graphics on their devices. An effective mobile site does not use Flash. Display advertisements using Flash will not reach mobile users, 80.9% of the U.S. population according to eMarketer. Unfortunately, using Flash can open up your site and your visitors’ devices to security threats. While

Adobe is attempting to fix the vulnerability in their Flash software, Flash users, especially those using older versions, are still exposed to hackers. In April, Adobe encouraged users to update their Flash Players to prevent being hacked. However, to avoid future hacks, many browsers, including Google, have phased out Flash banner ads. Next month, advertisers will not be able to upload Flash display ads into AdWords and DoubleClick Digital Marketing. By January 2nd, 2017, Flash display ads will not run on the Google Display Network or through DoubleClick. Therefore, all ads running on the search engine giant’s network will soon only use HTML5. Migrating from Flash to HTML5 is no longer a suggested practice. It is a necessary move for all hoteliers to stay visible online. If you still use Flash to create advertisements, the pool of potential guests you can reach is shrinking and will quickly disappear.

August 11 – 21, 2016

JUICE on the ROCKS! Submitted by: Judy Mill - Cupola Inn, Nora Springs CranRaspberry juice Apple juice Freeze the CranRaspberry juice in ice cube trays. When frozen dump into a freezer container. Store in the freezer. When ready to serve, put four cubes in a juice glass and top with apple juice. This is a great recipe because you are using 100 percent juice and it never becomes watered down. Other favorite juice combinations include: Orange juice cubes / with pineapple juice Grape juice cubes / with white grape juice If you serve a cool afternoon beverage, instead of pouring juice over the cubes, pour on lemonade. This makes a great flavored lemonade! Happy sipping!

For your Recipe Box

Do you have a recipe you’d like to share in the “Recipe Box” section? Submit to Shellie at the IBBG office at ibbg@netins.net

Do you offer “Iowa Native Wine” for sale at your B&B? If you are interested in partnering with a local winery, this is a great opportunity to promote each other. The Iowa Native Wine license is $25 per year. To apply go to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. Click on the green box labeled “Log into eLicensing or Search Public Records. Click on “Create Account.” If you need assistance, call Shellie at the IBBG office at 1-800-743-IOWA (4692).

Mini-Reunion Leads to Fun Adventure Submitted by: Dale Mills, Cupola Inn - Nora Springs We had guests recently from Louisiana and they met family from Minneapolis here for a mini-reunion. The Louisiana family had two foreign exchange students with them, nearly at the end of their U.S. stay, from Germany and South Korea. Neither had ever been in a canoe before, but we made four trips in two days. One even learned to kayak solo and always avoid rocks. The fact that they all were willing to be on the river at first light was amazing to me. It seemed that every single thing they encountered on our little farm and B&B was a new and deeply appreciated experience.

The river trips included eagles (and nest), Canada goose (nests and eggs), ducks, many song birds, adult owls, turkey vultures, red tail hawk, last year's oriole nests, and graduating-from-the-cave-nest baby owls. Muskrats, raccoon, deer, and beaver rounded out the sightings. While paddling just behind one beaver, he briefly disappeared, then resurfaced right beside the kayak. Thinking the beaver's head appeared to be a rock, the rookie German kayaker about jumped out of the 'yak when the beaver splashed her with a tail slap. Rocks just do not disappear like that! She was totally shocked and flabbergasted, and laughed the rest of the trip.

On the first float, the twin baby owls were still in their cave home. The next three trips they appeared to simply sit on nearby trees and pose for photos. In actuality, instinct told them not to move, and more likely they both were uncertain of their newly found ability to escape their home and fly. I hope they have a safe, and long, productive life, just like all the graduating high school seniors. Both have certainly provided us with good memories and hopefully, pleasant return visits.

Do you have a story to share? We would love to read about it! Submit to Shellie at the IBBG Office at ibbg@netins.net. Thank you!

Iowa Bed & Breakfast Guild

2016 Committee

Chairpersons Clark Smith & Lauren Kernan Smith Butler House on Grand Des Moines 515-255-4096 Clark’s cell: 515-314-9755 info@butlerhouseongrand.com Northwest open North Central Tom & Janey Swartz The Woodland Inn B&B Marshalltown 641-753-5351 mainstreettimber@live.com

Northeast Dale & Judy Mills Cupola Inn B&B Nora Springs 641-420-9227 cupolainn@gmail.com Southwest Roger Steffens SF Martin House B&B Atlantic 712-243-5589 No email South Central open Southeast Gary & Virginia Walker McNeill Stone Mansion B&B Oskaloosa 641-990-3521 reservations@thestonemansion.com

Associate Member Michelle Bliss Harvest Moon Innkeeping Altoona 515-689-8915 michellebliss55@hotmail.com

At Large Members Bob Brooks Brown Street Inn Iowa City 319-338-0435 bob@brownstreetinn.com Sherrie Hansen-Decker Blue Belle Inn St. Ansgar 641-713-3113 innkeeper@bluebelleinn.com Terry & Margie Moore The Brass Lantern B&B Greenfield 641-743-2031 or 888-743-2031 info@brasslantern.com Ray & Dorothy Spriggs Carriage House B&B Grinnell 641-236-7520 irishbnb@iowatelecom.net IBBG Administrative Office 9001 Hickman Rd, Ste 220 Des Moines IA 50322 515-278-8700 800-743-IOWA (4692) ibbg@netins.net www.ibbg.com

IBBG currently has two open positions on the IBBG Committee, Northwest Region and South Central Region. If you are interested in hearing more about what is involved with serving on the IBBG Committee, contact

Shellie at the IBBG office. 1-800-743-IOWA (4692) or email ibbg@netins.net.