For the Honeysuckle acres Bed $ Breakfast case below,

a) PERFORM A FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

b) WHAT ARE THE IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES/PROBLEMS

c) WHAT ARE THE POSIBLE EVALUATION/CONTROL PROCEDURES

Honeysuckle Acres Bed & Breakfast:

Multi-Channel Distribution

Strategy for Success

Honeysuckle Acres is a farm retreat bed and breakfast owned and operated by Alexa Jones. Honeysuckle Acres was booked at 80% occupancy for the months of June and July and Alexa was feeling great about the decision to open the Bed & Breakfast last year. However, her investors are somewhat concerned about the months in the fall and winter and are encouraging her to find alternative sources of revenue for the off-season.

Honeysuckle Acres sits on the banks of a beautiful river in the southwest part of the country known for swimming, fishing and canoeing. While there is no direct access to the river from the property, just a short walking down the river trail is access and there are several access points for swimming and canoeing within driving distance. They boast of quiet, country living surrounded by farm animals, beautiful scenery and attractions within 10 miles of the property.

Currently, there are ten cabins available for rent on the property as well as a large building for meals or events and a small chapel. The event building has a full kitchen and seating for around 50 guests. The chapel seats 48 people comfortably. On average, the B&B operates at 80% occupancy in June and July; 40% in August and 20% for the other months for the Thursday-Sunday stay. Information on the nightly rates for the cabins can be found in table 1. Last year she only had one group request the use of the event center for a catered lunch and one other group use the chapel for a family meeting. Alexa included these in their stay since they booked the entire farm.

Cabin	Sleeps	Rate
Main home	12	$550 for the entire house
Main home	2	$125 per bedroom
Farmhouse	7	$325 for entire house
Farmhouse	3	$175 per bedroom
Honeysuckle Cabin	8	$175
Buffalo Cabin	4	$175
Painted Cow Cabin	4	$175
Rusty Nail Cabin	4	$225
Under the Pines Cabin	2	$250
The Hidden Haven Cabin	4	$150
Sunset View Cabin	2	$150
Starlight Sanctuary Cabin	4	$150
Event Center	50	$200 per day
Chapel	48	$200 per day

Alexa runs specials on her website, but only about 5% of her guests are aware of the specials and take advantage of the birthday, anniversary, family reunions and church retreat specials she runs throughout the year. She advertises on her Facebook page and is listed on several hotel websites such as Booking.com and Trivago.com. Her Trip Advisor ratings also have a direct link to her website. Alexa has considered HomeAway and AirBNB, but is unsure if the fees involved are worth the effort. In addition, with the third party providers, the guests will be charged service fees. She has done some research and found information for comparison for the most popular third party sites (see table 2).

	Guest Fees	Host Fees	Listing Fees
Homeaway/VRBO	6-12%	7-11% - or -	Annual $499
AirBNB	0-20%	3-5%	Free to list
Trip Advisor	8-16%	3%	Free to list
Booking.com	None	10-25%	Free to list
Expedia	None	15-20%	Free to list
Bringfido	None		Free if on other sites; otherwise $249 per year
Clanventures	$79	10%	$400 per year

Homeaway is a vacation marketplace portal which began operations in 2006. One thing that makes Homeaway unique from AirBnB is that they primarily offer only rentals of entire properties, while AirBnB will allow rental of rooms within a property. Bed and Breakfast properties must have their own listing, a locked entrance and shared amenities and communal areas clearly stated. Homeaway has options for a host fee of $499 annually or a percentage of the rental (homeaway.com)

AirBnB began operations in 2009 and is an online marketplace which lets people rent out properties or spare rooms to guests. The biggest advantage of AirBnb is affordability. Guests can rent just one room and share communal spaces allowing the property owner to charge less for the rental. In addition, because the host is often on property, AirBnB is known for connecting not just places to stay, but things to do. Bed and Breakfasts can use AirBnB and can list rooms, beds or list as hotels or hostels (airbnb.com).

Homeaway averages over 14 million visitors in a six month period while AirBnB averages over 88 million visitors in a six month period. While there are fees to consider with each, a listed property bringing in $28,000 of gross income would still net $27,160 with AirBnb and $26,661 with Homeaway (evolvevacationrental.com). In addition, other than the $499 subscription to Homeaway, which is optional, there are no fees unless the rental is complete.

Alexa has reached out to HomeAway and AirBNB sales departments as well as done other research on her own. She has determined that using these sites could increase her sales as well as give her exposure for the event center and chapel. She estimates that each of these sites would bring in an additional 10% occupancy each month as well as an increase in the event center and chapel of at least one time per month except in June and July where she expects two times per month for each.

After meeting with a consultant and researching the online vacation marketplaces, Alexa realizes there are other advertising opportunities she is missing. Weddings, quilting retreats and events scheduled around the geographical area of her venue are just some of the other ways she can increase her exposure and profit potential.