Area Covered:

Worldwide. Also has separate guidebooks on related site for worldwide hotels & condos.

Listing Type/Number:

Claims over 7,500 listings worldwide; 4,200 are 'full' listings in North America with moderate details and multiple pictures.

Description:

Searchable database with multiple options, generally interconnected. From home page have choice of geographic or amenity search, or can enter city, state or inn name in a text box. Also has "deals" or "recipes"; select from a world map; select "search" from the top tool bar; or select "Hot" destinations.

• Entering a city name gives a list of featured inns in that city and in nearby cities, 10 to a page. There's also a list of nearby cities, sorted by distance.
• Entering a state gives a interactive region map and a list of cities in that region. Selecting a region can be misleading, since some of the inns listed may not be in that region, since inns may choose what cities they wish to be listed under.
• Amenity search allows entry of name or geographic limiter and several amenities/policies.

Selecting the map on the home page goes through a series of additional maps that narrow the search. Selecting a state takes you to the state page described above. Results will be a list by city/inn showing featured inns (showing symbols for certain amenities/policies plus rate range), short description & link to more detailed listing.

Quality Assurance:

B&B listings may state "This bed and breakfast has been rated by either a local or national association. Please inquire as to which Associations this inn is affiliated." Not all eligible inns have completed this data.
Has "Vote for this inn" system, but no verification of actual stay provided.

Other:

Provides link to inn's own reservation system or guide-provided reservation request form. Some inns have on-line reservation option using Hotels.com. On-line version of well-known print guidebook. Has map option & weather on Inn pages. Has on-line newsletter. Has ability to translate into several languages. Has Association List, recipes and other guides at site, as well.

Innkeeper Info:

Promotion: Includes personalized keywords on individual inn pages.

Rates: $99 for a listing in print guidebook plus this and AOL websites, plus $40 for a link to your own site. Also has program to feature inns that link back to guide.

Contact: (707)763-0271; email: bbmanager@travelguides.com.

Comments:

Web Presence Evaluation:

No. 4 of 78 guides evaluated by Inntelligent.com (5 star).

Composite of INNSTAR/Inntelligent ratings: 10/10.

Google® page rank of home page: 6/10.

My B&B Results:

• Listing provided about 4.75% (250) of my B&B's website's guide-sourced unique visitors Jan-Dec 2005.
• Listing provided 2 proven guest-nights at my 1-unit B&B.

Hosting & Tracking by

http://www.innstar.com/na/books/lanier.html