I have started, written and re-written this blog at least five times since beginning it in June. It began providing suggestions and encouragement to help create opportunity out of all the negative data that was coming out at the time (and still is). But I was also taking my own advice, and with the ever-changing data rapids and my own desire to harness it and make something positive, I threw all of my time and energy into creating Red Dog Inn
I took a little retirement dream and have formally made it a
business. I did it by riding the data
rapids and enlisting professional guides when needed to help me navigate the
rapid and determine how my plan for the inn needed to change. I’ll share my story and encourage you to do
the same in your business and personal lives.
Ride the rapids
I use this analogy because data can be a lot like
rapids. There you are, just monitoring
your stable data and all of sudden the data start moving rapidly, it’s hard to
navigate or interpret, and the data is just coming at you from all directions –
fast and furious.
Red Dog Inn started as a way to have fun in retirement and
fulfill a dream, not as a way to make money or finance retirement. So, I started small, advertising only on
Airbnb and through a Facebook page, @OshellsRedDog. Everything seemed to be working fine. I even
had a few reservations in the off-season in early 2020. Good reviews, lots of positive feedback. Don (my husband and fellow innkeeper) and I
were eagerly awaiting the launch of the tourism season on the Olympic Peninsula
– Memorial Day weekend with the Juan de Fuca Festival – already with one
reservation for that weekend that was made in February.
Then…. COVID-19, with Washington state at the heart of the
first outbreak. I hit my first data rapid. Events, activities and areas
across the Olympic peninsula started canceling or closing. Booked reservations through June were
canceled by guests, views on Airbnb tanked. Washington state and Clallam County
issued stay-at-home orders, later social distancing and masks. Travel and tourism suffered and continue to lose
millions, Airbnb laid off staff and re-focused on their core business. The
stock market and economy increased everyone’s worry about retirement
investments.
Read the rapids
As I navigated these rapids, the first data-driven decision
was to not take guests at Red Dog Inn until, at least, early July. At the time, it was too risky for everyone to
consider opening our home.
The next decision I made was that I had to start treating
Red Dog Inn like a real business, not a hobby.
This is where I needed a skilled guide to help me through the rapid.
Which I got in the form of a dear friend who is a tech guru and all-around great person, Jenne Pierce. Jenne
volunteered to help me build an online business, and I will be forever grateful
for her guidance and wisdom. I could not
have made it through this first rapid on my own.
Ride the rapids
This decision was actually a channel to the next two sets of
rapids. These two rapids nearly came
together at a few points. One rapid threw all sorts of data and information about
building an online business. Do you know what it takes to build a
professional-quality website capable of attracting and booking guests? Well, maybe you do, but I sure didn’t. Lesson number one – invest in professional
photography (more about this later).
There was a lot of learning involved in this set of rapids, guided by Jenne – selecting a
platform, building a site, wording, photos, taxes, transactions, SEO, marketing.
The second, concurrent, rapid was all of the data and
information needed to determine how to run a bed and breakfast in the pandemic
age. While an entire Pan-Gen is likely
to grow up with masks and social distancing being a norm, those of us from other
generations are having to adjust to this new world on many levels. And let’s face it, it’s hard. There is a lot that has to happen to safely
open a bed and breakfast – for guests and innkeepers. Changes to policies and procedures, changes
to food, changes to cleaning, changes to just about everything. This
is where it was helpful to have someone else helping to paddle this rapid –
innkeeper, Don.
Read the rapids
Looking back, I think the website building rapid was a
little less treacherous than the inn-operations rapid. Needless to say, with the expert consulting
of Jenne, I launched my website. The SEO
is looking great, Airbnb results have picked up considerably, and I recently
had my first booking from our own website.
This is also another example of having a skilled guide – this time in
the form of a professional photographer, Eric Neurath. The professional photos are WONDERFUL (and
there are more to come)! So wonderful, I
replaced the old (and now, embarrassing) photos I had on Airbnb. It was also at
this time I learned that SEO is a strange and wonderful thing.
Key to navigating the inn-operations rapid was learning
from others who could help translate guidelines and data. To this end, our own Clallam County health
department was a great source of information and even Airbnb started guidelines
for hosts. I learned how to clean and
sanitize a room and ensure a safe environment in our home for our guests and my
family. I learned how to schedule and
space guests to allow for the safest cleaning and minimize guest interaction. But key was learning how to communicate with
guests about our new operating guidelines and still keep that friendly tail-wagging
feel to Red Dog Inn.
Ride the rapids
I am currently riding another rapid that could go on for a
stretch. Holy-moly, this stuff
works! I give all the credit to Eric’s
photos and the SEO genius of Jenne. I am
literally booked (under new guidelines) until end of August now.
Read the rapids
Changes, learning, and new data will continue. There is even more data monitoring now to
help measure the success of Red Dog Inn.
I will continue to refine the business/website, the services offered by
Red Dog Inn, as well as learn even more about SEO and the new reservation
platform. In addition, the impact of COVID-19 on
travel will continue to fluctuate, with
ever-changing guidelines that Red Dog Inn will need to respond to.
Coming out alive and well
Red Dog Inn is surviving, even flourishing. Most importantly, we’re still having
fun! But I’ve ridden enough rapids in my
life to know this isn’t the end. There
will always be rapids. My lesson that I
would share with you, is that you can increase your chances of surviving the
data rapids by being prepared. This means
finding good data, interpreting it without bias, enlisting professional guides
when needed, and riding that data rapid.
Then look back and smile, wasn’t that fun?!
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