Stillwater-The Minnesota Bed and Breakfast Association annual conference was held this this year in Stillwater (April 27th). The venue was the historical Water Street Inn in downtown Stillwater. Bed and Breakfast owners throughout the state of Minnesota attended. One highlight of the conference was an Internet Marketing workshop taught by Jeff Logan of Avelient.
At this year’s annual conference the MBBA elected a new President, Shannon McKeeth of New Ulm (Bingham Hall Bed and Breakfast), Vice President David Vipond of Duluth (Ollcot House Bed & Breakfast), Secretary Carol Eggert of Lanesboro, (Hillcrest Hideaway Bed & Breakfast), and Treasurer Zig Gudrais of Red Wing (Candlelight Inn). Along with these new board positions, the MBBA hired a new Executive Director, Kim Janke of New Ulm.
According to McKeeth, “The overall message of the gathering was to continue to improve the B & B industry with new methods of social marketing (twitter, Face Book, blog, website updates, google analysis, etc.) These skills are necessary to keep ahead of the marketing curve. The trend is that in a sluggish economy vacationing close to home is popular, practical, and safe. This certainly points to B & B opportunities.
The Minnesota Bed and Breakfast Association is a non-profit organization whose aim is promoting the state’s Quality Assured member inns as well as offering support, networking and education for innkeepers. Organized in 1985 with 12 members, the Association now has 91 members The Assocaition sponsors a conference annually, Aspiring Innkeepers workshops and other Association programs to discuss member’s needs. A guidebook is available online to download or by mail from www.minnesotabb.org.