Well, hey there!
Boy, do I have a FUNNY story to tell you! It's also a great lesson on branding and the power of community. If you've ever been on the gut-wrenching, want-to-punch-a-hole-in-the-wall end of an untrue review and need some old-fashioned revenge, you'll love it!
As you may know, I live near Austin, Texas - where everybody has a favorite local Tex-Mex restaurant. The kind of place with gooey cheese enchiladas, homemade tortillas, crispy tacos, and freshly made salsa. mmmmmm ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ป
One of those local favorites is Herbert's Mexican Food, an almost 50-year-old tradition with two locations in San Marcos and New Braunfels, Texas.
Herbert's has strong community roots; multi-generations of guests have eaten there. (Including one of our local celebrities, George Strait!) They support local sports clubs and schools. They are the kind of business with a tip-jar-style fundraiser for the local dog shelter or gymnastics team at the checkout counter.
Last week, a local woman named Susan left a horrible, angry review of the New Braunfels location. She mentioned that it was her husband's favorite restaurant and she has been often. But this time, Susan was upset because she claimed she was charged too much for the lunch special and that it had taken several minutes to be greeted and seated in an empty restaurant. She complained that her order had taken too long and that the last straw was a rude cashier who refused to give her the special lunch discount. She would never go back!
She left her review in a large community Facebook group. Hours later, her review had hundreds of comments from upset Herbert's fans, who couldn't believe her review of this beloved spot and chalked it up to them having a busy morning or a new employee. More than 500 positive comments came through for Herbert's Restaurant. However, others who were newer to the area immediately believed Susan and said they would never eat there.
Eventually, Herbert's management and owners heard about the review and shared their side of the story in the comments...
With video.
Every single minute of Susan's lunch was documented and time-stamped.
Every bit of Susan's account was a lieโfrom the moment they arrived and were greeted (less than a minute) to the moment they ordered (4 minutes later) and were served (less than 15 minutes after walking in the door). The footage even showed the view at the cashier's desk, where Susan made her complaint and was immediately given the $2 discount.
The Facebook community went wild in several area groups from Austin to San Antonio, New Braunfels, and everywhere in between! Susan was called out for lying and eventually deleted her post (and soon her entire Facebook page), but it was too late for Susan. Their video has been seen nearly 1 million times. The San Antonio newspaper wrote a story about it, as did many other food and hospitality blogs all over the country. More importantly for Herbert's, they received so much posivite community support that people who initially said they would never go, changed their minds. My family went to Herbert's for the first time in years just to show our support!
Herbert's has done a great job of branding itself in the community with good food, good service and honesty. They have built community relationships and achieved iconic status. They may not be the most amazing Mexican food restaurant in the area, but they have a following. And that following saved them from a horrible review and a bad customer.
How can your business build a good brand reputation in your community?
- Determine and communicate your brand values.
- Give to community organizations and local nonprofits whose mission aligns with your values.
- Volunteer with your team or partner (spouse) and children, and be known locally as someone who cares about the community.
- Share your brand values and efforts with your guests. Let them know you care about others.
- Share your brand values and community giving on your website's "about" page.
- Write a press release about your business's community-giving impact.
When you share your heart for hospitality with your guests, they will love you and share with their friends and family.
When you build relationships with local businesses and community groups, locals will love and talk about you because you've built a great brand.
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A 2019 study found that 77% of consumers purchase from brands that share the same values as they do. When your values match what your customers believe in, they're more likely to trust and buy from you.
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TLDR: A mean lady gave a local iconic Mexican food restaurant a really bad review. Video evidence disproved that, and thousands of supporters of the restaurant have shared what amazing food and experience they provide. The hashtag #dobettersusan is trending in the Texas Hill Country this week. (And someone is making t-shirts.)Here's the article from the San Antonio Exress Newsโ
| Do you have brand values and do you communicate them to others? |
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JUST FOR YOU:
Starts In October!
Are You Tired of Waiting for Guests To Find You? Stop Depending on The Airbnb Algorithm and Start Proactively Marketing Your Vacation Rental Business,
Like A BOSS!
Join the Waitlist - Vacation Rental Marketing Roadmap - Group Coaching Program, which starts in October!
STOP feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by marketing and start building a proactive marketing plan that works for you and your business - even if you don't have a website yet, don't know the first thing about marketing or don't have a clue where to start.
For the last ten years, I've worked with hosts every day, all over the world who are learning my SECRET SAUCE to successful (and doable) vacation rental marketing while still managing their properties, dealing with guests, and doing ALL THE. THINGS.
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Get on the Waitlist by clicking the button below and filling out the form. Then, when doors open in September, you'll receive a special bonus!
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YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE
Tips Tools & Resources For Busy Hosts!
Podcast Episode - Fall Into Success; Creative Ideas For Seasonal Bookings
In this episode, I share strategies to enhance your listing, including adding enticing amenities, updating headlines and calls to action, and utilizing eye-catching photos and videos. Iโll also show you how to optimize your social media presence and incorporate your fall photos and updates into your email marketing plan. This episode is packed with tips, so grab a pumpkin-spiced whatever and get ready to learn how to make your property stand out and get more bookings this fall.
Video: The Game-Changing Power of Creating A Guest Avatar
Your Perfect Guest - these are the people you created your hospitality business for. The people who you love to host. The people you were thinking of when you created your property, added amenities, etc. Knowing all the little details about your guest avatar is crucial to business success and your own joy and love of what you do. This video and accompanying workbook will change everything about your business and will result in more bookings from guests you love. This is an all-new training I did at the Homeshare Side Hustle Summit in March. Check it out on Youtube!
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Create FOMO (fear of missing out) on Instagram with fresh ideas...
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The Savvy Hosts' Instagram Toolkit is a brand-new resource for anyone ready to step up or step into Instagram.
It features info about using "Content Themes" and "Topics" to provide consistent guidance for what you share on socials, plus tons of example posts for each theme, links to Instagram accounts that are killing it with their content and much more.
Check it out here ---->. Instagram Toolkitโ
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CLIENT LOVE!!
After working with Alan & Megan from Spring Creek Retreats in a consulting capacity, since March, I recevied a wonderful review from them that made my day, week and month! In just a few short months from launching they are 85% booked, are already a guest favorite on Airbnb, and are charging 2X the average rate in the area. That's what I call BADASS! Their website launches next week and it's going to be gorgeous!
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"We would like to begin this review of Jodi Bourne with words and phrases that best capture our experience with her: Expert, Coach, Mentor, Advisor, Multi-Faceted, Knowledgeable, and now we can say Friend.
Now imagine having all these skills and packaging them with a person who has an amazing personality that is encouraging, warm, and kind. There you have itโฆ. Jodi Bourne is an amazing consultant for owners who deeply desire to launch and manage a successful short-term vacation rental business that provides amazing guest experiences leading to a profitable venture!
If you are reading this and considering connecting with Jodi, please allow us to share our brief story with you. We are hopeful that this is helpful! First some background,
funny enough my bachelorโs degree is in Real Estate/Finance, and I sit on the Board of a top 5 University Real Estate Degree Program. I have been a practitioner of real estate consulting services for 26 years in my role as Vice Chairman of one of the largest global real estate services companies. I share this simply to communicate that my career and education has been entirely focused on real estate.
Having said this, Megan and I realized that to be successful with our STR vision, it would be necessary to assemble a sort of board of advisors who could coach/mentor us with the sizable knowledge gaps we had with operating an STR venture.For the first year of our business planning, we joined a Master Class Program established by a seasoned expert in the STR space. We learned a tremendous amount of information from this program but believed we still required more knowledge and hands on guidance. We engaged Jodi in March 2024 and got to work! Wow what an experience โ crafting property descriptions, launching social media channels,developing a website, drafting guest communications, and establishing a give-away contest to launch the property. Jodi is currently in the midst of finalizing an amazing website and helping us set up and use OwnerRes to manage our property more professionally. All the above work was distinctly different than what was provided in the Master Class Program.
As if all of the above is not enough โ Jodi also played an important role by instilling courage to execute our vision and to push our boundaries of pricing comfort. After much discussion and a lot of nudging, Jodi encouraged us to price our STR at double the price of nearby STRโs. Guess what โ she was right! Since launching we are running at north of 85% occupancy and have received amazing guest reviews!
In summary, if you are thinking about having a discussion with Jodi โ DO IT! Jodi, thank you for believing in our project and encouraging us to be BOLDโฆ.we are excited to continue growing with you!
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โWhatever you do, do it so well that when people see it, they will want to come back and see it again, and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do it too.โ
โ Walt Disney
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Wait, who am I, why are you getting this? I'm Jodi Bourne and well, you probably signed up for one of my freebies like my popular Perfect Guest Avatar Workbook or you purchased a course or program, or maybe you just signed up for my newsletter and tips for no reason cause you heard I'm pretty awesome. I try hard not to fill up your inbox with crappy content but if you hate getting tips, tools, and resources to help you with your vacation rental / short-term rental business, then by all means, unsubscribe. I won't hold it against you. But I promise I'm full of valuable info and tips + I'm usually pretty entertaining. And even if you don't love this email, you are bound to love the next.
Who am I? I'm a business coach, marketing strategist and website designer, educator and speaker for the vacation rental industry (going on 11 years plus 3 years of tourism marketing before that!). I'm also a mom, wife, daughter, sister and dog mom. I love to travel and I've stayed at more than 60 vacation rentals, glamping tents or boutique hotels, so I know a thing or two. If you want to know more about who I am, my experience in the industry or business values, check it out here!
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