As an Innkeeper and business owner, you are undoubtedly familiar with the fact that Google allows you to claim your local business listing, and to customize the information people see when they conduct a search for lodging in your area. Through the Local Business Center, claiming your “Google Place” page allows you to add photos, video, hours of operation, highlight some of the special features of your Inn, and add custom description. In addition, you can create coupons, perhaps offering a bottle of wine with a two night stay in June, or theater tickets to the local production with a three night booking.

These days, one out of every five searches is location related, so having your local listing up to date and accurate is of the utmost importance.

And now, once you’ve claimed your local listing, you can download a “QR” (aka bar code) customized for your Inn from your Google Places dashboard. This eye-catching graphic can be placed in the window of your Inn or Restaurant, on business cards or other marketing materials. Customers scan the QR bar code with their mobile devices, and view the mobile version of the Place Page for your business.

Your Guest or Potential Customer Can:

• Read reviews to see what other users have to say about your Inn.
• Find a coupon that you’ve posted to your Places Page.
• Star the Inn to remember to check it out later, or to visit again.
• Leave a review of the Inn.

New rack card design for The Croff House in Hudson, NY.

The Croff House is a Victorian home with a beautiful and comfortable updated decor. Owners Duncan Calhoun and Russell Gibson worked with InsideOut to create a great web site that captures the contemporary feel of the inn and showcases its luxurious amenities. With the web site completed, it was time to create a print piece that could do the same job in a much smaller space. Again, they turned to InsideOut — this time, for the design of their 4″ x 9″ rack card.

Strong branding with matching marketing pieces:
Print designer Jennifer Lozada transferred the logo, colors, fonts and layout of the web site to the much smaller 4″ x 9″ print format. Rather than cramming the space with text, she let the photos do most of the talking. Open spaces (“white space”) in the layout draw the eye to the most important information. White space is key if you want to convey elegance and sophistication. Even with the “blank” space, text and photos, there was still room for a helpful locator map. Good feedback from the owners helped refine the map, text and photo selections.

The result: The web site and rack card are a match, conveying a consistent message. The owners decided on a quantity of 5,000 cards. InsideOut managed the printing to ensure quality, affordable cost and speed of delivery.

“It’s perfect!!!!” – Duncan

“The rack card looks great.” – Russ

Rack card and business card designs for Garden House, Key West, FL

Catering to the Key West crowd
Key West is a favorite spring break destination and Garden House has just the right vibe for this fun-loving crowd. Garden House owners John and Connie Manasco worked with InsideOut to create a great website that’s fun and easy-to-use. Next, they needed print pieces for visitors to pick up and keep. They turned to InsideOut to design a rack card and business card that matched their site.

For the rack card, the 4″ x 9″ size was the perfect choice since it fits both standard display racks and no. 10 envelopes. Plus there’s just enough real estate for useful information and photos while still fitting easily into a purse or backback. Using standard sizes for the rack cards and business cards (3.5″ x 2″) also kept print costs much lower than custom dimensions.

Matching the web site for strong branding
With a few adjustments, print designer Jennifer Lozada was able to transfer the horizontal web design to the vertical 4″ x 9″ print format and the small business card size. She kept the tone very casual, using the same sunny beach and ocean colors, cutout photos, fun pattern and handwritten font. Text was kept to a minimum; only the most important information was included. As a result, there was room for a few good photos plus a simple map to help visitors find the inn and to illustrate its convenient central location.

Garden House’s marketing pieces, both online and in print, have the same relaxed party-friendly look. Matching these pieces keeps a consistent picture in prospects’ minds. There’s no jarring difference in quality between the cards and the site.

The result:
John & Connie were happy with the designs and quickly approved them. They selected a quantity of 2500 rack cards and 2500 business cards which gave them an excellent per piece cost on printing. InsideOut oversaw the print management, ensuring high quality printing and fast, no-fuss delivery.

Garden House Map

Google Maps gives users of your website access to interactive content that you would otherwise not be able to provide them. Giving a visual representation of your business’ location and activities nearby is a powerful way to get users interested in staying at your destination.

More than just driving directions, a Google Map with local restaurants and things to do can really sell your property. The Garden House Inn, a very fun Key West Lodging has a great example of a map displaying proximity to local businesses. They are close to downtown and this map shows the many opportunities for guests to have fun and enjoy their time in Key West.

Inn at Cape Cod Map

If your business is not as close to the action, a Google Map can show the surrounding region as well. Maybe show all of the great golf courses nearby or lakes and rivers in which guests can fish and boat. Also, your map could show potential customers travel routes to and from your business like the the map we built for Inn at Cape Cod, a Cape Cod MA bed and breakfast.