FRICTIONLESS POSTS
Innkeeper Insights
Fall Into Networking: The Start of Lodging Conference Season is Upon Us
It’s hard to believe that fall is upon us. It’s time to put away the sunscreen and pull out the sweaters! To many, it will be a welcome relief from those 100+ degree days. There’s nothing better than crisp autumn days and all things pumpkin! Fall...
Frictionless TIP #12: Create Unique On-Property Guest Experiences
Attracting new guests and keeping them coming back has always been an ongoing challenge for the independent lodging industry. This was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains true today. Property owners and managers have to get...
Increase Guest Bookings with Curated Local Partner Experiences
Photo by Anna Tarazevich In order to increase guest bookings, independent lodging providers need to focus on providing guests with unique local experience outside of the confines of their property. Today’s travelers want more than just a place to...
Choosing the Right Local Partners to Enhance the Guest Experience
Photo by RDNE Stock project Lodging providers typically do an excellent job of delighting guests with their comfortable accommodations, quality food offerings and luxury amenities. However, what guests experience during their stay isn’t limited to...
Conference Time Will Soon Be Upon Us!
Professional lodging conference time will be here before you know it. Which ones will you be attending? Starting in late October, the Frictionless team will be packing their bags and hitting the skyways and the roadways. Oct 30th - ...
Exciting News! Announcing Frictionless’ First Ever 2nd Cup Series
Do you ever find yourself wondering how to use certain features in the Frictionless App but can't remember or aren't sure where to start? Or do you simply want to reach out and say hi to fellow lodging professionals? Well, we've got some great news...
BIG Event of the Year! The 2023 ALP Conference and Marketplace, February 25th to March 1st in Phoenix, AZ
The independent lodging industry event of the year, the 2023 ALP Conference and Marketplace, will take place from February 25th to March 1st in Phoenix, Arizona!! This event will bring together hundreds of Innkeepers, Licensed Short Term &...
Michigan Here We Come! MBBA Innkeeping Conference November 1-2 in Grand Rapids, MI
The Michigan Bed and Breakfast Association (MBBA) 34th Annual Innkeeping Conference is happening from Tuesday, November 1 through Wednesday, November 2, in Grand Rapids, Michigan and the Frictionless Guest App is looking forward to being there!...
Leveraging the Power of Local Partnerships
Partnering with local businesses to enhance your guests’ stay is a must in today’s experience-based economy. Travelers want more than just a place to stay. They want to connect with a destination, and live like a local, through genuinely authentic...
2022 ALP Conference & Marketplace Comes to Baltimore, February 5-9!
A message from Steve Short, Founder & CEO, Frictionless Guest App For lodging professionals of all types, the ability to advance educational opportunities in sales, finance, marketing, operations and technology is vital to long-term success....
Guests and Properties Can Now Text Message with the Newly-Released v5.0 of the Frictionless Guest App
Today we released v5.0 of the Frictionless Guest App, which allows properties and guests to use text messaging to communicate The purpose of the Frictionless Guest App has always been to help lodging professionals connect with their guests so they...
Frictionless TIP #11: Lessons in Vision and Perseverance
Whether you are a seasoned lodging professional trying to emerge from the ruins of the COVID pandemic or recently starting out as a new innkeeper, success can seem nearly unachievable. And while the journey may be long and daunting, the good...
Frictionless TIP #10: Creative Ways to Differentiate Your Property
It is often the most challenging times that spark a creative movement. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to heavily impact the lodging industry, it presents the opportunity for innkeepers and boutique hotel owners to develop new ways to...
Frictionless Friends Recently in the News…
Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns, owned and operated by Monique Greenwood, was featured in Fodor's Travel… 10 Stylish Black-Owned Boutique Hotels Across the U.S. to Book on Your Next Trip Tom Werman, owner/innkeeper of Stonover Farm in Lenox, MA,...
2021 ALP Virtual Conference & Marketplace for Lodging Professionals: February 22-23!
Don’t Miss “While You're Here … Putting on Your Concierge Hat and Knowing Your Partners” This year, the Association of Lodging Professionals (ALP) is holding their annual Conference & Marketplace as a virtual event, with the Lodging...
Post-COVID Re-Opening Part 3: Monique Greenwood, Owner of the Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns, Discusses Creativity and Community
Many innkeepers have found ways to open their properties in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring changes to many aspects of their business. We thought it would be helpful to interview some of them and share their insights on how they are...
Frictionless TIP #9: Learn and Promote Some Amazing COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfecting Ideas
As the United States experiences a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, many innkeepers are hoping to keep their properties open, as long as guests are willing to travel to their destination. Having experienced an initial COVID wave, guests are...
Post-COVID Re-Opening Part 2: Lookout Point Lakeside Inn Experiences Summer Booking Successes
Many owners have found ways to open their properties in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring changes to many aspects of their business. We thought it would be helpful to interview some of them and share their insights on how they are...
A Touchless Guest Experience with the new Frictionless Guest App v4.0
Photo by Breakslow on Unsplash Today we released v4.0 of the Frictionless Guest App, which greatly helps Innkeepers to improve revenue and the touchless guest experience When the Frictionless Guest App first launched, it was built on the premise...
Frictionless TIP #8: Put Guests’ COVID Concerns at Ease During Winter Months by Purchasing Humidifiers NOW
Much like the way toilet paper and hand sanitizers became very scarce during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, some are predicting that there will be a run on humidifiers in the coming winter months. Dry air and low humidity are an ideal...
Post-COVID Re-Opening Part 1: Carriage Way Inn Bed and Breakfast Shares Operational Strategies
Many innkeepers have found ways to open their properties in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring changes to many aspects of their business. We thought it would be helpful to interview some of them and share their insights on how they are...
Enabling Innkeepers to Connect with Guests in a Touchless Way: New Features for the Frictionless Guest App
New Launch Will Greatly Improve Innkeeper Revenues and the Guest Service Experience – with New Property Offerings Information, Touchless Guest Ordering, and More When the Frictionless Guest App first launched, it was built on the premise that...
Finally, Some Good News for Innkeepers? We Interpret the Latest AHLA Survey
Without a doubt, 2020 will go down as a very strange, and difficult year for the travel sector. Almost overnight, lodging properties around the world were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and these challenges live on today with...
Frictionless TIP #7: Marketing Your Property as You Re-Open
As the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, and the summer season is upon us, many innkeepers are developing strategies for re-opening their properties. In addition to properly disinfecting your property (see our recent podcast), the right digital...
InnSpeak Podcast: The Frictionless Guest App Connects Guests to Other Local Businesses in Your Destination
The value of the guest experience, and being connected with other businesses in your community, has always been vital for innkeepers. But now with the COVID-19 pandemic potentially winding down, and as innkeepers consider re-opening their...
Keep Your Inn Top-of-Mind During COVID-19
Although the entire travel sector has been crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic, forward-thinking innkeepers are getting creative to make sure their properties stay top-of-mind with guests and help drive demand when the economy begins to reopen. From...
Less Obvious Tax Benefits of Owning a B&B
Many people pursue the dream of owning a B&B to gain more independence, live in tourist destinations, and lead a lifestyle outside of the traditional corporate world. In addition to these intangibles, there are also quite a number of tax...
Frictionless TIP #6: Funding Expansion Through Your Inn’s Equity
Many innkeepers aim to continually expand the offerings on their properties, whether it’s the addition of a barn for weddings and events or even acquiring other inns. Leveraging the equity in your property is one viable way to fund these types of...
Frictionless TIP #5: Great Ideas for Innkeepers to Increase Revenue
Remaining competitive in the innkeeping arena is no small challenge, especially in the face of multiple accommodation offerings, and Airbnb growing in popularity. One of the best ways to remain competitive, and achieve long-term business growth, is...
Frictionless TIP #4: Ways to Go Green With Your Property and Improve Profitability
With environmental sustainability being a major trend in virtually every industry, there is often a disconnect between marketing and reality. In other words, many companies claim to be “green,” but don’t actually follow-up on this promise....
Inside Innkeeping Podcast: Frictionless Guest App Drives the Guest Experience
At the AIHP 2019 Knowledge Sharing Summit & Marketplace, Steve Short, Founder & CEO of the Frictionless Guest App, participated in an Inside Innkeeping podcast interview hosted by Megan Smith. Megan is a renowned innkeeping consultant, who...
PRESS RELEASE: Biltmore Greensboro Hotel Enhances Guest Experience with New App
Media Contact: Matt Langan L&R Communications 202-262-3340 matt@landrcomm.com Historic Boutique Hotel Provides Curated Guest Recommendations for Best Local Places to Eat, Play and Shop in Greensboro, North Carolina ALEXANDRIA, VA – August 12,...
Frictionless TIP #3: Host Live Music to Increase Bookings of Returning Guests
The Frictionless Innkeeper TIP series is intended to provide practical suggestions to innkeepers. Oftentimes these ideas are provided by our guests on the Frictionless Innkeeper podcast series. If Bono was right in claiming that “music can change...
Hospitality Upgrade’s Douglas Rice Gives Recognition to Frictionless Guest App
For more than 6 years, we have been building and improving the Frictionless Guest App with the core vision of giving innkeepers and hoteliers an app they can provide to their guests that recommends the best local places to eat, play and shop during...
Frictionless TIP #2: Offer Multiple Breakfast Options for Guests
The Frictionless Innkeeper TIP series is intended to provide practical strategic or tactical suggestions to innkeepers. Oftentimes these ideas are provided by our guests on the Frictionless Innkeeper podcast series. Serving breakfast has been such...
Frictionless TIP #1: Invite People Who Work at Local Attractions to Have Breakfast with Your Guests
In our Frictionless Innkeeper podcast series, we share the stories behind how property owners became innkeepers, oftentimes discussing their challenges and the strategies they use for achieving long-term success. Along the way, we sometimes uncover...
Why Your B&B Should Have a Brand Promise
A brand promise is simple yet it influences everything from how B&B guests experience their stay to how they describe it to their friends and colleagues to how they comment about it on social media review sites. Although many innkeepers don’t...
Lodging Magazine: Frictionless Guest App, a Curated Digital Concierge
In May 2018, Lodging Magazine, the official publication for the AH&LA, featured the Frictionless Guest App in its ongoing “App Watch” section. “Meant to take the place of brochures, the Frictionless Guest App is a 24/7, curated digital...
Hotel Business Magazine: Local Recommendations Are an App Away
In May, Hotel Business Magazine published an in-depth feature on the launch and value that the new Frictionless Guest App offers to innkeepers, bed and breakfast owners, and hoteliers of all sizes. The article included a number of quotes from Steve...
Why Guest Trust is so Important for Innkeepers and How it Can be Gained
Guest trust has always been one of the most important intangibles for Innkeepers. It’s not always easy to determine what factors into a guest’s trust equation, since it’s a totally individual assessment -- one that is in the so-called “eyes of the...
How Two Buffalo Inns Create Guest Ambassadors for the Region
One of the goals of running an Inn or an independent hotel is to make guests fall in love with the region, recommend your property to others within their social circle, and keep coming back to the area. For Oscar’s Bed & Breakfast in Buffalo,...
Independent Innkeepers: Own the Local Tourism Landscape
Many large hotel brands have been embracing the concept of training their staff to have a more personalized touch with guests through increased knowledge of their locale, as noted in this New York Times article. An integral part of this trend is...
Hospitality Technology Magazine: Frictionless Guest App Empowers Innkeepers to Recommend Best Local Experiences
Since the Frictionless Guest App officially launched in February, it has captured the attention of several major hospitality trade magazines. Hospitality Technology Magazine was one of the publications that covered the initial launch -- pointing...
Connecting Your Guests with the Best Local Places
For any innkeeper or bed and breakfast owner, your network of local places to eat, play, shop, etc. can provide immense value, which is passed on to your guests and your local community. But that value can also be realized by you in an indirect,...
Welcome to the Frictionless Guest App!
Welcome! We created the Frictionless Guest App to allow bed and breakfast owners, innkeepers, and hoteliers of all types to have an easy way to recommend the best local places for their guests to eat, play, shop, and do just about anything during...