For Episode #3 of the Frictionless Innkeeper podcast series, we speak with Jim Belote, the owner of The Beall Mansion in the St. Louis region, about what it takes to operate an award-winning B&B.
Being named one of the top B&Bs in the U.S. is an accolade that most property owners strive to achieve. The Beall Mansion, an Elegant Bed & Breakfast Inn, is the prime example of a B&B that continually tops these types of annual lists.
Recently, HotelsCombined awarded the property the 2018 HotelsCombined Recognition of Excellence, which is based on achieving the highest rankings on customer satisfaction through customer opinions online.
Based on an analysis of more than 1,000,000 hotels worldwide, The Beall Mansion scored a 10 out of 10, representing the top 3 percent of accommodations worldwide for customer satisfaction.
Previous 2018 Beall Mansion honors and awards include the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, TripAdvisor Hall of Fame, 50 Best B&Bs in America, and the Best B&B in Illinois (according to The Daily Meal).
In this podcast, Jim Belote discusses the secret to running an award-winning property. Here are key highlights from this interview:
- The overall history of The Beall Mansion. (:45)
- The elegance of the property. (3:20)
- How The Beall Mansion was able to rank high with HotelsCombined. (5:00)
- The Beall Mansion’s secret for achieving high guest satisfaction. (7:00)
- How and why Jim and his wife Sandy made the shift to being innkeepers. (10:33)
- Jim’s joys and challenges of being a B&B owner. (19:20)
- Insights into the tourism landscape in the region. (20:50)
- The initial and ongoing restoration of the property. (21:54)
We would like to thank Jim for sharing his insights into the secrets of guest satisfaction. You can learn more about The Beall Mansion by visiting their website.
