Out of 1,000 B&B Sites Reviewed: 33% - 49% Have NO MOBILE Site Whatsoever!

I am truly amazed at how many Innkeepers today still have NO MOBILE PRESENCE whatsoever.

Out of approximately 1,000 Bed and Breakfast Websites we reviewed, between 33% and a whopping 49% of Innkeepers have NO MOBILE PRESENCE at all for an improved guest experience.

Take a moment and watch the video above for my synopsis on why so many Innkeepers are not following Google's Guidelines by providing a Mobile site for their guests.

The Good News is, that on the flip side, between 51% and 67% of the Innkeepers we reviewed have embraced the necessity of Mobile Design to maintain or improve their bottom line, and they have done it in a variety of ways.

Google supports three (3) different types of Smartphone Optimized Website Configurations

As we reviewed these 1,000 Bed and Breakfast Websites, we categorized those who did have a MOBILE SITE into one of each these three (3) categories.

1. Responsive Web Design
(Google's Recommended Configuration)

It's quite easy to spot a Responsive Design.

To learn how to spot a Responsive Design, watch this short Edubyte .047 video.

It is interesting to note, that out of all the groups of Bed and Breakfast sites tested, the majority of Innkeepers with a Responsive Design fell into the Acorn IS B&B Hosting Clients category at 37%, with Select Registry Inn Members coming in second at 31%.

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2. Dynamic Design
(Also called Adaptive)

A Dynamic Design is a bit harder to spot.

They typically serve up different pages for a mobile device.

Dynamic Designs often use plug-ins to alter the page display.  Such plug-ins include, but are not limited to WPtouch and WordPress Mobile Pack.

In our testing, it was was our PAII Sample that had the highest number of Dynamic Designs at 32%.

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3. Separate Design

Keep in mind that 3 year ago, a Separate Mobile Design was Google's preferred method of offering a mobile site to your guests, but in June of 2012, Google changed their mind, and moved to a Responsive Web Design as their preferred configuration.

You can see that many Inns are still offering up a Separate Mobile Design for their guests, with the Mid-Atlantic Innkeepers group leading the pack at 24%.

 

If you are in the 33% - 49% of Innkeepers that still have NO MOBILE PRESENCE WHATSOEVER, I want to better understand why.

As former Innkeepers ourselves, every Bed and Breakfast in this Industry we serve is very important to us.  Whether or not you are an Acorn IS client, your ability to weather this change in technology from your guests using a Desktop to find you to now using a Mobile device such as a Tablet or Smartphone is going to be the difference in just barely staying in business and thriving.

• Mobile is not going away, and if you choose to ignore your need for a Mobile presence, you are placing your business at risk.
• I truly want to understand why so many Innkeepers are ignoring the Mobile "elephant in the room".
• If you don't have a mobile presence, please take the poll below and tell me why.

[polldaddy poll=8268117] 

For those of you who have a Mobile Presence, I commend you!

And, I'd like to encourage you to take a moment and share a comment on this blog post encouraging your fellow Innkeepers who aren't providing a Mobile Presence for their guests, that the time is past, and having a Mobile site is imperative to their business.

Lisa Kolb
President and Co-Founder
Acorn Internet Services, Inc.