Acorn News: September 21, 2016

Survey: Please tell us what Services your Inn uses

We are encouraging all of our lodging propery clients to take a quick survey to tell us what services you are using in our industry.

• On a daily basis, we “learn” something new that various Innkeepers need to know.
• But not all topics apply to all Innkeepers.
• We need you to help us know specifics about your business so we can better serve you.

We may already know some of these answers, especially if we have recently built you a new Responsive Website, you have contracted for Marketing Services or you are part of our MarketWatch monitoring program. But many of you don't participate in any of these programs, therefore we are asking the same questions to our entire lodging client base.

Note: If you are an Association, or a non-lodging client, please do not complete this survey, as it is intended for individual property owners. We will be contacting you separately for your business information.

TAKE SURVEY

Secure Server Predictions to Become Reality on October 1, 2017

Starting in October 2017, Chrome (version 62) will show a “NOT SECURE” warning when users enter text in a form on an HTTP page, and for all HTTP pages in Incognito mode. If you have your Google Search Console properly configured, you should have gotten an email about this in August from Google Search Console. Read Full Article

Google has been telling businesses to move their websites to a secure server for over a year now. We offered this service to all Acorn IS hosting clients on 12/6/16, and have provided various Webinars on the topic over the past 9 months.

For those of you who clicked the link in the 12/6/16 newsletter, requesting the Secure Server upgrade, ALL of your requests have been completed in advance of the October 1st Chrome deadline.

There are still many more Innkeepers who have not approved the cost increase for this service. You may still do so. Requests will be processed on a first come first serve basis. Based on the work effort required to convert a site over to a Secure Server, you should not expect to have your new request completed in advance of the October 1st deadline.

Click to Read Original Acorn News Post 12/6/16

UPGRADE TO HTTPS://

Outage Statuses Now Available on the Acorn IS Website

Outage Type One: Acorn Email Hosting Client Outages

Acorn Email is hosted on the premier Rackspace system. If you are experiencing issues with your Acorn hosted Email, check online and save yourself a phone call.

VIEW | https://acorn-is.com --> Services --> Outages: Rackspace E-mail

 

Outage Type Two: Google Analytics Data Outages

Know the dates when your Google Analytics data is invalid. Invalid data comes from 3rd party providers, including but not limited to, your reservation company or directories who experienced outages or were not functioning properly at certain days and times throughout the year. When these situations occur, the data being passed from these companies to your Google Analtyics and E-Commerce Revenue tracking are going to be invalid. Know what dates and which companies were not functioning correctly, so you won’t be making miss-informed marketing decision based on bad data.

VIEW | https://acorn-is.com --> Services --> Outages: Google Analytics Data (PDF)

The More you Know, the More you'll Grow!

If you haven’t yet joined the ever-growing abundance Innkeepers already involved in our amazing Acorn University Education, now is the time! Get 15 months of our informative classes designed specifically for Innkeepers and the wellness and growth of their Inn’s internet presence, for the same price as 12 months! You will have access to all of our monthly classes, inn-owner basics classes, Club 60 (monthly update of online changes that impact your business) and our open Q&A session.

Acorn University isn’t just for DIY’ers anymore!

It's for all Innkeepers who want to remain competitve in today's online world!

What you don't know will impact your business and your bottom line.

Contact Annie Buck to register annie@acorn-is.com or 719-219-6732

JOIN ACORN U

Acorn University Pricing now through December 31, 2018

• Acorn Hosting Clients - $249
• Non-Hosting Clients - $399

Is Your Blog Out of Shape?

We all know we have to keep our bodies in shape for our long-term health, but that also applies to blogs! If you have been a good, consistent blogger, you probably have some posts out there that are a lot like junk food – just sitting around, bloating up your blog, soaking up your Google juice, and not getting any attention from the public. Posts like that can hurt your ranking in Google, without you even knowing it.

Read Full Article | Find Pricing

PageLime discontinued – Surreal is your alternative

This news does NOT APPLY to clients who use WordPress

PageLime has been our CMS (Content Management System) of choice for close to a decade for Innkeepers who have not yet made the move to a Responsive design in WordPress. The makers of PageLime have gone out of business, and though we prefer Inns make the move over to a Google preferred Responsive design, many have chosen not to take this step yet. Thus, we have had to find an acceptable alternative for those who still need a CMS to edit their old Website code.

We have chosen a product called Surreal. It has similar features and is only slightly more expensive that PageLime.

If you have not followed up with Ed McDermott regarding the closed status of your PageLime account, please do so ASAP at support@acorn-is.com.

Recent Blog Posts and Additional Need-to-Know Information

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Acorn Blog Posts for All Innkeepers

What’s the Real Price of Rate Parity — and Why Should You Care?
Posted on September 15, 2017 | Read Full Article

Blog Health – Care and Review
Posted on August 31, 2017 | Read Full Article

Are You on the Right Marketing Path?
Posted on July 10, 2017 | Read Full Article

Google Maps appearing with Blue Pricing Boxes
Posted on June 9, 2017 | Read Full Article

I Can’t Afford to Keep my Online Presence up to Date!
Posted on April 29, 2017 | Read Full Article

Ignore Those ICANN Emails at Your Peril
Posted on April 19, 2017 | Read Full Article

WordPress Updates Can Be Harmful To Your (Website’s) Health
Posted on January 27, 2017 | Read Full Article

Is Your Site Fast Enough for Mobile Users? Google Will Tell You!
Posted on December 14, 2016 | Read Full Article

Are you a Successful Online Inn Owner? Take the Quiz!
Posted on December 7, 2016 | Read Full Article

Select Registry Member Acorn Blog Posts

New Select Registry Referral Source as of June 2017
Posted on June 29, 2017 | Read Full Article

JackRabbit Referrals for Select Registry, NEIA, Nantucket Lodging and More!
Posted on June 19, 2017 | Read Full Article

Should You Share Your E-Mail List?
Posted on March 15, 2017 | Read Full Article

New Select Registry Website moves to HTTPS:// Google Analytics Data Missing
Posted on February 21, 2017 | Read Full Article