Hoping to boost the guest experience and build new loyalty with brands, American Historic Inns has launched a new product sampling and promotions department.
The department will target consumer goods companies to share their products with inns nationwide. Several companies, including Nestlé, Nabisco, Bic, Tylenol. MinuteMaid and Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste have approached AHI to offer their products to bed and breakfast visitors.
The demand for sampling opportunities in the bed and breakfast industry has grown so much, AHI decided to create a full-scale department, said Deborah Sakach, AHI owner and president. AHI created the department to give innkeepers the opportunity to offer more amenities to their guests, she said.
“Bed and breakfast visitors…love to take in all that an inn has to offer,” she said. “Visitors usually associate a positive experience with the products they use and commonly ask innkeepers where they can buy them.”
AHI has offered product samples in bed and breakfast locations for at least 13 years combined with its buy one, get one night free offer, Sakach said. AHI’s sampling programs have resulted in 95% trial, she said.
The sampling program is “a way for good quality products to be seen by guests in the highest quality venue for manufacturers,” Sakach said. “We’re just trying to increase what we have seen has been received very well by guests.”
AHI works with 6,000 inns nationwide. Between 1,000 to 3,000 inns are involved in sampling programs at any one time. AHI plans to increase the number of products offered to guests from one per quarter to three to five, Sakach said.
The company has recently teamed up with Sara Lee to sample Senseo coffee pod systems and 700,0000 coffee samples at 2,000 bed and breakfasts nationwide.
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