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Perhaps For Me, They'll Add An 'Extended Stay' Option

By Dean Rotbart

Good for Kevin and Belma Marshall.

The Granby, Ct. couple hit PR pay dirt this month when their 1812 Colonial bed and breakfast was featured on The Associated Press national newswire and subsequently picked up by newspapers and television news networks throughout the country.

The Marshalls proved once again that you don't have to be the size of the  Marriott Corp. or Hilton Hotels to get great publicity.  You just have to be creative and timely.

The Marshalls' B&B is no more and no less newsworthy than 10,000 similar mom and pop lodges sprinkled throughout the United States. 

According to the AP story, the Marshalls bought the Dutch Iris Inn in 1996, shortly after their marriage, and upgraded the place to include newly finished bathrooms and wireless Internet, among other fresh amenities.

Kevin Marshall was an accountant who wanted a change of pace.  His wife had planned to become a dentist.

Not exactly the stuff that typically produces PR legends.

Yet innkeeping agreed with Kevin and Belma, so they threw themselves into the Dutch Iris Inn and, according to the AP, "developed a reputation among business travelers as an alternative to corporate hotels and among couples as a romantic weekend getaway."

Nice story.  Happening ending.  But certainly NOT nationally newsworthy.

Not until a couple of Kevin's accounting clients suggested he add overnight tax preparation to his 'room service' menu.  Combine that creative business concept with the media's perennial need to report something fresh each April 15^th, and voila:  The Dutch Iris Inn is primetime.

Individuals or couples who show up at Kevin and Belma's B&B not only get a quaint night away from the mega-hotels, they get to rid themselves of their tax preparation headaches.  Best of all, the stay is tax-deductible because it qualifies as a tax preparation charge.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a business and PR mega-success story. 

What can you do to elevate your business story -- and hence your business -- from the ordinary to the extraordinary?   

Visit the Dutch Iris Inn.

April 15, 2003

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