What Hospitality Products Should I Purchase First?

It’s one of the most common questions asked by potential customers: “We’ve just bought a new property. What hospitality products should we purchase first?”

Unfortunately, there’s no single correct answer to this question. In fact, InnStyle has questions of their own: How many rooms does your property have? Are you buying a property that was already in use, or building something new? Are you turning your home into a bed & breakfast? Or a country inn, where you’ll be serving breakfast and dinner?

By asking these questions, staff can gather the information they need to advise customers about the right hospitality products for their property.

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For Bed Linens, Innkeepers Know Quality Trumps Price

InnStyle’s parent company, County Linen, opened its doors in 1952. That’s a long, long time. Not many businesses can say they have survived for that long.

Like the name suggests, InnStyle started as a linen store, a small family business run by Jack Sternthal. As time went on, Jack’s sons graduated from college and joined the family business. The company eventually had three locations, with the main store moving to a 30,000-sq. foot building where they provided linens, furniture, accessories, flooring, custom window treatments, and bedding.

InnStyle was launched in 1988. Starting with a catalog, they began providing bed and breakfast properties with quality bed linens and other items for their rooms.

InnStyle began with customers who owned bed and breakfast properties in tourist destinations like New Hope, PA, and Lambertville, N.J., coming to shop at their store in Doylestown.

But it eventually morphed into an internet shopping experience, as their innkeepers began to put their businesses online. Visitors to their site can now find wholesale and retail shopping carts.

So why are they talking about all this?

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Set Sail with InnStyle For the 2017 AIHP Conference

Every year around this time, the team at InnStyle rolls up its sleeves and starts prepping for the annual AIHP conference. InnStyle is a charter founding member and allied partner of AIHP.

This year, the staff at InnStyle, will be headed to Long Beach, CA, where the AIHP (Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals) will hold the InnSpire Conference and Knowledge Sharing Summit & Marketplace.

Scheduled for January 29 through February 1 aboard the Queen Mary, the retired ocean liner turned hotel and tourist destination. This year, the AIHP is working with Select Registry and the California Association of Boutique and Breakfast Inns to host the event.

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Give The Gift Of Warmth To A Homeless Person

Give a Gift — Donate A Blanket For The Homeless

“It’s better to give than to receive.”

That little bit of wisdom tends to come up a lot during the winter holidays. It’s only after people get a little older – and gain some wisdom of their own – that they discover it’s true.

When people are kids, part of the joy of Christmas comes from getting gifts. When they grow up, they discover the joy of giving gifts.

And while it feels great to give gifts to family and friends, what if you could give a gift to a stranger?

This year, InnStyle is giving you the opportunity to do just that.Continue reading →

Innkeepers: Offer Guests a Gift Shop for the Holidays

For some people, one of the most memorable parts of a trip – whether that’s at a hotel, bed and breakfast, or vacation rental property – is the room where they stayed.

And many innkeepers are taking advantage of this idea – and thus creating more revenue – by essentially setting up a gift shop. But rather than selling, say, t-shirts and postcards, these gift shops allow guests to purchase the sheets, towels, robes, and other amenities they enjoyed during their stay.

If this sounds familiar, it is. It’s a topic we addressed earlier this year. But with December – and the gift-giving season – just around the corner, we thought we’d bring up this idea of a gift shop again.

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Which Offers More Comfort: A Hotel, B&B or a Vacation Rental?

When the first economy hotels opened years ago, they catered to people whose top priority was price not comfort.

Their clientele were families on a budget, or business travelers moving from town to town and needing little more than a clean bed and bath.

But as time went on, these hotels began to upgrade. They provided free breakfast, bought better bath towels and duvets and – when the time came – began offering free WiFi. That’s why today’s traveler is expecting more, and often getting more for their money.

And it’s not just hotels. InnStyle has been advising their bed and breakfast customers for years that they must step up their game to compete.

B&B and country inn properties have always offered amenities, clean and well-put-together rooms, terrific breakfasts, and concierge services. (Innkeepers are very knowledgeable about their towns).

But as time has passed, hotels have also begun to offer breakfast and some amenities. (Although InnStyle has noticed this doesn’t always extend to bath amenities other then soap & shampoo, unless you ask for them specifically).

So if hotels are offering some of the same comfort amenities as bed and breakfasts, what’s the difference between a hotel and a B&B?

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What is Napped Fabric?

In a recent blog post, InnStyle discussed a number of the different types of blankets they have for sale, including cotton, down-filled, and polyester fleece.

But they didn’t mention blankets made from a napped fabric, which are an important – and extremely comfortable – part of our collection, available for sale on InnStyle’s website.

Napped fabric refers to a process in which both sides of a piece of woven or knit fabric are teased and raised and/or sheared off to make them even. The raised fibers of napped fabric all lie in one direction, making the fabric look and feel different when seen or touched from different angles.

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Join InnStyle at the 2016 VRMA Conference in Arizona

InnStyle is heading west next month for the 2016 VRMA Conference in Arizona.

The VRMA—Vacation Rental Managers Association—gathers each year to discuss the state of the industry. This year’s conference is scheduled for Oct. 16-19 at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, just outside Phoenix.

“With more than 50 educational sessions and a vendor showcase boasting more than 70 industry-leading vendors, the national conference dives deeper into the ‘why’ of vacation rental management, providing in-depth insight on business strategy, industry trends and sales/marketing,” the VRMA says on its website.

The conference includes talks on issues such as reaching millennial travelers, working with realtors to market your properties, and dealing with restrictive municipal regulations.

InnStyle think that it’s a great opportunity. It gives their team a chance to learn more about the industry and to share their products with vacation rental property owners and managers from all over the country.

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