Brady grilled steaks for dinner, and it was delicious. And while we were eating, the guys told me some of their plans for increasing the inn’s business.
To my surprise, some of those plans included me.
“What we’re really hoping will drum up business is themed weekends,” Cole began. I didn’t know what he meant, but I wanted to.
Gideon chimed in. “You know those videos we post on our channel? The how-to stuff?”
“Yes.”
“We also offer in-person workshops where we teach people hands on,” he said.
I nodded, but I couldn’t imagine who would attend them. Wouldn’t the people who lived way out here have developed basically the same skill set these guys had? Well, most people probably weren’t as good of cooks as Brady.
Cole nodded when I brought that up. “That’s one of the things we want to offer.”
“Cooking classes?”
“Yes. But also, basic home repair, auto maintenance, carpentry, outdoors skills, and so on.”
“Didn’t you say you already offer classes like that?”
Brady took over. “Yes, but this would be a whole weekend of activities. People could book a two-night stay at the inn and attend the classes for free. One weekend could be on home repair, and the next on outdoor skills, and so on.”
I still didn’t know where they’d find people willing to attend, but on the surface, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. “So where do I come into this?”
Cole smiled, and as always, it was nice to see his normally serious expression lighten up. “Well, think about it. As you’ve pointed out, our inn does have beds and serve breakfast. For couples, who’s more likely to book a weekend stay, the man or the woman?”
“The woman,” I said instantly.
“And your audience is mostly women,” Brady said.
But I still didn’t get it. “So?”
“So, your viewers can book a weekend here for themselves and their boyfriends or husbands. The men won’t sign up themselves, but their girlfriends can do it for them.”
“Yeah, but…” I trailed off. They actually had a point. A lot of times, it was the woman who organized activities for the couple. If women thought their man would have a fun time here doing guy stuff while they got a weekend away, they just might book a stay. “I guess that might work.”
“Only if you’re on board,” Brady said. “And are willing to talk this place up to your audience.”
“I… I’ll think about it.” I knew I would, but not right at this moment. Not when I was full and drowsy from another amazing meal by Brady. The bottom line was that I did want to help these guys, but there was still a lot of baggage between us.”
“Thank you,” Brady said. “That’s all we ask.”
Cole shook his head. “That’s not all I’m going to ask Lila. I’ve been looking at some websites for other small inns, and I found some that I like. Can I show you back in my office and maybe you can tell me which aspects would work best for redoing our website?”
“Now?” I’d been kind of hoping to retire early and spend some time with my vibrator before bed.
“It’ll get you out of doing dishes,” Gideon said shrewdly.
“Now sounds great,” I told Cole.
“See? Look how well their online reservation system integrates with their website. The last thing you want to do is to make your potential customers click away from your website to reserve a room.”
“I thought the last thing we wanted was to make customers actually call us to make a reservation.” Cole sounded a bit grumpy, but I knew he’d come around.
“That too,” I said with a grin. “Really, the changes I’m suggesting aren’t all that much. But once they’re done, you’re going to have a beautiful, responsive website that works for you, not against you.”
“Sounds expensive,” Cole said. “But it also sounds good.”