Thought I might restart this thread with a mini update and elaborate each point and others a bit more over the coming days and weeks. I'm sure the odd TD member would have wondered how the business was going with COVID impacting the industry. So here goes....
1. We are going gang-busters...record month after record month. About to host our 200th guest group and have our 700th guest inhouse today. Think this is our 15th month of operation.
2. COVID shut us down end of March, lost maybe 12,000 baht in business.
3. We did the COVID health and safety training, got certified by the MoH and reopened on 8 June. Spend about 8,000 baht on COVID related preparations, mainly cleaning and sanitation supplies and signage.
4. We invested a further 60,000 baht in the business...proper roadside signage, extra mountain bikes, flatscreen televisions in the guestrooms, floor rugs and we standardized crockery between levels 1 and 2 and what we use personally and what we use for the homestay.
5. We changed our pricing models for our three distribution channels...direct, Booking.com and Agoda and are achieving more than 10% revenue increase per pax per night in our second season. We also use these channels differently and offer different products in each. On the external channels we are now one of the more expensive Pua options, but we are still selling well on them.
6. We now have a cost tracking system updated daily and can generate accurate monthly financial performance figures when we capture the end of month stock-take. We are quite profitable.
7. We have promoted our Thai breakfast over the English style breakfast. It is simpler (we get it in from a nearby restaurant as does several other homestays and resorts) and cheaper.
8. We have very high guest review scores on Booking.com, Agoda and Google (both profiles...sigh!). On Booking we are at 9.8 after 31 reviews, the highest in the Pua area and in the top five for Nan province.
9. We have an amazing reputation for our customer service, view, food, quality and cleanliness. We get a lot of referral business and quite a few return guests including one that has returned three times.
10. We are so busy and heavily booked that we have to turn down more than 95% of callers and messages (via LINE and Messenger) for availability in the <2 month window.
11. We now use our own organically grown tomatoes, chilis, papaya, passionfruits and cucumbers most of the time. Our own made passionfruit jam is popular with many guests asking to buy some. We give them a small jar free.
12. We sell our own made cookies and mail them to guests.
13. Our on arrival afternoon teas featuring own made brownies, cream and hot tea/coffee are extremely popular.
14. Our two Labrador dogs (Thunder and Storm) are popular after being shown on a popular travel blogger YT video earlier in the year. On several occasions the first thing a newly arrived guest wants to do is meet them.
15. We let some dogs stay as a trial. Worked out okay so far, less problems than infants.