Maine Bed and Breakfast Creates Free Gift Certificate

RECESSION FOSTERS CREATIVITY IN SMALL BUSINESS

This holiday season has witnessed a flurry of emails from retailers with special promotions and an equal number of emails with warnings about gift cards from major retailers. Hundreds of retailers have plans to close stores across the country making it difficult or even impossible to redeem gift cards. In years past, gift cards were an easy way to give a gift but this year that trend has clearly reversed.

When faced with tremendous uncertainties in the financial markets a small Inn in Gorham, Maine has taken their future into their own hands with the creation of a unique gift card program. This gift card or gift certificate is believed to be the first of its kind and according to the owners, “Creates a one of a kind win-win-win situation. My business wins, the consumer wins and the person who receives the gift card wins. A win- win- win situation.” In today’s economy, everyone has become accustomed to the unfortunate idea of loosing money in the stock market, retirement accounts and the value of our homes. This program stands out as shining example of a business becoming creative.

To call this idea a run of the mill gift card program would be an understatement. It’s almost like an investment/gift card program. What makes it incredibly different and perhaps very exciting is this classy Inn in Southern Maine will pay you just for buying a gift card. Each card comes with two things; first it has a yearly cash back incentive based on the original value of the card purchase. The buyer receives a 4% cash back rebate at the end of every year for a minimum of five years or as long as the gift card program exists. The yearly rebates continue even after the cards have been redeemed. Secondly, at the end of the program the last rebate check is for the original value of the gift card. Yes, the Inn is rebating 100% of the purchase.

The owners agree that the program sounds too good to be true so they often have to repeat the details. If you didn’t catch it the first time, the cards return 4% of the purchase value in cash to the buyer each year of the program and at the end of the program the buyer receives the full face value of the original purchase price even if the cards were redeemed, given away or lost.

Example: You buy 4 gift cards at $125 each for holiday gifts. At the end of the year, you will receive a check for $20. Each year you will receive another check for $20. In this example, its only $20 but you will continues to receive this end-of- year “rebate” for at least five years or until the end of the program. After the program ends you will receive the original amount you paid back. In this example, you purchased $500 in gift cards and now you receive that back. Someone once said there is no such thing as a free lunch but he might just have been wrong.

The Inn offering this unique gift card program is a top rated small Bed and Breakfast Inn located in southern Maine called “PineCrest Bed and Breakfast Inn”. The Inn offers premium lodging; fine dining three nights a week, live music and wine tastings. Although currently a 7 room Inn, the owners are using the proceeds from the gift card program as a creative way to help grow the business.

The gift card program creates a pool of funds that finance an expansion that will house additional luxury rooms, a handicapped accessible room for quadriplegics, an indoor personal spa pool and more. "Picture a Bed and Breakfast Inn with Resort style amenities and affordable" is how the owners describe their vision of the Inn.


For more information on the gift card or gift certificate program go to www.visitmainegiftcard.com. Or you can contact the creaters directly at matt@pinecrestmaine.com or go to www.pinecrestmaine.com

Gas, Toilet Paper and the American Vacation

First let me state for the record that I am not implying the American Vacation is in the toilet. Not even close. Even though many spend a great deal of money travelers spend, ends up in the toilet, that's not what I am writing about. For right now, flush all the bad toilet jokes.


Ask yourself, what do these three items have in common? You can certainly guess what two of the items have in common. But the third... that could be a little more perplexing. Toilet paper and Gasoline. Not as unrelated as you might think.

Let me explain. Each year millions of Americans take to the road in search of the American Vacation. But to be precise, there is no such thing as a typical American vacation. For some, it's a weekend trip to grandma's house. For others, it's a week spent in a quiet remote bed and breakfast. Some find themselves in a beach front plastic molded resort where feigned perfection is by design and not by accident.

For most Americans, the true vacation is time spent with family and friends while experiencing a few moments in time that we think about all year long. We work all year long in order to buy back a few days of what was originally ours to begin with. Time: A real vacation is time to do nothing. No choices to make, no pressing matters to address, no email to send, just time to have, period. We all have it, it's ours, even if we don't want it, but we have to buy it in order to truly enjoy it. Why does something we have for free cost us so much?

But that's another story, so let me continue. According to AAA, this year Americans will spend on average about .50 cents more per gallon of gas than last year. According the industry experts, the increase in "at the pump prices" will affect the number of people traveling. As an Innkeeper, this doesn't make sense. Last year we watched as the pump price climbed by 50 cents or more. But people came in droves to New England. So once again we are watching the pump and are showing concerns that the price will change peoples minds.

But let me take you back a few years. Do you remember in 1973 there was a shortage of toilet paper for several weeks in the United States. No reason, we just ran out. Or did we? On the night of December 19th 1973, Johnny Carson made a joke about a shortage on toilet paper. The next day, 20 million Americans ran to the grocery store to stock up on toilet paper. The shoppers who followed the rush saw the empty shelves and they too believed in the shortage and began to buy up toilet paper leading to even more panic buying. Three weeks passed before we woke up a realized that there was nothing to worry about. Our bathrooms would continue to be a safe place to retreat to without a newspaper.

It's rather funny when you think about it. So today, AAA releases hard industry data that says the prices are officially higher than last year. Almost .50 cents higher and then concluded that the increase of 50 cents will result in fewer people traveling. And magically, fewer people will travel. Now those who depend on the tourism industry for a living start to suffer and feel the brunt of this effect while our oil companies friends post higher than ever profits. But that's another story. What if the experts were to issue a report that read "travel will surge this year with more people exploring parts of the country they have never seen despite record gas prices." Would it actually happen?

Would just the thought and public statement that it's ok to travel and that the affirmation that it won't cost too much more, actually result in more people traveling. The truth is this. A family driving from New York to spend five days near Portland Maine and then driving back would only spend about 27$ more than they did last year on gas for the trip. Is $27 enough to cancel their plans for a wonderful relaxing five day trip. I can hear the so-called experts now. Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah. How did I arrive at that figure? Let me keep it simple so the travel experts can understand. Let's figure a 320 mile drive from New York to Maine, 100 miles a day for some sightseeing and then a 320 mile return trip. Add it up. That's about 940 miles and if gas prices are up by .50 cents a gallon and lets say our family is getting about 20 miles per gallon in their mid sized car they would consume about 47 gallons during the trip. Factor an increase in gas prices of 50 cents: that means a family pays about $23.50 more in fuel. But I always drive more than I think I will, so does our example family and they too end up with an extra couple hundred miles of driving the trip they still spend less than $30 more than the same trip did last year. That's it! Thirty dollars! If I could wave a magic wand and lower oil prices I would. But what I can do is send a message to those who stir up unnecessary panic in the tourism industry. "STOP IT". Your very words are hurting the core of the American Economy. Whether it's toilet paper or gasoline, travel predictions or high tide, people have to stop believing what they read and just start enjoying life the way it was meant to be.

Life was meant to be lived, not slept through. Dreams are for the awake, not the sleeping.

Travel fair and live well.

Matt Mattingly is an Innkeeper living in Gorham, Maine and operating the PineCrest Bed and Breakfast Inn. A 7 room, highly personalized Inn in the heart of Gorham Village and convenient to all of southern Maine.

Matt MattinglyPineCrest Bed and Breakfast Inn
91 South StreetGorham, Maine 04038
Phone: (207)839-5843
Email: Matt@PineCrestMaine.com
Website: http://www.pinecrestmaine.com/