Failure, success and hospitality with Yvonne Halling

Ep #10 - Failure, success and hospitality with Yvonne Halling

Today, we are speaking with Yvonne Halling.

She will also be speaking at the direct booking success summer in September; Yvonne, welcome to the podcast.

We work with clients all over the world. It's all online, and we typically help clients to increase their business by at least 25% in one season while working less and having more fun, having an easier.

Lovely. That's what we're all.

Right. And I was one of those people as. And then, I've always enjoyed that in my life. I'm a qualified soft furnisher, and I'm a qualified interior designer and upholster. I love homemaking. I love cooking. I studied at the Cordon bleu school. You know, I've done lots of things in my life that equipped me, I think to be, to be a really good host.

Now you. I didn't speak any French at all. Well, I thought I did, you know, but when you get there, you don't speak any French at all. That's right. That's right. Apart, from a few holiday phrases. Yeah. That is really good. so I set about while he was doing his MBA, I decided that I was gonna learn French.

So I set about doing that and it. Hugely a lot of fun, a lot of fun, and very embarrassing as well at the same time, but we all learned to speak good French, all four of us learned to speak good French in that first year. And then he was the top student in his class, on his MBA and he. Uh, because he'd been in the wine business before we'd both been in the wine business for a long time.

he was, invited to go and work at Moet in champagne. Wow.

So we rented a house because we didn't know how long this was gonna last. And, And so he started his marvellous job at Moet and he was travelling quite a lot. He was sales director for Australia, New Zealand, far east. And because he spoke Japanese, he was flying to, you know, working in Japan quite a lot as well.

They knew about the drink. Yes. But they didn't know it was a region. So it was actually at that time, the the least visited area of France it's Northeast. It doesn't have any beaches, you know, it's not, it doesn't have the appeal of the Cote Azure for example or even the west coast. So it was a very kind of backwards place to live with rural people.

And the rural way of life. And, and, and I'm not saying that it, I didn't enjoy it. I did, it was, I learned so much there, but after, but it must have been hard for you. It

Yeah. So what was, what

I. I needed something to occupy me and the girls while he was away all the time with his fabulous job. Right. We were living separate lives. Yes. We were living two parallel lives here. He had the marvellous job with all the glamour and the glitz that you'd expect from working for a company like Moet Chandon.

But there's kind of two types of houses. There are the modern houses that are nicely built, nicely insulated, and quite small. and usually on what they call Lotti small, which is like, an estate. And then there's the old houses which have fallen into disrepair quite a long time ago and often need quite a lot of work.

Right.

Yeah. Cause it was just me and the girls. Right. And how did you get

So I had a, signout saying, saying Jeep de France, which it had some credibility in the, in the, in those days, I dunno about now. and the tourist office in Epena a mm-hmm , listed me on, you know, cuz people would generally go to the tourist office and say, where can we stay? Yeah. I

We didn't do it much when he was there. It was really a hobby for me, primarily and the girls and we had a ball, we had a ball and then of course people started becoming regulars. You know, they, because they'd found a little English enclave right. In, rural, in rural France. And, and they, you know, cuz it is a good stopping off point on the way south between Cali and yes it is.

It's about halfway the and the Alps yes, it's a, it's about a third of the. Yeah. so that, you know, that we, we became quite popular when we wanted it. It wasn't a business right. They could get

So

Right. We didn't, we didn't have the internet as we have it now. So I was a, I'd had enough of living in a foreign country and being a foreigner and being an outsider. Being a single parent. and you know, everything that living in a foreign country, I'm sure you can relate. You can never be a native. No, you, you, there's always a barrier.

Yeah, yeah, no, I get

and it got me down, you know, mm-hmm , after, after 10 years I'd had enough. So I said, I've got an idea. Let's rent the house out. The French house. Let's go back to the UK. The girls were 12 and 14 and I spent almost their entire life in France.

well, you know, there's always a silver lining and that's what comes later. Yeah. But at the time it was just one thing after another, for a start, my husband was. In the middle of having a breakdown, which we didn't actually recognize. Okay. Yes. He lost his job. He was 50 years old. Yeah. And he hadn't been able to get another one and it was losing confidence and then his mother died.

So there, there was that our youngest daughter did not like England at all. Mm. She missed her French friends. Of course, even though she was not doing well at school, she had a good circle of friends. She missed her French, her French life. And she struggled with that for about four years. Self-harming we had to get a psychologist.

Oh my goodness. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then, and then we started, so we started a business, right? Cause we didn't know what else to do. This is completely new to us. We'd never really been in business before. Mm-hmm and I think this is a good point because if you've never been in business before, it's a completely different.

Mindset that you need to being an employee. We'd been employees, all of our life. I'd had this little BMB hobby on the side. It wasn't really a business. And so I didn't really understand anything about marketing, about how to get in front of your ideal clients at this point. Mm-hmm . So we started a business importing, small champagne brands from our friends back in France, not big brands.

I bet. Uh, these days you can just, you can knock something together for very little money, but in those days it was thousands mm-hmm . So anyway that we were selling our, the champagne, we had, uh, we had a small warehouse. We had, we had some good clients. We were selling champagne to restaurants, bars in, in, around, we were in south for Manchester at the time.

Mm okay. In Cheshire and we were renting a house there cuz we had still, we were still renting out our French house to tenants and we, anyway, that, that business was quite difficult because the, the internet was so new, right? Yes. so that kind of faded away a little bit that, that business and then we started another business doing champagne tastings and events.

for, uh, corporate clients and we focus mainly on big banks and financial institutions in and around south Manchester where we were living. Uh, H boss was a really good client, RBS HSBC, some of the peripheral financial services companies and solicitors and accountants. We were doing lots of events for those, for their clients, corporate events and selling some of the champagne as.

And so we cashed in our pensions cuz we, it was our last part of money while we figured out what the heck to do next. Yes. , meanwhile, the tenants had left the house in France and we were looking for another tenant. So we decided that we would rent it out as a holiday home. And we went with the pension money.

so I'm thinking, whoa, at least we got somebody to live. My eldest daughter didn't come, so that was difficult. Okay. She was very happy in Manchester. So how old

Yes. Right. She just slotted back into school. Like she never left. It was like 24 hours. It was so amazing to witness. Anyway, we, I reopened the B and B and it was just the hobby thing, you know? Yeah. It was just, I was so worn out with everything that had gone out gone on the previous five years. Husband was still depressed.

Yes . Yeah. So after I sort of picked myself up off the floor, I said to the bayliffs what do I need to do to keep my home mm-hmm and they said, you need to contact the bank. They've been trying to get in contact you with you for a year. and I didn't know this right. And. I didn't know, we hadn't paid the mortgage for a year.

I mean, if I'd thought about it, I probably should have known. Yeah. Given the state of my husband and his mental state, I should have known and the state of our finances, but I haven't registered it. So at that moment I thought I gotta do something. And it looks like it, you know, it's down to me. So I wrote a long letter to the bank.

Told, gave them the whole nine yards, the whole saga. And I said, I propose to pay you this much of month and here's how I'm gonna do it. so I laid out a whole plan for the B B business at this stage. Right. Because what I'd learned, Jen, in all of that failure and in all of that mess that had gone on in the previous five years in the UK, I had learned a ton about online marketing.

Of course. Yeah. And I didn't know that I'd learned it until I started to put it to work. In my B and B and it took off like a rocket mm-hmm . Yes. So I made a goal, , with the bank. I made a, a deal with the bank and they accepted my proposal, which was pretty hairy waiting for that news, but they accepted my proposal and I told them I was gonna make 40,000 euros that year.

And here's how here's how I'm gonna do it. Right. And so. October, I'd made 40,000 euros. Wow. And I was like, wow. I wonder if I can make 50,000. Yeah. So this is a little, little gem as well, by the, by the time we closed, uh, I think it was the 19th or the 20th of December and family were coming Christmas. I had made something like 49,600 and something.

Right. Yeah. And I thought I'd given it my best shot. Right. I haven't quite made the 50, but I'm gonna be happy with that. Yeah, for sure. Yes. And then, and then. On new year's Eve two couples phoned and said they wanted a room and dinner and to buy some champagne for that night, could they come? And even though we were closed, even though family were there, I said, yes.

And that tipped me over the 50th. really brilliant. It was incredible. I mean, just incredible the way that that happened. And of course the following. I made 104,495 euros with just four rooms. No online travel agents were my own work. That is so

I didn't know you very well. I knew a bit about your story being in champagne, but that's about it. I did not know all of that. that is amazing. And so how is it? So then you did end up selling at some point, but how not yet, but how is the family at this stage? How's is your husband starting to come out of

He's still in pretty bad shape. The family was in pretty bad shape, for the whole of the next seven years. Okay. Yes, it was. And so, uh, so that business was really mine. Mm-hmm and I ran it. I, you know, I ran it like a business. I had someone to do the laundry. I had someone to do the garden. I had someone to do the cleaning.

I worked with local people. I, I believe in working within the community. Yes. uh, my philosophy is that I'm the bringer of the money. As the B&B as the short term rental or whatever, the hospitality business is the bringer of new money mm-hmm into, into the community. It's my job to make sure that they spend as much of that money.

Yeah. I couldn't, my job is just to be with the guests, give them the best experience possible and to bring more yeah, those are my jobs

Nope. Okay. Right. I wasn't heard of it expecting you to say that. I know I, I was just as shocked, right. They contacted me on LinkedIn and they said, they're looking for the consultants who can create and deliver training. Can you do it? And I said, yes, cuz at this point I was actually helping other people.

Yeah. it works right. and I'm going well. Yeah. yeah. Yeah. So I made a little program, right. I created a little program cuz I got fed up repeating myself and I said, you know, just, and it was really, I think it was 97 bucks. Right? Mm-hmm it was just a few things. It was just a, a few things that moved the, you know, that moved the needle for people.

I know how to coach. Because one of the things that I did actually, when we were in the UK, which I missed off, was learn how to be a coach, cuz you know, we had a very, uh, depressed daughter and a depressed husband in our family. And I, so I learned my N LP practitioner and master practitioner became a coach.

So I had those skills as well. Yeah. That I really only learned for the benefit of my family. I didn't wanna be. A coach. Yeah. Per se, you thought they would help you any with yeah. Yes, definitely. I learned a ton of skills in during all of that chaos. I'd learned a ton of skills. I also, during that time met with personal development for the first time in my life.

Mm-hmm which completely floored. Completely flawed me well, were

Nice. And I know cuz it's a completely different mentality. Isn't it? It is. It is, it is you have to be continuously improving yourself to be able to cope with everything. Yes. Not just the skills, but mentally

Wow. It was crazy. It was crazy, but great fun. Mm-hmm great fun. I ended up on Kurdish TV uh, I mean, it was just crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. I thought this English, English superstar

Nope

It is a crazy

Right. And. And you fought to save it. Yes. And, and it has served us very well. It was a beautiful house, really big house. Right. And, but, you know, there's always a downside. The downside to that it needs constant work. Right. Constant work. It's an old house. And. You know, the, all the logical reasons, all the rational reasons for not investing any more money in that property were there.

Right. It just didn't make any financial sense whatsoever. So the only reason that we were hanging onto it and we were, was emotional. Right. And so there had to come a time where I, we had to just be sensible about this. Right. And stop hankering after the past, you know, what was, has gone. And to look forwards to what else do we want to create in our lives?

So, yes. I mean, I, I do miss it from time to time, but, but you know, that was then mm-hmm and it was brilliant. All of it. And this is now, this is now.

So your summit presentation is going to be on how to fill your rooms in the low season. Now, if you were in your B, B, you were open all year round.

pretty much we did close for two weeks in August, funnily enough. Oh, okay. Yes, yes, yes. Be. And there's a reason for that, because of the area. and also, we closed first two weeks of January as well.

Well, I'm really looking forward to hearing more

Yes. Before they do anything. And then the panic sets in that's right. The panic sets in, it's a common question. And I think, and it's really easy to solve. Right. But it starts with the mindset we were talking about earlier. Mm-hmm it starts with a mindset and there are. You you've got to be thinking ahead, right?

You can't just, I know it's busy in the high season, obviously, even in champagne, there's a high season and a low season, but you can flatten it. You can flatten it. Obviously you are gonna make more money in the summer, but you can make money in the winter as well. First of all, you have to pace yourself.

Like I just said, we closed for two weeks in August. Now many people would think, oh, that must be suicide. Actually, it wasn't because it gave me a break and you do need to take a break. Yes. In this business, you cannot work seven days a week. For six months of the year, you cannot, it's impossible. Your guests will feel your energy depleted and they will, they will have a less than perfect experience with you, which will reflect in your reviews.

And it's a downward spiral. You must take time off. However you do that is really entirely up to you. Maybe you think that two weeks in August is suicide and it might be for you, but it wasn't for me. Right. You have to find out, you know, where can I take time off? And that might be two days a week. When you work, you get two days off a week, right?

Saturday and Sunday, if you can't take Saturday and Sunday off, because it's a seasonal tourist business, then, you know, take it two other days off or take one day off or just take some time off.

And we've got to realize that we need that downtime too. Yes,

Exactly. It's all of the attractions as well. Right? so work with them. and make sure that you are promoting other people in your area, at all times of the year, but especially in the low season. So for an example, as an example, right, we worked with, the tourist office in Epena, which was our nearest town mm-hmm and they were keen to extend the season, of course, because you know, more tourists means more taxes, more income for them, right.

For the council, for the town. So they extended, they, they put on a couple of events, in December. And there was another great event that our other town, which was Reims, which was the sort of, we were equi distant a little bit closer to Reims than we were to. Okay. But equi distant really in the vineyards.

In a vineyard village. Reims had a fantastic wine festival going on in November, and we created a special champagne weekend based around the wine festival and then including some of our friends in the village. And we would organize a champagne dinner with one of our friends in their sellers, candle lit you know, experiences that the ordinary tourist could never.

Find on their own. Right. That's what we were looking for. They could easily have gone to the wine festival on their own, but they had us translating. My children helped, you know, they, we, they had guides. We would take the wine back for them. We would just give them a really good experience in champagne in November, in the low season where maybe it was raining, but who cares when you're drinking champagne?

Right? right. People loved it because this is the sort of thing that you cannot. Get access to no, if you don't live there. No. And you can't,

exactly. Yes. And it's a huge marketing opportunity. It's huge. And I don't think many small operators, independent owners take full advantage of this. However, there's another thing that you must do. In order for this to work. And I think this is the key to everything in business and particularly this business, but I think it's the key to everything in every business.

You don't wait until you need the money or the bookings before you ask for it. Yeah. Yep. You, you build relationships in advance so that you've got some emotional bank account money. If you like in the mind, in the hearts and minds of your past guests, primarily, and your social media followers, so that they know who you are, they know what you do.

And so that when you present them with an offer to come and come back and stay with you or come for the first time they already know like and trust you. They already see you as the expert on your area. Yes. They already know that you have got their back, that you have got them covered. And that you are going to give them the best experience that they could ever have in your area.

They've got to know that that's got to be a belief in their minds before you start trying to sell rooms. Yeah. That's

Yeah. Right. Is there anything that you were looking forward to, learning about or hearing about at the summit?

So I'm always looking at things, looking what people are doing online. What's worked here, might work over there, you know, in a different way, but it can be adapted. I'm looking forward to learning myself.

What does direct booking success mean to you?

in this business, just because don't, you know, like me in the beginning, I was, I thought, you know, I'd just be a great host, cuz I'm good at that. Right? Yeah. But it there's so much more to it now than, than there was in the, in the old days. So you have to be prepared to learn the skills. And when you do that will increase your confidence massively and.

To be self-employed generally. And to be, an independent hospitality owner gives you with the skillset, with the mindset. It gives you the freedom to create the life that you want. So you have to, you have to take it. Yeah.

Oh, that sounds brilliant. the second place you can find me is on YouTube. I post at least one video every week. I've got to about just over 4,000 subscribers. You can, ask questions. I always answer comments that, uh, you may, you leave on YouTube, so there's tons of resources for you on YouTube. and then there's my Facebook group.

It's called the bed and breakfast owners group. It's a very dynamic international community. We have tons of resources in there as well. And of course the wisdom and experience of a ton of hosts around the world.

thanks me too.