Meet Candace Foy

Candace Foy said…
When we decided to buy a B&B, life was so chaotic. Whilst the idea seemed great, the marketing nuances behind growing a B&B were very foreign to my husband and I. Initially, if I’m being transparent, I was a bit embarrassed about how messy life and work had got and was concerned about being judged when I started coaching, as I’m a real perfectionist. At first the thought of having coaching was intimidating. Showing someone you barely know, the intimate parts of your working life and sharing the hard stuff was both confronting and a relief. Prior to starting I was overwhelmed and unsure about my ability to achieve the goals we had, when starting the B&B, as it was all new to me.

I recognised from the get-go, Genevieve was someone who had so much expertise in the areas I needed help in. Accountability was important to us. I did what I was asked on a weekly basis as I didn’t want to waste any time. I made sure I got the most out of it. We implemented fantastic packaging to provide more value to our guests. We were able to articulate the value of these packages, rather than just a sell a room night to our guests. We learnt about the importance of customer experience, offering our guests so much more value for money for their stay, increasing length of stay and improving the overall customer journey. The ability to know how to do comparative research in a regional city was also important and a great learning. I then understood our value in the market. How we may have similarities to other like-products, yet we’re also unique and how to ask great questions of customers to better understand what makes us unique. I have a “Gen” that sits on my shoulder reminding me of my key learnings. I still now frequently reference “It’s about the Why. Why it is important? Why does this matter to the guest, our customers. These questions are imprinted in my brain.

We have gone from an average of 50% to 95% occupancy year-round and increased our average room rate by 50-95% in low and peak season including no longer offering 1 night stays. I no longer feel conscious charging people higher rates, because I clearly understand the value of our product as it is meeting and exceeding guest expectations and the resounding feedback continues to encourage us to improve on our product and service.

I loved so many things about working with our Tourism Coach, no minute was wasted, I never left sessions wondering what to do or what I needed to do. We always had a clear action plan at the end of each session from call to call. I always left calls feeling more confident than I went in and recognised I knew more than I thought I did. I learnt and still use my business blueprint and strategies that I will continue implementing for years to come.