This is an excerpt from a White Stone Marketing interview with Jeff Ippoliti, owner of Chatham Inn, on his road to Relais & Châteaux. To watch the full video, please fill out the form at the end of this post.
Always Strive for Excellence
Before Jeff Ippoliti ever found a property he wanted to buy, he contacted Allison Crumpton of White Stone Marketing to start a conversation about what it would take to be successful in the hospitality industry. And, Jeff knows a thing or two about success: From graduating Magna Cum Laude and first in his class in law school, to creating one of the most successful cell phone service companies in the U.S., to founding One of the 5 Best Exotic Car Shows in the World and competing as a race car driver in the Ferrari Challenge, Jeff Ippoliti has always done what it takes to win, and his newest endeavor in the world of innkeeping is no different.
It took Jeff two years of hunting, but with words of wisdom from White Stone Marketing, he pounced when he found the perfect property in Chatham, MA. Jeff and his wife, Kayla, frequently vacationed on the Cape and were looking for more reasons to spend time there. After careful consideration, he purchased an existing inn with a premium location and lots of room for improvement, allowing him to turn it into a winner, just like he’s done in every other avenue of his life.
Create a Plan, and Take Action
After Jeff purchased the inn, he quickly began to renovate and upgrade the property along with its amenities, including adding a premium wine bar and restaurant. The high-end upgrades, along with the idyllic location, gave White Stone Marketing the ammunition needed to start promoting the property as a luxury getaway destination.
Allison Crumpton, co-founder of White Stone Marketing, told Jeff that new logos and a new website were imperative to his success. As we all know, renovation is expensive, so Jeff decided to take on those tasks in stages. He started by getting new logos for both the inn and the restaurant, which could work independently, yet still were tied together stylistically. And though White Stone Marketing didn’t have a new website to work with, we enhanced his existing site by implementing expertly researched SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and backing it up with a robust PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign.
Give Guests What They Want and Need
All of this hard work, both on Jeff’s and White Stone’s part, was quickly noticed by potential guests and bookings began to flow in. With our guidance and best practices for Reputation Management, Chatham Inn’s positive reviews were soon on the rise as well – which of course led to more trust and more bookings!
Jeff was starting to see what was really important to guests and used that knowledge, along with the expertise of White Stone Marketing to successfully buy, renovate and sell two other properties on the neighboring island of Nantucket, all while continuing to work on his boutique hotel in Chatham, MA. Those two profitable property flips left him with the cash flow needed to continue to up his game at the Chatham Inn and Restaurant.
This is an excerpt from a White Stone Marketing interview with Jeff Ippoliti, owner of Chatham Inn, on his road to Relais & Châteaux. To watch the full video, please fill out the form at the end of this post.
Don’t Let Your Efforts Go Unnoticed
Within just a couple of years the awards started to roll in from nationally and internationally recognized hotel reviewers and travel publications! The Chatham Inn quickly became TripAdvisor’s #1 Hotel on Cape Cod; dubbed with their Certificate of Excellence in 2016, and honored with their Travelers’ Choice Awards for 2017, 2018 and 2019. Soon other well-respected publications caught on and mentions of the Inn and Restaurant were made in Travel + Lesiure, Forbes, Fodor’s and more! Over time, Chatham Inn earned prestigious awards including Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence, the trusted AAA 4-Diamond, and the esteemed Forbes 4-Star!
All of this success wasn’t enough for Jeff, and he didn’t stop there. Instead, he used this momentum to invest in the new website White Stone Marketing had suggested from the start. And good thing he did, because it was one of several significant reasons why the industry’s highest award would soon be achieved. Yes, Relais & Châteaux has honored Chatham Inn and Restaurant with their seal of approval. Not only is this a first for a White Stone Marketing client, but it’s the first U.S. property R&C has acknowledged since 2017!
Never Stop Learning and Improving
Currently Jeff is setting his sights on rebranding and promoting the restaurant at the Inn to become a culinary destination. He has already remodeled and found a world-class Chef to head the restaurant and upgrade the menu. White Stone Marketing will be creating new logos, a separate website and a targeted marketing plan. With this newest endeavor, we’re sure he’ll be seeing more awards and stars – possibly even one from Michelin! With Jeff’s propensity for finding the right talent for the right job, the sky’s the limit.
With a nod to Jeff’s love of fast cars, it just goes to show that with the right mix of hard work and proper marketing, you can go from zero to prestigious award winner in just five years. If you want to rise to the top and make your way to the winner’s circle, check out our hotel internet marketing plans and contact us today.
Would You Like to Watch the Full Video?
Fill out the form below and you’ll be automatically forwarded to a page with the video link. Please note that we will email you the password in order to watch the video. This is intended only for Innkeepers.