Killarney based Irish B&B Owners Association and Kerry insight are to lose their founder Michael Sharpe and longtime manager John Dicker to retirement.
Twenty-five years ago Michael launched the award-winning Kerry Insight. It was the first regional website in Ireland and for many years was the number one website for Kerry. As the Internet matured, the website captured millions of visitors and helped the county establish a significant presence on the world wide web.
The team began to find their niche in the promotion of B&B accommodation and in 2002 created the B&B Network. The network later became the Irish B&B Owners Association and provided a welcome low-cost marketing platform for B&Bs in Ireland. Members enjoyed low cost or commission-free bookings, a domain name, a website, booking engine, rooms management system and most importantly a network of directories, portals and regional websites that provided a constant stream of enquiries and bookings.
Splash Marketing has agreed to take over operations and provide continuity for B&B Owners nationwide, some of whom have been clients for over twenty years. Established in 1996, the year after Kerry Insight, Splash has provided design, marketing and Internet services in both in Kerry and the wider market. Both companies saw the synergy between them and quickly agreed on an amalgamation. Splash Director Stephen O’Sullivan said “The guys have done a remarkable job over the years, particularly in light of competition from Online Travel Agents and we are pleased to carry on the work of providing Irish B&Bs with a fair deal. Now is the perfect time as B&Bs take advantage of the re-start programme as we upgrade websites and at the same time, provide an existing source of bookings through the association’s network of websites.”
Splash Marketing are currently working hard building new websites for B&Bs under the re-start scheme and this service will be available to members of the B&B owners Association.
The change over should be fairly seamless but if you have any questions or wish to take advantage of the restart programme please email support@bnbowners.com