Ever hear a person say, “Tell me what you want to sell, I’ll sell it. It’s only a question of marketing”? Certainly, when one thinks of marketability, Tuscany can be an easy sell: bell’Italia, history, art, cucina, culture, landscape, wine, olive oil…. We are a church center but obviously also a commercial activity, so of course we too are into selling. The idea that anything can be sold by good marketing, however, is a bit frightening. It is frightening because we also are the target of the salesperson and frightening when we respect those to whom we wish to sell.
How concerned are we with the quality of what we are selling? How important is the interest of the buyer--in this case, our guest? A while back in a meeting in the next town one of the political leaders pointed out this and that should be done to attract the tourist. What he said made sense, but it dawned on me at the moment that we as sellers should not sell, so to speak, our souls. First we have to think about the quality of life of those of us living here the entire year, a natural consequence of which is the quality of life of those who visit us. The discussion evolved around the conditions of the viability, of care of the land, of public services, of security, of heritage, of education. In there anything is this list that is important to the locals but not to guests?
In Italy in general, and certainly in Tuscany in particular, considerable attention is devoted to content and marketability. Tourism has suffered in the past couple years. The reasons are several and it has been a good occasion for self criticism. Perhaps sometimes the beautiful image did not correspond with the article offered. Resting on one’s laurels is not enough. Fortunately there seems to be a realization that many travellers are demanding service and reasonable cost combined with quality.
Casa Cares also has its content and package. At Casa Cares we have tried different packaging and have found that our most effective presentation to potential clients remains word-of-mouth. We are working on necessary improvements of our site (when will there be new photos!?). Maybe you have noticed something. We certainly welcome suggestions.
The start of a new guest season is a time that we also review our content. The villa has been spruced up, new volunteers are about to arrive, and we are ready to welcome our guests and to assist in their various needs. The particular content we offer is an historical farm villa; the beautiful Tuscan countryside; simple, comfortable, reasonably priced accommodation; the products of our land; good, healthy meals; information and assistance for the guests; space for meetings and activities inside the villa and on the land; sensitivity to environmental issues. We have a good number of bookings for the year and hopefully we can maximize for our guests the benefits of our offer.
In February we again held the Waldensian commemoration for religious liberty in Italy. The traditional bonfire was preceded again by a fine buffet and by a conference in which three of our Tuscan pastors—Baptist and Waldensian from Florence and the woman Waldensian pastor from Siena—spoke about their lives with special challenges and satisfactions.
Our newsletter 2010 has gone out and is available on our site. It includes an appeal for help with the renovation of our chapel which before 1780 was a private theatre for the owners. The space would be appreciated for meditation, worship, music, theatre, and art.
How concerned are we with the quality of what we are selling? How important is the interest of the buyer--in this case, our guest? A while back in a meeting in the next town one of the political leaders pointed out this and that should be done to attract the tourist. What he said made sense, but it dawned on me at the moment that we as sellers should not sell, so to speak, our souls. First we have to think about the quality of life of those of us living here the entire year, a natural consequence of which is the quality of life of those who visit us. The discussion evolved around the conditions of the viability, of care of the land, of public services, of security, of heritage, of education. In there anything is this list that is important to the locals but not to guests?
In Italy in general, and certainly in Tuscany in particular, considerable attention is devoted to content and marketability. Tourism has suffered in the past couple years. The reasons are several and it has been a good occasion for self criticism. Perhaps sometimes the beautiful image did not correspond with the article offered. Resting on one’s laurels is not enough. Fortunately there seems to be a realization that many travellers are demanding service and reasonable cost combined with quality.
Casa Cares also has its content and package. At Casa Cares we have tried different packaging and have found that our most effective presentation to potential clients remains word-of-mouth. We are working on necessary improvements of our site (when will there be new photos!?). Maybe you have noticed something. We certainly welcome suggestions.
The start of a new guest season is a time that we also review our content. The villa has been spruced up, new volunteers are about to arrive, and we are ready to welcome our guests and to assist in their various needs. The particular content we offer is an historical farm villa; the beautiful Tuscan countryside; simple, comfortable, reasonably priced accommodation; the products of our land; good, healthy meals; information and assistance for the guests; space for meetings and activities inside the villa and on the land; sensitivity to environmental issues. We have a good number of bookings for the year and hopefully we can maximize for our guests the benefits of our offer.
In February we again held the Waldensian commemoration for religious liberty in Italy. The traditional bonfire was preceded again by a fine buffet and by a conference in which three of our Tuscan pastors—Baptist and Waldensian from Florence and the woman Waldensian pastor from Siena—spoke about their lives with special challenges and satisfactions.
Our newsletter 2010 has gone out and is available on our site. It includes an appeal for help with the renovation of our chapel which before 1780 was a private theatre for the owners. The space would be appreciated for meditation, worship, music, theatre, and art.
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