The proprietor of the De Verborgen Parel Bed and Breakfast in the Lilmburg municipality of Borgloon says that she is fed up to the back teeth of influencers sending her mails offering to promote her business in exchange for a free stay at the B&B. Sandra Wilmans says that when she declines the influencers’ offers they often reply with angry emails. She told journalists that “Sometimes the so-called influencers only have a hundred or a thousand followers”.
Limburg Bed and breakfast proprietor is fed up with “arrogant” influencers that want a free stay
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Sandra Wilmans is clear. Anyone that wants to stay at De Verborgen Parel has to pay for their stay. Nevertheless, every month she receives mails from infuencers that request a free stay at her B&B in exchange for advertising on social media.
She told VRT News that "Often these are ‘wannabe influencers’, that don’t have a very big reach’. When Sandra Wilmans rejects their offers, she often receives angry replies in her mailbox.
"One person even threatened to discredit my B&B on the internet because I wouldn’t let them stay for free”.
"Of course, I have nothing against influencers. There was someone that once came to stay here and after her stay she posted a lot of stuff on her channels. This caused an increase in reservations afterwards”.
"But you can’t count your chickens before they have hatched, and online promotions don’t pay my bills. Anyone that that wants to book a room here must pay for it. Afterwards we can always see if we can arrange something in exchange for promotion”, Ms Wilmans told VRT News.