Things I've learned so far in our 1st year..
Some guests are hard to host and easy to say good-bye to, but many others become friends - we promise to visit when touring their hometown, keep in touch by email, and give hugs all around when saying good-byes. We've had many guests request photos with all of us together on the front porch of the house before they leave. After they're gone, the house seems lonely and we regret that they couldn't have stayed another day or two..
I'm not too much of a talker, but Hubby is. He sits and chats and chats... pours coffee, talks about himself, learns about people... he's very open and unembarrassed when discussing his own life and aspirations. When guests return from a day of exploring and we see them coming up the walkway, we greet them and enjoy hearing all about their adventures (often generally the same from guest to guest, but still nice to see how excited and appreciative people are of new places and landscapes). I tell interesting stories about the house and area, make sure people are not too cold or hot, teach people recipes, and help the quieter and shyer people find a comfortable place to sit, relax, and enjoy the house too.
It's really amazing how different the B&B experience is from a hotel. Hubby and I were remarking the other day that we've had so many absolute strangers come through the house and leave hugging us both as friends. It can be a surprisingly difficult job, but it feels really good when that happens and you know you must be doing something right.
Some guests are hard to host and easy to say good-bye to, but many others become friends - we promise to visit when touring their hometown, keep in touch by email, and give hugs all around when saying good-byes. We've had many guests request photos with all of us together on the front porch of the house before they leave. After they're gone, the house seems lonely and we regret that they couldn't have stayed another day or two..
I'm not too much of a talker, but Hubby is. He sits and chats and chats... pours coffee, talks about himself, learns about people... he's very open and unembarrassed when discussing his own life and aspirations. When guests return from a day of exploring and we see them coming up the walkway, we greet them and enjoy hearing all about their adventures (often generally the same from guest to guest, but still nice to see how excited and appreciative people are of new places and landscapes). I tell interesting stories about the house and area, make sure people are not too cold or hot, teach people recipes, and help the quieter and shyer people find a comfortable place to sit, relax, and enjoy the house too.
It's really amazing how different the B&B experience is from a hotel. Hubby and I were remarking the other day that we've had so many absolute strangers come through the house and leave hugging us both as friends. It can be a surprisingly difficult job, but it feels really good when that happens and you know you must be doing something right.
