The BIG move from Aspiring to Actual--Suggestions?

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ChrisandShelley

ChrisandShelley

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I have been browsing this forum for a while, soaking in all the information. What a great site. Thanks to all who contribute. My wife, Shelley, and I are making the big move. We are closing on our Bed & Breakfast on June 1st.
The reality of this has just been overwhelming the last month. Trying to coordinate the move, the handover, getting everything switched to our name, getting our website up, transferring over old booking information to our booking engine, getting the kitchen set up....ok, my stomach is hurting just typing that much.
But we are very excited about getting this venture started. Does anyone have any suggestions, ways that you made the transition smoother?
 
Mine was start-up. No transition other than now ALWAYS having to have the house clean (I what?) and switching from involved in a "discussion" to smiling host in 5 seconds or less.
Best to you. If you have been here a while, you are already farther ahead than I was the day I opened.
 
Relax. (Yeah, right.)
Is the website attached here the new one or the old one?
Making the transition a smooth one...oh, the pitfalls. Are the PO's staying on to help or are you doing pre closing training?
:welcome:
Arks will be happy to see you here.
 
Not to add to any stress, but if you decide later on to complain about guests on here remember it's an open forum and guests can find it. As well as locals, other innkeepers, etc.
That's why you will have noticed some of us are inncognito.
 
Welcome to the front side of the forum and congratulations! We are very excited for you Christopher and Shelley!
A couple pointers from me:
Did you get a conveyance list of what the current owners are taking and/or what they are leaving?
You may find things missing like a porch swing that was supposed to convey and they will be shuffling off to buffalo and won't care at that point. You will also be told when you arrive the drawers are still packed with their junk "It's a business, it's business stuff" and you will find linoleum wax from the mid 1900's... so be prepared to want to move on it and then find a lack of space for your stuff.
What this means if you can't really just come in and move stuff out as you don't really know what it is for or if you will need it, so you have to be prepared to have your stuff in boxes for a while - the stuff you don't need right away. Why am I saying this? Make sure you pack the stuff YOU WILL need right away so you can get to it.
and from my heart to yours, if you have not been to where bluegrass was invented then please consider your next trip to these blue ridge mountains of Virginia and bring the banjo player along... that is my hint to say "don't forget to take care of yourselves during this time" to avoid the annual innkeeper meltdown.
All the best! We can't wait to hear your guest stories good and bad! (we wish for you only good of course)
thumbs_up.gif
 
Be nice to each other! Make a point to take care of yourself. Make yourself at home. Unpack YOUR clothes and kitchen first. Do the inn second.
It was a year before I started feeling at home in our inn/house. We have an apartment on the back of the inn. I LOVE my home now, but between moving and running a business that was new to us and all the construction because it's a fixer-upper, it was stressful.
Moving is hard to start with because nothing is in the right place. You feel so disorganized. So make yourself at home, be comfortable and be respectful of each others' stress and needs. Then tackle that business.
Best of luck to you!!! And congratulations!!!!!
 
Make lists of things you need. Nothing worse than walking into the hardware store and forgetting the one thing you really needed only to have to do it again.
 
It's all so exciting and overwhelming at the same time! Congratulations. You are going to be more tired than you've ever experienced in your life because especially in the beginning, there's just not enough time in the day to fit in everything you need to do during the transition. Force yourself to take a 1/2 hour walk, even if that means that you go on your walk a long and leave your other half at the biz.
You will make mistakes, don't beat yourself up over them. Most guests, especially when they realize it's new innkeepers, will be very forgiving.
Before making or changes any of the 'rules', think twice. Then think twice again. What really helped us was once a year when we were on vacation, we would take a little time to discuss the last year and any problem areas we experienced. Then as we were relaxed and away from the b&b, we would fine tune any policies that needed changing. We did that for many years and it's worked wonders.
Because you're new innkeepers, be prepared for guests to tell you how to do things or suggest ways to change. Just put on your nicest smile and say "thank you, we'll definitely consider that". They go on with your day. If you feel the suggestions have merit, it's just food for discussion later on.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN! It's hard work, but it's also very rewarding.
 
Breakfast Diva said:
It's all so exciting and overwhelming at the same time! Congratulations. You are going to be more tired than you've ever experienced in your life because especially in the beginning, there's just not enough time in the day to fit in everything you need to do during the transition. Force yourself to take a 1/2 hour walk, even if that means that you go on your walk a long and leave your other half at the biz.
You will make mistakes, don't beat yourself up over them. Most guests, especially when they realize it's new innkeepers, will be very forgiving.
Before making or changes any of the 'rules', think twice. Then think twice again. What really helped us was once a year when we were on vacation, we would take a little time to discuss the last year and any problem areas we experienced. Then as we were relaxed and away from the b&b, we would fine tune any policies that needed changing. We did that for many years and it's worked wonders.
Because you're new innkeepers, be prepared for guests to tell you how to do things or suggest ways to change. Just put on your nicest smile and say "thank you, we'll definitely consider that". They go on with your day. If you feel the suggestions have merit, it's just food for discussion later on.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN! It's hard work, but it's also very rewarding..
Click to expand...
Good point about thinking over changing what's already in existence. We didn't change anything until we understood how everything worked. Then we changed to suit what we needed that fit with what the guests needed.
If the 2 didn't overlap, we got new guests. Which sounds snarky, but seriously, you end up with the guests you plan for. (For the most part. Sometimes you end up with guests you never want to see again. Depends on your location if you can screen them all out.)
 
Breakfast Diva said:
It's all so exciting and overwhelming at the same time! Congratulations. You are going to be more tired than you've ever experienced in your life because especially in the beginning, there's just not enough time in the day to fit in everything you need to do during the transition. Force yourself to take a 1/2 hour walk, even if that means that you go on your walk a long and leave your other half at the biz.
You will make mistakes, don't beat yourself up over them. Most guests, especially when they realize it's new innkeepers, will be very forgiving.
Before making or changes any of the 'rules', think twice. Then think twice again. What really helped us was once a year when we were on vacation, we would take a little time to discuss the last year and any problem areas we experienced. Then as we were relaxed and away from the b&b, we would fine tune any policies that needed changing. We did that for many years and it's worked wonders.
Because you're new innkeepers, be prepared for guests to tell you how to do things or suggest ways to change. Just put on your nicest smile and say "thank you, we'll definitely consider that". They go on with your day. If you feel the suggestions have merit, it's just food for discussion later on.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN! It's hard work, but it's also very rewarding..
Click to expand...
(as background to OP, we bought our inn August 2013. So last year was our first year.)
Speaking of being tired, two weeks after buying the inn was the first 1 o'clock football game for our team. We have a tradition of watching the games at a friend's house. Been doing it for 20 years. So we cleaned up breakfast, checked everyone out, stripped the beds, started the laundry and walked to our friend's house.
We said enthusiastic hellos, poured ourselves a couple of beers, sat on the couch and fell asleep. It was the first time in two weeks that we had sat down to rest.
LOL
Again, like I said before, after a year, we have a routine, we have a new kitchen and bathroom and we have a great new life. We love our home and our business.
 
Breakfast Diva said:
It's all so exciting and overwhelming at the same time! Congratulations. You are going to be more tired than you've ever experienced in your life because especially in the beginning, there's just not enough time in the day to fit in everything you need to do during the transition. Force yourself to take a 1/2 hour walk, even if that means that you go on your walk a long and leave your other half at the biz.
You will make mistakes, don't beat yourself up over them. Most guests, especially when they realize it's new innkeepers, will be very forgiving.
Before making or changes any of the 'rules', think twice. Then think twice again. What really helped us was once a year when we were on vacation, we would take a little time to discuss the last year and any problem areas we experienced. Then as we were relaxed and away from the b&b, we would fine tune any policies that needed changing. We did that for many years and it's worked wonders.
Because you're new innkeepers, be prepared for guests to tell you how to do things or suggest ways to change. Just put on your nicest smile and say "thank you, we'll definitely consider that". They go on with your day. If you feel the suggestions have merit, it's just food for discussion later on.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN! It's hard work, but it's also very rewarding..
Click to expand...
Thank you for the tips. Great advice. :)
Chris
 
Joey Bloggs said:
Welcome to the front side of the forum and congratulations! We are very excited for you Christopher and Shelley!
A couple pointers from me:
Did you get a conveyance list of what the current owners are taking and/or what they are leaving?
You may find things missing like a porch swing that was supposed to convey and they will be shuffling off to buffalo and won't care at that point. You will also be told when you arrive the drawers are still packed with their junk "It's a business, it's business stuff" and you will find linoleum wax from the mid 1900's... so be prepared to want to move on it and then find a lack of space for your stuff.
What this means if you can't really just come in and move stuff out as you don't really know what it is for or if you will need it, so you have to be prepared to have your stuff in boxes for a while - the stuff you don't need right away. Why am I saying this? Make sure you pack the stuff YOU WILL need right away so you can get to it.
and from my heart to yours, if you have not been to where bluegrass was invented then please consider your next trip to these blue ridge mountains of Virginia and bring the banjo player along... that is my hint to say "don't forget to take care of yourselves during this time" to avoid the annual innkeeper meltdown.
All the best! We can't wait to hear your guest stories good and bad! (we wish for you only good of course)
thumbs_up.gif
.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the welcome. Yes, we did get a conveyance list. We also did a walk around with the current owners so we (actually just Shelley) could lay eyes on what was staying. This was very helpful.
Chris
 
Morticia said:
Relax. (Yeah, right.)
Is the website attached here the new one or the old one?
Making the transition a smooth one...oh, the pitfalls. Are the PO's staying on to help or are you doing pre closing training?
:welcome:
Arks will be happy to see you here..
Click to expand...
Hello, Morticia, thank you for the welcome. The website is the new one, the old one is this: http://www.arkansas-inn.com/. We will transfer the domain over to our hosting service and point it to the new website domain.
The PO's (previous owners, I assume, working on all this new terminology :) will be staying on for training, but my wife will be doing some pre-closing training as well.
Chris
 
sounds like at least your PO's are reasonable - too many literally throw the keys at the new owners and run!
Have a large box with essentials for the first days ie 2 changes of clothes, bandaids, asprin lol and keep it in the car with you!
 
ChrisandShelley said:
Joey Bloggs said:
Welcome to the front side of the forum and congratulations! We are very excited for you Christopher and Shelley!
A couple pointers from me:
Did you get a conveyance list of what the current owners are taking and/or what they are leaving?
You may find things missing like a porch swing that was supposed to convey and they will be shuffling off to buffalo and won't care at that point. You will also be told when you arrive the drawers are still packed with their junk "It's a business, it's business stuff" and you will find linoleum wax from the mid 1900's... so be prepared to want to move on it and then find a lack of space for your stuff.
What this means if you can't really just come in and move stuff out as you don't really know what it is for or if you will need it, so you have to be prepared to have your stuff in boxes for a while - the stuff you don't need right away. Why am I saying this? Make sure you pack the stuff YOU WILL need right away so you can get to it.
and from my heart to yours, if you have not been to where bluegrass was invented then please consider your next trip to these blue ridge mountains of Virginia and bring the banjo player along... that is my hint to say "don't forget to take care of yourselves during this time" to avoid the annual innkeeper meltdown.
All the best! We can't wait to hear your guest stories good and bad! (we wish for you only good of course)
thumbs_up.gif
.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the welcome. Yes, we did get a conveyance list. We also did a walk around with the current owners so we (actually just Shelley) could lay eyes on what was staying. This was very helpful.
Chris
.
Click to expand...
ChrisandShelley said:
Thank you for the welcome. Yes, we did get a conveyance list. We also did a walk around with the current owners so we (actually just Shelley) could lay eyes on what was staying. This was very helpful.
Chris
Click to expand...
Eyes are one thing, in the mass chaos of moving in and closing etc you may not notice them til later. (Photos are always a good idea). Only suggesting this as these things add up from the get go and you already forked over a big chunk of change.
Have fun, this is the exciting pit in your stomach part of the experience. Oh and enjoy everyone telling you "oh you are just new at this!" and you can let them know "yes and it would be great if you wrote us a review!" or something to egg them on, make them feel special. Try out new recipes on them, they love that too.
regular_smile.gif
And tell Shelley we're excited for y'all!
 
Joey Camb said:
sounds like at least your PO's are reasonable - too many literally throw the keys at the new owners and run!
Have a large box with essentials for the first days ie 2 changes of clothes, bandaids, asprin lol and keep it in the car with you!.
Click to expand...
Joey Camb said:
sounds like at least your PO's are reasonable - too many literally throw the keys at the new owners and run!
Have a large box with essentials for the first days ie 2 changes of clothes, bandaids, asprin lol and keep it in the car with you!
Click to expand...
We're all reasonable until we hand over those keys - WINK!
 
ChrisandShelley said:
Morticia said:
Relax. (Yeah, right.)
Is the website attached here the new one or the old one?
Making the transition a smooth one...oh, the pitfalls. Are the PO's staying on to help or are you doing pre closing training?
:welcome:
Arks will be happy to see you here..
Click to expand...
Hello, Morticia, thank you for the welcome. The website is the new one, the old one is this: http://www.arkansas-inn.com/. We will transfer the domain over to our hosting service and point it to the new website domain.
The PO's (previous owners, I assume, working on all this new terminology :) will be staying on for training, but my wife will be doing some pre-closing training as well.
Chris
.
Click to expand...
ChrisandShelley said:
Hello, Morticia, thank you for the welcome. The website is the new one, the old one is this: http://www.arkansas-inn.com/. We will transfer the domain over to our hosting service and point it to the new website domain.
The PO's (previous owners, I assume, working on all this new terminology :) will be staying on for training, but my wife will be doing some pre-closing training as well.
Chris
Click to expand...
You'll need to take some new photos then. They are out of focus. Just add it to the list.
 
Welcome to the forum, Chris and Shelly! You make 3 Arkansas inns represented here now, though our friend in Eureka Springs hasn't posted anything lately. I'm located a couple of hours from you, so we may cross paths eventually.
Mountain View is a wonderful location and I'm sure you'll make a success of your B&B.
 
welcome.gif
wonderful! How awesome for you.
Advice ... hmmm. When I was taking reservations before we were open I felt like I was playing at being an innkeeper. It didn't feel real. Then, when guests arrived, it was like having very special company coming in a lot of ways. Like a future boss coming to the house. I wanted everything to be perfect.
That first night one of the women went to the hospital. She had food poisoning. Thank goodness she was okay. They ate at some clam shack on the way up so it had nothing to do with me. She was feeling a little queasy when they checked in and went to lie down, was seriously ill within an hour. The next morning, she was fine. Whatever they did at the hospital did the trick.
So scarey and I was new to the area ... very, very quickly learned what to do and how to get help to our rural spot in case of emergency - the nearest hospital was 45 minutes away! Talk about trial by fire. Never had to call for emergency medical care again in all the time I was there. Ironic or what?
Why do I tell you this? Not to scare you. Just to say that anything can and might happen. .... or not! You're in for quite a ride.
Good luck!
 

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