End of Season fatigue has set in

Not crying with exhaustion, but feeling it. Last night I had some really nice marinated chicken chunks and some fresh zucchini ready to kabob and grill. I was so tired, I cut the zuccs and tossed it all in a pan and into the oven. It was 90 degrees out. We have a general rule that in summer, we grill. We don't bake. But rules are made to be broken, right?
That is an indication to me that I'm just tired. Fatigued. The summer has taken its toll.
This is not a complaint, more of an observation. It has been a terrific summer! Friends, family, parties, a full house almost every single day!
We are so happy to be running a successful business. But I'm starting to look forward to November. Just sayin'....

It does get to you by this time of year. We've been busy since Easter, had 6 days off since then. I can always tell when it's really getting to DH, normally he's very chatty in the mornings in the breakfast room, by now not so.
Don't want to wish what remains of the summer away, not had much of one weatherwise here anyway, but have two weeks in Mexico booked for the start of Nov. and can't wait for that.

This is why, income be damned, we take time off right now. The last week in August or first week in Sept is usually slow so we've taken off 3-4 days for the past few years to just regroup.

We are now on day 73 of no days off, 100% occupancy past 13 days; only 3 rooms tonight Yay! Looking ahead, as school has started in many parts of the country, we are now into the downswing. Phew, we survived. And yes, it has been a more yuckier sticker hotter summer than usual.

Morticia said:

This is why, income be damned, we take time off right now. The last week in August or first week in Sept is usually slow so we've taken off 3-4 days for the past few years to just regroup..

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Morticia said:

This is why, income be damned, we take time off right now. The last week in August or first week in Sept is usually slow so we've taken off 3-4 days for the past few years to just regroup.

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I like that idea and will probably do that next year. This year, we are scheduled for an out of town vacation in November.

TheBeachHouse said:

Morticia said:

This is why, income be damned, we take time off right now. The last week in August or first week in Sept is usually slow so we've taken off 3-4 days for the past few years to just regroup..

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

This is why, income be damned, we take time off right now. The last week in August or first week in Sept is usually slow so we've taken off 3-4 days for the past few years to just regroup.

Click to expand...

I like that idea and will probably do that next year. This year, we are scheduled for an out of town vacation in November.
.

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TheBeachHouse said:

Morticia said:

This is why, income be damned, we take time off right now. The last week in August or first week in Sept is usually slow so we've taken off 3-4 days for the past few years to just regroup.

Click to expand...

I like that idea and will probably do that next year. This year, we are scheduled for an out of town vacation in November.

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It took us 7 years to catch onto that. Prior to that, 120-150 days in a row was typical. And I was ugly by now.
Then, 3 years ago we had 5 straight days of zero reservations so we took off. Invited family to visit and enjoyed some summer. Last year was the Acadian national Congress so we went to that. I have to check that I have blocked next summer.
We also go away in November. This year it's a milestone birthday for me.

Momma Smurf said:

We are now on day 73 of no days off, 100% occupancy past 13 days; only 3 rooms tonight Yay! Looking ahead, as school has started in many parts of the country, we are now into the downswing. Phew, we survived. And yes, it has been a more yuckier sticker hotter summer than usual..

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Day 90 here. The 22nd of May was the last time I had no guests. And the next possible day that I have no guests is the 21st of October. That will make it 152 days... but I'm pretty much willing to bet that it will actually be November before I have a day with no guests. Although it is starting to thin...

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon.

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.
.

Click to expand...

Absolutely. We have made a habit of taking shorter breaks throughout so we can catch up on things. The longer break feels different. We were just commenting about how even if we block a week off, you still have think ahead. When we get into a long break like now, all that thinking gets turned off rather quickly and won't come back online until a couple of weeks before lift off.

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.
.

Click to expand...

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.
.

Click to expand...

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.
.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.

Click to expand...

I gotta agree. We had a family wedding the first weekend in June. We closed the inn and offered the rooms to out of town wedding guests. If you do the math, you lost thousands. But why do the math? We had parties to attend! It mattered and it was the right thing to do.

TheBeachHouse said:

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.
.

Click to expand...

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.
.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.

Click to expand...

I gotta agree. We had a family wedding the first weekend in June. We closed the inn and offered the rooms to out of town wedding guests. If you do the math, you lost thousands. But why do the math? We had parties to attend! It mattered and it was the right thing to do.
.

Click to expand...

... and therein lies the three legged stool. We have used that metaphor for a long time now to help us measure our overall experience. If one of the legs get out of balance, the stool falls over. So while I am going on and on about business and metrics and whatever, it is still just one third of our bottom line. This is why I said to PS that we don't look at the lost revenue from closing in the same way as some might. The legs can also be changed out when something gains importance in the moment.

happykeeper said:

TheBeachHouse said:

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.
.

Click to expand...

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.
.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.

Click to expand...

I gotta agree. We had a family wedding the first weekend in June. We closed the inn and offered the rooms to out of town wedding guests. If you do the math, you lost thousands. But why do the math? We had parties to attend! It mattered and it was the right thing to do.
.

Click to expand...

... and therein lies the three legged stool. We have used that metaphor for a long time now to help us measure our overall experience. If one of the legs get out of balance, the stool falls over. So while I am going on and on about business and metrics and whatever, it is still just one third of our bottom line. This is why I said to PS that we don't look at the lost revenue from closing in the same way as some might. The legs can also be changed out when something gains importance in the moment.
.

Click to expand...

What's the other leg? Business/Personal Life/ ?? I got it! Wine, right?

TheBeachHouse said:

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.
.

Click to expand...

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.
.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.

Click to expand...

I gotta agree. We had a family wedding the first weekend in June. We closed the inn and offered the rooms to out of town wedding guests. If you do the math, you lost thousands. But why do the math? We had parties to attend! It mattered and it was the right thing to do.
.

Click to expand...

TheBeachHouse said:

I gotta agree. We had a family wedding the first weekend in June. We closed the inn and offered the rooms to out of town wedding guests. If you do the math, you lost thousands. But why do the math? We had parties to attend! It mattered and it was the right thing to do.

Click to expand...

We had 3 family members get married on primo weekends. We looked at the first one (Labor Day) and decided, because there are 15 or so more of them getting close to marrying age, that we had to forego the first wedding. It made it easier when #2 and #3 decided on Columbus Day and Memorial Day as the perfect dates to get hitched.
Now there are no hard feelings because we've skipped them all.
(We actually DID do the math. And Gomez explained the math to his sibling, who had no idea what was involved with us closing down for 3 days to attend each of her kids' weddings in one year. 9 nights on peak weekends. Yikes!)

No break since June 10th and no end in sight until about the second week in October. However, have two weeks booked in November to go back and visit my mom and my girls. By myself. And I've rented a car. And I've been saving my tip money. Soon I'll start counting down the days.
Still count myself as just starting out but planning a major trip to Ireland in two years time. That's my carrot.

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

TheBeachHouse said:

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.
.

Click to expand...

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.
.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.

Click to expand...

I gotta agree. We had a family wedding the first weekend in June. We closed the inn and offered the rooms to out of town wedding guests. If you do the math, you lost thousands. But why do the math? We had parties to attend! It mattered and it was the right thing to do.
.

Click to expand...

... and therein lies the three legged stool. We have used that metaphor for a long time now to help us measure our overall experience. If one of the legs get out of balance, the stool falls over. So while I am going on and on about business and metrics and whatever, it is still just one third of our bottom line. This is why I said to PS that we don't look at the lost revenue from closing in the same way as some might. The legs can also be changed out when something gains importance in the moment.
.

Click to expand...

What's the other leg? Business/Personal Life/ ?? I got it! Wine, right?
.

Click to expand...

Scotch/Ice/Cigar

2cat_lady said:

No break since June 10th and no end in sight until about the second week in October. However, have two weeks booked in November to go back and visit my mom and my girls. By myself. And I've rented a car. And I've been saving my tip money. Soon I'll start counting down the days.
Still count myself as just starting out but planning a major trip to Ireland in two years time. That's my carrot..

Click to expand...

2cat_lady said:

No break since June 10th and no end in sight until about the second week in October. However, have two weeks booked in November to go back and visit my mom and my girls. By myself. And I've rented a car. And I've been saving my tip money. Soon I'll start counting down the days.
Still count myself as just starting out but planning a major trip to Ireland in two years time. That's my carrot.

Click to expand...

Lovely!

2cat_lady said:

No break since June 10th and no end in sight until about the second week in October. However, have two weeks booked in November to go back and visit my mom and my girls. By myself. And I've rented a car. And I've been saving my tip money. Soon I'll start counting down the days.
Still count myself as just starting out but planning a major trip to Ireland in two years time. That's my carrot..

Click to expand...

Ireland is a great big green carrot!

happykeeper said:

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

TheBeachHouse said:

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

happykeeper said:

BH- I am absolutely sympathetic to your pang. We just began a super long break after a long stretch of being very busy. I can not imagine what would happen if we didn't have that carrot out there in front of us. Now that it's here, we'll have the time we need to travel, gather new stories to share, get some projects done, give the inn a shakedown, and recharge our batteries. November will be here very soon..

Click to expand...

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.
.

Click to expand...

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.
.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

TheBeachHouse said:

I looked at the booking calendar and noticed two Mondays in September with no bookings. Told DH to block them. He could use a day off.

Click to expand...

That works! We have friends who were totally burnt out the first year they were open. I got emails, tearful phone calls, etc asking how did we cope with the awful guests. I looked at their calendar and ours and told them to block two days, we were going on vacation! We did and they said it was amazing to realize they could do that. It helped them a lot just knowing it was possible to take care of themselves in that way.
Now we realize it's very important to take care of ourselves.

Click to expand...

I gotta agree. We had a family wedding the first weekend in June. We closed the inn and offered the rooms to out of town wedding guests. If you do the math, you lost thousands. But why do the math? We had parties to attend! It mattered and it was the right thing to do.
.

Click to expand...

... and therein lies the three legged stool. We have used that metaphor for a long time now to help us measure our overall experience. If one of the legs get out of balance, the stool falls over. So while I am going on and on about business and metrics and whatever, it is still just one third of our bottom line. This is why I said to PS that we don't look at the lost revenue from closing in the same way as some might. The legs can also be changed out when something gains importance in the moment.
.

Click to expand...

What's the other leg? Business/Personal Life/ ?? I got it! Wine, right?
.

Click to expand...

Scotch/Ice/Cigar
.

Click to expand...