Inn Keeper Salaries and Duties

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nolajean74

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I am new to this and love it. I am wondering if anyone can tell me how other B & B pays their innkeepers and duties expected?
Commission per guest stay?
If Commission Rate/Percent?
Weekly Rate?
Hourly Rate?
Inn Keepers that are live in, is this included as part of your income? (or a necessity for the owner?)
Duties of Inn Keepers?
*Lawn Care?
*Snow Removal?
*Handy Man Services?
* Cleaning and laundry?
*Does the Owner come and stay any time they feel like it without notice?
*Bringing homeless people to stay at B & B?
Can anyone give me a picture of what is expected of a Inn Keeper, and salary ranges, if living their is part of your salary?
 
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Don't have any info on payment. We are owners.
Duties? yes, lawn and snow care, yes laundry, yes for minor handy man - like a super in an apartment house. Also yes on books and records, breakfast and kitchen, check ins.
A lot depends on the size and style of the place. Care to introduce yourself?
 
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated..
Click to expand...
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Being taken advantage of from which aspect - owner or employee? Either way you should have a contract laying out who does what.
About 99% of the members here are owners who do 100% of the tasks themselves.
We'd need a little more info to help out -
  • How many rooms
  • Seasonal or year round
  • Other staff
  • Occupancy levels
  • Type of establishment - high end, mom & pop
 
As said above, need more info. I am the owner - I do everything except the grass & snow which I hire out and I work for food and a place to live.
 
Strictly speaking, my wife and I are not actually the owners of our place (if you want to be legal about it), rather we are somewhere in between hired live-in innkeeper and owner.
We are paid a salary plus bonus. Yes, housing and utilities are part of the compensation package.
We are "the managers," so no, we don't necessarily have to do all of the duties ourselves (*Lawn Care, *Snow Removal, *Handy Man Services, * Cleaning and laundry?) -- Rather as "the managers" it is instead our responsibility to see that all the necessary tasks do get done -- if not by us, then by hired employees or contractors. As "the managers" we are also responsible for the bookkeeping and managing the budget, so we know what monies are available (or not) for hiring things out. We provide a full report to "the owner" every month, summarizing the bookings and finances, and we discuss with "the owner" any big projects or any other anticipated (and unanticipated) expenses beyond the ordinary.
At our place, "the owners" have their own apartment and can come and go as they please (although if they plan to come out of season, we do like to know their plans in advance so we can make sure that their driveway is plowed, etc...). If "the owners" want to host guests in the cottages, they have to work with us and the reservation calendar....
We did start with a written contract, but after the first couple of years, we haven't bothered with formally renewing that contract. But then, we have a family relationship with "the owner." Nonetheless, I would highly recommend have a written contract that spells out the expectations, performance criteria, compensation, etc...
 
OnTheShore said:
Strictly speaking, my wife and I are not actually the owners of our place (if you want to be legal about it), rather we are somewhere in between hired live-in innkeeper and owner.
We are paid a salary plus bonus. Yes, housing and utilities are part of the compensation package.
We are "the managers," so no, we don't necessarily have to do all of the duties ourselves (*Lawn Care, *Snow Removal, *Handy Man Services, * Cleaning and laundry?) -- Rather as "the managers" it is instead our responsibility to see that all the necessary tasks do get done -- if not by us, then by hired employees or contractors. As "the managers" we are also responsible for the bookkeeping and managing the budget, so we know what monies are available (or not) for hiring things out. We provide a full report to "the owner" every month, summarizing the bookings and finances, and we discuss with "the owner" any big projects or any other anticipated (and unanticipated) expenses beyond the ordinary.
At our place, "the owners" have their own apartment and can come and go as they please (although if they plan to come out of season, we do like to know their plans in advance so we can make sure that their driveway is plowed, etc...). If "the owners" want to host guests in the cottages, they have to work with us and the reservation calendar....
We did start with a written contract, but after the first couple of years, we haven't bothered with formally renewing that contract. But then, we have a family relationship with "the owner." Nonetheless, I would highly recommend have a written contract that spells out the expectations, performance criteria, compensation, etc....
Click to expand...
Thank you.
 
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated..
Click to expand...
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Being taken advantage of from which aspect - owner or employee? Either way you should have a contract laying out who does what.
About 99% of the members here are owners who do 100% of the tasks themselves.
We'd need a little more info to help out -
  • How many rooms
  • Seasonal or year round
  • Other staff
  • Occupancy levels
  • Type of establishment - high end, mom & pop
.
Click to expand...
7 rooms total (3 are suites)
Year Round
No Other staff, I manage and run it.
99 % occupancy level from April - Oct. 40% occupancy level on off seasons
Owner considers it a high end, I feel it is more of a mom & pop. I see the potential for high end.
All duties are expected to be done by me, I send a weekly spread sheet of bookings, do all check in, check out's, cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, lawn care, snow removal, handy man chores and manage petty cash.
There is no salary, I receive 25 % of listings minus the fees from booking sites. The owner comes when ever they want without warning and I clean after them (I do not get a % for this work) My room is considered part of my pay. I am new at this what should I be asking for?
 
nolajean74 said:
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated..
Click to expand...
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Being taken advantage of from which aspect - owner or employee? Either way you should have a contract laying out who does what.
About 99% of the members here are owners who do 100% of the tasks themselves.
We'd need a little more info to help out -
  • How many rooms
  • Seasonal or year round
  • Other staff
  • Occupancy levels
  • Type of establishment - high end, mom & pop
.
Click to expand...
7 rooms total (3 are suites)
Year Round
No Other staff, I manage and run it.
99 % occupancy level from April - Oct. 40% occupancy level on off seasons
Owner considers it a high end, I feel it is more of a mom & pop. I see the potential for high end.
All duties are expected to be done by me, I send a weekly spread sheet of bookings, do all check in, check out's, cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, lawn care, snow removal, handy man chores and manage petty cash.
There is no salary, I receive 25 % of listings minus the fees from booking sites. The owner comes when ever they want without warning and I clean after them (I do not get a % for this work) My room is considered part of my pay. I am new at this what should I be asking for?
.
Click to expand...
Only you can determine if you are happy with the arrangement, or not, I don't walk in your shoes, but it doesn't sound like a horrible arrangement.
We are the owners of a nice 8 room mom & pop motel in a resort area, all those same duties fall on the wife and I, until the last couple of years I worked a full time outside job, well we don't cook (do you get to eat as well), but my duties include painting the building inside and out and extended handyman work.
On the positive side we have an apartment rather than a room for our living area, on the negative side 25% of bookings sounds like more than I expect to make after expenses most years.
 
nolajean74 said:
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated..
Click to expand...
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Being taken advantage of from which aspect - owner or employee? Either way you should have a contract laying out who does what.
About 99% of the members here are owners who do 100% of the tasks themselves.
We'd need a little more info to help out -
  • How many rooms
  • Seasonal or year round
  • Other staff
  • Occupancy levels
  • Type of establishment - high end, mom & pop
.
Click to expand...
7 rooms total (3 are suites)
Year Round
No Other staff, I manage and run it.
99 % occupancy level from April - Oct. 40% occupancy level on off seasons
Owner considers it a high end, I feel it is more of a mom & pop. I see the potential for high end.
All duties are expected to be done by me, I send a weekly spread sheet of bookings, do all check in, check out's, cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, lawn care, snow removal, handy man chores and manage petty cash.
There is no salary, I receive 25 % of listings minus the fees from booking sites. The owner comes when ever they want without warning and I clean after them (I do not get a % for this work) My room is considered part of my pay. I am new at this what should I be asking for?
.
Click to expand...
A) the owner should be eating the fees, not you. That's like charging you because you turned the lights on in the kitchen to make breakfast. It's a business expense to them.
B) you should have help. 99% occ for 6 months is too much work for one person. Heck, it's too much work for TWO or THREE people!
C) do you have vacation time? days off? any time off? You should.
D) including your lodging & utilities in your pay is pretty standard. However, you need to understand how that impacts your tax liability. If they are actually including a $ amount on THEIR taxes that claims the room is part of your pay then you will have to pay income tax on that.
Now, if your room rates are commensurate with 'high end' accommodations, you might actually be doing rather well. However, if most of the reservations are coming in thru an OTA, you aren't making much at all.
Example - room rate is $200/night. You get 25% of that, or $50. BUT, out of that $50 comes the $30 fee to the OTA. You get $20/room/night. My housekeeper makes about that much! And all he does is clean the rooms. No laundry, no guest interaction, no breakfast cooking, no nothing other than cleaning. Now, $50/room/night + your room and utilities is a pretty good deal. That's $350/day in peak season. If you are doing all the work, it's about $20/hour + your room. But, less the 15% OTA fee? That's $9/hour + your room. A big difference.
As for them showing up whenever? Well, they do own the place.
 
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated..
Click to expand...
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Being taken advantage of from which aspect - owner or employee? Either way you should have a contract laying out who does what.
About 99% of the members here are owners who do 100% of the tasks themselves.
We'd need a little more info to help out -
  • How many rooms
  • Seasonal or year round
  • Other staff
  • Occupancy levels
  • Type of establishment - high end, mom & pop
.
Click to expand...
7 rooms total (3 are suites)
Year Round
No Other staff, I manage and run it.
99 % occupancy level from April - Oct. 40% occupancy level on off seasons
Owner considers it a high end, I feel it is more of a mom & pop. I see the potential for high end.
All duties are expected to be done by me, I send a weekly spread sheet of bookings, do all check in, check out's, cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, lawn care, snow removal, handy man chores and manage petty cash.
There is no salary, I receive 25 % of listings minus the fees from booking sites. The owner comes when ever they want without warning and I clean after them (I do not get a % for this work) My room is considered part of my pay. I am new at this what should I be asking for?
.
Click to expand...
A) the owner should be eating the fees, not you. That's like charging you because you turned the lights on in the kitchen to make breakfast. It's a business expense to them.
B) you should have help. 99% occ for 6 months is too much work for one person. Heck, it's too much work for TWO or THREE people!
C) do you have vacation time? days off? any time off? You should.
D) including your lodging & utilities in your pay is pretty standard. However, you need to understand how that impacts your tax liability. If they are actually including a $ amount on THEIR taxes that claims the room is part of your pay then you will have to pay income tax on that.
Now, if your room rates are commensurate with 'high end' accommodations, you might actually be doing rather well. However, if most of the reservations are coming in thru an OTA, you aren't making much at all.
Example - room rate is $200/night. You get 25% of that, or $50. BUT, out of that $50 comes the $30 fee to the OTA. You get $20/room/night. My housekeeper makes about that much! And all he does is clean the rooms. No laundry, no guest interaction, no breakfast cooking, no nothing other than cleaning. Now, $50/room/night + your room and utilities is a pretty good deal. That's $350/day in peak season. If you are doing all the work, it's about $20/hour + your room. But, less the 15% OTA fee? That's $9/hour + your room. A big difference.
As for them showing up whenever? Well, they do own the place.
.
Click to expand...
So I should not be charging him
150.00 Room Rate 25 % would be 37.25 that is if I book it not thru OTA If the fee is 17.00 I am to deduct the 17.00 from 150.00 then 25% of that 133.00 X 25% = 33.25
I will fight for the 25% off the regular room rate. Thank you!
I will also check into how he does the taxes, Thank you!
Yes at 99% occ it is hard, yes I get evenings to veg out here and there. And I take a day when can and leave. Not often, I do get tired, when have an evening I can go to bed early the owner calls and wakes me to talk about nothing or shows up unannounced. Is this normal? If I choose to ignore the call they will then call my cell.
 
nolajean74 said:
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated..
Click to expand...
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Being taken advantage of from which aspect - owner or employee? Either way you should have a contract laying out who does what.
About 99% of the members here are owners who do 100% of the tasks themselves.
We'd need a little more info to help out -
  • How many rooms
  • Seasonal or year round
  • Other staff
  • Occupancy levels
  • Type of establishment - high end, mom & pop
.
Click to expand...
7 rooms total (3 are suites)
Year Round
No Other staff, I manage and run it.
99 % occupancy level from April - Oct. 40% occupancy level on off seasons
Owner considers it a high end, I feel it is more of a mom & pop. I see the potential for high end.
All duties are expected to be done by me, I send a weekly spread sheet of bookings, do all check in, check out's, cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, lawn care, snow removal, handy man chores and manage petty cash.
There is no salary, I receive 25 % of listings minus the fees from booking sites. The owner comes when ever they want without warning and I clean after them (I do not get a % for this work) My room is considered part of my pay. I am new at this what should I be asking for?
.
Click to expand...
A) the owner should be eating the fees, not you. That's like charging you because you turned the lights on in the kitchen to make breakfast. It's a business expense to them.
B) you should have help. 99% occ for 6 months is too much work for one person. Heck, it's too much work for TWO or THREE people!
C) do you have vacation time? days off? any time off? You should.
D) including your lodging & utilities in your pay is pretty standard. However, you need to understand how that impacts your tax liability. If they are actually including a $ amount on THEIR taxes that claims the room is part of your pay then you will have to pay income tax on that.
Now, if your room rates are commensurate with 'high end' accommodations, you might actually be doing rather well. However, if most of the reservations are coming in thru an OTA, you aren't making much at all.
Example - room rate is $200/night. You get 25% of that, or $50. BUT, out of that $50 comes the $30 fee to the OTA. You get $20/room/night. My housekeeper makes about that much! And all he does is clean the rooms. No laundry, no guest interaction, no breakfast cooking, no nothing other than cleaning. Now, $50/room/night + your room and utilities is a pretty good deal. That's $350/day in peak season. If you are doing all the work, it's about $20/hour + your room. But, less the 15% OTA fee? That's $9/hour + your room. A big difference.
As for them showing up whenever? Well, they do own the place.
.
Click to expand...
So I should not be charging him
150.00 Room Rate 25 % would be 37.25 that is if I book it not thru OTA If the fee is 17.00 I am to deduct the 17.00 from 150.00 then 25% of that 133.00 X 25% = 33.25
I will fight for the 25% off the regular room rate. Thank you!
I will also check into how he does the taxes, Thank you!
Yes at 99% occ it is hard, yes I get evenings to veg out here and there. And I take a day when can and leave. Not often, I do get tired, when have an evening I can go to bed early the owner calls and wakes me to talk about nothing or shows up unannounced. Is this normal? If I choose to ignore the call they will then call my cell.
.
Click to expand...
Nothing I say makes a bit of difference. Keep that in mind. :)
They may be calling to check you are where you're supposed to be. You might want to consider an 'end of day' call or text to them so they know everything is ok.
Something like - hi owners! Everything here is running along well. 4 rooms checked in, waiting for 3 more. Everyone loved the bacon strata for breakfast this morning. Did you place the order for more hand soap? I'm going to eat dinner now and try to relax until the last guests arrive.
You know, be preemptive.
 
nolajean74 said:
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
Morticia said:
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated..
Click to expand...
nolajean74 said:
I feel I'm being taken advantage of and I am not sure of duties expected, salaries paid. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Being taken advantage of from which aspect - owner or employee? Either way you should have a contract laying out who does what.
About 99% of the members here are owners who do 100% of the tasks themselves.
We'd need a little more info to help out -
  • How many rooms
  • Seasonal or year round
  • Other staff
  • Occupancy levels
  • Type of establishment - high end, mom & pop
.
Click to expand...
7 rooms total (3 are suites)
Year Round
No Other staff, I manage and run it.
99 % occupancy level from April - Oct. 40% occupancy level on off seasons
Owner considers it a high end, I feel it is more of a mom & pop. I see the potential for high end.
All duties are expected to be done by me, I send a weekly spread sheet of bookings, do all check in, check out's, cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, lawn care, snow removal, handy man chores and manage petty cash.
There is no salary, I receive 25 % of listings minus the fees from booking sites. The owner comes when ever they want without warning and I clean after them (I do not get a % for this work) My room is considered part of my pay. I am new at this what should I be asking for?
.
Click to expand...
A) the owner should be eating the fees, not you. That's like charging you because you turned the lights on in the kitchen to make breakfast. It's a business expense to them.
B) you should have help. 99% occ for 6 months is too much work for one person. Heck, it's too much work for TWO or THREE people!
C) do you have vacation time? days off? any time off? You should.
D) including your lodging & utilities in your pay is pretty standard. However, you need to understand how that impacts your tax liability. If they are actually including a $ amount on THEIR taxes that claims the room is part of your pay then you will have to pay income tax on that.
Now, if your room rates are commensurate with 'high end' accommodations, you might actually be doing rather well. However, if most of the reservations are coming in thru an OTA, you aren't making much at all.
Example - room rate is $200/night. You get 25% of that, or $50. BUT, out of that $50 comes the $30 fee to the OTA. You get $20/room/night. My housekeeper makes about that much! And all he does is clean the rooms. No laundry, no guest interaction, no breakfast cooking, no nothing other than cleaning. Now, $50/room/night + your room and utilities is a pretty good deal. That's $350/day in peak season. If you are doing all the work, it's about $20/hour + your room. But, less the 15% OTA fee? That's $9/hour + your room. A big difference.
As for them showing up whenever? Well, they do own the place.
.
Click to expand...
So I should not be charging him
150.00 Room Rate 25 % would be 37.25 that is if I book it not thru OTA If the fee is 17.00 I am to deduct the 17.00 from 150.00 then 25% of that 133.00 X 25% = 33.25
I will fight for the 25% off the regular room rate. Thank you!
I will also check into how he does the taxes, Thank you!
Yes at 99% occ it is hard, yes I get evenings to veg out here and there. And I take a day when can and leave. Not often, I do get tired, when have an evening I can go to bed early the owner calls and wakes me to talk about nothing or shows up unannounced. Is this normal? If I choose to ignore the call they will then call my cell.
.
Click to expand...
A question may be "who makes the choice to use an OTA? If it is the owner choice then I would argue that the fee should be deducted first and then the balance split with you getting your percentage as the booking helped both parties. If you are saying the entire OTA fee comes from your share, nope that don't sound right, unless it is by your choice to use the OTA to sell rooms, then I could see an owner not wanting to pay a commission to both the OTA and yourself.
If I were the owner I guess I would expect to be free to come and go, but as an employee or contracted person I would expect some sort of schedule. Sort of sounds that the owner is playing both sides. If I'm an employee I have set hours and duties and at a certain hour I'm off and it is not my problem, on the other side if I'm a contractor then by agreement I have certain responsibilities at least for the bottom line, but I don't know that I would want to be managed as an employee. By chance is this a new position and these folks are learning their way too?
 
I have a VERY different perspective, because I'm not from the same country. And we have a very HARSH view of employers who take advantage of employees. In fact, if you have to wear a uniform and you are earning minimum wage, they must supply the uniform, because you are NEVER allowed to earn under minimum wage... EVER! And it illegal to subtract CoB (cost of business) are also illegal, so broken dishes, shoplifter/stolen or even the processing fees for credit cards are illegal to be deductions around here. And that would include the commissions from OTAs, that's just Cost of Business.
Around here, the maximum an employer can charge for a meal is $2.15 and a maximum of $28 a week. And board is a maximum of $48.45 a week. The minimum wage here is also higher, $11.25 per hour. You don't even want to know how expensive it would be to ask you to work beyond 42 hours and we have a minimum standard for vacations, days off and legal holidays.
For us, the exception is denoted are commission based... BUT "...who works outside the establishment and whose hours of work cannot be controlled." In other words, by us you would not be an exception, because you work in the establishment and they control your hours.
And I'm sorry, if they use the room, they MUST pay. I don't care where you are, that's not acceptable, that's slavery. The amount of commission you would earn is your pay for the services you provide. To not pay you when they stay, unless they clean up entirely by themselves, is tantamount to slavery and they should be ashamed of themselves.
 
I feel a bit akin to you nolajean74. I was hired as innkeeper for a 9 room classy inn, year round, one housekeeper, 90% in high season, 30% in low, and on the clock 24 hours a day 5 days a week. The owner is in the office the 2 days I am not. No PTO or vacation, I have to pull money out for taxes, no benefits, no evenings to go do whatever I need or want to do. If I take an evening off to go see a show, I have to take a whole day off which means no pay. I get x amount every 2 weeks, but I'd make more substitute teaching. I'm frustrated.
#innkeepersarepeopletoo
 
afinch said:
I feel a bit akin to you nolajean74. I was hired as innkeeper for a 9 room classy inn, year round, one housekeeper, 90% in high season, 30% in low, and on the clock 24 hours a day 5 days a week. The owner is in the office the 2 days I am not. No PTO or vacation, I have to pull money out for taxes, no benefits, no evenings to go do whatever I need or want to do. If I take an evening off to go see a show, I have to take a whole day off which means no pay. I get x amount every 2 weeks, but I'd make more substitute teaching. I'm frustrated.
#innkeepersarepeopletoo.
Click to expand...
Discuss with the owner replacing the door lock with an automated programmable lock. You could then set up those that need late check-in to come in by themselves after 6PM. Provide a phone so you can be reached.
 

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