First Night In A New Property

[Arks]

Tonight I’m spending the first night at one of the new vacation rental apartments I've been building on for over a year, enjoying this wonderful establishment’s free Wi-Fi. Have to spend some time here to see what all I forgot to provide for future guests (the first real guest is scheduled to arrive in town in 10 days). I have the deadbolts set because too many carpenters and other tradesmen know the door combinations to enter this place! I’ll soon delete their entry code, but they still have a few minor jobs to do to finish up first. Love the remotely-programmable door keypads. They work perfectly.
So far so good. Like any traveler, I packed my suitcase with all I need, arrived here and entered my door code, laid out a clean wash cloth in the bathroom and placed my toothbrush, razor, and hair brush on it, just like I do any time I travel (except in Europe, where wash cloths are generally rare or unheard of).
I brought a bottle of champagne I made a couple of years ago (a hobby from back when I had time for hobbies), to celebrate the milestone, and can attest that it’s still good! I’d forgotten that the apartments need microwaves, so I bought those today and enjoyed a nice frozen dinner for supper. I’ll leave it to others to do the real cooking here!
I can attest now that the old stairs to the lower level bedroom, and the heated floor in the bathroom, feel just fine to the bare feet!
Now I’m just waiting on Game of Thrones to start on HBO, and awaiting a nice night’s sleep. This place is VERY quiet for the heart of a big town of 7,000!

 

[Iris]

Congratulations. I hope you can report tomorrow that you had a wonderfully relaxing night

 

[Arks]

Drawing a hot bath right now in the Sanijet tub. Poured in a packet of "bath grains" for whatever that's worth. At least there's a TV in the bathroom so this bath won't be a total waste of time (I only have a shower at home, haven't had a tub bath in 30 years).

 

[Copperhead]

Lifting up my glass in a toast to your hard work. Congratulations!

 

[gillumhouse]

Woohoo!! Happy you could be the first guest.

 

[Joey Camb]

You should always do this will a new room - makes sure you havn't missed anything.

 

[EmptyNest]

Exciting for you...now it is real! Well maybe not till you get the first payment Enjoy!

 

[Arks]

You should always do this will a new room - makes sure you havn't missed anything..

You should always do this will a new room - makes sure you havn't missed anything.

You got THAT right! Here's what I discovered this morning...a good lesson.
The apartment I stayed in is on 3 levels, with the "front" door entered from a porch on the top level. It has a keypad for keyless entry.
The bedroom is on the bottom level and it has a door that opens to the outside, under the porch mentioned above. I've set this door to always be locked when it's closed, like a hotel door. To get back into the apartment you go up to the living room door and enter your code.
So this morning I got ready, got a cup of coffee and my iPhone, and headed out the bedroom door and up onto the porch to enjoy the morning and check my e-mail. Had a pleasant time.
When I went to re-enter the apartment, I entered my door code, the door unlocked, I turned the handle, pushed, and THUD! I instantly knew what I'd done. Last night when I went to bed I set the deadbolt on the living room door because so many people (construction workers) have a door code at present so they can do some finishing work over the next week. I didn't want one of them dropping by in the night to show the place to a cousin or something.
So I was locked out. My car keys were locked inside the apartment, and the deadbolt key is kept at my home, since it's only for use in emergencies if a guest locks themself in and can't unlock the door for some reason.
Luckily I did have my phone so I called my sister to come pick me up, drive me to the house to get the deadbolt key, and drive me back to the apartment.
Very good lesson learned. I think I can solve it by putting a sign inside the bedroom door, over the doorknob so you have to lift the sign to turn the knob, with the sign saying...
"IMPORTANT: Make sure the deadbolt is unlocked on the living room door before you exit through this door, or you'll be locked out when this door closes behind you. Use your 4-digit door code upstairs to re-enter the apartment after exiting through this door."

 

[EmptyNest]

I just took a look at your website. I realize you aren't asking for feedback on it...but I thought I would give you just a bit. You have come such a long way.
Did you realize the font styles are different on the home page text? Did you copy and paste some of it from WORD? I only use Notepad to copy and paste in text so it has no coding with it. You may want to redo as it does look a bit strange...at least on my screen

You might also want to check to see that your header images are all the exact same size. They seem to bounce the screen up and down when changing and that usually means different sizes. Be sure they are all consistent.
Why don't you put your reservation box into the sidebar widget at the top rather than making text wrap around it. It will make for a better looking page.
The bottom widget area seems to go on and on. Suggest you have it only show the titles rather than a summary of the post.
Where is your contact info at the bottom widget area? Also you should have a footer navigation menu. Some of the info you have in the footer really belongs in your pages.
The PAII logo can be in the widget footer as well. Will make for a cleaner sleeker home page.
For your FAQ page, did you realize there is a FAQ shortcode that can be used so you don't have to scroll down the page?? Really neat..you just click on the + sign to open and the info shows.
See this page
Ok... I will stop

 

[JBloggs]

Congratulations Arks! That is really something, well done. Glad you are able to enjoy the space first.

and well done on the snafu as well, you knew it couldn't go too smoothly.
The other thing if you were on your own you really notice much more than with people yakking and laughing. Especially being the proprietor and all, you are noticing every detail.

 

[Arks]

Congratulations Arks! That is really something, well done. Glad you are able to enjoy the space first.

and well done on the snafu as well, you knew it couldn't go too smoothly.
The other thing if you were on your own you really notice much more than with people yakking and laughing. Especially being the proprietor and all, you are noticing every detail..

The other thing if you were on your own you really notice much more than with people yakking and laughing. Especially being the proprietor and all, you are noticing every detail.

Yes, noticing and taking notes! But I'll also be bringing the family and friends in soon to stay there and give more input, and do some real cooking to test the kitchens!
Later this week we meet to decide where to hang the wall art. I only have one painting hung so far, so the blank walls are kind of depressing! I'm not too far from being able to get some photos for the website, finally!

 

[Hillbilly]

How exciting!!!! When ever we get a chance to add a room or cabin it is always down to the last hour to get it ready for guests. You have 10 days left. How cool is that!!! Now you can relax and take a breath.

 

[Madeleine]

Good for you!

 

[gillumhouse]

You should always do this will a new room - makes sure you havn't missed anything..

You should always do this will a new room - makes sure you havn't missed anything.

You got THAT right! Here's what I discovered this morning...a good lesson.
The apartment I stayed in is on 3 levels, with the "front" door entered from a porch on the top level. It has a keypad for keyless entry.
The bedroom is on the bottom level and it has a door that opens to the outside, under the porch mentioned above. I've set this door to always be locked when it's closed, like a hotel door. To get back into the apartment you go up to the living room door and enter your code.
So this morning I got ready, got a cup of coffee and my iPhone, and headed out the bedroom door and up onto the porch to enjoy the morning and check my e-mail. Had a pleasant time.
When I went to re-enter the apartment, I entered my door code, the door unlocked, I turned the handle, pushed, and THUD! I instantly knew what I'd done. Last night when I went to bed I set the deadbolt on the living room door because so many people (construction workers) have a door code at present so they can do some finishing work over the next week. I didn't want one of them dropping by in the night to show the place to a cousin or something.
So I was locked out. My car keys were locked inside the apartment, and the deadbolt key is kept at my home, since it's only for use in emergencies if a guest locks themself in and can't unlock the door for some reason.
Luckily I did have my phone so I called my sister to come pick me up, drive me to the house to get the deadbolt key, and drive me back to the apartment.
Very good lesson learned. I think I can solve it by putting a sign inside the bedroom door, over the doorknob so you have to lift the sign to turn the knob, with the sign saying...
"IMPORTANT: Make sure the deadbolt is unlocked on the living room door before you exit through this door, or you'll be locked out when this door closes behind you. Use your 4-digit door code upstairs to re-enter the apartment after exiting through this door."
.

What a wonderful mishappening! Yes, it was irritating but better you than a guest and as you know now- it WILL happen.

 

[Generic]

Things to think about. Act if if you are coming in from the rain, or thinking of going out in the rain. Where will towels go when you have maximum occupancy? Where will they set up the ironing board? Plug in the laptop, phone, MP3 player? Where will they leave muddy shoes? wet umbrella? What if they want an extra blanket, cover, pillow? Bath mat for shower? sink? etc

 

[Madeleine]

Things to think about. Act if if you are coming in from the rain, or thinking of going out in the rain. Where will towels go when you have maximum occupancy? Where will they set up the ironing board? Plug in the laptop, phone, MP3 player? Where will they leave muddy shoes? wet umbrella? What if they want an extra blanket, cover, pillow? Bath mat for shower? sink? etc.

And ask yourself why would they move the bed to unplug anything when there are plainly visible outlets if they needed one? (That goes along with 'where would they plug in?')
We have boot trays in the rooms in the winter. Removed in the summer when it is less salt and grit and just sand that comes in.

 

[JBloggs]

Where will they?
Place drinks. They will move coasters to set them on wood surfaces. Or they will use room books/print outs that bleed all over.
Put Ice. They will place a large bag of ice on the marble tile floor, next to the tub, next to the sink, and let it melt all the way down and drip through the ceiling to a room below. Do you have ice buckets, yes.
Get their hot water for the shower. They will tell us at check out they had absolutely no hot water the entire weekend. We will not accept this, since this room is next to the hot water tank, and no one else said a word. We go turn on the sink, HOT WATER. "Did you try the sink? Was it hot?" Oh yeah THAT was hot, but not the shower. Walk over to shower turn it on, steam immediately pours into the space...
Kettle. They will BOIL the water then place it in a paper cup and scald themselves. You will be to blame.
Luggage. It will always go on the sofa or chair, never on the luggage rack. They will scrape up and CHIP your walls and woodwork bringing it in, and bringing it out. If it has wheels, they will thump thump thump all the way to the room on the stairs.
WIFI. You have wifi inside, outside, but they will insist they need it in the parking lot and treat you like a cad for not having it there for them.
Entertain. Any and every surface, as one innkeeper said "You just never anticipate butt stains on a chair"
...I will leave the rest. That is enough for one day. This is when people say we are soooo negative. When we are only sharing real life experiences, these happened here, right here. Not there, not yet... Bless ya'll.

All you can do is do what you do, people are people.

 

[Madeleine]

Where will they?
Place drinks. They will move coasters to set them on wood surfaces. Or they will use room books/print outs that bleed all over.
Put Ice. They will place a large bag of ice on the marble tile floor, next to the tub, next to the sink, and let it melt all the way down and drip through the ceiling to a room below. Do you have ice buckets, yes.
Get their hot water for the shower. They will tell us at check out they had absolutely no hot water the entire weekend. We will not accept this, since this room is next to the hot water tank, and no one else said a word. We go turn on the sink, HOT WATER. "Did you try the sink? Was it hot?" Oh yeah THAT was hot, but not the shower. Walk over to shower turn it on, steam immediately pours into the space...
Kettle. They will BOIL the water then place it in a paper cup and scald themselves. You will be to blame.
Luggage. It will always go on the sofa or chair, never on the luggage rack. They will scrape up and CHIP your walls and woodwork bringing it in, and bringing it out. If it has wheels, they will thump thump thump all the way to the room on the stairs.
WIFI. You have wifi inside, outside, but they will insist they need it in the parking lot and treat you like a cad for not having it there for them.
Entertain. Any and every surface, as one innkeeper said "You just never anticipate butt stains on a chair"
...I will leave the rest. That is enough for one day. This is when people say we are soooo negative. When we are only sharing real life experiences, these happened here, right here. Not there, not yet... Bless ya'll.

All you can do is do what you do, people are people..

Trash. They will stand right next to the trash can holding a dripping tea bag and ask, 'Where should I put this?' Oh honey...
I hope you have a little 'helpful hints' sheet that you leave on the counter. We did a weekly rental at the beach and they had all the info we could need - where to put the trash bags, where to find new trash bags, where to put the dirty linen, where to find the vacuum, what to leave (sugar packs, non dairy creamer) and what to take away (everything we brought in).
I know we all shake out heads when people do clueless things but not everyone lives the same way we do and some people just don't know about some stuff. Like me trying to open sealed windows in Savannah. How would I know all the windows were sealed and I was only supposed to use the A/C? To me, if it's hot inside and cool outside, you open a window!

 

[Copperhead]

Where will they?
Place drinks. They will move coasters to set them on wood surfaces. Or they will use room books/print outs that bleed all over.
Put Ice. They will place a large bag of ice on the marble tile floor, next to the tub, next to the sink, and let it melt all the way down and drip through the ceiling to a room below. Do you have ice buckets, yes.
Get their hot water for the shower. They will tell us at check out they had absolutely no hot water the entire weekend. We will not accept this, since this room is next to the hot water tank, and no one else said a word. We go turn on the sink, HOT WATER. "Did you try the sink? Was it hot?" Oh yeah THAT was hot, but not the shower. Walk over to shower turn it on, steam immediately pours into the space...
Kettle. They will BOIL the water then place it in a paper cup and scald themselves. You will be to blame.
Luggage. It will always go on the sofa or chair, never on the luggage rack. They will scrape up and CHIP your walls and woodwork bringing it in, and bringing it out. If it has wheels, they will thump thump thump all the way to the room on the stairs.
WIFI. You have wifi inside, outside, but they will insist they need it in the parking lot and treat you like a cad for not having it there for them.
Entertain. Any and every surface, as one innkeeper said "You just never anticipate butt stains on a chair"
...I will leave the rest. That is enough for one day. This is when people say we are soooo negative. When we are only sharing real life experiences, these happened here, right here. Not there, not yet... Bless ya'll.

All you can do is do what you do, people are people..

Trash. They will stand right next to the trash can holding a dripping tea bag and ask, 'Where should I put this?' Oh honey...
I hope you have a little 'helpful hints' sheet that you leave on the counter. We did a weekly rental at the beach and they had all the info we could need - where to put the trash bags, where to find new trash bags, where to put the dirty linen, where to find the vacuum, what to leave (sugar packs, non dairy creamer) and what to take away (everything we brought in).
I know we all shake out heads when people do clueless things but not everyone lives the same way we do and some people just don't know about some stuff. Like me trying to open sealed windows in Savannah. How would I know all the windows were sealed and I was only supposed to use the A/C? To me, if it's hot inside and cool outside, you open a window!
.

To me, if it's hot inside and cool outside, you open a window!
Bless your heart! Welcome to the south!

 

[JBloggs]

Where will they?
Place drinks. They will move coasters to set them on wood surfaces. Or they will use room books/print outs that bleed all over.
Put Ice. They will place a large bag of ice on the marble tile floor, next to the tub, next to the sink, and let it melt all the way down and drip through the ceiling to a room below. Do you have ice buckets, yes.
Get their hot water for the shower. They will tell us at check out they had absolutely no hot water the entire weekend. We will not accept this, since this room is next to the hot water tank, and no one else said a word. We go turn on the sink, HOT WATER. "Did you try the sink? Was it hot?" Oh yeah THAT was hot, but not the shower. Walk over to shower turn it on, steam immediately pours into the space...
Kettle. They will BOIL the water then place it in a paper cup and scald themselves. You will be to blame.
Luggage. It will always go on the sofa or chair, never on the luggage rack. They will scrape up and CHIP your walls and woodwork bringing it in, and bringing it out. If it has wheels, they will thump thump thump all the way to the room on the stairs.
WIFI. You have wifi inside, outside, but they will insist they need it in the parking lot and treat you like a cad for not having it there for them.
Entertain. Any and every surface, as one innkeeper said "You just never anticipate butt stains on a chair"
...I will leave the rest. That is enough for one day. This is when people say we are soooo negative. When we are only sharing real life experiences, these happened here, right here. Not there, not yet... Bless ya'll.

All you can do is do what you do, people are people..

Trash. They will stand right next to the trash can holding a dripping tea bag and ask, 'Where should I put this?' Oh honey...
I hope you have a little 'helpful hints' sheet that you leave on the counter. We did a weekly rental at the beach and they had all the info we could need - where to put the trash bags, where to find new trash bags, where to put the dirty linen, where to find the vacuum, what to leave (sugar packs, non dairy creamer) and what to take away (everything we brought in).
I know we all shake out heads when people do clueless things but not everyone lives the same way we do and some people just don't know about some stuff. Like me trying to open sealed windows in Savannah. How would I know all the windows were sealed and I was only supposed to use the A/C? To me, if it's hot inside and cool outside, you open a window!
.

Trash. They will stand right next to the trash can holding a dripping tea bag and ask, 'Where should I put this?' Oh honey...
I hope you have a little 'helpful hints' sheet that you leave on the counter. We did a weekly rental at the beach and they had all the info we could need - where to put the trash bags, where to find new trash bags, where to put the dirty linen, where to find the vacuum, what to leave (sugar packs, non dairy creamer) and what to take away (everything we brought in).
I know we all shake out heads when people do clueless things but not everyone lives the same way we do and some people just don't know about some stuff. Like me trying to open sealed windows in Savannah. How would I know all the windows were sealed and I was only supposed to use the A/C? To me, if it's hot inside and cool outside, you open a window!

Or in the state park cabins a big sign "DO NOT MAKE ROAST MARSHALLOWS IN THE FIREPLACE!"