Maintenance

[happykeeper]

We are planning a serious kitchen remodel. Taking out a bar/small countertop cabinet and putting in a work table island. Replacing the oven with a double oven. More cabinets and storage space.
Updating the decor in several rooms.
Take up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and get the hardwood floors refinished. And the stairs as well.
Finish replacing the small round toilets with oval chair-height toilets.
I'm sure Shelley has more planned.
C.

We would have been lost over the years without at least two ovens.
Have you guys got a detailed plan for updating the decor? Does that mean new furniture? We're giving our rooms a refresh so we can raise our rates, but we are hoping to keep it to things that are less costly. Artwork? Boy that can get expensive if you let it.
.

I wish I was the kind of person that can come up with detailed plans. Shelley is better at that sort of thing, I am a fly by night kinda person and she is an analyzer and planner. I know she has her plan in mind. She isn't telling me the whole story because it will be a lot of work for me.
We have a general plan for the kitchen update. As for the rooms, there are several that we are going to put a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. No new furniture, we put new (custom built) furniture in the parlor when we first moved in. The furniture in the rooms are fine. But we will replace some more mattresses.
Our signs need redone. Fortunately, our cleaning girl is a fantastic artist as well. There is a separate building that the PO's were using as a flea market. Now that it's cleaned out, we are letting her use it as an art studio. We're not charging her rent, but we'll take some artwork in trade.
I also want to put a mini-split air conditioning system in the 2 downstairs rooms as well as a couple of window units in 2 of the upstairs rooms. Then all of the bedrooms would have their own unit. We could set the main AC higher a little as our guests have a wide range of comfort.
Our biggest suite currently has a king bed and day bed in the sitting room and a queen bed with another bathroom in a separate room. We will put a mini-fridge in that room, add another set of doors so that suite can be rented as either king+day bed or as a 2 bed/2 bath suite.
Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the previous post. It's gonna be a busy winter. Blegh!
The PO's raised their rates a little every year. With the new (expensive) mattresses, nicer toilets, updated decor, AC's in every room, we will also raise our rates. Add to that Shelley's gourmet breakfasts. Everyone is looking for a discount these days, so we can raise our rates, then offer more discounts through packages, military/first responder discounts, teacher's week, mid-week discounts, etc.
That's our thinkin' anyway.
.

I loved reading about the ingenuity end of making it all work. Isn't it great to have multi-talented people around?
It's smart to raise a little every year. If you can build that gourmet brand, it will help add value and allow to charge a little more than the guy doing the standard. We are slipping away from discounts more and more. I know we will add a few before we reopen because we will be raising the rates, but we have been careful to build the increase into any discount. So the rate goes up but the discount goes down or stays the same. We have seen a big revenue jump with this approach.

 

[happykeeper]

Washing machine repair. Power surge fried the control board. Part repair

Make sure it wasn't a leaking drain pump that fried the motherboard. Happened to my washer, and if I had not caught it, would have fried a replacement motherboard (I actually ended up soldering in a replaceable fuse in place of the burnt fixed fuse and fixed it)..

Was the leaking drain pump above it. Our old washer had a motor control board near the bottom of the machine, but this one is at the top and sealed in a plastic housing. I used to be able to do that kind of stuff goes that was all we could afford. Took me hours since I never really know what I was doing. It's great you can do that kind of repair!

 

[happykeeper]

Our cottage is get another interior facelift. Sunk $10,000.00 into it in 2006 and it seems to be an ever ongoing project. The berber carpet that we installed in 2006 is now trashed. Can't get the stains out. We're ripping up the carpet and installing laminate hard wood. Had to pay more per sq ft because of the moisture. It sits on a creek and there's also a lot of water underneath the building. This structure would never be allowed to be built today being so close to the water. Wallpaper coming down in the kitchen & eating area. New paint. Backsplash will be installed in the kitchen around the entire 3 walls. I don't think we'll have time to tackle the wallpaper in the living room. In 2006 we installed bead board in the living room, so the wallpaper is only offensive on the upper walls. I can't stand it...it needs to go, but we'll see.
New decor. I want to totally change the feeling of the cottage to a beach cottage theme. As previously mentioned, art is expensive, so I'm hoping that along with finding inexpensive beach decor in my area to also use some of my own photography of the area to put up on the walls.
I have a friend who just sold her B&B (so exciting!) and now wants a new career as a restager to come in and restage one of our guest suites and to help with the decor of the cottage & a suite..

I want to be a restager.

 

[ChrisandShelley]

We are planning a serious kitchen remodel. Taking out a bar/small countertop cabinet and putting in a work table island. Replacing the oven with a double oven. More cabinets and storage space.
Updating the decor in several rooms.
Take up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and get the hardwood floors refinished. And the stairs as well.
Finish replacing the small round toilets with oval chair-height toilets.
I'm sure Shelley has more planned.
C.

We would have been lost over the years without at least two ovens.
Have you guys got a detailed plan for updating the decor? Does that mean new furniture? We're giving our rooms a refresh so we can raise our rates, but we are hoping to keep it to things that are less costly. Artwork? Boy that can get expensive if you let it.
.

I wish I was the kind of person that can come up with detailed plans. Shelley is better at that sort of thing, I am a fly by night kinda person and she is an analyzer and planner. I know she has her plan in mind. She isn't telling me the whole story because it will be a lot of work for me.
We have a general plan for the kitchen update. As for the rooms, there are several that we are going to put a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. No new furniture, we put new (custom built) furniture in the parlor when we first moved in. The furniture in the rooms are fine. But we will replace some more mattresses.
Our signs need redone. Fortunately, our cleaning girl is a fantastic artist as well. There is a separate building that the PO's were using as a flea market. Now that it's cleaned out, we are letting her use it as an art studio. We're not charging her rent, but we'll take some artwork in trade.
I also want to put a mini-split air conditioning system in the 2 downstairs rooms as well as a couple of window units in 2 of the upstairs rooms. Then all of the bedrooms would have their own unit. We could set the main AC higher a little as our guests have a wide range of comfort.
Our biggest suite currently has a king bed and day bed in the sitting room and a queen bed with another bathroom in a separate room. We will put a mini-fridge in that room, add another set of doors so that suite can be rented as either king+day bed or as a 2 bed/2 bath suite.
Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the previous post. It's gonna be a busy winter. Blegh!
The PO's raised their rates a little every year. With the new (expensive) mattresses, nicer toilets, updated decor, AC's in every room, we will also raise our rates. Add to that Shelley's gourmet breakfasts. Everyone is looking for a discount these days, so we can raise our rates, then offer more discounts through packages, military/first responder discounts, teacher's week, mid-week discounts, etc.
That's our thinkin' anyway.
.

I loved reading about the ingenuity end of making it all work. Isn't it great to have multi-talented people around?
It's smart to raise a little every year. If you can build that gourmet brand, it will help add value and allow to charge a little more than the guy doing the standard. We are slipping away from discounts more and more. I know we will add a few before we reopen because we will be raising the rates, but we have been careful to build the increase into any discount. So the rate goes up but the discount goes down or stays the same. We have seen a big revenue jump with this approach.
.

Shelley's breakfast are different than the other B&B's because everything is handmade. Biscuits, pie crusts for quiches, plus we buy farm fresh eggs from the local farmers and really good bacon and sausage. Sometimes Shelley gets a little jealous because she could easily get the frozen biscuits and pie crusts and take some shortcuts, but we get so many compliments on our breakfasts it is hard to turn back now.
Plus Shelley would get bored.

 

[ChrisandShelley]

Our cottage is get another interior facelift. Sunk $10,000.00 into it in 2006 and it seems to be an ever ongoing project. The berber carpet that we installed in 2006 is now trashed. Can't get the stains out. We're ripping up the carpet and installing laminate hard wood. Had to pay more per sq ft because of the moisture. It sits on a creek and there's also a lot of water underneath the building. This structure would never be allowed to be built today being so close to the water. Wallpaper coming down in the kitchen & eating area. New paint. Backsplash will be installed in the kitchen around the entire 3 walls. I don't think we'll have time to tackle the wallpaper in the living room. In 2006 we installed bead board in the living room, so the wallpaper is only offensive on the upper walls. I can't stand it...it needs to go, but we'll see.
New decor. I want to totally change the feeling of the cottage to a beach cottage theme. As previously mentioned, art is expensive, so I'm hoping that along with finding inexpensive beach decor in my area to also use some of my own photography of the area to put up on the walls.
I have a friend who just sold her B&B (so exciting!) and now wants a new career as a restager to come in and restage one of our guest suites and to help with the decor of the cottage & a suite..

Wallpaper removal = nightmares.

 

[happykeeper]

We are planning a serious kitchen remodel. Taking out a bar/small countertop cabinet and putting in a work table island. Replacing the oven with a double oven. More cabinets and storage space.
Updating the decor in several rooms.
Take up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and get the hardwood floors refinished. And the stairs as well.
Finish replacing the small round toilets with oval chair-height toilets.
I'm sure Shelley has more planned.
C.

We would have been lost over the years without at least two ovens.
Have you guys got a detailed plan for updating the decor? Does that mean new furniture? We're giving our rooms a refresh so we can raise our rates, but we are hoping to keep it to things that are less costly. Artwork? Boy that can get expensive if you let it.
.

I wish I was the kind of person that can come up with detailed plans. Shelley is better at that sort of thing, I am a fly by night kinda person and she is an analyzer and planner. I know she has her plan in mind. She isn't telling me the whole story because it will be a lot of work for me.
We have a general plan for the kitchen update. As for the rooms, there are several that we are going to put a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. No new furniture, we put new (custom built) furniture in the parlor when we first moved in. The furniture in the rooms are fine. But we will replace some more mattresses.
Our signs need redone. Fortunately, our cleaning girl is a fantastic artist as well. There is a separate building that the PO's were using as a flea market. Now that it's cleaned out, we are letting her use it as an art studio. We're not charging her rent, but we'll take some artwork in trade.
I also want to put a mini-split air conditioning system in the 2 downstairs rooms as well as a couple of window units in 2 of the upstairs rooms. Then all of the bedrooms would have their own unit. We could set the main AC higher a little as our guests have a wide range of comfort.
Our biggest suite currently has a king bed and day bed in the sitting room and a queen bed with another bathroom in a separate room. We will put a mini-fridge in that room, add another set of doors so that suite can be rented as either king+day bed or as a 2 bed/2 bath suite.
Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the previous post. It's gonna be a busy winter. Blegh!
The PO's raised their rates a little every year. With the new (expensive) mattresses, nicer toilets, updated decor, AC's in every room, we will also raise our rates. Add to that Shelley's gourmet breakfasts. Everyone is looking for a discount these days, so we can raise our rates, then offer more discounts through packages, military/first responder discounts, teacher's week, mid-week discounts, etc.
That's our thinkin' anyway.
.

I loved reading about the ingenuity end of making it all work. Isn't it great to have multi-talented people around?
It's smart to raise a little every year. If you can build that gourmet brand, it will help add value and allow to charge a little more than the guy doing the standard. We are slipping away from discounts more and more. I know we will add a few before we reopen because we will be raising the rates, but we have been careful to build the increase into any discount. So the rate goes up but the discount goes down or stays the same. We have seen a big revenue jump with this approach.
.

Shelley's breakfast are different than the other B&B's because everything is handmade. Biscuits, pie crusts for quiches, plus we buy farm fresh eggs from the local farmers and really good bacon and sausage. Sometimes Shelley gets a little jealous because she could easily get the frozen biscuits and pie crusts and take some shortcuts, but we get so many compliments on our breakfasts it is hard to turn back now.
Plus Shelley would get bored.
.

I am assuming you are building this brand into a powerhouse.
"Breakfast from Scratch"
"Breakfast to the Last Scratch"
The Last Scratch Breakfast in Town"

 

[Morticia]

We are planning a serious kitchen remodel. Taking out a bar/small countertop cabinet and putting in a work table island. Replacing the oven with a double oven. More cabinets and storage space.
Updating the decor in several rooms.
Take up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and get the hardwood floors refinished. And the stairs as well.
Finish replacing the small round toilets with oval chair-height toilets.
I'm sure Shelley has more planned.
C.

We would have been lost over the years without at least two ovens.
Have you guys got a detailed plan for updating the decor? Does that mean new furniture? We're giving our rooms a refresh so we can raise our rates, but we are hoping to keep it to things that are less costly. Artwork? Boy that can get expensive if you let it.
.

I wish I was the kind of person that can come up with detailed plans. Shelley is better at that sort of thing, I am a fly by night kinda person and she is an analyzer and planner. I know she has her plan in mind. She isn't telling me the whole story because it will be a lot of work for me.
We have a general plan for the kitchen update. As for the rooms, there are several that we are going to put a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. No new furniture, we put new (custom built) furniture in the parlor when we first moved in. The furniture in the rooms are fine. But we will replace some more mattresses.
Our signs need redone. Fortunately, our cleaning girl is a fantastic artist as well. There is a separate building that the PO's were using as a flea market. Now that it's cleaned out, we are letting her use it as an art studio. We're not charging her rent, but we'll take some artwork in trade.
I also want to put a mini-split air conditioning system in the 2 downstairs rooms as well as a couple of window units in 2 of the upstairs rooms. Then all of the bedrooms would have their own unit. We could set the main AC higher a little as our guests have a wide range of comfort.
Our biggest suite currently has a king bed and day bed in the sitting room and a queen bed with another bathroom in a separate room. We will put a mini-fridge in that room, add another set of doors so that suite can be rented as either king+day bed or as a 2 bed/2 bath suite.
Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the previous post. It's gonna be a busy winter. Blegh!
The PO's raised their rates a little every year. With the new (expensive) mattresses, nicer toilets, updated decor, AC's in every room, we will also raise our rates. Add to that Shelley's gourmet breakfasts. Everyone is looking for a discount these days, so we can raise our rates, then offer more discounts through packages, military/first responder discounts, teacher's week, mid-week discounts, etc.
That's our thinkin' anyway.
.

I loved reading about the ingenuity end of making it all work. Isn't it great to have multi-talented people around?
It's smart to raise a little every year. If you can build that gourmet brand, it will help add value and allow to charge a little more than the guy doing the standard. We are slipping away from discounts more and more. I know we will add a few before we reopen because we will be raising the rates, but we have been careful to build the increase into any discount. So the rate goes up but the discount goes down or stays the same. We have seen a big revenue jump with this approach.
.

Shelley's breakfast are different than the other B&B's because everything is handmade. Biscuits, pie crusts for quiches, plus we buy farm fresh eggs from the local farmers and really good bacon and sausage. Sometimes Shelley gets a little jealous because she could easily get the frozen biscuits and pie crusts and take some shortcuts, but we get so many compliments on our breakfasts it is hard to turn back now.
Plus Shelley would get bored.
.

I am assuming you are building this brand into a powerhouse.
"Breakfast from Scratch"
"Breakfast to the Last Scratch"
The Last Scratch Breakfast in Town"
.

We always point out, in person, which parts of that morning's breakfast are made at home from scratch or were purchased from local purveyors.
I'm continually amazed that no one comments on this. I think the assumption is that everything is made in house from scratch.

 

[happykeeper]

Our cottage is get another interior facelift. Sunk $10,000.00 into it in 2006 and it seems to be an ever ongoing project. The berber carpet that we installed in 2006 is now trashed. Can't get the stains out. We're ripping up the carpet and installing laminate hard wood. Had to pay more per sq ft because of the moisture. It sits on a creek and there's also a lot of water underneath the building. This structure would never be allowed to be built today being so close to the water. Wallpaper coming down in the kitchen & eating area. New paint. Backsplash will be installed in the kitchen around the entire 3 walls. I don't think we'll have time to tackle the wallpaper in the living room. In 2006 we installed bead board in the living room, so the wallpaper is only offensive on the upper walls. I can't stand it...it needs to go, but we'll see.
New decor. I want to totally change the feeling of the cottage to a beach cottage theme. As previously mentioned, art is expensive, so I'm hoping that along with finding inexpensive beach decor in my area to also use some of my own photography of the area to put up on the walls.
I have a friend who just sold her B&B (so exciting!) and now wants a new career as a restager to come in and restage one of our guest suites and to help with the decor of the cottage & a suite..

Wallpaper removal = nightmares.

.

Yep- No actual work- just really fun ideas that someone else pays for.

 

[happykeeper]

We are planning a serious kitchen remodel. Taking out a bar/small countertop cabinet and putting in a work table island. Replacing the oven with a double oven. More cabinets and storage space.
Updating the decor in several rooms.
Take up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and get the hardwood floors refinished. And the stairs as well.
Finish replacing the small round toilets with oval chair-height toilets.
I'm sure Shelley has more planned.
C.

We would have been lost over the years without at least two ovens.
Have you guys got a detailed plan for updating the decor? Does that mean new furniture? We're giving our rooms a refresh so we can raise our rates, but we are hoping to keep it to things that are less costly. Artwork? Boy that can get expensive if you let it.
.

I wish I was the kind of person that can come up with detailed plans. Shelley is better at that sort of thing, I am a fly by night kinda person and she is an analyzer and planner. I know she has her plan in mind. She isn't telling me the whole story because it will be a lot of work for me.
We have a general plan for the kitchen update. As for the rooms, there are several that we are going to put a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. No new furniture, we put new (custom built) furniture in the parlor when we first moved in. The furniture in the rooms are fine. But we will replace some more mattresses.
Our signs need redone. Fortunately, our cleaning girl is a fantastic artist as well. There is a separate building that the PO's were using as a flea market. Now that it's cleaned out, we are letting her use it as an art studio. We're not charging her rent, but we'll take some artwork in trade.
I also want to put a mini-split air conditioning system in the 2 downstairs rooms as well as a couple of window units in 2 of the upstairs rooms. Then all of the bedrooms would have their own unit. We could set the main AC higher a little as our guests have a wide range of comfort.
Our biggest suite currently has a king bed and day bed in the sitting room and a queen bed with another bathroom in a separate room. We will put a mini-fridge in that room, add another set of doors so that suite can be rented as either king+day bed or as a 2 bed/2 bath suite.
Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the previous post. It's gonna be a busy winter. Blegh!
The PO's raised their rates a little every year. With the new (expensive) mattresses, nicer toilets, updated decor, AC's in every room, we will also raise our rates. Add to that Shelley's gourmet breakfasts. Everyone is looking for a discount these days, so we can raise our rates, then offer more discounts through packages, military/first responder discounts, teacher's week, mid-week discounts, etc.
That's our thinkin' anyway.
.

I loved reading about the ingenuity end of making it all work. Isn't it great to have multi-talented people around?
It's smart to raise a little every year. If you can build that gourmet brand, it will help add value and allow to charge a little more than the guy doing the standard. We are slipping away from discounts more and more. I know we will add a few before we reopen because we will be raising the rates, but we have been careful to build the increase into any discount. So the rate goes up but the discount goes down or stays the same. We have seen a big revenue jump with this approach.
.

Shelley's breakfast are different than the other B&B's because everything is handmade. Biscuits, pie crusts for quiches, plus we buy farm fresh eggs from the local farmers and really good bacon and sausage. Sometimes Shelley gets a little jealous because she could easily get the frozen biscuits and pie crusts and take some shortcuts, but we get so many compliments on our breakfasts it is hard to turn back now.
Plus Shelley would get bored.
.

I am assuming you are building this brand into a powerhouse.
"Breakfast from Scratch"
"Breakfast to the Last Scratch"
The Last Scratch Breakfast in Town"
.

We always point out, in person, which parts of that morning's breakfast are made at home from scratch or were purchased from local purveyors.
I'm continually amazed that no one comments on this. I think the assumption is that everything is made in house from scratch.
.

Is it a brand? We have seen a big difference since we incorporated the Locally Sourced brand into our product. When someone specifically chooses us because we are locally sourced and then we deliver locally sourced, guest satisfaction gets a big boost.

 

[Silverspoon]

The list really never ends, but here are the biggies
Re-glaze windows in antique house.
Hire painter for one-weeks worth of work in spring on the exterior.
Price out cost of having split AC installed in cottage...and our bedroom. Have installed if feasible.
Start converting cottage into vacation rental by adding induction burner and countertop convection oven along with the pans and utensils for cooking.
Tweek marketing to highlight the great opportunity guests in the cottage will have in 2016 for a weekly visit: as a full service B&B accommodation with hosts who help them plan their days, or as a unique, totally private, ocean view guest house accommodation.
Replace 27 year old, perfectly-working dishwasher ....because nothing lasts forever!

 

[Morticia]

We are planning a serious kitchen remodel. Taking out a bar/small countertop cabinet and putting in a work table island. Replacing the oven with a double oven. More cabinets and storage space.
Updating the decor in several rooms.
Take up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and get the hardwood floors refinished. And the stairs as well.
Finish replacing the small round toilets with oval chair-height toilets.
I'm sure Shelley has more planned.
C.

We would have been lost over the years without at least two ovens.
Have you guys got a detailed plan for updating the decor? Does that mean new furniture? We're giving our rooms a refresh so we can raise our rates, but we are hoping to keep it to things that are less costly. Artwork? Boy that can get expensive if you let it.
.

I wish I was the kind of person that can come up with detailed plans. Shelley is better at that sort of thing, I am a fly by night kinda person and she is an analyzer and planner. I know she has her plan in mind. She isn't telling me the whole story because it will be a lot of work for me.
We have a general plan for the kitchen update. As for the rooms, there are several that we are going to put a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. No new furniture, we put new (custom built) furniture in the parlor when we first moved in. The furniture in the rooms are fine. But we will replace some more mattresses.
Our signs need redone. Fortunately, our cleaning girl is a fantastic artist as well. There is a separate building that the PO's were using as a flea market. Now that it's cleaned out, we are letting her use it as an art studio. We're not charging her rent, but we'll take some artwork in trade.
I also want to put a mini-split air conditioning system in the 2 downstairs rooms as well as a couple of window units in 2 of the upstairs rooms. Then all of the bedrooms would have their own unit. We could set the main AC higher a little as our guests have a wide range of comfort.
Our biggest suite currently has a king bed and day bed in the sitting room and a queen bed with another bathroom in a separate room. We will put a mini-fridge in that room, add another set of doors so that suite can be rented as either king+day bed or as a 2 bed/2 bath suite.
Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the previous post. It's gonna be a busy winter. Blegh!
The PO's raised their rates a little every year. With the new (expensive) mattresses, nicer toilets, updated decor, AC's in every room, we will also raise our rates. Add to that Shelley's gourmet breakfasts. Everyone is looking for a discount these days, so we can raise our rates, then offer more discounts through packages, military/first responder discounts, teacher's week, mid-week discounts, etc.
That's our thinkin' anyway.
.

I loved reading about the ingenuity end of making it all work. Isn't it great to have multi-talented people around?
It's smart to raise a little every year. If you can build that gourmet brand, it will help add value and allow to charge a little more than the guy doing the standard. We are slipping away from discounts more and more. I know we will add a few before we reopen because we will be raising the rates, but we have been careful to build the increase into any discount. So the rate goes up but the discount goes down or stays the same. We have seen a big revenue jump with this approach.
.

Shelley's breakfast are different than the other B&B's because everything is handmade. Biscuits, pie crusts for quiches, plus we buy farm fresh eggs from the local farmers and really good bacon and sausage. Sometimes Shelley gets a little jealous because she could easily get the frozen biscuits and pie crusts and take some shortcuts, but we get so many compliments on our breakfasts it is hard to turn back now.
Plus Shelley would get bored.
.

I am assuming you are building this brand into a powerhouse.
"Breakfast from Scratch"
"Breakfast to the Last Scratch"
The Last Scratch Breakfast in Town"
.

We always point out, in person, which parts of that morning's breakfast are made at home from scratch or were purchased from local purveyors.
I'm continually amazed that no one comments on this. I think the assumption is that everything is made in house from scratch.
.

Is it a brand? We have seen a big difference since we incorporated the Locally Sourced brand into our product. When someone specifically chooses us because we are locally sourced and then we deliver locally sourced, guest satisfaction gets a big boost.
.

Not sure what you mean by is it a brand. It's food. It's local. It's made in house. If I say the blueberries are local and I made the jam I hear, "that's nice."
It's surprising that there isn't more interest. We get more excitement when we say we made the whipped cream.
We used to be able to get fresh eggs from a friend. Only foodies seemed interested to know the eggs were from free range chickens.
I mention the 18 year old balsamic we use for different dishes and I get 'hmmm'. Now I'm wondering if buying olive oil for $75 is worth it. It's great olive oil but if no one cares if it's 'real' olive oil or a blend off the grocery store shelf, then why spend so much?
This does all come under the maintenance list as we're redoing the menu next year. Same dishes just made differently.

 

[Morticia]

The list really never ends, but here are the biggies
Re-glaze windows in antique house.
Hire painter for one-weeks worth of work in spring on the exterior.
Price out cost of having split AC installed in cottage...and our bedroom. Have installed if feasible.
Start converting cottage into vacation rental by adding induction burner and countertop convection oven along with the pans and utensils for cooking.
Tweek marketing to highlight the great opportunity guests in the cottage will have in 2016 for a weekly visit: as a full service B&B accommodation with hosts who help them plan their days, or as a unique, totally private, ocean view guest house accommodation.
Replace 27 year old, perfectly-working dishwasher ....because nothing lasts forever!.

My dishwasher is from 1987. It's been fixed multiple times.

 

[2cat_lady]

Repaint the most popular room. Going to use Ben Moore's Bath and Spa paint. Used it in my bathrooms, it's flat and you can scrub all you want and can't see any shiny marks.
Recaulk all the showers--they took a beating this summer.
DH must finish my mudroom that he started in May, build a cart for my laundry supplies, a small table for a sitting area that I'm putting together for my plague room, more shelving in a useless cupboard in the kitchen and at least four more Muskoka chairs for the top of the hill behind the house.
Oh, and clean everything from top to bottom. And I'm sure along the way, I'll see tons of opportunity for touch up paint, filling in dings in the walls, etc.

 

[happykeeper]

We are planning a serious kitchen remodel. Taking out a bar/small countertop cabinet and putting in a work table island. Replacing the oven with a double oven. More cabinets and storage space.
Updating the decor in several rooms.
Take up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and get the hardwood floors refinished. And the stairs as well.
Finish replacing the small round toilets with oval chair-height toilets.
I'm sure Shelley has more planned.
C.

We would have been lost over the years without at least two ovens.
Have you guys got a detailed plan for updating the decor? Does that mean new furniture? We're giving our rooms a refresh so we can raise our rates, but we are hoping to keep it to things that are less costly. Artwork? Boy that can get expensive if you let it.
.

I wish I was the kind of person that can come up with detailed plans. Shelley is better at that sort of thing, I am a fly by night kinda person and she is an analyzer and planner. I know she has her plan in mind. She isn't telling me the whole story because it will be a lot of work for me.
We have a general plan for the kitchen update. As for the rooms, there are several that we are going to put a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. No new furniture, we put new (custom built) furniture in the parlor when we first moved in. The furniture in the rooms are fine. But we will replace some more mattresses.
Our signs need redone. Fortunately, our cleaning girl is a fantastic artist as well. There is a separate building that the PO's were using as a flea market. Now that it's cleaned out, we are letting her use it as an art studio. We're not charging her rent, but we'll take some artwork in trade.
I also want to put a mini-split air conditioning system in the 2 downstairs rooms as well as a couple of window units in 2 of the upstairs rooms. Then all of the bedrooms would have their own unit. We could set the main AC higher a little as our guests have a wide range of comfort.
Our biggest suite currently has a king bed and day bed in the sitting room and a queen bed with another bathroom in a separate room. We will put a mini-fridge in that room, add another set of doors so that suite can be rented as either king+day bed or as a 2 bed/2 bath suite.
Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the previous post. It's gonna be a busy winter. Blegh!
The PO's raised their rates a little every year. With the new (expensive) mattresses, nicer toilets, updated decor, AC's in every room, we will also raise our rates. Add to that Shelley's gourmet breakfasts. Everyone is looking for a discount these days, so we can raise our rates, then offer more discounts through packages, military/first responder discounts, teacher's week, mid-week discounts, etc.
That's our thinkin' anyway.
.

I loved reading about the ingenuity end of making it all work. Isn't it great to have multi-talented people around?
It's smart to raise a little every year. If you can build that gourmet brand, it will help add value and allow to charge a little more than the guy doing the standard. We are slipping away from discounts more and more. I know we will add a few before we reopen because we will be raising the rates, but we have been careful to build the increase into any discount. So the rate goes up but the discount goes down or stays the same. We have seen a big revenue jump with this approach.
.

Shelley's breakfast are different than the other B&B's because everything is handmade. Biscuits, pie crusts for quiches, plus we buy farm fresh eggs from the local farmers and really good bacon and sausage. Sometimes Shelley gets a little jealous because she could easily get the frozen biscuits and pie crusts and take some shortcuts, but we get so many compliments on our breakfasts it is hard to turn back now.
Plus Shelley would get bored.
.

I am assuming you are building this brand into a powerhouse.
"Breakfast from Scratch"
"Breakfast to the Last Scratch"
The Last Scratch Breakfast in Town"
.

We always point out, in person, which parts of that morning's breakfast are made at home from scratch or were purchased from local purveyors.
I'm continually amazed that no one comments on this. I think the assumption is that everything is made in house from scratch.
.

Is it a brand? We have seen a big difference since we incorporated the Locally Sourced brand into our product. When someone specifically chooses us because we are locally sourced and then we deliver locally sourced, guest satisfaction gets a big boost.
.

Not sure what you mean by is it a brand. It's food. It's local. It's made in house. If I say the blueberries are local and I made the jam I hear, "that's nice."
It's surprising that there isn't more interest. We get more excitement when we say we made the whipped cream.
We used to be able to get fresh eggs from a friend. Only foodies seemed interested to know the eggs were from free range chickens.
I mention the 18 year old balsamic we use for different dishes and I get 'hmmm'. Now I'm wondering if buying olive oil for $75 is worth it. It's great olive oil but if no one cares if it's 'real' olive oil or a blend off the grocery store shelf, then why spend so much?
This does all come under the maintenance list as we're redoing the menu next year. Same dishes just made differently.
.

Hmm.. well we use our "locally sourced" brand to sell our product. It brands us. If we brand ourselves as being locally sourced, it increases its importance for buyer if that brand made a difference in their decision to stay with us. Others may have more detailed ideas of what a brand is.
On the olive oil- If you became the only place in the US that had a particular olive oil and wanted to use that to sell a room, it might be worth it to you to spend $75 on it. Otherwise, maybe one that fits into the brands you are using to sell your rooms would be a good choice.
Mind you- this is armchair marketing. We have two unique brands- culturally appropriate and locally sourced. We have some other general branding like luxury and the name of our state and stuff like that.
One brand that we have struggled with seems to be "full service inn" Most guests still call us a bed and breakfast. Soooo.. that's something for us to work on.
Again, none of this may even be of interest to your business. I was just encouraging C&S to make a brand out something that sets them above and beyond what others might be doing in their area. If I was looking at two places that were similar and one made a big deal about their, "Scratch to the last drop" brand, and had pictures of steaming biscuits and gravy, I do know where wish one I would choose, even if the other place had a similar picture but didn't promote that it was from scratch because I would assume it wasn't.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Our cottage is get another interior facelift. Sunk $10,000.00 into it in 2006 and it seems to be an ever ongoing project. The berber carpet that we installed in 2006 is now trashed. Can't get the stains out. We're ripping up the carpet and installing laminate hard wood. Had to pay more per sq ft because of the moisture. It sits on a creek and there's also a lot of water underneath the building. This structure would never be allowed to be built today being so close to the water. Wallpaper coming down in the kitchen & eating area. New paint. Backsplash will be installed in the kitchen around the entire 3 walls. I don't think we'll have time to tackle the wallpaper in the living room. In 2006 we installed bead board in the living room, so the wallpaper is only offensive on the upper walls. I can't stand it...it needs to go, but we'll see.
New decor. I want to totally change the feeling of the cottage to a beach cottage theme. As previously mentioned, art is expensive, so I'm hoping that along with finding inexpensive beach decor in my area to also use some of my own photography of the area to put up on the walls.
I have a friend who just sold her B&B (so exciting!) and now wants a new career as a restager to come in and restage one of our guest suites and to help with the decor of the cottage & a suite..

We went from 'old timey New England' to 'classic beach'. I'm still finding prints here and there. Random places - LOWE'S! - had beach-y themed light fixtures. Got 3. One is a 'lantern' that I put a small 'candle' bulb in. Two others have shells in them and are 'distress painted'.
I'm so much happier with the relaxed beach look. I'd love to put bead board up everywhere. We've done it in one room and are planning another. Would love it in the bathrooms especially. Maybe when we rip apart one bathroom this winter that will be the solution for what to do with the walls.
.

Do you have a Home Goods? They have a lot of really great decorator things and good prices. You never know what you'll find in there.
The bead board we put in the cottage gets a beating. Suitcases banging, etc. When we added bead board to another room which is also a moisture problem room, we installed bead board that is vinyl. Let me tell you, it's fantastic!! It's white and unless you look really closely, you won't know it's vinyl. A little magic eraser and scuff marks come right off. I would recommend it for bathrooms. Lowes.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Our cottage is get another interior facelift. Sunk $10,000.00 into it in 2006 and it seems to be an ever ongoing project. The berber carpet that we installed in 2006 is now trashed. Can't get the stains out. We're ripping up the carpet and installing laminate hard wood. Had to pay more per sq ft because of the moisture. It sits on a creek and there's also a lot of water underneath the building. This structure would never be allowed to be built today being so close to the water. Wallpaper coming down in the kitchen & eating area. New paint. Backsplash will be installed in the kitchen around the entire 3 walls. I don't think we'll have time to tackle the wallpaper in the living room. In 2006 we installed bead board in the living room, so the wallpaper is only offensive on the upper walls. I can't stand it...it needs to go, but we'll see.
New decor. I want to totally change the feeling of the cottage to a beach cottage theme. As previously mentioned, art is expensive, so I'm hoping that along with finding inexpensive beach decor in my area to also use some of my own photography of the area to put up on the walls.
I have a friend who just sold her B&B (so exciting!) and now wants a new career as a restager to come in and restage one of our guest suites and to help with the decor of the cottage & a suite..

take a look on Etsy.com - tons of stuff from starving artists
.

take a look on Etsy.com - tons of stuff from starving artists

great idea!

 

[MtnKeeper]

- Finish new owners 3 bedroom house next to B&B (hard to do when it's busiest 8 weeks of the year) -- Move into new house and have a party for finally doing this after 10 years
- Turn our bedroom into the ultimate guest room - install new double rainfall glass shower & jacuzzi tub with stone & river rock floors
- Install new fireplace in guest room
- Update guest rooms that only have one rocking chair with two smaller chairs & coffee tables
- Do some more soundproofing where we can
- Sand & stain the back of the B&B in Spring
- In Spring build a stargazer deck behind B&B
It's a never ending task. Many guests ask us when we take off and relax, and I tell them that when we're closed, we're typically doing maintenance and adding amenities to make the place better for their next visit!

 

[Morticia]

Repaint the most popular room. Going to use Ben Moore's Bath and Spa paint. Used it in my bathrooms, it's flat and you can scrub all you want and can't see any shiny marks.
Recaulk all the showers--they took a beating this summer.
DH must finish my mudroom that he started in May, build a cart for my laundry supplies, a small table for a sitting area that I'm putting together for my plague room, more shelving in a useless cupboard in the kitchen and at least four more Muskoka chairs for the top of the hill behind the house.
Oh, and clean everything from top to bottom. And I'm sure along the way, I'll see tons of opportunity for touch up paint, filling in dings in the walls, etc..

We recaulk the bathrooms every other year. One year Gomez took all the shower doors off and replaced the gaskets that hold the glass in the metal frames. What a difference! Nice & clean & looking new!

 

[Morticia]

Our cottage is get another interior facelift. Sunk $10,000.00 into it in 2006 and it seems to be an ever ongoing project. The berber carpet that we installed in 2006 is now trashed. Can't get the stains out. We're ripping up the carpet and installing laminate hard wood. Had to pay more per sq ft because of the moisture. It sits on a creek and there's also a lot of water underneath the building. This structure would never be allowed to be built today being so close to the water. Wallpaper coming down in the kitchen & eating area. New paint. Backsplash will be installed in the kitchen around the entire 3 walls. I don't think we'll have time to tackle the wallpaper in the living room. In 2006 we installed bead board in the living room, so the wallpaper is only offensive on the upper walls. I can't stand it...it needs to go, but we'll see.
New decor. I want to totally change the feeling of the cottage to a beach cottage theme. As previously mentioned, art is expensive, so I'm hoping that along with finding inexpensive beach decor in my area to also use some of my own photography of the area to put up on the walls.
I have a friend who just sold her B&B (so exciting!) and now wants a new career as a restager to come in and restage one of our guest suites and to help with the decor of the cottage & a suite..

We went from 'old timey New England' to 'classic beach'. I'm still finding prints here and there. Random places - LOWE'S! - had beach-y themed light fixtures. Got 3. One is a 'lantern' that I put a small 'candle' bulb in. Two others have shells in them and are 'distress painted'.
I'm so much happier with the relaxed beach look. I'd love to put bead board up everywhere. We've done it in one room and are planning another. Would love it in the bathrooms especially. Maybe when we rip apart one bathroom this winter that will be the solution for what to do with the walls.
.

Do you have a Home Goods? They have a lot of really great decorator things and good prices. You never know what you'll find in there.
The bead board we put in the cottage gets a beating. Suitcases banging, etc. When we added bead board to another room which is also a moisture problem room, we installed bead board that is vinyl. Let me tell you, it's fantastic!! It's white and unless you look really closely, you won't know it's vinyl. A little magic eraser and scuff marks come right off. I would recommend it for bathrooms. Lowes.
.

Do you have a Home Goods? They have a lot of really great decorator things and good prices. You never know what you'll find in there.
The bead board we put in the cottage gets a beating. Suitcases banging, etc. When we added bead board to another room which is also a moisture problem room, we installed bead board that is vinyl. Let me tell you, it's fantastic!! It's white and unless you look really closely, you won't know it's vinyl. A little magic eraser and scuff marks come right off. I would recommend it for bathrooms. Lowes.

Yes! Love Home Goods! On my way there tomorrow. And Christmas Tree Shops. And BB&B (my store is apparently a 'coastal' store so has coastal themed decor where other stores do not).
I did not take down the wallpaper on the stairs because of banging suitcases. No way do I want to paint the walls every week!

 

[Morticia]

We are planning a serious kitchen remodel. Taking out a bar/small countertop cabinet and putting in a work table island. Replacing the oven with a double oven. More cabinets and storage space.
Updating the decor in several rooms.
Take up the carpet in the upstairs hallway and get the hardwood floors refinished. And the stairs as well.
Finish replacing the small round toilets with oval chair-height toilets.
I'm sure Shelley has more planned.
C.

We would have been lost over the years without at least two ovens.
Have you guys got a detailed plan for updating the decor? Does that mean new furniture? We're giving our rooms a refresh so we can raise our rates, but we are hoping to keep it to things that are less costly. Artwork? Boy that can get expensive if you let it.
.

I wish I was the kind of person that can come up with detailed plans. Shelley is better at that sort of thing, I am a fly by night kinda person and she is an analyzer and planner. I know she has her plan in mind. She isn't telling me the whole story because it will be a lot of work for me.
We have a general plan for the kitchen update. As for the rooms, there are several that we are going to put a fresh coat of paint and some new carpet. No new furniture, we put new (custom built) furniture in the parlor when we first moved in. The furniture in the rooms are fine. But we will replace some more mattresses.
Our signs need redone. Fortunately, our cleaning girl is a fantastic artist as well. There is a separate building that the PO's were using as a flea market. Now that it's cleaned out, we are letting her use it as an art studio. We're not charging her rent, but we'll take some artwork in trade.
I also want to put a mini-split air conditioning system in the 2 downstairs rooms as well as a couple of window units in 2 of the upstairs rooms. Then all of the bedrooms would have their own unit. We could set the main AC higher a little as our guests have a wide range of comfort.
Our biggest suite currently has a king bed and day bed in the sitting room and a queen bed with another bathroom in a separate room. We will put a mini-fridge in that room, add another set of doors so that suite can be rented as either king+day bed or as a 2 bed/2 bath suite.
Plus all the other stuff mentioned in the previous post. It's gonna be a busy winter. Blegh!
The PO's raised their rates a little every year. With the new (expensive) mattresses, nicer toilets, updated decor, AC's in every room, we will also raise our rates. Add to that Shelley's gourmet breakfasts. Everyone is looking for a discount these days, so we can raise our rates, then offer more discounts through packages, military/first responder discounts, teacher's week, mid-week discounts, etc.
That's our thinkin' anyway.
.

I loved reading about the ingenuity end of making it all work. Isn't it great to have multi-talented people around?
It's smart to raise a little every year. If you can build that gourmet brand, it will help add value and allow to charge a little more than the guy doing the standard. We are slipping away from discounts more and more. I know we will add a few before we reopen because we will be raising the rates, but we have been careful to build the increase into any discount. So the rate goes up but the discount goes down or stays the same. We have seen a big revenue jump with this approach.
.

Shelley's breakfast are different than the other B&B's because everything is handmade. Biscuits, pie crusts for quiches, plus we buy farm fresh eggs from the local farmers and really good bacon and sausage. Sometimes Shelley gets a little jealous because she could easily get the frozen biscuits and pie crusts and take some shortcuts, but we get so many compliments on our breakfasts it is hard to turn back now.
Plus Shelley would get bored.
.

I am assuming you are building this brand into a powerhouse.
"Breakfast from Scratch"
"Breakfast to the Last Scratch"
The Last Scratch Breakfast in Town"
.

We always point out, in person, which parts of that morning's breakfast are made at home from scratch or were purchased from local purveyors.
I'm continually amazed that no one comments on this. I think the assumption is that everything is made in house from scratch.
.

Is it a brand? We have seen a big difference since we incorporated the Locally Sourced brand into our product. When someone specifically chooses us because we are locally sourced and then we deliver locally sourced, guest satisfaction gets a big boost.
.

Not sure what you mean by is it a brand. It's food. It's local. It's made in house. If I say the blueberries are local and I made the jam I hear, "that's nice."
It's surprising that there isn't more interest. We get more excitement when we say we made the whipped cream.
We used to be able to get fresh eggs from a friend. Only foodies seemed interested to know the eggs were from free range chickens.
I mention the 18 year old balsamic we use for different dishes and I get 'hmmm'. Now I'm wondering if buying olive oil for $75 is worth it. It's great olive oil but if no one cares if it's 'real' olive oil or a blend off the grocery store shelf, then why spend so much?
This does all come under the maintenance list as we're redoing the menu next year. Same dishes just made differently.
.

Hmm.. well we use our "locally sourced" brand to sell our product. It brands us. If we brand ourselves as being locally sourced, it increases its importance for buyer if that brand made a difference in their decision to stay with us. Others may have more detailed ideas of what a brand is.
On the olive oil- If you became the only place in the US that had a particular olive oil and wanted to use that to sell a room, it might be worth it to you to spend $75 on it. Otherwise, maybe one that fits into the brands you are using to sell your rooms would be a good choice.
Mind you- this is armchair marketing. We have two unique brands- culturally appropriate and locally sourced. We have some other general branding like luxury and the name of our state and stuff like that.
One brand that we have struggled with seems to be "full service inn" Most guests still call us a bed and breakfast. Soooo.. that's something for us to work on.
Again, none of this may even be of interest to your business. I was just encouraging C&S to make a brand out something that sets them above and beyond what others might be doing in their area. If I was looking at two places that were similar and one made a big deal about their, "Scratch to the last drop" brand, and had pictures of steaming biscuits and gravy, I do know where wish one I would choose, even if the other place had a similar picture but didn't promote that it was from scratch because I would assume it wasn't.
.

I'm simply surprised that I'm the only one who is smitten with the idea that I made the jam! And I think it's because the average B&B guest assumes it is all made in house. I've had to explain that it's just the one jam as the other berries are long past and those jams are long used up. I make 10 pints. It's generally gone in a few months.
The bread is made by an excellent local baker and we probably cause a jump in their sales by mentioning where we get it. I know the coffee roaster sells a lot of coffee to our guests when we mention where to buy it. (Another side item I have to organize for next year - selling the coffee in house!)
I'm thinking a table-side menu that explains where we source the food might be a good idea for next year. Guests seem to like that at restaurants.
I know the olive oil store gets a lot of sales from us talking about what we use in the breakfast prep. (their marketing person has told me many times thank you!)
We sell about 6 dozen bottles of maple syrup each year after guests sample it with breakfast.
But none of that is branding. It's just breakfast.
Altho, I have heard, "I love that! I'm so happy you're still making it." And then telling other guests, "You'll love this! It's the best we've ever had!"