Tim_Toad_HLB
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If I get a request more than a couple times, I'll do everything in my power to get it for the inn so guests don't have to ask for anything. Not only does it make it nicer for them, but if they have it at their fingertips they are not interrupting my personal time.I wonder if anyone really cares about the cards that I leave for the guests for a special occasion or event? And the special chocolates or candy bar or whatever that I put with it. Maybe one or two persons has ever said something about it.
I quit doing an evening social hour early on...no one was around. I rarely put out afternoon refreshments in the dining room anymore. I just leave individual plates in the rooms.
The rest I'll keep doing....They do notice the special cards (especially if they are personalized) and chocolates for special occasions. We do that too, and it's an accumulative affect. When you add all the little special touches especially when it's personalized they notice. I have a very simple greeting card program on my computer and I make them a personalized anniversary/birthday/honeymoon/graduation card with a couple local chocolates.Samster said:I wonder if anyone really cares about the cards that I leave for the guests for a special occasion or event? And the special chocolates or candy bar or whatever that I put with it. Maybe one or two persons has ever said something about it.
I quit doing an evening social hour early on...no one was around. I rarely put out afternoon refreshments in the dining room anymore. I just leave individual plates in the rooms.
The rest I'll keep doing...
Here's what I hear often: "I forgot to bring some q-tips, but then I turned around and there they were. I needed a hair dryer and there it was. I wanted a wine opener and glasses, and they were right there in the room.I needed an iron and there it was etc., etc., etc. We've tried to put everything either in their rooms or in an area that's obvious. We have an ice maker in the common area because I kept getting guests asking for ice. If I get a request more than a couple times, I'll do everything in my power to get it for the inn so guests don't have to ask for anything. Not only does it make it nicer for them, but if they have it at their fingertips they are not interrupting my personal time. It's a win, win!
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We've tried that, too. We now have a computer in the common area and added a microwave in the guest pantry. When we remodeled we specifically bought a 'dorm' fridge with a freezer so we could have ice out and so guests could refreeze their cooler ice blocks.
The next thing will be a little basket of 'toiletries' that usually get forgotten.
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I think one of the things that really impresses and endears our guests is what appears to be an effortless anticipation on our part of what little thing they'll forget or need.Bree said:If I get a request more than a couple times, I'll do everything in my power to get it for the inn so guests don't have to ask for anything. Not only does it make it nicer for them, but if they have it at their fingertips they are not interrupting my personal time.
We've tried that, too. We now have a computer in the common area and added a microwave in the guest pantry. When we remodeled we specifically bought a 'dorm' fridge with a freezer so we could have ice out and so guests could refreeze their cooler ice blocks.
The next thing will be a little basket of 'toiletries' that usually get forgotten.
We'll never offer a guest computer in this day and age of nearly everyone having a laptop, iphone, blackberry, etc. seemingly glued to their body.
We've seen the reams of paper, piles of guidebooks, literature, etc. that people already bring with them for a two or three night stay and we have a whole library of additonal information for them and our advice to offer. Most of this stuff ends up in our info library to be reused or in the recycling pile because the guest just had to fold it fifteen times, get food on it, etc..
Having the computer addicted types sit around all day pumping out even more printouts of restaurant menus, trail maps, museum hours, etc. is ridiculous for us as we try to lower our ecological footprint. The idea is to actually get people out of the B&B for a few hours per day and go do all the great stuff they read about in the reams of paper they brought with them.
Not sit around on our dime and generate even more paper waste and have even less time to go out and see cool stuff.
Our internet service plan has a limit on the number of megabytes available in any given 24 hour period except between like 2-6 am. Its like over 750 MB, which one would think would be really hard to go over. Not so.
This past weekend despite it being absolutely gorgeous out, we had two different guests who spent much of their time downloading movies, music, photos, etc. and bumped us over the limit twice which essentially squeezes the amount of bandwidth available to us or anyone else here to nearly nothing
I'm not going to pay for even more bandwidth or offer more than the 700 TV channels available on our current satelite system just because the rare guest can't disengage themselves from their addiction to their "cyberworld" habits.
I would think that the toiletry basket thing would be one of the first amenities any of us had put some effort into offering. Especially after the new airline regualtions went into effect several years ago and people started having essentials taken away if not properly packed or sized.