Don't say they're not out there...

[Country Girl]

We love considerated guests (and have two such couples here tonight). I always leave a note on the front door, even if I am at home, welcoming guests and giving them directions to their room, etc. That way if I have to run to the store, or am out in the garden, the guests can come in, make themselves at home, unwind, have a drink and some snacks, and RELAX! So many times they tell me that just walking through the door is a stress reliever. While I try to be here when guests are expected to arrive I don't feel that I need to be here. And, if they are arriving very late, they don't have to worry about keeping us up. We want this to be a totally stress-free time for them and flexibility seems to be the key..

"I always leave a note on the front door, even if I am at home, welcoming guests and giving them directions to their room, etc."
I'm sorry, but if I'm on the property, I'm greeting my guests and making sure not only they find everything they need, but also to insure that their late arrival doesn't negatively impact any other guests who may have turned in for the night already.
"That way if I have to run to the store, or am out in the garden, the guests can come in, make themselves at home, unwind, have a drink and some snacks, and RELAX!"

I'm not referring to returning guests, but I think most people in a strange and unfamiliar place would have a hard time fully relaxing knowing you are somewhere on the property, but didn't want to be bothered with one of the primary and most important functions of an innkeeper, the warm wlecome and taking care of the check in procedure.
If its me and I knew my innkeeper was on the property and still didn't come to greet me, I'd feel like I wasn't a very valued guest.
"We want this to be a totally stress-free time for them and flexibility seems to be the key."
I can think of no better way to put people at ease then to physically welcome them into my home and make sure they know everything they might need to know about the home and its amenities.
My flexibility is in planning my day around taking care of shopping, gardening, etc.. before any guests could be expected to arrive. Its also in my being flexible with my recreational schedule on days when I have guests checking in and in my bed time when I know I have first time guests arriving late.
Many of our guests really do "get" the part about being in someone's house and might be very hesitant to fully relax until they kind of get the "nod and wink" from us that they needn't worry about anything and we are there to assist them with getting as comfortable as possible.
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"I always leave a note on the front door, even if I am at home, welcoming guests and giving them directions to their room, etc."
I'm sorry, but if I'm on the property, I'm greeting my guests and making sure not only they find everything they need, but also to insure that their late arrival doesn't negatively impact any other guests who may have turned in for the night already.
"That way if I have to run to the store, or am out in the garden, the guests can come in, make themselves at home, unwind, have a drink and some snacks, and RELAX!"

I'm not referring to returning guests, but I think most people in a strange and unfamiliar place would have a hard time fully relaxing knowing you are somewhere on the property, but didn't want to be bothered with one of the primary and most important functions of an innkeeper, the warm wlecome and taking care of the check in procedure.
If its me and I knew my innkeeper was on the property and still didn't come to greet me, I'd feel like I wasn't a very valued guest.
"We want this to be a totally stress-free time for them and flexibility seems to be the key."
I can think of no better way to put people at ease then to physically welcome them into my home and make sure they know everything they might need to know about the home and its amenities.
My flexibility is in planning my day around taking care of shopping, gardening, etc.. before any guests could be expected to arrive. Its also in my being flexible with my recreational schedule on days when I have guests checking in and in my bed time when I know I have first time guests arriving late.
Many of our guests really do "get" the part about being in someone's house and might be very hesitant to fully relax until they kind of get the "nod and wink" from us that they needn't worry about anything and we are there to assist them with getting as comfortable as possible.

I've been a bit busy lately and haven't had much time to be on this site, so I missed this discussion. But I'm back now, so....
First, let me say that I greet my guests 100% of the time when I'm home, unless I am out in the garden and I don't hear them arrive, or it's after I've gone to bed. In both cases I leave a note on the front door. In the 12 years that I've been doing this I've never had a problem with a guest saying they were disappointed that I wasn't here to greet them. Quite the opposite, in fact. I always tell them when they make the reservation that if, by some chance, I am not here when they arrive there will be a note on the front door for them. They are thrilled. It takes all the pressure off of them to arrive "on time" and off of me, to sit around and wait for them. I have a very relaxed check-in and check-out time so typically guests can arrive anytime after noon (if I did not have a guest in that room the night before), and they can check-out anytime they want (as long as I don't have guests checking into that room on that day). It's just what works for me. This is a small B&B and I try to be as accommodating as I possibly can be without killing myself. So, this means that after breakfast is over, if I have plans for the day and the guests want to stay and relax on the porch or take the boat out on the lake, they are welcome to do so. I don't mind if they are here and I am off with my family. Most of the time they will stay and extra hour or two and that has never bothered me. If I don't have guests checking in I am as relaxed as they are. We recently had two "starving grad students" here for one overnight. We didn't have guests checking in the next day so we told them they could stay for as long as they liked. They both brought books to read and spent the entire day out on the hammock reading. They were ecstatic not to have to check out at 11:00 and head back to their city apartment on a beautiful summer day. I spent the day gardening and all was well. Today I have guests here on their honeymoon. They want breakfast at 10:00, which is fine with me as they are my only guests.
I certainly take issue with your implication that I do not want to be "bothered" with my guests or that I don't "value" my guests. LIke most innkeepers on this site, the opposite is true. I tend to put their needs, wants, and comforts ahead of my own.
I know this style of inn keeping would not work for many innkeepers because most B&B's are larger than I am. My guests are coming here to get away and relax. I try my best to help them do so. They know it and appreciate it.