Gotta laugh or else I'll cry (or scream and pull my hair out)!
- Thread starter Don Draper
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HighMountainLodge
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During our time in business, we have rung the changes on guests' dietary requests. I've often wondered to myself how people managed to survive before we "knew" about gluten. And eggs. And dairy. And meat. The basic foodstuffs of life seem to be poison to so many people. It's just baffling.
A year ago at the PAII convention in Atlanta, a presenter made an offhand comment that has stuck with me: when the rest of their lives are spinning out of control, one of the things people try to control is their diet. It's not necessarily about what they eat, it's about having *control* over what they eat. That has been a good reminder to me. Maybe we should rename our industry from B&B to B&B&C: Bed & Breakfast & Control. It's really important to some people that they be different, that they get something different than what everybody else is getting. It's inconvenient and it's maddening. At its worst, it's sort of an anthropological exercise: "I can't believe you would ask me for that. Are you insane?"
If my wife & I have learned nothing else, it has been to be less self-absorbed when we are traveling (though, truth be told, we examine the cleanliness of the toilets with a thoroughness that would give a marine drill instructor pause). Perhaps our less-than-successful guests are in fact poster children for that iconic demotivators poster: "It could be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others."
A year ago at the PAII convention in Atlanta, a presenter made an offhand comment that has stuck with me: when the rest of their lives are spinning out of control, one of the things people try to control is their diet. It's not necessarily about what they eat, it's about having *control* over what they eat. That has been a good reminder to me. Maybe we should rename our industry from B&B to B&B&C: Bed & Breakfast & Control. It's really important to some people that they be different, that they get something different than what everybody else is getting. It's inconvenient and it's maddening. At its worst, it's sort of an anthropological exercise: "I can't believe you would ask me for that. Are you insane?"
If my wife & I have learned nothing else, it has been to be less self-absorbed when we are traveling (though, truth be told, we examine the cleanliness of the toilets with a thoroughness that would give a marine drill instructor pause). Perhaps our less-than-successful guests are in fact poster children for that iconic demotivators poster: "It could be that your sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others."
Morticia
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If you sign up with bb.com to let guests book your place thru their site you get charged a commission. It's 25 or 30%. They will also list you with Expedia, et al and you pay the same commission if you get booked on Expedia. Anytime someone else is in the middle you are paying a commission for them to 'do the work'. Commissions range from 20-30%.MTLLodge said:
Don Draper
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This is a fantastic point about control and I think very true with a lot of the dietary issues. And then it just brings up MY need to be in control of the B&B! So a minor clash seems inevitable. I truly don't mind preparing something special, I just want to know about it in advance so I can be ready to go. Thanks for this food for thought.
wendydk
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Reservations made through their online program, Expedia, Hotels.com or Travelocity require payment of commission. Sounds like a lot....but is WELL WORTH the exposure we get.MTLLodge said:
Breakfast Diva
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This summer has been a night and day switch from the previous years of dietary restriction hell! At the end of last summer, on the webervations I changed my wording to eliminate any reference to "preference" and just if they have any "food allergies or dietary restrictions". I don't double check with them when I check them in either. That only gives more opportunity for them to tell you their likes and dislikes!
If they are served something they don't like or forgot to tell me, then too bad, so sad....there is plenty else on their plate to eat. They can tell me about it for the next day. I'm not doing the breakfast shuffle any more!! YAHOOOOO! It's been very freeing this year.
If they are served something they don't like or forgot to tell me, then too bad, so sad....there is plenty else on their plate to eat. They can tell me about it for the next day. I'm not doing the breakfast shuffle any more!! YAHOOOOO! It's been very freeing this year.
