How Big is too big for One person?

[Willowpondgj]

Anyone doing it (or done it) with kids at home? How would that affect your answer?.

I have 2 kids at home and they are old enough to be the help!

 

[hiddencove]

I handle two. It is very easy and everything flows. I do most of the work myself. I do have a handyman and a housekeeper I have on an "on call" basis.

 

[The Tipsy Butler]

From my experience - 4 rooms. We "opened" a number of years ago at the start of the busy season. I had expected to have DH for at least moral support but he ended up working out of state from June until the end of September. I was left with no choice but to jump right in, pretend I knew what I was doing and make it work.
As the competence and confidence have grown, I've added to the things I handle outside of the inn .... and to be honest, last year was a nightmare - we took on too much.
This year I'm back to just my four rooms and trying to help DH as much as possible with the new place.

 

[egoodell]

I would say on your own starting out with no experience 2 rooms and work up to what she could handle. I think I could handle 4 on my own, but DH can only handle 2 on his own since I have to prep for him, and he gets buried in the laundry
But if you have kids in the mix I would not do more than 2 until they are used to the situation.
Keep room for expansion of rooms or if they have a place with 5 rooms just don't reserve or advertise the others until they have their routine down.
Riki

 

[wendydk]

I would say on your own starting out with no experience 2 rooms and work up to what she could handle. I think I could handle 4 on my own, but DH can only handle 2 on his own since I have to prep for him, and he gets buried in the laundry
But if you have kids in the mix I would not do more than 2 until they are used to the situation.
Keep room for expansion of rooms or if they have a place with 5 rooms just don't reserve or advertise the others until they have their routine down.
Riki.

Good Advice...

 

[JeannineIrish]

6-8 would be about right for us.

We have 4 and at our age I wouldn't want any more than that. We barely have enough energy when all 4 are filled for 5 nights straight like we just had last week. I've got one room (2 people) now for a couple of days. Nice.

 

[JeannineIrish]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.

 

[wendydk]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.
.

Just what I was thinking. I'm 43 and there is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks that I would consider it, even if the dh did not work outside the house.

 

[egoodell]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.
.

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.

I don't know - to do 6-8 you'd have to have a lot of linens and stock so you would not have to do any laundry on turning rooms - how would you physically change 6-8 rooms if they all check out and in on the same day? Our rooms are new and easy to clean, but we take at least 45 minutes to and hour to turn them.
So you feed them breakfast - and they don't all come on time - so you are stuck with them and in the kitchen until at least 10am (breakfast is served at 8:30 and you have the ones that waltz in around 9:45 to eat... unless you are strict about "after 9:30 we leave out continental breakfast")
So then if you have them all pay at checkin you don't have to worry about checkout, but you can't get into any of the rooms until check out time which is about 11am. And you leave the rooms that check out late until the last to turn (my latest so far was about 11:30)
Then with 6-8 rooms you are looking at around 6-8 hours. This gives you until 6pm at the earliest. How are you going to eat lunch and turn the rooms and be clean and cheerful to check them in when they arrive at 4pm, when you have not yet turned all the rooms? And have them register and give them directions and restaurant advice?
I don't think any one person alone can do 6-8 rooms without any help. They need a cleaning person. Ask SS!
RIki

 

[JeannineIrish]

Has anyone noticed that "SecondAct" has not replied back since they posted 6-8

 

[muirford]

Has anyone noticed that "SecondAct" has not replied back since they posted 6-8

.

They said 'for us'. I'm betting that they didn't read the restrictions quite so thoroughly, and maybe meant 6-8 for two people. Even for two, that's really hard during the busy season without help - that's what Bree is talking about.

 

[EmptyNest]

for us...doing it all ourselves... 3 rooms was all we could handle. And as my back grew worse..it went to 2 rooms..then we closed. However, I do have 2 friends who do everything themselves and they have 5 rooms. They admit it is alot of work and they don't get much time for "themselves."

 

[Samster]

for us...doing it all ourselves... 3 rooms was all we could handle. And as my back grew worse..it went to 2 rooms..then we closed. However, I do have 2 friends who do everything themselves and they have 5 rooms. They admit it is alot of work and they don't get much time for "themselves.".

Are they 2 full time innkeepers? That makes a difference too. If you are 2 people but one has a full-time job outside of the inn, they are really only there to help when they can. You can't count on them as another full time innkeeper.
I speak from experience.....

 

[JeannineIrish]

for us...doing it all ourselves... 3 rooms was all we could handle. And as my back grew worse..it went to 2 rooms..then we closed. However, I do have 2 friends who do everything themselves and they have 5 rooms. They admit it is alot of work and they don't get much time for "themselves.".

Are they 2 full time innkeepers? That makes a difference too. If you are 2 people but one has a full-time job outside of the inn, they are really only there to help when they can. You can't count on them as another full time innkeeper.
I speak from experience.....
.

We are two full time innkeepers and we wouldn't want any more than 4 rooms. The only help we have is a wonderful cleaning woman who comes in once every two weeks to do a deep cleaning of the entire house including our quarters. We do the cleaning and turning over of rooms in between and ALL the other work associated with the business.
Hubby loves it the day that our helper comes because that means he doesn't have to help turn rooms over.

 

[Mr.Design]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.
.

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.

I don't know - to do 6-8 you'd have to have a lot of linens and stock so you would not have to do any laundry on turning rooms - how would you physically change 6-8 rooms if they all check out and in on the same day? Our rooms are new and easy to clean, but we take at least 45 minutes to and hour to turn them.
So you feed them breakfast - and they don't all come on time - so you are stuck with them and in the kitchen until at least 10am (breakfast is served at 8:30 and you have the ones that waltz in around 9:45 to eat... unless you are strict about "after 9:30 we leave out continental breakfast")
So then if you have them all pay at checkin you don't have to worry about checkout, but you can't get into any of the rooms until check out time which is about 11am. And you leave the rooms that check out late until the last to turn (my latest so far was about 11:30)
Then with 6-8 rooms you are looking at around 6-8 hours. This gives you until 6pm at the earliest. How are you going to eat lunch and turn the rooms and be clean and cheerful to check them in when they arrive at 4pm, when you have not yet turned all the rooms? And have them register and give them directions and restaurant advice?
I don't think any one person alone can do 6-8 rooms without any help. They need a cleaning person. Ask SS!
RIki
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?

 

[wendydk]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.
.

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.

I don't know - to do 6-8 you'd have to have a lot of linens and stock so you would not have to do any laundry on turning rooms - how would you physically change 6-8 rooms if they all check out and in on the same day? Our rooms are new and easy to clean, but we take at least 45 minutes to and hour to turn them.
So you feed them breakfast - and they don't all come on time - so you are stuck with them and in the kitchen until at least 10am (breakfast is served at 8:30 and you have the ones that waltz in around 9:45 to eat... unless you are strict about "after 9:30 we leave out continental breakfast")
So then if you have them all pay at checkin you don't have to worry about checkout, but you can't get into any of the rooms until check out time which is about 11am. And you leave the rooms that check out late until the last to turn (my latest so far was about 11:30)
Then with 6-8 rooms you are looking at around 6-8 hours. This gives you until 6pm at the earliest. How are you going to eat lunch and turn the rooms and be clean and cheerful to check them in when they arrive at 4pm, when you have not yet turned all the rooms? And have them register and give them directions and restaurant advice?
I don't think any one person alone can do 6-8 rooms without any help. They need a cleaning person. Ask SS!
RIki
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?
.

I could see that. Featherbed to fluff and turn, maybe a jacuzzi to clean, wood floors to clean AND carpet or rug to vacuum, dusting, restocking supplies...depends on the room and your fanatical cleaning tendencies. Plus, I often leave sheets in the washer from the day before, and wait for them to dry before whipping them out to put on the bed. I try to organize the best use of time and space since I don't have alot of either one!

 

[Samster]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.
.

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.

I don't know - to do 6-8 you'd have to have a lot of linens and stock so you would not have to do any laundry on turning rooms - how would you physically change 6-8 rooms if they all check out and in on the same day? Our rooms are new and easy to clean, but we take at least 45 minutes to and hour to turn them.
So you feed them breakfast - and they don't all come on time - so you are stuck with them and in the kitchen until at least 10am (breakfast is served at 8:30 and you have the ones that waltz in around 9:45 to eat... unless you are strict about "after 9:30 we leave out continental breakfast")
So then if you have them all pay at checkin you don't have to worry about checkout, but you can't get into any of the rooms until check out time which is about 11am. And you leave the rooms that check out late until the last to turn (my latest so far was about 11:30)
Then with 6-8 rooms you are looking at around 6-8 hours. This gives you until 6pm at the earliest. How are you going to eat lunch and turn the rooms and be clean and cheerful to check them in when they arrive at 4pm, when you have not yet turned all the rooms? And have them register and give them directions and restaurant advice?
I don't think any one person alone can do 6-8 rooms without any help. They need a cleaning person. Ask SS!
RIki
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?
.

We have several suites that are large and take that long to totally flip. Jetted tubs, plus a shower, hardwood floors, multiple rooms, kitchen or kitchenette, maybe a porch. It happens!

 

[egoodell]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.
.

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.

I don't know - to do 6-8 you'd have to have a lot of linens and stock so you would not have to do any laundry on turning rooms - how would you physically change 6-8 rooms if they all check out and in on the same day? Our rooms are new and easy to clean, but we take at least 45 minutes to and hour to turn them.
So you feed them breakfast - and they don't all come on time - so you are stuck with them and in the kitchen until at least 10am (breakfast is served at 8:30 and you have the ones that waltz in around 9:45 to eat... unless you are strict about "after 9:30 we leave out continental breakfast")
So then if you have them all pay at checkin you don't have to worry about checkout, but you can't get into any of the rooms until check out time which is about 11am. And you leave the rooms that check out late until the last to turn (my latest so far was about 11:30)
Then with 6-8 rooms you are looking at around 6-8 hours. This gives you until 6pm at the earliest. How are you going to eat lunch and turn the rooms and be clean and cheerful to check them in when they arrive at 4pm, when you have not yet turned all the rooms? And have them register and give them directions and restaurant advice?
I don't think any one person alone can do 6-8 rooms without any help. They need a cleaning person. Ask SS!
RIki
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?

Per room
400 square feet to vaccum and clean wood floors
King bed to make
whirlpool tub for two. Run the cleaning system for something like 10 minutes and then cleaning the tub
Spa shower all glass to clean and be sure to get all the hairs out
Rugs to vaccum
Wine fridge to fill with sparkling wine, sodas and water
Chocolates to put out
Flowers in room
clean drinking glasses and wine glasses and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
We are maybe more cleaning conscious with two large rooms than we will be when we have five. But we are only two years into this and may be slow.
But if you can whip a big room even in half an hour, 6 - 8 rooms after breakfast and check out will still have you cleaning until at least 4pm for 6 rooms, so longer for 8, so I still don't see one person running an inn by themselves that size.
RIki

 

[Samster]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.
.

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.

I don't know - to do 6-8 you'd have to have a lot of linens and stock so you would not have to do any laundry on turning rooms - how would you physically change 6-8 rooms if they all check out and in on the same day? Our rooms are new and easy to clean, but we take at least 45 minutes to and hour to turn them.
So you feed them breakfast - and they don't all come on time - so you are stuck with them and in the kitchen until at least 10am (breakfast is served at 8:30 and you have the ones that waltz in around 9:45 to eat... unless you are strict about "after 9:30 we leave out continental breakfast")
So then if you have them all pay at checkin you don't have to worry about checkout, but you can't get into any of the rooms until check out time which is about 11am. And you leave the rooms that check out late until the last to turn (my latest so far was about 11:30)
Then with 6-8 rooms you are looking at around 6-8 hours. This gives you until 6pm at the earliest. How are you going to eat lunch and turn the rooms and be clean and cheerful to check them in when they arrive at 4pm, when you have not yet turned all the rooms? And have them register and give them directions and restaurant advice?
I don't think any one person alone can do 6-8 rooms without any help. They need a cleaning person. Ask SS!
RIki
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?

Per room
400 square feet to vaccum and clean wood floors
King bed to make
whirlpool tub for two. Run the cleaning system for something like 10 minutes and then cleaning the tub
Spa shower all glass to clean and be sure to get all the hairs out
Rugs to vaccum
Wine fridge to fill with sparkling wine, sodas and water
Chocolates to put out
Flowers in room
clean drinking glasses and wine glasses and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
We are maybe more cleaning conscious with two large rooms than we will be when we have five. But we are only two years into this and may be slow.
But if you can whip a big room even in half an hour, 6 - 8 rooms after breakfast and check out will still have you cleaning until at least 4pm for 6 rooms, so longer for 8, so I still don't see one person running an inn by themselves that size.
RIki
.

Plus, cleaning your bathroom floor, dusting, cleaning mirrors, maybe cleaning a fan, the list is endless! I have tried and tried to get the cleaning time down on my 550 sq ft suite and it is just not possible. The best I can do is about 40 minutes and that is if the guests were super neat and didn't use robes or extras. You're not slow! It takes that long to do the job right!

 

[egoodell]

What does busy mean - 35% occupancy, 50% occupancy - 100% for three months then 10% the rest of the year?
I can't imagine doing more than 2 or 3 with anything approaching 50% occupancy. Maybe more when I was in my prime but not in my current lack-of-physical-fitness..

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.
.

Yeh, someone must be real young out there to do 6-8 solo.

I don't know - to do 6-8 you'd have to have a lot of linens and stock so you would not have to do any laundry on turning rooms - how would you physically change 6-8 rooms if they all check out and in on the same day? Our rooms are new and easy to clean, but we take at least 45 minutes to and hour to turn them.
So you feed them breakfast - and they don't all come on time - so you are stuck with them and in the kitchen until at least 10am (breakfast is served at 8:30 and you have the ones that waltz in around 9:45 to eat... unless you are strict about "after 9:30 we leave out continental breakfast")
So then if you have them all pay at checkin you don't have to worry about checkout, but you can't get into any of the rooms until check out time which is about 11am. And you leave the rooms that check out late until the last to turn (my latest so far was about 11:30)
Then with 6-8 rooms you are looking at around 6-8 hours. This gives you until 6pm at the earliest. How are you going to eat lunch and turn the rooms and be clean and cheerful to check them in when they arrive at 4pm, when you have not yet turned all the rooms? And have them register and give them directions and restaurant advice?
I don't think any one person alone can do 6-8 rooms without any help. They need a cleaning person. Ask SS!
RIki
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?
.

45 minutes to an hour to turn a room?!?

What makes it take so long?

Per room
400 square feet to vaccum and clean wood floors
King bed to make
whirlpool tub for two. Run the cleaning system for something like 10 minutes and then cleaning the tub
Spa shower all glass to clean and be sure to get all the hairs out
Rugs to vaccum
Wine fridge to fill with sparkling wine, sodas and water
Chocolates to put out
Flowers in room
clean drinking glasses and wine glasses and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
We are maybe more cleaning conscious with two large rooms than we will be when we have five. But we are only two years into this and may be slow.
But if you can whip a big room even in half an hour, 6 - 8 rooms after breakfast and check out will still have you cleaning until at least 4pm for 6 rooms, so longer for 8, so I still don't see one person running an inn by themselves that size.
RIki
.

Plus, cleaning your bathroom floor, dusting, cleaning mirrors, maybe cleaning a fan, the list is endless! I have tried and tried to get the cleaning time down on my 550 sq ft suite and it is just not possible. The best I can do is about 40 minutes and that is if the guests were super neat and didn't use robes or extras. You're not slow! It takes that long to do the job right!

.

Plus, cleaning your bathroom floor, dusting, cleaning mirrors, maybe cleaning a fan, the list is endless! I have tried and tried to get the cleaning time down on my 550 sq ft suite and it is just not possible. The best I can do is about 40 minutes and that is if the guests were super neat and didn't use robes or extras. You're not slow! It takes that long to do the job right!

Well thanks, it's DH doing it since I'm still stuck in the outside job and he is a bit slower than I would be. But he's getting better. But we now have a cleaning gal that comes in on Mondays to do the two flips with deep cleaning because he was getting stretched trying to care for the vineyard at the same time. And she has her own license as a cleaning company, so it's not an employee, yipeee
riki