Innkeeper Vacations

[birdwatcher]

I know just how you feel K and Alibi-we where in same boat last year-heating bills alomost killed us-worst winter that WV has seen in many years-PT job did not pay much at all like K said-prayed and borrowed from Peter to Pay Paul and then this job appeared and we took it-TO SAVE OUR HOME and because hey-we love what we do
Do we make alot of $$$ NO-but you know what we can at least know that we can pay our mortgage and not loose the house and perhaps with more prayer we can at least save some $$ or pay off our debts from the business-but you know you live and you learn-we are able to go home because we saved to buy the plane ticket and we get a paid vacation...but we haven't taken one in 6 years or more.
It will get better or it could be worse its all in the prepective of things-last Christmas was the worse one in many years-this one will be one of the best-going home for Christmas!

 

[bbinnsitters]

Don't feel badly, Al. I am in the same boat. I love what I do and my City needs this so I will hang in ther and hope I can make it better next year. I am married to a CUBS fan - that is their mantra so DH understands. HE would miss the guests - and has said so. I would not be able to go to Germany if my cousin was not sending me a ticket. It is going to strain a lot of things to get the "spending money" I will need. I do not mind operating with little $$ (Thank goodness for the job with the City - City does not pay much but I actually have "walking around" money now. I have never had an abundance of money - we considered "enough" only having to rob Peter to pay Paul during the winter when the heating biulls were highest and taxes were due - speakijng of which I still have real estate hanging over me. DARN! Forgot it! Imsurance due this month too.
Fortunately I LIKE where I am. I am content to be here..

Fortunately I LIKE where I am. I am content to be here.

Me too.
.

That is what life is all about - if you are content and you have a lifestyle that you love. Innkeeping is definitely a lifestyle and money isn't everything! Believe me, I am not rolling in the dough with this business of mine, but I love what I do and I love being able to give people a break when they need it.

 

[Samster]

You didn't screw up Ike...you were hit with the bad economy like many others. This post wasn't meant to make anyone feel bad, just to think about how they might be able to take better care of themselves. Sorry if it did...that wasn't the intent.

We were able to escape before we headed down a path where we lost money, I think. If we can sell the second house for what we paid for it, we'll be OK. We were able to survive because my dh does have another job. We also got a boost recently by my dh finally being able to collect Social Security after working his butt off for over 50 years. And, I now have a couple of part-time jobs that help out.
If you need to take a real vacation, I will come and take care of things for you for FREE!

 

[Alibi Ike]

I'll just put a plug in here for the workshop topic I am doing at the conference in Charleston in January...9:45am on Wed. Jan. 12th, 2011
Who works 24/7 with no paid vacation?
If you have ever considered hiring an Inn-sitter, but have been reluctant or have done so with less than stellar results, then you won't want to miss this workshop. Hear from a panel of Innkeepers and Inn-sitters who will share their experience in what steps, communication and information lead to a successful experience for the Innkeeper and most importantly your guests.
My theory is you CAN get away and you CAN afford it and you NEED to!
Who else do you know that works as hard as you do and then doesn't take time off for a vacation? It is not healthy or fun for you or your guests for you to be stressed..

So sorry, I really should have had the second drink instead of posting that diatribe.

 

[Proud Texan]

We are planning a 21 day extravaganza for next year. We haven't settled on a destination yet, but I think we're Europed out. We'll probably do a section of the United States we've not seen before.
2010 kind of sucked. We had planned a vacation for October but got overrun with reservations. We're definitely going to block off a month next year.

 

[Samster]

I'll just put a plug in here for the workshop topic I am doing at the conference in Charleston in January...9:45am on Wed. Jan. 12th, 2011
Who works 24/7 with no paid vacation?
If you have ever considered hiring an Inn-sitter, but have been reluctant or have done so with less than stellar results, then you won't want to miss this workshop. Hear from a panel of Innkeepers and Inn-sitters who will share their experience in what steps, communication and information lead to a successful experience for the Innkeeper and most importantly your guests.
My theory is you CAN get away and you CAN afford it and you NEED to!
Who else do you know that works as hard as you do and then doesn't take time off for a vacation? It is not healthy or fun for you or your guests for you to be stressed..

So sorry, I really should have had the second drink instead of posting that diatribe.
.

No apologies needed. Probably not very thoughtful of me to post about vacations with most people coming off of their busy seasons into the dead calm of Winter.

 

[agoodman]

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again ....

 

[Aussie Innkeeper]

This year, we took three days in June to attend my M-I-L funeral, three more to retrieve DD11 from church camp, 5 days to go to the beach, two at Thanksgiving and 5 at Christmas. That's a total of 16 days, and it seems high!

 

[swirt]

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again .....

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again ....
Oh no. That is bad. When you have somebody come repair them, aske them to replace them with PEX. It won't prevent furture freezing, but it will not break in the event of a freeze.

 

[Samster]

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again .....

Bummer....it has been really cold for your area and my area. Sorry to hear that. You also might have someone wrap your pipes if you have a crawlspace, too. We have done that here.
That really stinks....I hope that you don't have much water damage. :-(

 

[agoodman]

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again .....

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again ....
Oh no. That is bad. When you have somebody come repair them, aske them to replace them with PEX. It won't prevent furture freezing, but it will not break in the event of a freeze.
.

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again ....
Oh no. That is bad. When you have somebody come repair them, aske them to replace them with PEX. It won't prevent furture freezing, but it will not break in the event of a freeze.

Oh My SO ODD you mention that - my friends in Boston told me about PEX this weekend, I had never heard of it before
Yes my pipes were wrapped and the faucets left dripping but with a 110 year old house .....

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again .....

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again ....
Oh no. That is bad. When you have somebody come repair them, aske them to replace them with PEX. It won't prevent furture freezing, but it will not break in the event of a freeze.
.

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again ....
Oh no. That is bad. When you have somebody come repair them, aske them to replace them with PEX. It won't prevent furture freezing, but it will not break in the event of a freeze.

Oh My SO ODD you mention that - my friends in Boston told me about PEX this weekend, I had never heard of it before
Yes my pipes were wrapped and the faucets left dripping but with a 110 year old house .....
.

So sorry! Hope the repairs aren't too much.

 

[gillumhouse]

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again .....

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again ....
Oh no. That is bad. When you have somebody come repair them, aske them to replace them with PEX. It won't prevent furture freezing, but it will not break in the event of a freeze.
.

Update: Not home yet but just heard the pipes froze and burst again ....
Oh no. That is bad. When you have somebody come repair them, aske them to replace them with PEX. It won't prevent furture freezing, but it will not break in the event of a freeze.

Oh My SO ODD you mention that - my friends in Boston told me about PEX this weekend, I had never heard of it before
Yes my pipes were wrapped and the faucets left dripping but with a 110 year old house .....
.

Wow! 110 years old and you are able ro wrap pipes! I am jealous! We are 98 - will be 100 in 2012 - and one would have to be a starving skeleton to get under my kitchen to wrap the pipes. I might have 8 to 12 inches of crawl space. My kitchen was originally a back porch and ALL my water lines are om outside walls, lucky me. The heat is on and set a wee bit on the warm side in the guest bathrooms. I do not need burst pipes in either - especially the "new" bathroom as it is directly over my bed! I do hope there was NOT a lot of water damage and the plumber was able to fix it before the bill started looking like the national debt.

 

[Country Girl]

We went to Ireland four years ago (my first trip to Europe), Alaska this year and are planning a trip to Italy next year. While I love being here I am craving finally seeing other parts of the U.S and the world. I have the travel bug!

 

[Joey Camb]

So actual vacation? Where you go someplace with your spouse and not because family is sick or had a baby or someone needs you? These are the days I spent away from the inn with nothing else in mind but relaxing.
Remembering back as far as I can (which isn't far anymore)...
2004- 0 days
2005- 3 days
2006- 7 days
2007- 4 days
2008- 4 days
2009- 4 days
2010- 4 days
So, you've had more vacation in 9 months than I've had in 7 years. I don't think I want to talk about it anymore.

.

Well we aren't innkeepers any longer and we haven't taken a vacation in 2 years. I don't really feel like I need one. I mean people travel to come here...so why should we leave??? Of course we have had some health issues that kept us here..and now...I REALLY don't want to fly anywhere. Maybe this year we will be up to taking some short days off.
.

Awwww, come on....I remember all your great photos of Ireland! See, I LOVE to travel. If I had a bunch of money, that would be all that I would do. Well, that's not going to happen....lol! But, we're going to do what we can.
My dh informed me last week that he is probably going back to the UK on business at least once next year. Did I want to go?? Uh, yes!! That was one of the opportunities that I seized when we had the B&B. I wasn't going to miss it. The only thing that I asked was if we could rent a car this time. As much as I love York, I want to get out more. Maybe I can go visit Camberley.
.

Door is always open!

 

[Joey Camb]

We are working like mad as I have a million different jobs that need doing to drag this property into the 21st century.
1. All new windows $52,000
2 8 new bathrooms - $120,00
3 12 new Televisions before august $3,600
4 4 bedrooms redecorated - $4,000
5 various carpets - $4,000
and these are just the jobs I can think of off the top of my head. I would also like new tabes and chairs for the breakfast room but I don't think there is any way that is going to fit in the budget. Have saved up for the windows this year so am hopefully depending on the local government getting them fitted in early Feb. we are in a conservation area so they are very specific about the type of windows we can have and that also makes them much more expensive I am sure that everyone on here who lives in a historic home will be nodding in agreement at this point.
Then we have a sort of plan to make the two single rooms esuite by expanding the landing on the top floor but this will also mean a ton of money plus closing for at least 2 months to do the work so it may be a job for 2012 if I can face it. It also depends on planning permission and or fire restrictions. Our ambitious plan after that is also to expand by another 3 single bedrooms knocking down a lean to type extension we have on that back that used to be the kitchen before we moved it. and instead we will build a wider extension which goes up three stories with a single room on each floor and an ensuite bathroom for each. But that is again subject to planning and so on. It will also cost a mint as we will have to build it out of stone to match the original buiding or at least stone clad which is not cheap. It may also affect plumbing and electrical power which may mean having to re-route more power into the building which will cost £20,000 just for that! but at the moment we are balanced on the edge of having enough power so we may end up having to have it done anyway. It is something however we could have done separately before we started the building work to spread the cost.
You may have realised that I never stop planning! bye and merry christmas!

 

[Samster]

So actual vacation? Where you go someplace with your spouse and not because family is sick or had a baby or someone needs you? These are the days I spent away from the inn with nothing else in mind but relaxing.
Remembering back as far as I can (which isn't far anymore)...
2004- 0 days
2005- 3 days
2006- 7 days
2007- 4 days
2008- 4 days
2009- 4 days
2010- 4 days
So, you've had more vacation in 9 months than I've had in 7 years. I don't think I want to talk about it anymore.

.

Well we aren't innkeepers any longer and we haven't taken a vacation in 2 years. I don't really feel like I need one. I mean people travel to come here...so why should we leave??? Of course we have had some health issues that kept us here..and now...I REALLY don't want to fly anywhere. Maybe this year we will be up to taking some short days off.
.

Awwww, come on....I remember all your great photos of Ireland! See, I LOVE to travel. If I had a bunch of money, that would be all that I would do. Well, that's not going to happen....lol! But, we're going to do what we can.
My dh informed me last week that he is probably going back to the UK on business at least once next year. Did I want to go?? Uh, yes!! That was one of the opportunities that I seized when we had the B&B. I wasn't going to miss it. The only thing that I asked was if we could rent a car this time. As much as I love York, I want to get out more. Maybe I can go visit Camberley.
.

Door is always open!
.

I won't know until after the first of the year when the trip(s) will be, but I'll let you know! I'm sure that the company will put him up in York again.

 

[Samster]

We are working like mad as I have a million different jobs that need doing to drag this property into the 21st century.
1. All new windows $52,000
2 8 new bathrooms - $120,00
3 12 new Televisions before august $3,600
4 4 bedrooms redecorated - $4,000
5 various carpets - $4,000
and these are just the jobs I can think of off the top of my head. I would also like new tabes and chairs for the breakfast room but I don't think there is any way that is going to fit in the budget. Have saved up for the windows this year so am hopefully depending on the local government getting them fitted in early Feb. we are in a conservation area so they are very specific about the type of windows we can have and that also makes them much more expensive I am sure that everyone on here who lives in a historic home will be nodding in agreement at this point.
Then we have a sort of plan to make the two single rooms esuite by expanding the landing on the top floor but this will also mean a ton of money plus closing for at least 2 months to do the work so it may be a job for 2012 if I can face it. It also depends on planning permission and or fire restrictions. Our ambitious plan after that is also to expand by another 3 single bedrooms knocking down a lean to type extension we have on that back that used to be the kitchen before we moved it. and instead we will build a wider extension which goes up three stories with a single room on each floor and an ensuite bathroom for each. But that is again subject to planning and so on. It will also cost a mint as we will have to build it out of stone to match the original buiding or at least stone clad which is not cheap. It may also affect plumbing and electrical power which may mean having to re-route more power into the building which will cost £20,000 just for that! but at the moment we are balanced on the edge of having enough power so we may end up having to have it done anyway. It is something however we could have done separately before we started the building work to spread the cost.
You may have realised that I never stop planning! bye and merry christmas!.

Whew...I got tired just reading that!!! I personally am finished with old house renovations....
btw - there is a movement here in the States through The National Trust about NOT replacing old historic windows with new windows. It's a twist on being green, touting the savings by not constructing new wood windows and using storm windows for more energy savings and the overall cost savings in the long run. The contention is also that new windows never fit properly compared to the milled windows that were constructed for a particular building. Don't shoot the messenger....just thought I'd mention it since your window replacement cost was so high.