Samster
Well-known member
InnKeeper To Go asked, "Samster, what will you do when you close?"So sorry to hear that Samster. I know this is not something you've done without thinking long and hard about it, though.Support for other innkeepers.....this is a great point. I'm tired of the too rosy picture myself.At least we are not getting snail mail - trees are being saved. It is easy to hit the delete button even though it may be annoying.Morticia, consider yourself lucky. They call.
Calling on the listed number as well as the cell phone. How they got my cell number, I don't know. But they call and they just don't give up. Just because I was pretty adamant last month that I wasn't going to attend doesn't seem to mean much to them this month. They just start all over again.
You know, like an innsitter just can't possibly give up the chance to meet so many innkeepers. Which is, of course, always a treat but not necessarily a marketing ploy I need to use.
I tell them to think of me as a 1-room B&B. Just don't really need a big influx of folks calling me. There is only 1 of me after all.
I tell them I'm booked so an inn owner can attend that conference. Still doesn't work.
Hate to block calls from associations and organizations I otherwise support. But the calls are a royal PITA, especially when I'm on the road..
As a suggestion to those of you who can not attend, maybe you can work with someone in your area who is going. I know when we owned our own B&B and went to the PAII conference, I brought back ideas that would help all of those other B&B's who were in my local area. We had a local marketing group and it worked really well. We were able to use some of those ideas in marketing our inns together. It cost us all less per inn but we did mannage to get our name out there. Also, there were many time saving hints that really could help everyone and didn't cost a dime.
I know that this year has been hard for everyone. I spoke with an innkeeper in our town yesterday. She said that she has had one guest this whole month and that was on a gift certificate. She is trying to hang on until our season starts in May.
It has been just as hard for interim innkeepers (innsitters). B&B owners are not going away due to less income coming in to their inns. This in turn affects those of us who would have been taking care of those inns while the owners were gone. It is a cycle that is difficult for all.
It is up to each one of us - owners and innsitters - to keep a positive attitute and know that this cycle will eventually end.
For any of you who are going to PAII, please stop by the Interim Innkeepers Network Vendor Booth and say hi to me. It will be nice to put a face to those of you who are on the forum.
Lynda
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.I think one of the things that all of us innkeepers do well is put on a positive face for guests. It's part of the job.InnCaring said:It is up to each one of us - owners and innsitters - to keep a positive attitute and know that this cycle will eventually end.
I have issues, though, with many folks in the industry who are Pollyannaish about the situation out there. I'm talking about both associations who put rosy figures on the front page of their website that have nothing to do with reality as well as organizations who are not addressing the issues before them.
There are folks out there who are teetering on the edge of collapse. They're scared. They need to be able to turn to other innkeepers for support about that - and many of them come here.
IMHO, it does no one any good to downplay the serious problems that are out there. In fact, it can have the tendency to make already isolated innkeepers feel more so. That's the opposite effect a forum of any kind should have.
So, yes, keep that positive attitude with guests. It's imperative.
But that only makes the need for innkeepers to have a place to go for a reality check only that much more important.
Because when this cycle ends, there will be fewer B&Bs left. Those who survive are those who are sharing survival skill tips with each other now and putting those tips in place as quickly they can.
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I guess this is as good a place as any to let folks know that we will be one of the B&Bs that are closing soon after 2 years in the biz. Although last year was much better than the year before, when I look at the realistic dollars and cents it's time to cut our losses. We have 2 really slow periods each year here and paying the expenses during those times is prohibitive. After 2 years, we've done nothing but continue to sink money into the business. I physically can't do it until we "might" turn a small profit. The other B&Bs here are really struggling with one barely surviving by doing long-term rentals. Meanwhile, there are new suite "hotels" going up that we just can't compete with on price point. Everytime I see the ad on TV for one of the 3rd party booking sites for cheap 4-star hotel rooms, I shudder.
Have had a couple of recent events in our personal life that make us think that life is too short to be living like this. Not looking for sympathy here...just letting the cat out of the bag about our plans.
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The cheap hotel rooms will only get cheaper this year, I'm afraid. 717 new hotels opening, some in markets that are already saturated and suffered the worst drops in ADR, RevPAR, and occupancy last year.
And no matter how much anyone preaches about holding onto ADR (and I can count myself among those preachers), the fact is that the substantially lowered rates significantly impact everyone, no matter where they're located. It's a big problem and ADR will continue to slide in 2010, no matter what the Pollyannas say.
What I'd like to see instead from the Pollyannas is a reality check and some serious talking about how as an industry we're going to get out of this situation. Pretending everything's coming up roses won't cut it.
And, as long as I'm on a soapbox here, I'd like to see some lobbying to get some funding specifically for small lodging properties on the market, either through SBA or some other program to get funding out there. I know some really well-priced properties out there who can't sell simply because no one is lending. This will end in catastrophe for a lot of innkeepers and it's something we all have reason to want to see changed.
Samster, what will you do when you close?
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Maybe have a life again. ;-)
I will wrap things up (obviously) and we have a property to market. I'm hoping that the extension of the first time buyer credit may help on that front.
Try to figure out a retirement plan for my dh.
Continue my community work. Maybe do some work in my "real" profession to pay some bills.
Spend more time with my family....life is too short.