New Innkeepers Tales

[rrh]

I received an e-mail from an aspiring wondering if I would share some tales of our first few months of operation...well Shelley here goes...and this is just our first 3 weeks of operation.
So we put up a package deal for V-Day on our website. The other inns in the area do a 2 night minimum so that's how we started. 2 nights, appetizers, live harp music, roses, chocolates - the whole enchilada....well...callers started complaining about the economy and the 2 night stay. We changed it up to 1 night, talked the harp player into playing both mornings and offered a 10% discount for Friday when we weren't getting any bookings.
The big weekend approaches. Thursday night we are getting ready and put out quite a bunch of snacks on the buffet on the 3rd floor in prep for the full weekend...Thursday night guests scoop all the granola bars on their way out for the long 1 hour drive home.....
Friday night, almost full and get a late walk in couple - excellent! We have noises in the night and goo on the nice new silky bed spread in the morning. Harp music is too loud at breakfast and little miss noisy talks about how loud the cats were outside....a guest tells me the shower in their room wouldn't work - oh boy, I appologize profusely and go up to the 3 rd floor to see what the heck after they leave. I find a repair from the past using a toothpaste tube cap.....and upon further inspection, take off one piece too many and get a firehose bath with mucho water going down the wall as I try to stop the horizontal geyser blasting my chest. DW heads to the basement to get towels and as she comes back up shreeks about the water running thru the 2nd floor ceiling....I get the ladder and screw driver to drop the access panel and let the water out...DW stands there with towels at the ready but to no avail...I dump dirty water all over her when I drop the panel....pressure is on now to run across town to get repair parts and be ready for evening check-in. So I get er done and we start getting the Saturday nighters. Chowing down the appetizers washed down with wine they brought. One couple rolls right in and bellys up to the appetizer bar before I figure out they do not have a reservation for the no vacancy night. Embarrasedly I shuffle them out the door.
More noise and goo on the new bed spread, find a better location for the harp player, all goes ok except for the circuit breakers that popped at least 4 times, friends who want to monopolize our time and "help" clean...we survived...we collapsed...we have guests tonight..it's all good!
r

 

[Samster]

Lesson learned: Make sure all your bedspreads are machine washable or you have plenty of back-ups
Sounds like a regular weekend to me

tee hee....

 

[Morticia]

The first few months are the hardest, while you work out the bugs you didn't know you had! But, that's a perfectly good representation of a weekend at a B&B!
For our first V-Day, we gave away roses and chocolates. We also had walk-ins that night. One couple not speaking to each other on check-in were then not speaking to US when they left at 7 AM after clogging the drain in their bathroom that caused a backup so bad it cost $10,000 to repair. I then PAID for them to go to a hotel to shower. Even tho the entire house was now without a sewage system, the other 6 rooms continued to shower and flush toilets. Luckily, and yes it WAS luckily, the room that clogged the sewer system was on the lower level of the house so no sewage got to the rest of the rooms or any other part of the building. THAT room had to be gutted- walls, flooring, bedding. It had to be sanitized- twice. And it was out of commission for 6 weeks while all of the repairs were made. (New walls & insulation installed, wallpaper put up, new flooring put in, new bedding purchased.)
The plumber was working on Sunday AND a holiday. The plumber alone was $3k.
And yes, while all of this was going on, we were still making breakfast for the other 6 rooms.

 

[DaisyMae]

{One couple rolls right in and bellys up to the appetizer bar before I figure out they do not have a reservation for the no vacancy night. }
Who were these people? walk ins hoping for a vacancy or just random people crashing your buffet thinking they could just blend in?

 

[sandynn]

The first few months are the hardest, while you work out the bugs you didn't know you had! But, that's a perfectly good representation of a weekend at a B&B!
For our first V-Day, we gave away roses and chocolates. We also had walk-ins that night. One couple not speaking to each other on check-in were then not speaking to US when they left at 7 AM after clogging the drain in their bathroom that caused a backup so bad it cost $10,000 to repair. I then PAID for them to go to a hotel to shower. Even tho the entire house was now without a sewage system, the other 6 rooms continued to shower and flush toilets. Luckily, and yes it WAS luckily, the room that clogged the sewer system was on the lower level of the house so no sewage got to the rest of the rooms or any other part of the building. THAT room had to be gutted- walls, flooring, bedding. It had to be sanitized- twice. And it was out of commission for 6 weeks while all of the repairs were made. (New walls & insulation installed, wallpaper put up, new flooring put in, new bedding purchased.)
The plumber was working on Sunday AND a holiday. The plumber alone was $3k.
And yes, while all of this was going on, we were still making breakfast for the other 6 rooms..

This might be just my perception but I feel Valentine Guests are here because it is a romantic notion not because they are bed and breakfast people. It seems that they have never stayed before and might not stay again. This is my experence. I am always happy when it is over.
I am impress with the harp.

 

[Penelope]

I think the harp player would have been a wonderful addition to a romantic weekend. I am sure it would have been a unique experience that they all won't soon forget.
Good thinking!!!

 

[muirford]

The first few months are the hardest, while you work out the bugs you didn't know you had! But, that's a perfectly good representation of a weekend at a B&B!
For our first V-Day, we gave away roses and chocolates. We also had walk-ins that night. One couple not speaking to each other on check-in were then not speaking to US when they left at 7 AM after clogging the drain in their bathroom that caused a backup so bad it cost $10,000 to repair. I then PAID for them to go to a hotel to shower. Even tho the entire house was now without a sewage system, the other 6 rooms continued to shower and flush toilets. Luckily, and yes it WAS luckily, the room that clogged the sewer system was on the lower level of the house so no sewage got to the rest of the rooms or any other part of the building. THAT room had to be gutted- walls, flooring, bedding. It had to be sanitized- twice. And it was out of commission for 6 weeks while all of the repairs were made. (New walls & insulation installed, wallpaper put up, new flooring put in, new bedding purchased.)
The plumber was working on Sunday AND a holiday. The plumber alone was $3k.
And yes, while all of this was going on, we were still making breakfast for the other 6 rooms..

This might be just my perception but I feel Valentine Guests are here because it is a romantic notion not because they are bed and breakfast people. It seems that they have never stayed before and might not stay again. This is my experence. I am always happy when it is over.
I am impress with the harp.
.

Yes, Valentine's Day at a B&B is almost always amateur night!

 

[YellowSocks]

Yes, our Valentine's people were also first timers.
But they were sweet and said they'd come back.... and she teaches at my neice's elementary school...
=)
Kk.

 

[sandynn]

I hope I am not being too snoppy but how much did you have to pay for the harp player. I am thinking in the future to have an open house and I did think about a harp. I had a garden wedding here and they had a harp player. It was a very nice touch.

 

[rrh]

$150 for an hour & a half is this gals rate. She brought one of her smaller harps for our deal and it was surprising how loud it was. It was abour right when she played in the entry, way to loud in the dining room for conversation.

 

[rrh]

Okay Shelley, here's another one....
Saturday local Mardi Gras parade. We hand out cookies and a bunch of business cards to passers-by. This morning 4:30AM the doorbell rings. Young kid sent here by a friend - had one of our cards. Bleary eyedly I let him in then 2 credit cards are declined....sorry kid, back to the street.......couldn't get back to sleep.....

 

[muirford]

Okay Shelley, here's another one....
Saturday local Mardi Gras parade. We hand out cookies and a bunch of business cards to passers-by. This morning 4:30AM the doorbell rings. Young kid sent here by a friend - had one of our cards. Bleary eyedly I let him in then 2 credit cards are declined....sorry kid, back to the street.......couldn't get back to sleep......

You will learn - no phone call or ringing of the doorbell after 9:00 p.m. ever leads to anything good.

 

[EmptyNest]

Okay Shelley, here's another one....
Saturday local Mardi Gras parade. We hand out cookies and a bunch of business cards to passers-by. This morning 4:30AM the doorbell rings. Young kid sent here by a friend - had one of our cards. Bleary eyedly I let him in then 2 credit cards are declined....sorry kid, back to the street.......couldn't get back to sleep......

OH NO!!! Probably drunker than a skunk too to pull that kind of stunt!!!!

 

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[Joey Camb]

the problem with Valentines day is it is doomed

He thinks it is a rip off but is under pressure from the Mrs to get it right. She will have high expectations of room, place flowers etc but they will all be twice the price if not more so he will be cross about that to. He will be looking for a cheap deal and get a crap place cos thats all thats left or will have paid too much and be even crosser. whatever he does won't be good enough and he will be in trouble and it all goes down hill from there.

 

[agoodman]

Here's the lesson for Valentine's Day. Close the Inn. Take your partner away. Go mess up someone else's Inn. LOL
I'm single. So I guess I get to stay home alone.

 

[Nebraskabound]

I realize that this is a very old posting but OMGosh.....I haven't laughed this hard in a long time! Oh man.....LOL!!!!!

 

[Arks]

rrh said:
So we put up a package deal for V-Day...
OH! Valentine's Day. I was wondering why they had a harp for Veteran's Day!!

 

[Proud Texan]

I think the harp player would have been a wonderful addition to a romantic weekend. I am sure it would have been a unique experience that they all won't soon forget.
Good thinking!!!.

I think the harp player would have been a wonderful addition to a romantic weekend. I am sure it would have been a unique experience that they all won't soon forget.
Good thinking!!!

I guess that's a girl thing. I would have found it off-putting and a distraction. I would need coffee....lots of coffee first.