Obsessed or Possessed?

[JBloggs]

A Day in the Mind of an Innkeeper - are we obsessed or possessed by these inns? I ask, since we live in our inns, take bookings all hours, update this and that all the time, shop shop shop...every living and breathing thought is inn related (even in our dreams!)I know no other way to be, this is the only way I can operate without goofing stuff up! It is all or nothing, it is 24 hour, 0 off.
As I zipped away for lunch and a brief bookstore visit my mind was back at the inn. "I need to be back in time for check in, are the rooms totally ready, did I vacuum the garden room? Check in refreshments are ready as soon as I get back they will be cooled and I can slice and set up in dining room, oh and add the flowers in rooms...I need to stop and buy strawberries and eggs (in case I need more eggs), at the bookstore "oh this would be a great book for guests on the area" oh I need to hurry home and move the laundry or I will be backed up for days, after sorting out a drawer I saw I am low on rack cards I need to order more of those, did I turn the pond lights on in case they are smokers and want to sit by the pond? Hey look there is a great new restaurant do I have my camera? I should blog that place, oh wow the leaves are slightly changing - some into yellow some into burgundy do I have my fall specials up on the directories and tourism pages? Wow there went 4 mototcycles with PA license plates I wonder if those are our guests for tonight? ..."

 

[agoodman]

at least your thoughts are complete, mine run something like wash strawberries? or is it wash linen? Buy coffee - or was it get coffee stain off placemat? I need to eat some dinner - or oh my those guests need dinner. Only kidding, we are TRUE multi taskers

 

[Highlands John]

(even in our dreams!)

OMG That is a true of me. I have this re-occurring nightmare where the guests pull into the drive and I realise that I haven't cleaned the rooms. So I'm running around trying to get things ready before they get to the door. There is rubbish all in the hallway and I'm trying to hide it, I take them to their room and the beds aren't made. I go to the airing cupboard and there's no linen ready. It's just a total panic and I'm ashamed of the state of the place.

 

[agoodman]

do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and can't remember whether or not you have guests in house and don't remember if you have to get up and do breakfast for anyone??

 

[gillumhouse]

A Day in the Mind of an Innkeeper - are we obsessed or possessed by these inns?
Both. We dream about a night to ourselves (I dream about not having to worry if the house is a mess) and if we get it, we worry about the lost revenue and what is wrong that we do not have anyone for this weekend.
Innkeepers are like boat owners - the happiest day of their lives is the day they get their boat and their second happiest day is the day they sell it.
Our daughter was here for 2.5 days and high on the agenda for her stay was to mount a flat screen on a guestroom wall and do touch-up spackling and painting plus installing a door stop so guests will not open the door into the TV. She was looking for things to do for me instead of just relaxing (we did some of that too).

 

[JBloggs]

This weekend had people enter our owner's quarters at 920PM, turn on the lights and rummage around...I was on my own, in bed, and had my bedroom door have closed...DH was not here, and I forgot to lock the door.
This evolved into a mild spout of anger on my behalf, not so much that they had no boundaries, that was not a big deal we already know guests do not have boundaries, but the fact that I forgot to "lock myself in" in my own home.
Then the next morning I got to clean splatter off the wall behind the toilet and in the toilet of a guest room - before it permanently stained the wall. I was very pleased at this point (!!), to see all these things I do to make a guests stay special, and think about the other things I do, and how I live. Some days you are the dog, some days you are the hydrant.
So yes, it has run its course, the obsession/possession attraction. Which is why I was thinking about HOW NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT 24/7.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

The only time I'm able to totally relax and not think about the biz is when I run away. On vacation that is! That's one of the reasons why vacations are so important to me. The further away I get from the biz, the better off I am. We try to get out of the country. That's really the only time I'm totally removed from what's happening back home. That's another reason why when we're on vacation we only stay in hotels. I want nothing that takes my brain back to the biz.

 

[Samster]

omg...I remember that STILL! My thoughts always running like that, no matter what I was doing or where I was. I couldn't even shut it off on vacation. Obsessed and possessed, both, definitely.
I had to remind myself to take a breath and slow down....A LOT!!!
Hang in there, JB! I wish I had some words to the wise to help you turn it off sometimes...

 

[Tom]

do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and can't remember whether or not you have guests in house and don't remember if you have to get up and do breakfast for anyone??.

three nights ago, I dreamt I was called to a guest's room to fix a stopped toilet and on entering, found they had seven people and three cats stuffed into a single king room; no wonder the toilet was blocked! I awoke thinking, it's going to be a long day with that crowd. Actually we were empty. B&B PTSD.

 

[Highlands John]

The only time I'm able to totally relax and not think about the biz is when I run away. On vacation that is! That's one of the reasons why vacations are so important to me. The further away I get from the biz, the better off I am. We try to get out of the country. That's really the only time I'm totally removed from what's happening back home. That's another reason why when we're on vacation we only stay in hotels. I want nothing that takes my brain back to the biz..

The only time I'm able to totally relax and not think about the biz is when I run away. On vacation that is! That's one of the reasons why vacations are so important to me. The further away I get from the biz, the better off I am. We try to get out of the country. That's really the only time I'm totally removed from what's happening back home. That's another reason why when we're on vacation we only stay in hotels. I want nothing that takes my brain back to the biz.

Even when on holiday I take my Ipad with me so I can manage bookings and reply to emails. We went to New Zealand for 6 weeks in February, that time of year is busy for bookings coming in for the summer, so it has to be done.
We have a front desk system which I've written myself, called GuestGuardian. That handles availability calendar, deposits, confirmations etc, but I still have to handle emails enquiries and chase some for deposits.

 

[Highlands John]

do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and can't remember whether or not you have guests in house and don't remember if you have to get up and do breakfast for anyone??.

do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and can't remember whether or not you have guests in house and don't remember if you have to get up and do breakfast for anyone??

Yes. And I've woken in the morning all relaxed and cosy in bed and then suddenly realised we've got punters in and I have to get up to prepare breakfast.

 

[birdwatcher]

Agree to ALL of those-my only saving grace sometimes is my DH-he sometimes has to rope me in cause im all GO GO GO is it done is it done -what else needs done- what else do... we have guests tonight? Oh they didnt show up tonight so we have a night off the next night NOT! they apparently made it for the wrong date-lucky for them we were here and there was room at the Inn and then claim that they didnt get the email! OMG we turned to water off the toillette in a room cause it was a constant RUN RUN RUN did we turn it back on when the GUESTS SHOW UP? Oh and lets not forget-we have the Inn plus a PITA boss-so now we have to deal with that too?
YUP We all have an incurrable disorder called OPD-(obsessive-possessive disorder) to which there is no know cure and no drug can change it until we retire from Innkeeping then we'll be like DUH! okay what do we do know?????!!!!
Love this job but sometimes I have dreams as all of you do-and yes we have not locked ourselves in our quarters and one of the old battleaxes opened one door and the cat escaped ALL NIGHT IN THE INN cause we didnt know-now that PISSED ME OFF.
So we keep on going...and going...and going...

 

[mooseberry]

Getting tires just reading this...lol
However, my DH thinks I don't have much work since I work from home....I have only 5 rooms...lol

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Getting tires just reading this...lol
However, my DH thinks I don't have much work since I work from home....I have only 5 rooms...lol.

Switch places with him for a week in your busy season! I bet you wouldn't hear any of those statements again

 

[mooseberry]

Getting tires just reading this...lol
However, my DH thinks I don't have much work since I work from home....I have only 5 rooms...lol.

Switch places with him for a week in your busy season! I bet you wouldn't hear any of those statements again

.

Switch places with him for a week in your busy season! I bet you wouldn't hear any of those statements again

I know, right ?
He helps sometimes on tthe weekends and all he sees is making breakfast and cleaning the rooms. Nothing else comes across his mind. I do the B&B, my home, pay all the bills, and take care of my 3 yo grand daughter who lives with us. He goes to a 9-5 job and thinks he works hard.
The last comment he made was like "You are done by noon...then you do nothing"...hahaha
I will definately show him this threat tonight....after I attend a parent teacher conference at school...lol

 

[Joey Camb]

I am a bit obsessed I think am always looking for new opportunities (I wonder if being just a bit OCD is an inkeeper requirement?) I was doing a review of a local attraction and it occured to me what does come up on Trip Adviser for Attractions? Took and look and realised Hardly anything!!!! was totally scandalised. there were 15 choices and 5 were pubs, 3 were outside the town in the district and not the center! so have been merrily applying for attractions on their behalf to show that we actually have a good offering! was at our chamber of commerce meeting and met the chap in charge of our shopping mall pointed out to him that he wasn't on as an attraction! he was totally socked! told him what to do about it. was really cross that our amazing theatre isn't on for a start! trouble is if its not on already then people are too lazy to bother!
Plus I am working my way up to expert reviewer! which I find hilarious!

 

[Alibi Ike]

Odd to bring this up as spouse has been awake all week over guest issues and I have let them all go and am sleeping wonderfully. After the last debacle of bad reviews I am done worrying about what I can and cannot control.