Good Morning fellow Innmates. I have been "lurking" in the shadows for a few weeks, enjoying your innsights and comments, and I am amazed at how much we all have in common! We (DH and yours truly) have been inn keeping at our 2-suite plus 1 cottage B+B in coastal NE for 22 years. We have worked out most of the kinks and have systems that work for us…most of the time. Still, there are always a few PITAs that find us each year and it’s good to know that there is a place I can go to let off a little steam. Although we are not new at this job, or perhaps because we are not new at this job, it’s good to learn about how other successful innkeepers manage. I hope to be back from time to time, to add my two cents and ask for advice as needed.
I could not let this post go by without adding my most recent "moving the furniture" catastrophe. One of our suites has a separate sitting room with a new (August 2011) flat-screen HDTV/DVD combo, which is installed with cables, etc on the piano opposite two comfortable chairs. IN October, we had a nice couple, celebrating their wedding anniversary in the suite for 6 nights….good folks, rather high maintenance but otherwise pleasant enough. On their 5th morning, when I was plumping and freshening, I was dismayed to find that they had disconnected all cables, and moved the TV from the sitting room to the bedroom. OH MY!!! After ranting a bit to DH,I calmed down as he assure me that he could reconnect the set for our next guests who would be directly following Romeo and Julliet the next day.
Well you already know the ending. R+J leave after putting TV back on piano but, lo and behold, they leave before they tell us that the TV no longer works. OK, so they must have jiggled something loose…probably not their fault (giving them the benefit of the doubt here) but it would not have happened if they had not moved it. Warranty is in effect. No big deal EXCEPT, new guests (a 90 year old and daughter) MUST have TV for their 3-night stay. We really had to replace this TV immediately and had no choice but to spend the rest of the day and $300 on a new TV/DVD for the suite. (All other accommodations already booked so no chance of moving one of the other sets)
Needless to say, I am not a big fan of moving furniture around in someone else’s house….especially if THEY are doing the moving and it’s MY house! .