Setting a story in a B&B

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Madeleine

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Unless the author has a clue, please don't. Started reading a book yesterday wherein the author has set up her protagonist as the sole owner of a B&B. (BTW, she wanted to do this, got the building she wanted and that was the end of her marriage. This happens in real life, too.)
Owner wakes up in the morning, reviews her list of things to do for the day: tea and toast for her guests, garden club meeting, make lunch for her bridge club, check in a guest she doesn't particularly care for. (I don't know how many guest rooms there are, maybe 3-4.)
Her housekeeper calls and says she can't come in today. (The book switches back and forth between realistic and fantasy.) Innkeeper goes to take care of the room. Changes sheets, cleans up bathroom, dusts and decides the carpet and bathroom floors look good enough as she doesn't feel like hauling the vacuum upstairs. (REALLY??? Just like that???)
She doesn't advertise, it's all word of mouth. She has no sign as it would not be accepted by her neighbors as 'polite' if she advertised publicly like that. (Yes, I know some of us are constrained by town laws.) It's all a very genteel kind of business.
She has written a cookbook that she sells which is a grand idea.
 
The bazillionaire who owns a B&B near me has written a best-selling series which is similar in walking that fantasy/reality line. Reality - PITA guest that annoys her and all the other guests. Fantasy - Inn's resident ghost takes revenge during the night on PITA. Yeesh...
 
Not quite the same, but a place that got destroyed by fire in our area, only advertised by word of mouth, had a huge following, and if you called for reservations, they asked how you found out about them...essentially you had to have a reference to stay there. WOW. We had several of there guests stay with us last year.... Owners are not sure if they will rebuild, they were an institution around here.
 
Not quite the same, but a place that got destroyed by fire in our area, only advertised by word of mouth, had a huge following, and if you called for reservations, they asked how you found out about them...essentially you had to have a reference to stay there. WOW. We had several of there guests stay with us last year.... Owners are not sure if they will rebuild, they were an institution around here..
We have friends who own a resort like that. Guests have been going there since the 1890's or so. They only just got a single page website. You make your rez on the way out the door for next year and anyone else pretty much has to hope someone dies to get a spot in prime weeks.
 
Not quite the same, but a place that got destroyed by fire in our area, only advertised by word of mouth, had a huge following, and if you called for reservations, they asked how you found out about them...essentially you had to have a reference to stay there. WOW. We had several of there guests stay with us last year.... Owners are not sure if they will rebuild, they were an institution around here..
We have friends who own a resort like that. Guests have been going there since the 1890's or so. They only just got a single page website. You make your rez on the way out the door for next year and anyone else pretty much has to hope someone dies to get a spot in prime weeks.
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I would REALLY love to run like that! Sign me up! :)
 
Not quite the same, but a place that got destroyed by fire in our area, only advertised by word of mouth, had a huge following, and if you called for reservations, they asked how you found out about them...essentially you had to have a reference to stay there. WOW. We had several of there guests stay with us last year.... Owners are not sure if they will rebuild, they were an institution around here..
We have friends who own a resort like that. Guests have been going there since the 1890's or so. They only just got a single page website. You make your rez on the way out the door for next year and anyone else pretty much has to hope someone dies to get a spot in prime weeks.
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I would REALLY love to run like that! Sign me up! :)
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white pine said:
I would REALLY love to run like that! Sign me up! :)
You might get close. Your place is known. You have to get the old crowd buzzing about it again. People who remember bringing their kids may now bring grandkids.
 
Not quite the same, but a place that got destroyed by fire in our area, only advertised by word of mouth, had a huge following, and if you called for reservations, they asked how you found out about them...essentially you had to have a reference to stay there. WOW. We had several of there guests stay with us last year.... Owners are not sure if they will rebuild, they were an institution around here..
We have friends who own a resort like that. Guests have been going there since the 1890's or so. They only just got a single page website. You make your rez on the way out the door for next year and anyone else pretty much has to hope someone dies to get a spot in prime weeks.
.
I would REALLY love to run like that! Sign me up! :)
.
white pine said:
I would REALLY love to run like that! Sign me up! :)
You might get close. Your place is known. You have to get the old crowd buzzing about it again. People who remember bringing their kids may now bring grandkids.
.
We are getting some. We like to tell everyone the story of the PO. When her DH passed, she closed the lodge, pulled all advertising and mention of the place from the ads, news, and chambers. She was open only to the return guests she liked. Others who were friends or relatives of them could stay once. If she liked you, you could come again, if not you got an x and could not get a room. We have had a number of people say, "Please say we didn't get an X!" Funny. (Only 2 so far...)
 
I get how unrealistic the book can be -but come on-it is after all FICTION.
 
I get how unrealistic the book can be -but come on-it is after all FICTION..
birdwatcher said:
I get how unrealistic the book can be -but come on-it is after all FICTION.
Sure it's fiction but don't you ever wonder when you read a book about something you've never done if there is a grain of truth? How many guests think you sit down after breakfast because what else is there to do?
 
Like the books where guests keep coming up dead. Who would stay there? I wonder at some how the innkeeper had time to be an innkeeper with the travels and the detecting. The problems with books like Maddie started to read is the part about not needing to do the floors because she did not want to haul the vac up - people read stuff like that and think THAT is reality.
 
Like the books where guests keep coming up dead. Who would stay there? I wonder at some how the innkeeper had time to be an innkeeper with the travels and the detecting. The problems with books like Maddie started to read is the part about not needing to do the floors because she did not want to haul the vac up - people read stuff like that and think THAT is reality..
gillumhouse said:
Like the books where guests keep coming up dead. Who would stay there? I wonder at some how the innkeeper had time to be an innkeeper with the travels and the detecting. The problems with books like Maddie started to read is the part about not needing to do the floors because she did not want to haul the vac up - people read stuff like that and think THAT is reality.
I started to read one of those and it was too ridiculous.
 
Like the books where guests keep coming up dead. Who would stay there? I wonder at some how the innkeeper had time to be an innkeeper with the travels and the detecting. The problems with books like Maddie started to read is the part about not needing to do the floors because she did not want to haul the vac up - people read stuff like that and think THAT is reality..
gillumhouse said:
Like the books where guests keep coming up dead. Who would stay there? I wonder at some how the innkeeper had time to be an innkeeper with the travels and the detecting. The problems with books like Maddie started to read is the part about not needing to do the floors because she did not want to haul the vac up - people read stuff like that and think THAT is reality.
Murder she wrote... who would even want to live in that tiny town???
 
This book takes place in 'Beautiful Beaufort' (which is the only reason I know how the locals pronounce the name of the town.)
 
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