Something different for 2010?

[JBloggs]

I was going to wrap a few stocking stuffers and ended up head-first in the pantry getting rid of the stuff I wasted money on this year and never used and now is out of date. ie buying more than needed because it was on sale - what a sucker I was!
Contemplating the year and the new year ahead...
What will you try/plan on doing differently in 2010 as you run your business?
Any changes implemented for the new year? Any additions in amenities or policies for the day to day operations of your B&B? Or perhaps cut backs in amenities that just didn't work out the way you had hoped in 2009?

 

[Morticia]

Portion control. Taking a page from your guy, Barry's, Bar Blog we're going to use scoops and measures for portions. Gomez starts off ok but eventually ends up serving each guest about 2x the usual amount of food anyone needs to eat in one meal. So we'll be working on using scoops and measuring cups instead of eyeballing while he gets his portions back under control.
We'll also not be buying 'prepared' foods that cost more...pre-sliced mushrooms or other veggies. Yes, it makes for more work for him, which he hates, but he also hates the bills! Well, maybe I could take over cutting up the veggies for him. Shredded cheese, stuff like that.
We did institute one food saving measure this year which I think helped...he no longer pre-cooks the sausages in the morning but cooks to order only the number that will get eaten.
Better preplanning based on how many guests it looks like we'll have over the course of a few days. Right now I have about $10 worth of fresh fruit to eat before it goes bad. That was poor planning.
I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes.

 

[JBloggs]

 

[wendydk]

Portion control. Taking a page from your guy, Barry's, Bar Blog we're going to use scoops and measures for portions. Gomez starts off ok but eventually ends up serving each guest about 2x the usual amount of food anyone needs to eat in one meal. So we'll be working on using scoops and measuring cups instead of eyeballing while he gets his portions back under control.
We'll also not be buying 'prepared' foods that cost more...pre-sliced mushrooms or other veggies. Yes, it makes for more work for him, which he hates, but he also hates the bills! Well, maybe I could take over cutting up the veggies for him. Shredded cheese, stuff like that.
We did institute one food saving measure this year which I think helped...he no longer pre-cooks the sausages in the morning but cooks to order only the number that will get eaten.
Better preplanning based on how many guests it looks like we'll have over the course of a few days. Right now I have about $10 worth of fresh fruit to eat before it goes bad. That was poor planning.
I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes..

I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes.

25%? Holy cow, that's a huge number...kudos to you if you can accomplish it! As discussed on another thread, we are talking about changing the type of breakfast we serve. However, my fear is that while we would enjoy tremendously lower food costs and less work early in the morning, we would not enjoy the tremendously lower revenues that would probably result!
If we are still here going into summer 2010, we have decided to make some important changes that would allow us the family time that we've been missing for almost seven years. For instance, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday...haven't seen one all this time. This year, no one can check in on the 4th..so we'll have only stayovers, and we can get out for the day. Was considering no checkins on Saturdays for the same reasons, but have not taken the steps to make that happen yet. Just the little things that will make the 85%+ occupied summers a little less restrictive.

 

[Morticia]

Portion control. Taking a page from your guy, Barry's, Bar Blog we're going to use scoops and measures for portions. Gomez starts off ok but eventually ends up serving each guest about 2x the usual amount of food anyone needs to eat in one meal. So we'll be working on using scoops and measuring cups instead of eyeballing while he gets his portions back under control.
We'll also not be buying 'prepared' foods that cost more...pre-sliced mushrooms or other veggies. Yes, it makes for more work for him, which he hates, but he also hates the bills! Well, maybe I could take over cutting up the veggies for him. Shredded cheese, stuff like that.
We did institute one food saving measure this year which I think helped...he no longer pre-cooks the sausages in the morning but cooks to order only the number that will get eaten.
Better preplanning based on how many guests it looks like we'll have over the course of a few days. Right now I have about $10 worth of fresh fruit to eat before it goes bad. That was poor planning.
I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes..

I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes.

25%? Holy cow, that's a huge number...kudos to you if you can accomplish it! As discussed on another thread, we are talking about changing the type of breakfast we serve. However, my fear is that while we would enjoy tremendously lower food costs and less work early in the morning, we would not enjoy the tremendously lower revenues that would probably result!
If we are still here going into summer 2010, we have decided to make some important changes that would allow us the family time that we've been missing for almost seven years. For instance, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday...haven't seen one all this time. This year, no one can check in on the 4th..so we'll have only stayovers, and we can get out for the day. Was considering no checkins on Saturdays for the same reasons, but have not taken the steps to make that happen yet. Just the little things that will make the 85%+ occupied summers a little less restrictive.
.

Gomez shops everyday. If there is a 2 fer sale, he buys 2 even if we only need 1. That 1 generally ends up getting thrown out because we don't serve the same breakfast again for 3-4 days. And THEN he goes to the store and does the same thing all over again.
So, it's more a planning thing to say, 'Here's what we'll serve for the next 3-4 days and how we will use up everything that got bought in one way or another.' I need to drive that. He only wants to cook, he doesn't want to plan. It works really well in the summer when I look over a rolling week at a time, make the menu up based on whatever restrictions have already booked and proceed from there.
As to your 85% occ...raise your rates! Make more money, have fewer guests, get more time off! One summer the PO's did a 90% occ August. I would die running around like that. (And believe me, they were not in the least happy at all even tho they hired out the cleaning and sent the laundry out!) I'll happily stick at 70-75% and keep some modicum of sanity!

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

Portion control. Taking a page from your guy, Barry's, Bar Blog we're going to use scoops and measures for portions. Gomez starts off ok but eventually ends up serving each guest about 2x the usual amount of food anyone needs to eat in one meal. So we'll be working on using scoops and measuring cups instead of eyeballing while he gets his portions back under control.
We'll also not be buying 'prepared' foods that cost more...pre-sliced mushrooms or other veggies. Yes, it makes for more work for him, which he hates, but he also hates the bills! Well, maybe I could take over cutting up the veggies for him. Shredded cheese, stuff like that.
We did institute one food saving measure this year which I think helped...he no longer pre-cooks the sausages in the morning but cooks to order only the number that will get eaten.
Better preplanning based on how many guests it looks like we'll have over the course of a few days. Right now I have about $10 worth of fresh fruit to eat before it goes bad. That was poor planning.
I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes..

I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes.

25%? Holy cow, that's a huge number...kudos to you if you can accomplish it! As discussed on another thread, we are talking about changing the type of breakfast we serve. However, my fear is that while we would enjoy tremendously lower food costs and less work early in the morning, we would not enjoy the tremendously lower revenues that would probably result!
If we are still here going into summer 2010, we have decided to make some important changes that would allow us the family time that we've been missing for almost seven years. For instance, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday...haven't seen one all this time. This year, no one can check in on the 4th..so we'll have only stayovers, and we can get out for the day. Was considering no checkins on Saturdays for the same reasons, but have not taken the steps to make that happen yet. Just the little things that will make the 85%+ occupied summers a little less restrictive.
.

Gomez shops everyday. If there is a 2 fer sale, he buys 2 even if we only need 1. That 1 generally ends up getting thrown out because we don't serve the same breakfast again for 3-4 days. And THEN he goes to the store and does the same thing all over again.
So, it's more a planning thing to say, 'Here's what we'll serve for the next 3-4 days and how we will use up everything that got bought in one way or another.' I need to drive that. He only wants to cook, he doesn't want to plan. It works really well in the summer when I look over a rolling week at a time, make the menu up based on whatever restrictions have already booked and proceed from there.
As to your 85% occ...raise your rates! Make more money, have fewer guests, get more time off! One summer the PO's did a 90% occ August. I would die running around like that. (And believe me, they were not in the least happy at all even tho they hired out the cleaning and sent the laundry out!) I'll happily stick at 70-75% and keep some modicum of sanity!
.

As to your 85% occ...raise your rates! Make more money, have fewer guests, get more time off! One summer the PO's did a 90% occ August. I would die running around like that. (And believe me, they were not in the least happy at all even tho they hired out the cleaning and sent the laundry out!) I'll happily stick at 70-75% and keep some modicum of sanity!

Agreed. Time to nudge those rates up a wee bit for those summer months!

 

[JBloggs]

Portion control. Taking a page from your guy, Barry's, Bar Blog we're going to use scoops and measures for portions. Gomez starts off ok but eventually ends up serving each guest about 2x the usual amount of food anyone needs to eat in one meal. So we'll be working on using scoops and measuring cups instead of eyeballing while he gets his portions back under control.
We'll also not be buying 'prepared' foods that cost more...pre-sliced mushrooms or other veggies. Yes, it makes for more work for him, which he hates, but he also hates the bills! Well, maybe I could take over cutting up the veggies for him. Shredded cheese, stuff like that.
We did institute one food saving measure this year which I think helped...he no longer pre-cooks the sausages in the morning but cooks to order only the number that will get eaten.
Better preplanning based on how many guests it looks like we'll have over the course of a few days. Right now I have about $10 worth of fresh fruit to eat before it goes bad. That was poor planning.
I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes..

I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes.

25%? Holy cow, that's a huge number...kudos to you if you can accomplish it! As discussed on another thread, we are talking about changing the type of breakfast we serve. However, my fear is that while we would enjoy tremendously lower food costs and less work early in the morning, we would not enjoy the tremendously lower revenues that would probably result!
If we are still here going into summer 2010, we have decided to make some important changes that would allow us the family time that we've been missing for almost seven years. For instance, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday...haven't seen one all this time. This year, no one can check in on the 4th..so we'll have only stayovers, and we can get out for the day. Was considering no checkins on Saturdays for the same reasons, but have not taken the steps to make that happen yet. Just the little things that will make the 85%+ occupied summers a little less restrictive.
.

Gomez shops everyday. If there is a 2 fer sale, he buys 2 even if we only need 1. That 1 generally ends up getting thrown out because we don't serve the same breakfast again for 3-4 days. And THEN he goes to the store and does the same thing all over again.
So, it's more a planning thing to say, 'Here's what we'll serve for the next 3-4 days and how we will use up everything that got bought in one way or another.' I need to drive that. He only wants to cook, he doesn't want to plan. It works really well in the summer when I look over a rolling week at a time, make the menu up based on whatever restrictions have already booked and proceed from there.
As to your 85% occ...raise your rates! Make more money, have fewer guests, get more time off! One summer the PO's did a 90% occ August. I would die running around like that. (And believe me, they were not in the least happy at all even tho they hired out the cleaning and sent the laundry out!) I'll happily stick at 70-75% and keep some modicum of sanity!
.

Not to get into a marital dispute situation, but she/he who cooks is the one who shops typically, unless you do it, it will be difficult to have the say so on how it is done. Just my opinion as the one who does the cooking, he who does not do the cooking won't have much lee-way esp if he/she is doing the shopping.
As I consolidated 8 jars of peanut butter...I I'M'd DH at work as said PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS MUCH PEANUT BUTTER! Now I was away for a couple days so he went shopping, he saw 10 for $10 so he bought ten. You don't have to buy ten, you can mix and match anything in that special promo this grocery store chain puts on. I have to remind him this is not Y2K!!

 

[EmptyNest]

Portion control. Taking a page from your guy, Barry's, Bar Blog we're going to use scoops and measures for portions. Gomez starts off ok but eventually ends up serving each guest about 2x the usual amount of food anyone needs to eat in one meal. So we'll be working on using scoops and measuring cups instead of eyeballing while he gets his portions back under control.
We'll also not be buying 'prepared' foods that cost more...pre-sliced mushrooms or other veggies. Yes, it makes for more work for him, which he hates, but he also hates the bills! Well, maybe I could take over cutting up the veggies for him. Shredded cheese, stuff like that.
We did institute one food saving measure this year which I think helped...he no longer pre-cooks the sausages in the morning but cooks to order only the number that will get eaten.
Better preplanning based on how many guests it looks like we'll have over the course of a few days. Right now I have about $10 worth of fresh fruit to eat before it goes bad. That was poor planning.
I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes..

I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes.

25%? Holy cow, that's a huge number...kudos to you if you can accomplish it! As discussed on another thread, we are talking about changing the type of breakfast we serve. However, my fear is that while we would enjoy tremendously lower food costs and less work early in the morning, we would not enjoy the tremendously lower revenues that would probably result!
If we are still here going into summer 2010, we have decided to make some important changes that would allow us the family time that we've been missing for almost seven years. For instance, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday...haven't seen one all this time. This year, no one can check in on the 4th..so we'll have only stayovers, and we can get out for the day. Was considering no checkins on Saturdays for the same reasons, but have not taken the steps to make that happen yet. Just the little things that will make the 85%+ occupied summers a little less restrictive.
.

I NEVER took check ins on Sundays nor Mondays..that was a RULE I came up with after the first few months open..and We STUCK TO IT and never regretted it. I needed the rest after busy weekends.

 

[Morticia]

Portion control. Taking a page from your guy, Barry's, Bar Blog we're going to use scoops and measures for portions. Gomez starts off ok but eventually ends up serving each guest about 2x the usual amount of food anyone needs to eat in one meal. So we'll be working on using scoops and measuring cups instead of eyeballing while he gets his portions back under control.
We'll also not be buying 'prepared' foods that cost more...pre-sliced mushrooms or other veggies. Yes, it makes for more work for him, which he hates, but he also hates the bills! Well, maybe I could take over cutting up the veggies for him. Shredded cheese, stuff like that.
We did institute one food saving measure this year which I think helped...he no longer pre-cooks the sausages in the morning but cooks to order only the number that will get eaten.
Better preplanning based on how many guests it looks like we'll have over the course of a few days. Right now I have about $10 worth of fresh fruit to eat before it goes bad. That was poor planning.
I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes..

I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes.

25%? Holy cow, that's a huge number...kudos to you if you can accomplish it! As discussed on another thread, we are talking about changing the type of breakfast we serve. However, my fear is that while we would enjoy tremendously lower food costs and less work early in the morning, we would not enjoy the tremendously lower revenues that would probably result!
If we are still here going into summer 2010, we have decided to make some important changes that would allow us the family time that we've been missing for almost seven years. For instance, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday...haven't seen one all this time. This year, no one can check in on the 4th..so we'll have only stayovers, and we can get out for the day. Was considering no checkins on Saturdays for the same reasons, but have not taken the steps to make that happen yet. Just the little things that will make the 85%+ occupied summers a little less restrictive.
.

Gomez shops everyday. If there is a 2 fer sale, he buys 2 even if we only need 1. That 1 generally ends up getting thrown out because we don't serve the same breakfast again for 3-4 days. And THEN he goes to the store and does the same thing all over again.
So, it's more a planning thing to say, 'Here's what we'll serve for the next 3-4 days and how we will use up everything that got bought in one way or another.' I need to drive that. He only wants to cook, he doesn't want to plan. It works really well in the summer when I look over a rolling week at a time, make the menu up based on whatever restrictions have already booked and proceed from there.
As to your 85% occ...raise your rates! Make more money, have fewer guests, get more time off! One summer the PO's did a 90% occ August. I would die running around like that. (And believe me, they were not in the least happy at all even tho they hired out the cleaning and sent the laundry out!) I'll happily stick at 70-75% and keep some modicum of sanity!
.

Not to get into a marital dispute situation, but she/he who cooks is the one who shops typically, unless you do it, it will be difficult to have the say so on how it is done. Just my opinion as the one who does the cooking, he who does not do the cooking won't have much lee-way esp if he/she is doing the shopping.
As I consolidated 8 jars of peanut butter...I I'M'd DH at work as said PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS MUCH PEANUT BUTTER! Now I was away for a couple days so he went shopping, he saw 10 for $10 so he bought ten. You don't have to buy ten, you can mix and match anything in that special promo this grocery store chain puts on. I have to remind him this is not Y2K!!
.

10 jars of pnut butter for $10? Wowza! I'd buy that and stock them up for pnut butter cookies.
I know what you're saying. I should stay out of the kitchen if I want to keep my marriage. But, it's an area of huge expense that could be trimmed without cutting back anything in the way we present the meals and the meals we make. Just make them a tad cheaper to produce and make the ingredients go a tad further for each meal.
We actually ADDED expense by doing a better presentation but that presentation gets a lot of 'wows' so not cutting back there.
Unless I want to undertake the shopping and sous chef work, I do need to approach this carefully.

 

[bbinnsitters]

Portion control. Taking a page from your guy, Barry's, Bar Blog we're going to use scoops and measures for portions. Gomez starts off ok but eventually ends up serving each guest about 2x the usual amount of food anyone needs to eat in one meal. So we'll be working on using scoops and measuring cups instead of eyeballing while he gets his portions back under control.
We'll also not be buying 'prepared' foods that cost more...pre-sliced mushrooms or other veggies. Yes, it makes for more work for him, which he hates, but he also hates the bills! Well, maybe I could take over cutting up the veggies for him. Shredded cheese, stuff like that.
We did institute one food saving measure this year which I think helped...he no longer pre-cooks the sausages in the morning but cooks to order only the number that will get eaten.
Better preplanning based on how many guests it looks like we'll have over the course of a few days. Right now I have about $10 worth of fresh fruit to eat before it goes bad. That was poor planning.
I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes..

I'm aiming for a 25% drop in food budget with these couple of changes.

25%? Holy cow, that's a huge number...kudos to you if you can accomplish it! As discussed on another thread, we are talking about changing the type of breakfast we serve. However, my fear is that while we would enjoy tremendously lower food costs and less work early in the morning, we would not enjoy the tremendously lower revenues that would probably result!
If we are still here going into summer 2010, we have decided to make some important changes that would allow us the family time that we've been missing for almost seven years. For instance, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday...haven't seen one all this time. This year, no one can check in on the 4th..so we'll have only stayovers, and we can get out for the day. Was considering no checkins on Saturdays for the same reasons, but have not taken the steps to make that happen yet. Just the little things that will make the 85%+ occupied summers a little less restrictive.
.

Gomez shops everyday. If there is a 2 fer sale, he buys 2 even if we only need 1. That 1 generally ends up getting thrown out because we don't serve the same breakfast again for 3-4 days. And THEN he goes to the store and does the same thing all over again.
So, it's more a planning thing to say, 'Here's what we'll serve for the next 3-4 days and how we will use up everything that got bought in one way or another.' I need to drive that. He only wants to cook, he doesn't want to plan. It works really well in the summer when I look over a rolling week at a time, make the menu up based on whatever restrictions have already booked and proceed from there.
As to your 85% occ...raise your rates! Make more money, have fewer guests, get more time off! One summer the PO's did a 90% occ August. I would die running around like that. (And believe me, they were not in the least happy at all even tho they hired out the cleaning and sent the laundry out!) I'll happily stick at 70-75% and keep some modicum of sanity!
.

Not to get into a marital dispute situation, but she/he who cooks is the one who shops typically, unless you do it, it will be difficult to have the say so on how it is done. Just my opinion as the one who does the cooking, he who does not do the cooking won't have much lee-way esp if he/she is doing the shopping.
As I consolidated 8 jars of peanut butter...I I'M'd DH at work as said PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS MUCH PEANUT BUTTER! Now I was away for a couple days so he went shopping, he saw 10 for $10 so he bought ten. You don't have to buy ten, you can mix and match anything in that special promo this grocery store chain puts on. I have to remind him this is not Y2K!!
.

I have had to explain to my hubby several times that just becos it is 10 for $10 doesn't mean you have to buy 10!!! You can buy 3 for $3 if you only need 3! I think it is a marketing gimmick, and evidently they get a lot of people that way! Altho I know there are stores that you HAVE to buy the 10 to get the deal...but it is always cheaper to just buy what you need! Rather to pay $2.50 for 2 then $10 for 10 that you'll end up throwing out 8!