The prove-it-to-me callers

[gillumhouse]

What grinds me are the ones who want to see the rooms to check us out. I understand my locals - especially when we first opened - had no idea what a B & B was and needed to see. One old guy actually stayed at a B & B in PA because of us having one here and brought me back a rack card from the place to show me!
What makes me seethe is that they will go to the front desk of ANY hotel/motel, pay their money and go to the room. But a B & B, they want to see it first to make sure it is nice enough. And WE are supposed to smile sweetly and be honored they are even considering staying here..

I would never take offense at this. Especially if we have another room open and someone wants to see if there is another room that they might like better, despite having booked a room after seeing them online. All of our rooms are different, so you never know.
When you stay at hotels, they're pretty much cookie-cutter and you know what you're getting. If the room isn't up to par, we trot ourselves back to the desk and ask for another room.
.

You misunderstood what I meant - I am not talking about someone with a reservation. I am talking about the people who "might" want to stay here.... I always show all my rooms to incoming as long as they are vacant.
The lookie-loos that think a B & B in Podunk may not be up to their standards when they will go to the no-tell for $24.95 per night and think it is OK. And they just show up. You (collective, not personal) can say do not open the door all you want - and IF I were just a B & B I could do that - but I am involved in things here in the City and I do live here so not answering the door is not an option for me. I have told people I am sorry I cannot show you the B & B because it is not guest ready - and they go away thinking I was inhospitable, even though they had no appointment and were just looking. We each have our our individual situations with household, local, B & B, clientelle, and City and have to deal with them however works for us.

 

[Morticia]

What grinds me are the ones who want to see the rooms to check us out. I understand my locals - especially when we first opened - had no idea what a B & B was and needed to see. One old guy actually stayed at a B & B in PA because of us having one here and brought me back a rack card from the place to show me!
What makes me seethe is that they will go to the front desk of ANY hotel/motel, pay their money and go to the room. But a B & B, they want to see it first to make sure it is nice enough. And WE are supposed to smile sweetly and be honored they are even considering staying here..

I would never take offense at this. Especially if we have another room open and someone wants to see if there is another room that they might like better, despite having booked a room after seeing them online. All of our rooms are different, so you never know.
When you stay at hotels, they're pretty much cookie-cutter and you know what you're getting. If the room isn't up to par, we trot ourselves back to the desk and ask for another room.
.

You misunderstood what I meant - I am not talking about someone with a reservation. I am talking about the people who "might" want to stay here.... I always show all my rooms to incoming as long as they are vacant.
The lookie-loos that think a B & B in Podunk may not be up to their standards when they will go to the no-tell for $24.95 per night and think it is OK. And they just show up. You (collective, not personal) can say do not open the door all you want - and IF I were just a B & B I could do that - but I am involved in things here in the City and I do live here so not answering the door is not an option for me. I have told people I am sorry I cannot show you the B & B because it is not guest ready - and they go away thinking I was inhospitable, even though they had no appointment and were just looking. We each have our our individual situations with household, local, B & B, clientelle, and City and have to deal with them however works for us.
.

I'll take them as far as the common room if the rest of the house is a mess. I'll explain what I can and offer to show them online pix, hand them a brochure and offer a cuppa. But if the house isn't ready, it isn't ready.
Of course, no one gets that. If you're standing there holding the door open, how come your house is a mess? Didn't you have all day, week, month to clean up?

 

[Copperhead]

Of course, no one gets that. If you're standing there holding the door open, how come your house is a mess? Didn't you have all day, week, month to clean up?
If we could only be like Samatha on Bewitched - a little nose twitch and presto the rooms are ready! (Opps guess you can tell I was watching TV Land while folding sheets today.)

 

[JBloggs]

What grinds me are the ones who want to see the rooms to check us out. I understand my locals - especially when we first opened - had no idea what a B & B was and needed to see. One old guy actually stayed at a B & B in PA because of us having one here and brought me back a rack card from the place to show me!
What makes me seethe is that they will go to the front desk of ANY hotel/motel, pay their money and go to the room. But a B & B, they want to see it first to make sure it is nice enough. And WE are supposed to smile sweetly and be honored they are even considering staying here..

I would never take offense at this. Especially if we have another room open and someone wants to see if there is another room that they might like better, despite having booked a room after seeing them online. All of our rooms are different, so you never know.
When you stay at hotels, they're pretty much cookie-cutter and you know what you're getting. If the room isn't up to par, we trot ourselves back to the desk and ask for another room.
.

You misunderstood what I meant - I am not talking about someone with a reservation. I am talking about the people who "might" want to stay here.... I always show all my rooms to incoming as long as they are vacant.
The lookie-loos that think a B & B in Podunk may not be up to their standards when they will go to the no-tell for $24.95 per night and think it is OK. And they just show up. You (collective, not personal) can say do not open the door all you want - and IF I were just a B & B I could do that - but I am involved in things here in the City and I do live here so not answering the door is not an option for me. I have told people I am sorry I cannot show you the B & B because it is not guest ready - and they go away thinking I was inhospitable, even though they had no appointment and were just looking. We each have our our individual situations with household, local, B & B, clientelle, and City and have to deal with them however works for us.
.

That is the difference between walk ins vs reservation only. I just booked the hotel in Durham for DH for tonight - yeah he is still here...but he has to be there before 8am so would rather get there late and sleep there vs traffic in the AM's to get down there.
So a B&B did not pan out, although I did try. They have over a ton of reviews (300+ total in goggle from ALL the different sources) and half of them say it is outdated and not super nice, not 3 1/2 star like it says on every site, then the others say how wonderful and clean it is.
According to the pix, it is lovely and clean and anyone would be happy to stay there!
Well this is the same hotel where this I.T. Conference is being held, so he is okay with it just being okay so he can be onsite. Standard rate is $143. Gvmt rate is less, not less than AAA or AARP I will add.
All that to say - the difference in a photo vs the real thing. Not to justify what this caller said to me - we have all had similar experiences, where a room photo makes the place look large and clean, then reality is a different picture altogether.

 

[Morticia]

What grinds me are the ones who want to see the rooms to check us out. I understand my locals - especially when we first opened - had no idea what a B & B was and needed to see. One old guy actually stayed at a B & B in PA because of us having one here and brought me back a rack card from the place to show me!
What makes me seethe is that they will go to the front desk of ANY hotel/motel, pay their money and go to the room. But a B & B, they want to see it first to make sure it is nice enough. And WE are supposed to smile sweetly and be honored they are even considering staying here..

I would never take offense at this. Especially if we have another room open and someone wants to see if there is another room that they might like better, despite having booked a room after seeing them online. All of our rooms are different, so you never know.
When you stay at hotels, they're pretty much cookie-cutter and you know what you're getting. If the room isn't up to par, we trot ourselves back to the desk and ask for another room.
.

You misunderstood what I meant - I am not talking about someone with a reservation. I am talking about the people who "might" want to stay here.... I always show all my rooms to incoming as long as they are vacant.
The lookie-loos that think a B & B in Podunk may not be up to their standards when they will go to the no-tell for $24.95 per night and think it is OK. And they just show up. You (collective, not personal) can say do not open the door all you want - and IF I were just a B & B I could do that - but I am involved in things here in the City and I do live here so not answering the door is not an option for me. I have told people I am sorry I cannot show you the B & B because it is not guest ready - and they go away thinking I was inhospitable, even though they had no appointment and were just looking. We each have our our individual situations with household, local, B & B, clientelle, and City and have to deal with them however works for us.
.

That is the difference between walk ins vs reservation only. I just booked the hotel in Durham for DH for tonight - yeah he is still here...but he has to be there before 8am so would rather get there late and sleep there vs traffic in the AM's to get down there.
So a B&B did not pan out, although I did try. They have over a ton of reviews (300+ total in goggle from ALL the different sources) and half of them say it is outdated and not super nice, not 3 1/2 star like it says on every site, then the others say how wonderful and clean it is.
According to the pix, it is lovely and clean and anyone would be happy to stay there!
Well this is the same hotel where this I.T. Conference is being held, so he is okay with it just being okay so he can be onsite. Standard rate is $143. Gvmt rate is less, not less than AAA or AARP I will add.
All that to say - the difference in a photo vs the real thing. Not to justify what this caller said to me - we have all had similar experiences, where a room photo makes the place look large and clean, then reality is a different picture altogether.
.

OK, 'splain to me how one pf those places has a 66% rating on TA (so 1 out of 3 guests didn't like it) and they have 4 1/2 stars out of 5? Other than the unhappy guests were from years ago. And a place with all 5 star reviews has only 4 stars and ranks lower? With newer reviews. That town page is messed up. Including a place that isn't even in this country that is tied for first!

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

What grinds me are the ones who want to see the rooms to check us out. I understand my locals - especially when we first opened - had no idea what a B & B was and needed to see. One old guy actually stayed at a B & B in PA because of us having one here and brought me back a rack card from the place to show me!
What makes me seethe is that they will go to the front desk of ANY hotel/motel, pay their money and go to the room. But a B & B, they want to see it first to make sure it is nice enough. And WE are supposed to smile sweetly and be honored they are even considering staying here..

I would never take offense at this. Especially if we have another room open and someone wants to see if there is another room that they might like better, despite having booked a room after seeing them online. All of our rooms are different, so you never know.
When you stay at hotels, they're pretty much cookie-cutter and you know what you're getting. If the room isn't up to par, we trot ourselves back to the desk and ask for another room.
.

You misunderstood what I meant - I am not talking about someone with a reservation. I am talking about the people who "might" want to stay here.... I always show all my rooms to incoming as long as they are vacant.
The lookie-loos that think a B & B in Podunk may not be up to their standards when they will go to the no-tell for $24.95 per night and think it is OK. And they just show up. You (collective, not personal) can say do not open the door all you want - and IF I were just a B & B I could do that - but I am involved in things here in the City and I do live here so not answering the door is not an option for me. I have told people I am sorry I cannot show you the B & B because it is not guest ready - and they go away thinking I was inhospitable, even though they had no appointment and were just looking. We each have our our individual situations with household, local, B & B, clientelle, and City and have to deal with them however works for us.
.

That is the difference between walk ins vs reservation only. I just booked the hotel in Durham for DH for tonight - yeah he is still here...but he has to be there before 8am so would rather get there late and sleep there vs traffic in the AM's to get down there.
So a B&B did not pan out, although I did try. They have over a ton of reviews (300+ total in goggle from ALL the different sources) and half of them say it is outdated and not super nice, not 3 1/2 star like it says on every site, then the others say how wonderful and clean it is.
According to the pix, it is lovely and clean and anyone would be happy to stay there!
Well this is the same hotel where this I.T. Conference is being held, so he is okay with it just being okay so he can be onsite. Standard rate is $143. Gvmt rate is less, not less than AAA or AARP I will add.
All that to say - the difference in a photo vs the real thing. Not to justify what this caller said to me - we have all had similar experiences, where a room photo makes the place look large and clean, then reality is a different picture altogether.
.

OK, 'splain to me how one pf those places has a 66% rating on TA (so 1 out of 3 guests didn't like it) and they have 4 1/2 stars out of 5? Other than the unhappy guests were from years ago. And a place with all 5 star reviews has only 4 stars and ranks lower? With newer reviews. That town page is messed up. Including a place that isn't even in this country that is tied for first!
.

It's amazing to me but it often happens on TA that the reviewer will rank the inn high in each of the categories, sometimes all 5s, and then say No, they won't refer a friend. That's why you get that discrepancy. It's not TA's algorithm, it's crazy reviewers.

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

What grinds me are the ones who want to see the rooms to check us out. I understand my locals - especially when we first opened - had no idea what a B & B was and needed to see. One old guy actually stayed at a B & B in PA because of us having one here and brought me back a rack card from the place to show me!
What makes me seethe is that they will go to the front desk of ANY hotel/motel, pay their money and go to the room. But a B & B, they want to see it first to make sure it is nice enough. And WE are supposed to smile sweetly and be honored they are even considering staying here..

I would never take offense at this. Especially if we have another room open and someone wants to see if there is another room that they might like better, despite having booked a room after seeing them online. All of our rooms are different, so you never know.
When you stay at hotels, they're pretty much cookie-cutter and you know what you're getting. If the room isn't up to par, we trot ourselves back to the desk and ask for another room.
.

You misunderstood what I meant - I am not talking about someone with a reservation. I am talking about the people who "might" want to stay here.... I always show all my rooms to incoming as long as they are vacant.
The lookie-loos that think a B & B in Podunk may not be up to their standards when they will go to the no-tell for $24.95 per night and think it is OK. And they just show up. You (collective, not personal) can say do not open the door all you want - and IF I were just a B & B I could do that - but I am involved in things here in the City and I do live here so not answering the door is not an option for me. I have told people I am sorry I cannot show you the B & B because it is not guest ready - and they go away thinking I was inhospitable, even though they had no appointment and were just looking. We each have our our individual situations with household, local, B & B, clientelle, and City and have to deal with them however works for us.
.

I'll take them as far as the common room if the rest of the house is a mess. I'll explain what I can and offer to show them online pix, hand them a brochure and offer a cuppa. But if the house isn't ready, it isn't ready.
Of course, no one gets that. If you're standing there holding the door open, how come your house is a mess? Didn't you have all day, week, month to clean up?
.

I don't tell them rooms aren't ready because, you're right, they just never get that.
I tell them all the rooms are occupied right now. And they are; not necessarily with the actual guests but with the guest's remains. Until they've been cleaned, rooms are occupied.
They usually get that.
And it makes them want to book. Nothing makes them want something more than knowing someone else beat them to it.

 

[Morticia]

What grinds me are the ones who want to see the rooms to check us out. I understand my locals - especially when we first opened - had no idea what a B & B was and needed to see. One old guy actually stayed at a B & B in PA because of us having one here and brought me back a rack card from the place to show me!
What makes me seethe is that they will go to the front desk of ANY hotel/motel, pay their money and go to the room. But a B & B, they want to see it first to make sure it is nice enough. And WE are supposed to smile sweetly and be honored they are even considering staying here..

I would never take offense at this. Especially if we have another room open and someone wants to see if there is another room that they might like better, despite having booked a room after seeing them online. All of our rooms are different, so you never know.
When you stay at hotels, they're pretty much cookie-cutter and you know what you're getting. If the room isn't up to par, we trot ourselves back to the desk and ask for another room.
.

You misunderstood what I meant - I am not talking about someone with a reservation. I am talking about the people who "might" want to stay here.... I always show all my rooms to incoming as long as they are vacant.
The lookie-loos that think a B & B in Podunk may not be up to their standards when they will go to the no-tell for $24.95 per night and think it is OK. And they just show up. You (collective, not personal) can say do not open the door all you want - and IF I were just a B & B I could do that - but I am involved in things here in the City and I do live here so not answering the door is not an option for me. I have told people I am sorry I cannot show you the B & B because it is not guest ready - and they go away thinking I was inhospitable, even though they had no appointment and were just looking. We each have our our individual situations with household, local, B & B, clientelle, and City and have to deal with them however works for us.
.

I'll take them as far as the common room if the rest of the house is a mess. I'll explain what I can and offer to show them online pix, hand them a brochure and offer a cuppa. But if the house isn't ready, it isn't ready.
Of course, no one gets that. If you're standing there holding the door open, how come your house is a mess? Didn't you have all day, week, month to clean up?
.

I don't tell them rooms aren't ready because, you're right, they just never get that.
I tell them all the rooms are occupied right now. And they are; not necessarily with the actual guests but with the guest's remains. Until they've been cleaned, rooms are occupied.
They usually get that.
And it makes them want to book. Nothing makes them want something more than knowing someone else beat them to it.
.

And it makes them want to book. Nothing makes them want something more than knowing someone else beat them to it.

Good one! And you're right. The idea someone else beat them to it is priceless for generating desire.

 

[Copperhead]

What grinds me are the ones who want to see the rooms to check us out. I understand my locals - especially when we first opened - had no idea what a B & B was and needed to see. One old guy actually stayed at a B & B in PA because of us having one here and brought me back a rack card from the place to show me!
What makes me seethe is that they will go to the front desk of ANY hotel/motel, pay their money and go to the room. But a B & B, they want to see it first to make sure it is nice enough. And WE are supposed to smile sweetly and be honored they are even considering staying here..

I would never take offense at this. Especially if we have another room open and someone wants to see if there is another room that they might like better, despite having booked a room after seeing them online. All of our rooms are different, so you never know.
When you stay at hotels, they're pretty much cookie-cutter and you know what you're getting. If the room isn't up to par, we trot ourselves back to the desk and ask for another room.
.

You misunderstood what I meant - I am not talking about someone with a reservation. I am talking about the people who "might" want to stay here.... I always show all my rooms to incoming as long as they are vacant.
The lookie-loos that think a B & B in Podunk may not be up to their standards when they will go to the no-tell for $24.95 per night and think it is OK. And they just show up. You (collective, not personal) can say do not open the door all you want - and IF I were just a B & B I could do that - but I am involved in things here in the City and I do live here so not answering the door is not an option for me. I have told people I am sorry I cannot show you the B & B because it is not guest ready - and they go away thinking I was inhospitable, even though they had no appointment and were just looking. We each have our our individual situations with household, local, B & B, clientelle, and City and have to deal with them however works for us.
.

I'll take them as far as the common room if the rest of the house is a mess. I'll explain what I can and offer to show them online pix, hand them a brochure and offer a cuppa. But if the house isn't ready, it isn't ready.
Of course, no one gets that. If you're standing there holding the door open, how come your house is a mess? Didn't you have all day, week, month to clean up?
.

I don't tell them rooms aren't ready because, you're right, they just never get that.
I tell them all the rooms are occupied right now. And they are; not necessarily with the actual guests but with the guest's remains. Until they've been cleaned, rooms are occupied.
They usually get that.
And it makes them want to book. Nothing makes them want something more than knowing someone else beat them to it.
.

I don't tell them rooms aren't ready because, you're right, they just never get that.
I tell them all the rooms are occupied right now. And they are; not necessarily with the actual guests but with the guest's remains. Until they've been cleaned, rooms are occupied.
They usually get that.
And it makes them want to book. Nothing makes them want something more than knowing someone else beat them to it.

DITTO