Wise ones were once foolish (ahem, unwise ones - yet to be wise ones).
Til they found some old dude
in another guest bathroom. "Oh I didn't think this was occupied?"
Edited to add - these are the stories than non innkeepers do not believe. When it happens to you, then you lock it all up and hide the keys. I will never, no matter how nice people appear at check in, leave other rooms unlocked, ever. From using the other rooms for a quickie to using the shower in another bathroom, and then of course the toilet - why not, it's a toilet, right? I won't leave any unattended area unlocked..
Yep, good stories for us newbies....but not so good when they were happening to y'all.
You know, my guests look at me funny when I lock up our quarters sometimes when they are right there & I just say, "We are diligent about keeping all our guest information safe and secure". Then, they nod appreciatively
So far (knock wood), the "Private" signs are working on the swing door to the butler's pantry. We are only able to lock that with a slide bolt when we go out the side porch door. We tried to avoid drilling into more old doors.
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The guy of the couple is a long-time B&B goer, too. He was telling me all the places here in town he has stayed over the years. And he has even stayed here before our tenure.
I'll never really learn the lesson about locking everything all the time, tho. But, more locks are going on this winter.
Even the innkeepers who were here last week were astonished at everything I have a lock on (cabinets, was the big one they were stunned by). It all depends on who shows up at the door, I guess. Should these folks show up again, and not just go back to their last B&B, I've made a note that they 'wander' and open the windows with the heat on.
Next year we won't lock into a contract with the fuel. I figure we'll even out over the years just taking our chances. However, we will NOT recover from buying high this year. It'll end up costing us $10,000 for what is costing the 'guy next door' less than $5000.
Right now we are paying $2.50/gal more than street value. So, for those who don't use fuel oil, just figure that if you pull up at the pump to get gas, you are charged $2.50/gal more than the guy next to you, for an idea of how painful this is right now.
We have the house temp at 50 degrees right now in an attempt to hold the line. Not pleasant. Our little bit of space (about 500 sq ft) we are heating up to 68, but not the inn. We may drain the water pipes on a couple of rooms and block them off unless we fill up. One of them definitely being the 'cheap' room!
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