What would YOU complain about?

[Morticia]

Ok, you can tar and feather me, but if I experienced what Mort did with the cavalier attitude, burnt food and no heat, you bet I would write a review. These are the types of properties that give B&Bs a bad name. It's only fair to those travelers who do read reviews before they book to have an accurate picture of what's really happening at that property. I know that as innkeepers we can be pickier than most, but writing a review with accurate information when there's something blatently wrong with a B&B is ok in my opinion. If I wrote a review for a place like that, I would also add in the review that B&Bs are typically wonderful and that specific property is not the norm..

I agree that no heat & burnt food treated as an OK do deserve a write-up, negative one. But on something small, I would not. Heat is not a small issue in a cold climate.
.

I agree that no heat & burnt food treated as an OK do deserve a write-up, negative one. But on something small, I would not. Heat is not a small issue in a cold climate.

I know of an inn that routinely doesn't turn on heat (or AC) until the guest arrives in the room.
Ugh.
=)
Kk.
.

I agree that no heat & burnt food treated as an OK do deserve a write-up, negative one. But on something small, I would not. Heat is not a small issue in a cold climate.

I know of an inn that routinely doesn't turn on heat (or AC) until the guest arrives in the room.
Ugh.
=)
Kk.

Oops, we resemble that remark. We tried turning heat and A/C on in advance and ended up, many times, heating or cooling the rooms for 5-6 hours before guests arrived. Now we tell them where the controls are and say it only takes about 15 minutes (the time it takes to haul the luggage in) to get the rooms at the temp they like.
.

I agree that no heat & burnt food treated as an OK do deserve a write-up, negative one. But on something small, I would not. Heat is not a small issue in a cold climate.

I know of an inn that routinely doesn't turn on heat (or AC) until the guest arrives in the room.
Ugh.
=)
Kk.

Oops, we resemble that remark. We tried turning heat and A/C on in advance and ended up, many times, heating or cooling the rooms for 5-6 hours before guests arrived. Now we tell them where the controls are and say it only takes about 15 minutes (the time it takes to haul the luggage in) to get the rooms at the temp they like.

We are lucky enough with only two rooms that we know when guests are coming, so turn it on that morning. But with our heat system we also warm up in 15 minutes. Since we are that far from town, we usually have that time to turn on. We save a lot of money not running heat during the week right now when we have no guests. Have it off not only in the rooms but in the whole ground floor, just on in our upstairs apartment.
Riki
.

I have to keep the heat 'on' to keep pipes from freezing. But 'on' is 60 when we are 'open' and it's 50 when we're 'closed'. Because walk-ins are common in the winter, it's 60 from Feb on. I'll turn the common areas up to 68 around 3 PM, but the rooms stay at 55-60 until the guests decide what temp they like. Many of them turn the heat off completely. And some crank it to 90!
The long side of our building faces south so it's generally 75 during the day in the winter (when it's sunny). We have hit 80 if the wind isn't blowing and it's around 40 outside.
Many of our rooms also get radiant heat from the oil burners in the basement. So it's not that bad in here in general. Except when we're closed. Then it's 50 and I have to turn the heat on if I want to work in the inn.

 

[Samster]

I absolutely say something if the innkeeper can be found if there is a snafu with the room. Something not working, something not cleaned, something missing from what was advertised. I appreciate it as an innkeeper/owner when these things are brought to my attention! There might be housekeeping staff that are not doing their job and I didn't have time to double check the room. A light bulb that was checked when the room was cleaned might have just burned out. Or, we might have been just so flat out busy that we overlooked some detail. Things happen....
There are ways to present these things so that they are not confrontational. After all, we are in the business of customer service and hospitality.
There's a great book, "A Complaint is A Gift" by Janelle Barlow you can buy it on Amazon.
I do put up TA reviews. I only posted one that was pretty negative and there was good reason to, unfortunately. :-(

 

[Samster]

Let it slide, take lots of notes and say to ourselves, it will never be that way here!
Actual example... B&B we've stayed at 3 times... first time no wifi code. Next time, knocked on the OQ and the babysitter called the owners and they said it was on a code somewhere, poke around. I did and found it. Third time, poked around but no code. Ugh. Only there one night so didn't bother finding the code. Same B&B, last stay, closet had one wire hanger in it... this is in a cold state at a cold time of year.
Said anything? Nope. But you can be sure the wifi code is in every desk drawer and every closet has lots of wooden hangers!
=)
Kk..

I usually don't complain, no matter what. But I won't go back and I won't refer and I wonder if that's the wrong way to do it? Should I complain because maybe they don't know something is uncomfortable? Or will they think I'm just comparing them to how I do things.
I think by now most everyone knows my peeves...no heat, no hot water, burnt or cold food.
The innkeeper knows the food is burnt, they saw it and chose not to redo it. Ditto the cold food. They know how long it was sitting out while they talked.
Do they know there's no heat in the room? Both times it turns out they did and they both told us why there was no heat before we could even mention it. Both times close to winter, once when it was snowing. A third place I didn't mention it but we also stayed somewhere else next time. Why I keep picking places where 'polar bears' live, I don't know!
The other peeve is pets in the dining room. I don't want your pets begging from me, don't want them flying around me food, don't want them sitting at the table with me. (It would definitely help if the B&B listed they have pets that are allowed to do this, I wouldn't stay there.)
.

I think by now most everyone knows my peeves...no heat, no hot water, burnt or cold food.
The other peeve is pets in the dining room. I don't want your pets begging from me, don't want them flying around me food, don't want them sitting at the table with me. (It would definitely help if the B&B listed they have pets that are allowed to do this, I wouldn't stay there.)

I'm with you there. I am a pet lover but don't want animals begging. I recall staying in a lovely B&B in Norfolk and the owner had a cute little dog. But I wondered what eveyone thought about the dog running in and out of the kitchen and dining room during breakfast...
If we had no heat we would move our guests to another B&B or hotel that did. Period.
Riki
.

If we had no heat we would move our guests to another B&B or hotel that did. Period.
Riki

It's not that they had no heat because of a problem with the heat, it was explained to us why they weren't turning it on for guests. So, they knew it was cold, knew we were probably not comfortable, but that was their operating procedure.
.

I would have left. :-( Southerners particularly need heat in the rooms in the Winter!!

 

[Samster]

I think an innkeeper who writes a negative review about another inn is a terd.

I also think innkeepers are way too critical, so whatever we think is a big deal is most likely nit picking. We need to not police everyone and correct everything wherever we go.
Example: a relative sent me one of those goofy 'bucket' list emails where you check off the things you have done. I noted on the list under Got a Tattoo she put NONE. Of course I grew up with this person and know she has a tattoo only visible when wearing a swimsuit. I was about to email her back with a witty comment and realized it would be wrong, it is not my job to correct her, or call her on it. I ended up just deleting it, what is more important - same as the quote I read yesterday something like this -- "When considering borrowing money from a relative, think about what is more important" Makes sense..

I guess I'm a terd then for writing a bad review about a place with shoeless, braless innkeepers and a dirty room and not having the amenities as listed for their $175/night rooms! :-(
There's a difference between being a total nit-picker and telling someone you have no heat or hot water! (This has happened to us when a fairly famous guest was here who informed me that her shower was rather "bracing" and was it supposed to be that way?) Quel nightmare!!
I stayed at a place last year and didn't tell them I was an innkeeper and it came out in conversation when I was there. They said, "You should have told us that before we ran your credit card! We give fellow innkeepers a discount!" ;-)
Welcome BACK!

 

[JBloggs]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again..

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.

 

[Big Bri]

Sorry if this is a repeat of what was said, didnt have time to read all the responses, but here is my opinion.
I dont think I would complain about something so much as 'bring it to the innkeepers attention' in as nice and tactful way as possible.
I have told innkeepers about things I saw as needing cleaning, repair, etc. (whatever the issue was) in my room and I dont recall any of them being offended by me doing so. And no, I am not someone who goes to a B&B and looks for things to be wrong. Many I have stayed at are perfectly fine but when I do stay at one that I see something that needs to be shared with the innkeeper, I wont hesitate. Even if I have to go looking for them and if I cant find them, I leave them a note where I know they will see it and can take care of it.
One innkeeper I know of and now have a great innkeeper to innkeeper relationship with was very appreciative of what I mentioned to them because they had not seen these things themselves and so they were able to get them taken care of before a guest who was not an innkeeper saw it.
And if you think about it, how would they know if something was wrong. They dont sleep in the guest room bed night after night, they dont sit in the chairs, they dont take a shower, bath in the jetted tub or use the sink, they dont hang out in the room for hours at a time to see if the room gets too hot, cold or stuffy....
The way I look at it, certainly those of us on this forum who are innkeepers should help other innkeepers be successful, this includes when we visit a B&B whether they are a member of this forum or not. Otherwise, whats the point of this forum group?
I understand that there are those innkeepers who are oblivious to suggestions and recommendations about their B&B, but at least tell them about it and give them a chance to take care of it. If they dont do something, that is their problem and you can at the very least go away knowing you did your part to try and help them.

 

[JBloggs]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again..

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.
.

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.

I just looked to see if they ever posted a mgmt response and they didn't.
Now here is a lesson to us all - when guests ask to see the other rooms and we TELL them I am sorry they are not available, or they are not finished and they say "oh no no no that is fine!" And keep them out of your quarters, including your kitchen - again - prospective is everything - I will just cut n paste parts of it (I am not making excuses for this B&B at all - but it may not have been what they thought):
This was a dirty, filthy, dusgusting place and I do not recommend! My husband & I planned a nice romantic get-a-way. We planned on staying several nights.
We were the only ones staying. He was very nice. He showed us around and told us to make ourselves at home. I asked him if we could look around at the other rooms and he said yes. He then left. What we found was the unthinkable. We could overlook the old fruit on the den coffee table and the peanuts all over the table. we also overlooked the upstairs rooms that were not clean, beds unmade. All of the floors needed vacuuming and dusting, including the room that we were in. It had been a long time since it had been cleaned. What made us nauseous was the kitchen. This is what we found: a big cat, a dog, toenail clippers on the bar, papers all over the floor and bar, dirty dishes piled on the counter and in the sink, open containers of canned food in the refrigerator with spoons in them as if they had been eating out of the cans. The smell was awful. The oven door was open. We were appalled at what we saw. There was no food in the refrigerator or freezer to even prepare for our "scrumptious breakfast".

 

[Morticia]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again..

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.
.

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.

I just looked to see if they ever posted a mgmt response and they didn't.
Now here is a lesson to us all - when guests ask to see the other rooms and we TELL them I am sorry they are not available, or they are not finished and they say "oh no no no that is fine!" And keep them out of your quarters, including your kitchen - again - prospective is everything - I will just cut n paste parts of it (I am not making excuses for this B&B at all - but it may not have been what they thought):
This was a dirty, filthy, dusgusting place and I do not recommend! My husband & I planned a nice romantic get-a-way. We planned on staying several nights.
We were the only ones staying. He was very nice. He showed us around and told us to make ourselves at home. I asked him if we could look around at the other rooms and he said yes. He then left. What we found was the unthinkable. We could overlook the old fruit on the den coffee table and the peanuts all over the table. we also overlooked the upstairs rooms that were not clean, beds unmade. All of the floors needed vacuuming and dusting, including the room that we were in. It had been a long time since it had been cleaned. What made us nauseous was the kitchen. This is what we found: a big cat, a dog, toenail clippers on the bar, papers all over the floor and bar, dirty dishes piled on the counter and in the sink, open containers of canned food in the refrigerator with spoons in them as if they had been eating out of the cans. The smell was awful. The oven door was open. We were appalled at what we saw. There was no food in the refrigerator or freezer to even prepare for our "scrumptious breakfast".
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless. We had a full house a couple of weekends ago and got some lookie lous wanting info for the summer. There were some guests in the dining room when I opened the door and when I told the lookers I couldn't show them any rooms, the guests very graciously offered to let them see their room. We hadn't been in to clean it so I said, 'Not on your Nellie! How do I know what you two got up to in that room last night! wink, wink'
Everyone laughed but the lookers got the point that they weren't seeing rooms that weren't open.

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again..

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.
.

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.

I just looked to see if they ever posted a mgmt response and they didn't.
Now here is a lesson to us all - when guests ask to see the other rooms and we TELL them I am sorry they are not available, or they are not finished and they say "oh no no no that is fine!" And keep them out of your quarters, including your kitchen - again - prospective is everything - I will just cut n paste parts of it (I am not making excuses for this B&B at all - but it may not have been what they thought):
This was a dirty, filthy, dusgusting place and I do not recommend! My husband & I planned a nice romantic get-a-way. We planned on staying several nights.
We were the only ones staying. He was very nice. He showed us around and told us to make ourselves at home. I asked him if we could look around at the other rooms and he said yes. He then left. What we found was the unthinkable. We could overlook the old fruit on the den coffee table and the peanuts all over the table. we also overlooked the upstairs rooms that were not clean, beds unmade. All of the floors needed vacuuming and dusting, including the room that we were in. It had been a long time since it had been cleaned. What made us nauseous was the kitchen. This is what we found: a big cat, a dog, toenail clippers on the bar, papers all over the floor and bar, dirty dishes piled on the counter and in the sink, open containers of canned food in the refrigerator with spoons in them as if they had been eating out of the cans. The smell was awful. The oven door was open. We were appalled at what we saw. There was no food in the refrigerator or freezer to even prepare for our "scrumptious breakfast".
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless. We had a full house a couple of weekends ago and got some lookie lous wanting info for the summer. There were some guests in the dining room when I opened the door and when I told the lookers I couldn't show them any rooms, the guests very graciously offered to let them see their room. We hadn't been in to clean it so I said, 'Not on your Nellie! How do I know what you two got up to in that room last night! wink, wink'
Everyone laughed but the lookers got the point that they weren't seeing rooms that weren't open.
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless.

Ditto. Under no circumstances should lookers have access to any unclean rooms or the common areas either if they haven't been cleaned for guests yet. And the private quarters, well, that's off-limits no matter what.
Sadly, I've seen the situation JB described played out over and over again. And every time the innkeeper told me they were just trying to be nice to the early arrivals or to persistent lookers.
If the rooms aren't ready, it's just going to backfire every single time. Guests give us no points for good intentions.

 

[Morticia]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again..

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.
.

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.

I just looked to see if they ever posted a mgmt response and they didn't.
Now here is a lesson to us all - when guests ask to see the other rooms and we TELL them I am sorry they are not available, or they are not finished and they say "oh no no no that is fine!" And keep them out of your quarters, including your kitchen - again - prospective is everything - I will just cut n paste parts of it (I am not making excuses for this B&B at all - but it may not have been what they thought):
This was a dirty, filthy, dusgusting place and I do not recommend! My husband & I planned a nice romantic get-a-way. We planned on staying several nights.
We were the only ones staying. He was very nice. He showed us around and told us to make ourselves at home. I asked him if we could look around at the other rooms and he said yes. He then left. What we found was the unthinkable. We could overlook the old fruit on the den coffee table and the peanuts all over the table. we also overlooked the upstairs rooms that were not clean, beds unmade. All of the floors needed vacuuming and dusting, including the room that we were in. It had been a long time since it had been cleaned. What made us nauseous was the kitchen. This is what we found: a big cat, a dog, toenail clippers on the bar, papers all over the floor and bar, dirty dishes piled on the counter and in the sink, open containers of canned food in the refrigerator with spoons in them as if they had been eating out of the cans. The smell was awful. The oven door was open. We were appalled at what we saw. There was no food in the refrigerator or freezer to even prepare for our "scrumptious breakfast".
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless. We had a full house a couple of weekends ago and got some lookie lous wanting info for the summer. There were some guests in the dining room when I opened the door and when I told the lookers I couldn't show them any rooms, the guests very graciously offered to let them see their room. We hadn't been in to clean it so I said, 'Not on your Nellie! How do I know what you two got up to in that room last night! wink, wink'
Everyone laughed but the lookers got the point that they weren't seeing rooms that weren't open.
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless.

Ditto. Under no circumstances should lookers have access to any unclean rooms or the common areas either if they haven't been cleaned for guests yet. And the private quarters, well, that's off-limits no matter what.
Sadly, I've seen the situation JB described played out over and over again. And every time the innkeeper told me they were just trying to be nice to the early arrivals or to persistent lookers.
If the rooms aren't ready, it's just going to backfire every single time. Guests give us no points for good intentions.
.

Our major problem with the common areas is that I use them for laundry. So, 75% of the time when guests arrive early, they get a pile of laundry looking back at them. It's all put away by 3 PM, but it's all out in the open up until that point.
And I hate that. That one thing probably stresses me out more than anything in the summer. Guests who HAVE to get in before it's time and the inn not being the way I want it.
BTW, even if I don't open the door, guests are looking right into the space where the laundry is so it's the first thing they see. Pulling down the shades makes it look like we're closed for business, not the look I want, either.
I was told to say, 'We're still working on getting the laundry to put itself away.' And then move on.
Worse yet is when it is my personal laundry! I try to hustle that away but if you ring the bell and I'm hanging shirts, it's all right there.

 

[YellowSocks]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again..

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.
.

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.

I just looked to see if they ever posted a mgmt response and they didn't.
Now here is a lesson to us all - when guests ask to see the other rooms and we TELL them I am sorry they are not available, or they are not finished and they say "oh no no no that is fine!" And keep them out of your quarters, including your kitchen - again - prospective is everything - I will just cut n paste parts of it (I am not making excuses for this B&B at all - but it may not have been what they thought):
This was a dirty, filthy, dusgusting place and I do not recommend! My husband & I planned a nice romantic get-a-way. We planned on staying several nights.
We were the only ones staying. He was very nice. He showed us around and told us to make ourselves at home. I asked him if we could look around at the other rooms and he said yes. He then left. What we found was the unthinkable. We could overlook the old fruit on the den coffee table and the peanuts all over the table. we also overlooked the upstairs rooms that were not clean, beds unmade. All of the floors needed vacuuming and dusting, including the room that we were in. It had been a long time since it had been cleaned. What made us nauseous was the kitchen. This is what we found: a big cat, a dog, toenail clippers on the bar, papers all over the floor and bar, dirty dishes piled on the counter and in the sink, open containers of canned food in the refrigerator with spoons in them as if they had been eating out of the cans. The smell was awful. The oven door was open. We were appalled at what we saw. There was no food in the refrigerator or freezer to even prepare for our "scrumptious breakfast".
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless. We had a full house a couple of weekends ago and got some lookie lous wanting info for the summer. There were some guests in the dining room when I opened the door and when I told the lookers I couldn't show them any rooms, the guests very graciously offered to let them see their room. We hadn't been in to clean it so I said, 'Not on your Nellie! How do I know what you two got up to in that room last night! wink, wink'
Everyone laughed but the lookers got the point that they weren't seeing rooms that weren't open.
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless.

Ditto. Under no circumstances should lookers have access to any unclean rooms or the common areas either if they haven't been cleaned for guests yet. And the private quarters, well, that's off-limits no matter what.
Sadly, I've seen the situation JB described played out over and over again. And every time the innkeeper told me they were just trying to be nice to the early arrivals or to persistent lookers.
If the rooms aren't ready, it's just going to backfire every single time. Guests give us no points for good intentions.
.

Our major problem with the common areas is that I use them for laundry. So, 75% of the time when guests arrive early, they get a pile of laundry looking back at them. It's all put away by 3 PM, but it's all out in the open up until that point.
And I hate that. That one thing probably stresses me out more than anything in the summer. Guests who HAVE to get in before it's time and the inn not being the way I want it.
BTW, even if I don't open the door, guests are looking right into the space where the laundry is so it's the first thing they see. Pulling down the shades makes it look like we're closed for business, not the look I want, either.
I was told to say, 'We're still working on getting the laundry to put itself away.' And then move on.
Worse yet is when it is my personal laundry! I try to hustle that away but if you ring the bell and I'm hanging shirts, it's all right there.
.

BTW, even if I don't open the door, guests are looking right into the space where the laundry is so it's the first thing they see. Pulling down the shades makes it look like we're closed for business, not the look I want, either.
I was told to say, 'We're still working on getting the laundry to put itself away.' And then move on.
Worse yet is when it is my personal laundry! I try to hustle that away but if you ring the bell and I'm hanging shirts, it's all right there.

Decorative folding screen?
=)
Kk.

 

[Morticia]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again..

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.
.

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.

I just looked to see if they ever posted a mgmt response and they didn't.
Now here is a lesson to us all - when guests ask to see the other rooms and we TELL them I am sorry they are not available, or they are not finished and they say "oh no no no that is fine!" And keep them out of your quarters, including your kitchen - again - prospective is everything - I will just cut n paste parts of it (I am not making excuses for this B&B at all - but it may not have been what they thought):
This was a dirty, filthy, dusgusting place and I do not recommend! My husband & I planned a nice romantic get-a-way. We planned on staying several nights.
We were the only ones staying. He was very nice. He showed us around and told us to make ourselves at home. I asked him if we could look around at the other rooms and he said yes. He then left. What we found was the unthinkable. We could overlook the old fruit on the den coffee table and the peanuts all over the table. we also overlooked the upstairs rooms that were not clean, beds unmade. All of the floors needed vacuuming and dusting, including the room that we were in. It had been a long time since it had been cleaned. What made us nauseous was the kitchen. This is what we found: a big cat, a dog, toenail clippers on the bar, papers all over the floor and bar, dirty dishes piled on the counter and in the sink, open containers of canned food in the refrigerator with spoons in them as if they had been eating out of the cans. The smell was awful. The oven door was open. We were appalled at what we saw. There was no food in the refrigerator or freezer to even prepare for our "scrumptious breakfast".
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless. We had a full house a couple of weekends ago and got some lookie lous wanting info for the summer. There were some guests in the dining room when I opened the door and when I told the lookers I couldn't show them any rooms, the guests very graciously offered to let them see their room. We hadn't been in to clean it so I said, 'Not on your Nellie! How do I know what you two got up to in that room last night! wink, wink'
Everyone laughed but the lookers got the point that they weren't seeing rooms that weren't open.
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless.

Ditto. Under no circumstances should lookers have access to any unclean rooms or the common areas either if they haven't been cleaned for guests yet. And the private quarters, well, that's off-limits no matter what.
Sadly, I've seen the situation JB described played out over and over again. And every time the innkeeper told me they were just trying to be nice to the early arrivals or to persistent lookers.
If the rooms aren't ready, it's just going to backfire every single time. Guests give us no points for good intentions.
.

Our major problem with the common areas is that I use them for laundry. So, 75% of the time when guests arrive early, they get a pile of laundry looking back at them. It's all put away by 3 PM, but it's all out in the open up until that point.
And I hate that. That one thing probably stresses me out more than anything in the summer. Guests who HAVE to get in before it's time and the inn not being the way I want it.
BTW, even if I don't open the door, guests are looking right into the space where the laundry is so it's the first thing they see. Pulling down the shades makes it look like we're closed for business, not the look I want, either.
I was told to say, 'We're still working on getting the laundry to put itself away.' And then move on.
Worse yet is when it is my personal laundry! I try to hustle that away but if you ring the bell and I'm hanging shirts, it's all right there.
.

BTW, even if I don't open the door, guests are looking right into the space where the laundry is so it's the first thing they see. Pulling down the shades makes it look like we're closed for business, not the look I want, either.
I was told to say, 'We're still working on getting the laundry to put itself away.' And then move on.
Worse yet is when it is my personal laundry! I try to hustle that away but if you ring the bell and I'm hanging shirts, it's all right there.

Decorative folding screen?
=)
Kk.
.

It's been suggested. I don't see where I would put it so it's not in my way running back and forth and then I also don't have a place to store it as I most definitely am trying very hard to keep inn stuff out of my space. (Where, right now, I have a stack of 6 pillows balanced on a chair to the left of me, topped off with a duvet cover that needs ironing and 4 sets of pillowcases in need of ironing as well, oh and 2 blankets that need to be put on beds and 2 vacuums stuffed in the corner at the end of my desk. Ugh.) Double ugh because this is also my bedroom.

 

[Samster]

Sorry if this is a repeat of what was said, didnt have time to read all the responses, but here is my opinion.
I dont think I would complain about something so much as 'bring it to the innkeepers attention' in as nice and tactful way as possible.
I have told innkeepers about things I saw as needing cleaning, repair, etc. (whatever the issue was) in my room and I dont recall any of them being offended by me doing so. And no, I am not someone who goes to a B&B and looks for things to be wrong. Many I have stayed at are perfectly fine but when I do stay at one that I see something that needs to be shared with the innkeeper, I wont hesitate. Even if I have to go looking for them and if I cant find them, I leave them a note where I know they will see it and can take care of it.
One innkeeper I know of and now have a great innkeeper to innkeeper relationship with was very appreciative of what I mentioned to them because they had not seen these things themselves and so they were able to get them taken care of before a guest who was not an innkeeper saw it.
And if you think about it, how would they know if something was wrong. They dont sleep in the guest room bed night after night, they dont sit in the chairs, they dont take a shower, bath in the jetted tub or use the sink, they dont hang out in the room for hours at a time to see if the room gets too hot, cold or stuffy....
The way I look at it, certainly those of us on this forum who are innkeepers should help other innkeepers be successful, this includes when we visit a B&B whether they are a member of this forum or not. Otherwise, whats the point of this forum group?
I understand that there are those innkeepers who are oblivious to suggestions and recommendations about their B&B, but at least tell them about it and give them a chance to take care of it. If they dont do something, that is their problem and you can at the very least go away knowing you did your part to try and help them..

I agree. There is a huge difference between picking at nits and letting a fellow innkeeper know that the shower has the pressure of a garden hose with a hole in it. Even though most innkeepers are very thorough, there are things that get missed or that they won't find if someone doesn't tell them. Especially if a place has housekeeping staff. And it's all in how it's presented.
Example of something brought to our attention: We had a toilet that had a problem with the flapper valve when guests were in the room. We could NOT reproduce the problem when we checked the toilet when we cleaned the bathroom. Flushed fine and water didn't run. 2 guests complained about the toilet running and we just went ahead and replaced the flapper valve. Obviously something was different when that toilet was in constant use!!

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

There is such a thing as the princess and the pea syndrome. We have all had it.
or we even have this:

1. The innkeepers would not leave us alone, and badgered us, were always around.
2. Same day diff guests, same attention from hosts: The innkeepers were not very friendly and did not give us much of their time.

It is all perspective. No inn is perfect and if you expect perfection you will be disappointed.
People are different and do things differently:

1. one is ticked because they wanted to come in and make our bed,
2. the other is ticked because they left us alone and did not make our bed.

You all know we need to be mind readers in this business, and it doesn't always happen.
The example I gave about the couple checking in early much to the innkeeper's chagrin is always with me, after pleading with her as they had driven all day and then wrote a terrible review will always stick with me.

1. DUST EVERYWHERE - DIRTY. (She had talcum bombers and was trying to clean it when they arrived at NOON to check in)
2. Stuffed bunnies and bears - horrible decor (again arrived at noon, she had a shop in town and was moving all these for some Bear show and had them at the inn for a couple hours)
3. Old newspapers and magazines lying around (these were regionally tourism mags that only come out quarterly, it was fall, these were the fall issues)
4. Innkeeper Attitude (Gee wonder why? She was on her own trying to get all this done in a hurry when they barged in and demanded their room at noon.

I know all this as they stayed here the next night and told me all about it before writing their horrible review. She was the Prez of the B&B assoc in her state I found out later and runs an ABOVE PAR B&B)
So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again..

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.
.

So folks, it is all in the eye of the beholder. I was appalled at what these guests told me, appalled, and then to find out the rest of the story later. So unless it was ME THERE in my experience and my knowledge of the situation, I won't recommend writing a review. As I DID to this couple...I will never again. I had to call and apologize to that innkeeper. I suggested the review. Yes, me. I won't ever again.

Very, very good point.

I just looked to see if they ever posted a mgmt response and they didn't.
Now here is a lesson to us all - when guests ask to see the other rooms and we TELL them I am sorry they are not available, or they are not finished and they say "oh no no no that is fine!" And keep them out of your quarters, including your kitchen - again - prospective is everything - I will just cut n paste parts of it (I am not making excuses for this B&B at all - but it may not have been what they thought):
This was a dirty, filthy, dusgusting place and I do not recommend! My husband & I planned a nice romantic get-a-way. We planned on staying several nights.
We were the only ones staying. He was very nice. He showed us around and told us to make ourselves at home. I asked him if we could look around at the other rooms and he said yes. He then left. What we found was the unthinkable. We could overlook the old fruit on the den coffee table and the peanuts all over the table. we also overlooked the upstairs rooms that were not clean, beds unmade. All of the floors needed vacuuming and dusting, including the room that we were in. It had been a long time since it had been cleaned. What made us nauseous was the kitchen. This is what we found: a big cat, a dog, toenail clippers on the bar, papers all over the floor and bar, dirty dishes piled on the counter and in the sink, open containers of canned food in the refrigerator with spoons in them as if they had been eating out of the cans. The smell was awful. The oven door was open. We were appalled at what we saw. There was no food in the refrigerator or freezer to even prepare for our "scrumptious breakfast".
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless. We had a full house a couple of weekends ago and got some lookie lous wanting info for the summer. There were some guests in the dining room when I opened the door and when I told the lookers I couldn't show them any rooms, the guests very graciously offered to let them see their room. We hadn't been in to clean it so I said, 'Not on your Nellie! How do I know what you two got up to in that room last night! wink, wink'
Everyone laughed but the lookers got the point that they weren't seeing rooms that weren't open.
.

Holy cow. They went into the innkeeper's qtrs, too?
Never, ever let guests into our space. Never. Not even the ones who have become friends. It's where we let our hair down! We've had kids run thru, tho, but I shoo them back out. (One kid recently looking for the elevator. He was so funny!)
And never let guests see rooms that aren't made up and spotless.

Ditto. Under no circumstances should lookers have access to any unclean rooms or the common areas either if they haven't been cleaned for guests yet. And the private quarters, well, that's off-limits no matter what.
Sadly, I've seen the situation JB described played out over and over again. And every time the innkeeper told me they were just trying to be nice to the early arrivals or to persistent lookers.
If the rooms aren't ready, it's just going to backfire every single time. Guests give us no points for good intentions.
.

Our major problem with the common areas is that I use them for laundry. So, 75% of the time when guests arrive early, they get a pile of laundry looking back at them. It's all put away by 3 PM, but it's all out in the open up until that point.
And I hate that. That one thing probably stresses me out more than anything in the summer. Guests who HAVE to get in before it's time and the inn not being the way I want it.
BTW, even if I don't open the door, guests are looking right into the space where the laundry is so it's the first thing they see. Pulling down the shades makes it look like we're closed for business, not the look I want, either.
I was told to say, 'We're still working on getting the laundry to put itself away.' And then move on.
Worse yet is when it is my personal laundry! I try to hustle that away but if you ring the bell and I'm hanging shirts, it's all right there.
.

BTW, even if I don't open the door, guests are looking right into the space where the laundry is so it's the first thing they see. Pulling down the shades makes it look like we're closed for business, not the look I want, either.
I was told to say, 'We're still working on getting the laundry to put itself away.' And then move on.
Worse yet is when it is my personal laundry! I try to hustle that away but if you ring the bell and I'm hanging shirts, it's all right there.

Pull down the shades. You are closed for business between whatever hours you're closed before check-in. You'll be open again soon enough.
As long as they can see in, they can see the mess that you don't want making that first impression. And it's hard to politely ignore them when they can see you right there.
Pull the shades. And turn on some music so you have a good excuse not to hear anyone who still knocks.

 

[JBloggs]

Can I remind everyone that allowing guests to check in outside of check in hours hurts all of us. As mentioned guests are determined to do what they want - even though you have given them the check in times PRIOR to check in, you the innkeeper cannot stop them. they say. When you have other rooms in residence it is not as easy to lock the front door and pull the shades, but the nicer everyone is with bending the rules/policies the more it hurts everyone.
The guests I allowed to check in early this past weekend did not leave at check out time on Sunday. As I mentioned to others - they STOLE FROM US. Our entire family was ready to roll and we had to bang on their door to ask them to check out - and what a shock, they had not even packed yet at 11am, and it ruined our entire day - all plans out the window.
I need to toughen up and charge late check out fees. I NEED TO! I am a sook and DH convinces me 'Just hang on they are leaving soon' and then I get irritated and everybody else pays.
They WILL take advantage is you allow it. I am saying this aloud to myself as to anyone else.
Non Innkeepers are reading this agast right now, they do not understand and think I am a butt head. Well if every single weekend you cater your entire schedule and life to guests (which is what we do in this business rightly so) and you have an event planned when NO guests are there and they take advantage of YOUR TIME, it causes great angst.

 

[Morticia]

Can I remind everyone that allowing guests to check in outside of check in hours hurts all of us. As mentioned guests are determined to do what they want - even though you have given them the check in times PRIOR to check in, you the innkeeper cannot stop them. they say. When you have other rooms in residence it is not as easy to lock the front door and pull the shades, but the nicer everyone is with bending the rules/policies the more it hurts everyone.
The guests I allowed to check in early this past weekend did not leave at check out time on Sunday. As I mentioned to others - they STOLE FROM US. Our entire family was ready to roll and we had to bang on their door to ask them to check out - and what a shock, they had not even packed yet at 11am, and it ruined our entire day - all plans out the window.
I need to toughen up and charge late check out fees. I NEED TO! I am a sook and DH convinces me 'Just hang on they are leaving soon' and then I get irritated and everybody else pays.
They WILL take advantage is you allow it. I am saying this aloud to myself as to anyone else.
Non Innkeepers are reading this agast right now, they do not understand and think I am a butt head. Well if every single weekend you cater your entire schedule and life to guests (which is what we do in this business rightly so) and you have an event planned when NO guests are there and they take advantage of YOUR TIME, it causes great angst..

In a similar vein...guest just called to cancel for this weekend. SHOCKED that we have a one week cancel policy. Booked online, checked off box stating they read policies, policies included in the confirmation.

 

[Alice I. W.]

Can I remind everyone that allowing guests to check in outside of check in hours hurts all of us. As mentioned guests are determined to do what they want - even though you have given them the check in times PRIOR to check in, you the innkeeper cannot stop them. they say. When you have other rooms in residence it is not as easy to lock the front door and pull the shades, but the nicer everyone is with bending the rules/policies the more it hurts everyone.
The guests I allowed to check in early this past weekend did not leave at check out time on Sunday. As I mentioned to others - they STOLE FROM US. Our entire family was ready to roll and we had to bang on their door to ask them to check out - and what a shock, they had not even packed yet at 11am, and it ruined our entire day - all plans out the window.
I need to toughen up and charge late check out fees. I NEED TO! I am a sook and DH convinces me 'Just hang on they are leaving soon' and then I get irritated and everybody else pays.
They WILL take advantage is you allow it. I am saying this aloud to myself as to anyone else.
Non Innkeepers are reading this agast right now, they do not understand and think I am a butt head. Well if every single weekend you cater your entire schedule and life to guests (which is what we do in this business rightly so) and you have an event planned when NO guests are there and they take advantage of YOUR TIME, it causes great angst..

As a non-innkeeper, I am not shocked at all. Unless it were some emergency (medical, etc.), I think you should charge whatever your policies state. Most people understand that there are policies; some people will never care. It's your business, you decide when to bend, or not.

 

[Morticia]

Can I remind everyone that allowing guests to check in outside of check in hours hurts all of us. As mentioned guests are determined to do what they want - even though you have given them the check in times PRIOR to check in, you the innkeeper cannot stop them. they say. When you have other rooms in residence it is not as easy to lock the front door and pull the shades, but the nicer everyone is with bending the rules/policies the more it hurts everyone.
The guests I allowed to check in early this past weekend did not leave at check out time on Sunday. As I mentioned to others - they STOLE FROM US. Our entire family was ready to roll and we had to bang on their door to ask them to check out - and what a shock, they had not even packed yet at 11am, and it ruined our entire day - all plans out the window.
I need to toughen up and charge late check out fees. I NEED TO! I am a sook and DH convinces me 'Just hang on they are leaving soon' and then I get irritated and everybody else pays.
They WILL take advantage is you allow it. I am saying this aloud to myself as to anyone else.
Non Innkeepers are reading this agast right now, they do not understand and think I am a butt head. Well if every single weekend you cater your entire schedule and life to guests (which is what we do in this business rightly so) and you have an event planned when NO guests are there and they take advantage of YOUR TIME, it causes great angst..

As a non-innkeeper, I am not shocked at all. Unless it were some emergency (medical, etc.), I think you should charge whatever your policies state. Most people understand that there are policies; some people will never care. It's your business, you decide when to bend, or not.
.

As a non-innkeeper, I am not shocked at all. Unless it were some emergency (medical, etc.), I think you should charge whatever your policies state. Most people understand that there are policies; some people will never care. It's your business, you decide when to bend, or not.

See, what you're saying is as an honest person who would NEVER invent an emergency to get out of paying. What we hear all the time are emergencies. Then again, we hear some fairly lame reasons too.
On the flip side of the emergency coin, tho, is that I held this room, turning away other guests, sometimes for months on end. I am not going to be held responsible for your family emergencies. No one has ever refunded me when I had to cancel. Every last place waved their policies in my face.
So, car accident put you in the hospital? Sorry, you booked the room. Sibling had a nervous breakdown? Sorry, you booked the room.
Rooms area perishable commodity. I cannot sell the room twice on Saturday after you cancelled on Friday.
And I would say that the times I caved on the policy were never greeted with thanks and another reservation down the line. ONCE someone rebooked the following year. So, I am not losing potential future business by charging for the room.

 

[wendydk]

JB...are your check in and checkout times prominently displayed on your website? I looked, but did not see them, at least not until I was partially into a reservation request, and then I had to click a seperate link to read them....I as a guest might not think to click that link, and so might be clueless as to your policies....but as an Innkeeper looking specifically for those policies, I had to search. And I hope you know I don't bring it up to tweak you off....
BTW, I like the looks of the reservationkey program...and may be tempted to give it a whirl!