We are always looking for Innkeeping advice from Innkeepers to feature in our newsletter for Future Innkeepers. Do you have a piece of advice you wish you had known BEFORE you were an Innkeeper? Please share it with us.
We have received some great advice since the inception of our Future Innkeeper Newsletter:
“Plan from day one to have some personal time. The days speed by and before you know it it's been weeks of long days and you haven't even taken a walk. If an activity was important to you before you bought the Inn, keep it a priority after purchase, be it exercise, church or just sitting down and reading. Everyone tells you that you'll be busy, but until you experience it you really have no idea how busy you will be." Sarah & Erik Lindblom, Captain Jefferds Inn, Kennebunkport, Maine
"Many years ago, not long after we opened our own Bed & Breakfast, we learned not to call a guest about having left an item when they departed their stay. It didn't take us long to realize that occasionally we would have a couple stay with us who were married, but not to each other. Today when an item is left behind, we hold it in a lost and found "safe place" awaiting their call to let us know they would like the item returned and where to send it." Bonnie & Joe Masslofsky, The Parsonage Inn, St. Michaels, Maryland
“…now that we're here we have strategically set out to change as many light bulbs to the energy efficient coil style as possible. Oh, stop cringing, we still use the pretty ones where it counts, but when they are destined to be left on 24/7 and covered by a shade, we found that our average suite has 15-17 bulbs, and that each bulb is supposed to save around $50, not to mention they last much longer and have virtually ended our having to drop everything when a bulb goes out to go and change it…” Pam Matthews, Montgomery Inn Bed & Breakfast, Versailles, Kentucky
"Find a place that you love so much that every time you come towards the Inn or when you enter the Inn you say to yourself what a GREAT place this is and how grateful you are to be where you are!" Frank & Julie Hanes, Inn at Manchester, Manchester, Vermont
And one of our personal favorites..."Own a couple of good plungers, know where they are located, and try to avoid carrying one through a public space without masking it in something (a garbage bag works, and it catches drips from hitting the floor post-plunge)." Nancy & Bill White, Sudbury Inn, Bethel, Maine
Do you have some Innkeeping advice that a Future Innkeeper should not proceed without? Please comment on this post or email your advice to kim@oatesbredfeldt.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
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1 comment:
When Janice and I were considering purchasing an inn, we evaluated our individual talents and our perceived knowledge of the business. We elected to attend a course for inspiring innkeepers to support our evaluation and to learn about the industry from an expert. While the course we selected was wonderful, we left without adequately understanding one key bit of information.
We never considered that we might have a position open, be willing to pay a fair wage and, no one would be interested in working.
I have since written a full article about this at http://mainestayinn.blogspot.com/2006/12/innkeeping-104.html
If you are interested enough to read the article, you should also read the comments.
One last thing...Oates and Bredfeldt, keep up the good work. Yours is a great blog.
George
www.mainestayinn.com
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