No matter how you got this far, you still have one big reality to face. The planning
is over, the construction all finished, and the rooms all cleaned and ready. Now
you must become a host or hostess. It sort of reminds me when our first child was
born and I was in the hospital room holding my beautiful child, and the nurse said,
“Please get you car and drive it up to the front so we can send you folk home.”
I was never so afraid in my life. We would now be responsible 24/7. And believe
me the 24/7 had still not fully sunk in.
You have spent a great deal of time researching and planning, filling out forms,
fixing up and moving in stuff, so now it is all on the line. It is up to you to
make this thing into the best Inn possible or face imminent bankruptcy and disgrace.
I did not mean to make is sound quite that ominous but the true is that there is
very little middle ground.
Your first task will be getting and taking reservations. Even if you have a reservation
agency or website with reservation software, you will be talking to a lot of customers
on the phone. It is important to get the details right. Make sure what month they
are really talking about and what day they are actually arriving. Not the date they
are leaving, or day of the month from the wrong years calendar, or when they think
they might be arriving, but the actual agreed on understood day they wish to arrive
at your door.
Always answer the phone in a friendly voice no matter what your mood is really like
or how tired you may be. Be patient and try to hear any questions or concerns that
you customer is trying to ask. Many quests may not even sound like questions and
many customers are still trying to decide what to do.
You will need to decide what type of payment or deposit you will accept and if the
customer is not willing to give his credit card over the phone you can have them
mail you a check.
You will also have to decide on your house rules. Will you accept children or pets? When are check-in and check-out times. Will you charge for a role-away-bed, how about
breakfast, is it free?
Your customer should agree to your rules before you confirm their reservation. If
this is a very small Inn then a reservation ledger may work, but most will need
software for reservations so that they do not overbook a room.
See Links for software suggestions.
If you do find that you are full and one more guest suddenly arrives, then have
a nearby business that has agree to take your overflow, you and get theirs overflow
in return.
When your guests arrive be sure to preauthorize their credit card or accept an advanced
payment so that they do not accidentally leave at 5am without paying. Again, go
over the rules and ask them if they agree, before handing them the keys. Also it
is a very good idea to ask them how they found out about your Inn, so that you know
what advertising is working and what is not.
If they offer information such as anniversaries, birthdays, or other special occasions,
then be sure to write it down so that you can invite them back next year. Always
keep any conversation with your guest on a friendly level, letting them know that
you really enjoy having them and hope they will have a wonderful time.
Then there is breakfast. Be sure that you always have enough fresh food on hand
and that you do not over sleep and make them wait.
They may want you to direct them to all the great attractions nearby and you should
have a binder or some leaflets so that any details like costs, or times, or closed
days can be readily verified.
If you have an afternoon tea or wind tasting, then remind them at breakfast or before
they leave for the day if you can. You could also put a flying in their room showing
times of breakfast, and tea, or other events at the Inn.
So they have eaten and are off to the lake for some summer fun. Some Inns clean
the rooms every day and some only every couple of days but one thing is for sure,
there are always rooms to clean. Here is a short list of your probable cleaning
activities.
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Strip the bed(s).
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Remove all towels left on the floor. Most Inns say towels on racks are still clean.
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Empty wastebaskets and clean toilets, shower, tub, and sink.
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Mop the bathroom floor and vacuum the rug.
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Clean mirrors and dust everything.
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Change flowers if fresh and restock bathroom.
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Make bed(s).
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Replace any fresh fruit or chocolate treats.
Be a good host by your presents. Do not disappear into you apartment hours on end,
leave you office door open or have a nice chair behind the front desk. Work in the
garden, work on a painting by the porch, whatever it takes to be accessible for
questions or even a casual conversation.
Be careful not to go overboard in telling your life story. They may want to be friendly
and ask questions but also your guests want privacy and the freedom to come and
go without long engaging conversations.