M is for….Making up your Mind!

Good Morning faithful readers!  While it is chilly here once again in North Florida, there are some signs of spring on the way.  Most notably the birds are becoming more active.  As I look out onto my patio, not much is blooming and the leaves have finally dropped off of the plumeria.  However the Camellia is coming through with beautiful deep red flowers and they stand out nicely against all the green.

As I noted at the end of my last post, M does indeed stand for Mattresses. While it is a P word, I am going to throw in Pillows here also since they really go with mattresses.  Now, more than ever, I believe good mattresses and pillows are crucial for an inn.  Guests are tending to “cocoon” more and take breaks to relax and recharge. And that isn’t going to happen if they don’t get a good nights sleep and luxurious afternoon naps.  So I appeal to you once again readers.  What type/brand of mattress gives you a good nights sleep and no aching back.  Same for pillows.  I use a buckwheat pillow because it is great for my neck.  Along with it I have a very squishy down pillow, since I love to sleep on my stomach.

M also stands for another biggie-Marketing.  I’m reading my very first Social Network Marketing book by Dan Zarella.  It is an excellent place to start.  So much has changed since my earlier innkeeping years. I spend about an hour a day just looking at inn websites and reading hospitality articles.  This is a growing edge for me, but it is exciting to learn interesting and new ways to get guests to my future inn.

Like the title of this post, M does stand for making up your mind. While I can say that I do have those butterflies in my stomach at times when I think of the new inn I am going to have, I am devoted and determined to making it happen and that makes everything else easier to some extent.  Sometimes I just can’t explain to people what is driving me.  While I have loved living in Florida-being close to the beach, the warmer weather, living in a home that is a tropical oasis-there is a part of me that isn’t satisfied.  It doesn’t feel like home to me.  I feel like I am on a mission and can’t explain it all.  While excited about  innkeeping and finding a community we love, I feel like there is something else that is going to come from all of this and I don’t know what that is yet!  I believe our lives are somewhat like a jigsaw puzzle and we keep finding pieces as we go along; sometimes we find several in a row, or a crucial corner or frame piece, and then we go for a while finding nothing that fits.  I guess maybe that has been a little of what Florida has been like for me.  While it has given me a few pieces-I surely want to own a vacation spot here in the future, and I know I need to live near water, it is time to move on and find some more pieces of the puzzle.

Thanks again for reading!  Let me know what mattresses and pillows you love and I’ll be back soon with N. Networking, Newsletters, and Niche marketing.

L is for Location, Location, Location!

Good morning faithful readers. My apologies for being away longer than expected.  We had to get the house ready for being on the market and for open house.  It looks great now, and just waiting for the right buyer to come along.  My realtor  has us on the caravan list for today, so many agents will be seeing it and I know that is important.  It is a lovely, unique home in a beautiful setting, so although I know it might take a little while, I am not too worried about the perfect person coming along.   We are out of our freezing weather here, and 70 sure did feel good the other day!  I made it to the beach with my new camera and had some fun playing with the settings.  Couple of okay shots, but mainly it just felt good out in the warmth.

Location has always been an important variable in choosing to buy or open an inn or b&b.  Being in a destination point usually means longer stays and more repeat business.  It is much more work and worry being located in an area that gets people for one night while they are on their way somewhere.  However, there is a new trend going on in the innkeeping world and that is creating the inn as the destination itself and weather-proofing the rooms.  The room becomes the destination, so no matter the weather guests or place, guests are happy .  More and more, guests are choosing to get away just to relax and be together; not to spend a lot of time playing tourist.  Being close to good restaurants, hiking, the beach, antique stores, etc..while still very nice, becomes secondary to the inn itself.  I love this idea and think it makes a lot of sense.  I’ll be writing more about this concept in the future when it is relevant to the post.

L also covers what may seem like some mundane areas like lighting.  I have stayed in many places where the lighting was so poor and inadequate.  Part of opening an inn is staying in each room for a night before opening.  This can help tweak any problems, like too little lighting or poor reading lamps, etc.  As they say, the devil is in the details and lighting is one of the important ones.

L does stand for another big-ticket item, especially today.  And that is Loans.  I know that even with previous innkeeping experience, banks are being very, very tight with their money in today’s economy.  So having all  the i’s dotted and t’s crossed is important.  I think it is going to take some persistence and work, but am going to remain optimistic that someone will believe in me and the inn I am going to buy.  I truly believe it will help that I want to buy an existing business instead of starting up a new inn.

Yesterday, I started a new total body conditioning class!  I want to remind everyone how important stretching, core strength, balance, and flexibility is for our bodies.  Along with diet I believe it is one of the key ingredients to a long and happy life.  Women especially, have a hard time with upper body strength, so I just wanted to put a word in about taking good care of ourselves as we get older.

Everyone have a great day!  Thanks for reading.  M is next-the perfect mattress anyone?

Knit one and knowing what to expect

Good Morning faithful readers!  Keep warm on you morning drive to work and be careful on those icy roads.  Here in north Florida we are a balmy 26 degrees and sunny!  I’m sure not eager to see my heating bill for the month of January.  Auxiliary heat has been on for 2 days now and is running constantly.  I think of the time I lived in Minnesota and wonder how I managed to go out and run every morning with temps way below zero.  Guess my blood has thinned quite a bit since then.

I envision making hand Knit throws for all of my guest rooms.  My mom has crocheted several afghans and throws for me, and there is nothing better to curl up with when reading, having a cup of tea, or taking a nap. I also envision hand knit scarves hanging in rooms for cold weather walks.  I knit hats and scarves and recently finished my first fingerless gloves.  I’m anxious to finish some small projects and start an easy jacket.  I love the merino wool from Morehouse farm and visit their website every day for the free pattern du jour and to look at their great patterns and yarns.  Their website is www.morehousefarm.com .  Knitting is also one of those activities that just lets you be with your thoughts as your hands are busy creating something beautiful.  Our lives are so full of noise and business, I find it very grounding to knit and let my thoughts flow where they will, work out a problem, or dream about finally having my inn.

While I do know a quite a bit about what guests expect when they visit an inn, I spend a lot of my time thinking about breakfast.  For myself, as long as it is homemade, I am happy with a good cup of coffee and a muffin or granola with yogurt.  However, I think a lot of people love the luxury of a multi-course hot breakfast served in their room or a lovely breakfast room.  I have the baked goods part down pat, but feel like I really need to get a few more hot dish recipes together and have several menus to choose from.  All this will come together I am sure.  I have never been great at omelets, and would like a few recipes for no fail egg dishes.  If anyone out there has a special breakfast dish they prepare and would like to share, I would love to have the recipe!  Or if you have a cookbook that you use frequently feel free to share the title of that also.  I am a fan of Ina Garten.  Every recipe I’ve tried of hers has come out looking good and tasting wonderful.  I plan to get some of her books, as she has many hints for entertaining that I could use.

Thanks for reading and remember to send along those recipes!  Have a great day and watch tomorrow for L.

Jumping for Joy

Good Morning faithful readers.  Is it warm anywhere?  I will definitely be Jumping for Joy when this cold snap ends in Florida.  I grew up in cold weather, and am looking at inns in colder climates, so I guess I ought to view it as a reminder of what I am going back to.  It is just the oddest feeling to see palm trees and plumerias and other tropical plants on the patio, and then walk outside and be so cold.

J is a challenge on my alphabetic journey.  Job satisfaction is important to almost everyone, including innkeepers.  I know from experience that there are days every innkeeper shakes their head and wonders what made them get into the business.  However, I believe those days are rare and 99% of the time, they are doing what they love.  It really is easy to tell when someone is doing the work they enjoy.  They converse easily, listen well and seem to have a lightness about them as they go about their days.

Do people really jump for joy anymore?  Maybe we all need to do more of that!  I say I will do it when I get my inn, but I bet something happens every day that could prompt me to do a little jig or jump.  It could be a little reminder that there is always something to be happy or thankful for.  I think I am going to try it.  Anyone else out there care to give it a try?  Let me know what happens.

Thanks again for reading.  Be well and stay tune for K-possible another challenging letter.

I -sometimes can’t see the forest for the trees!

Good Morning faithful readers!  I imagine many of you are glad for Friday and the coming weekend.  My family in Michigan is be buried in snow again as I know many of you in the midwest are.  Hopefully, warmer weather will be on the way soon, and you will be able to put those snow blowers back in the shed for a while!

To begin with, I stands for Innkeeper-something I am eagerly awaiting being again.  While most folks who have been innkeepers and moved on from the business do not re-enter it, I can truthfully say that I have missed it since I left.  While innkeepers have to deal with many of the same mundane issues that everyone does: insurance, inspections, income and the IRS to name a few, to me it is all worth it for the interesting people I get to meet, and the chance to provide a comfortable vacation  or get-a-way experience for my guests.

Keeping this journal has helped me in many ways.  As my title implies, sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees.  I get worried about serving breakfast and I don’t even have my inn.   Going through the alphabet in this way has pointed out to me the areas I can do research on and get smarter about before I have my inn. Last time I did this, it was a complete start-up.  Now I am hoping to buy a successful up and running inn which will have many procedures in place that I can build upon to make the inn my own.

On the social media marketing front, I just got a copy of Dan Zarella’s book- called appropriately The Social Media Marketing Book. I think it is right where I need  to start.  I will let you know how I progress with it, but so far I am quite impressed with the layout and the ease of use.

Thanks for reading.  I would love any feedback on what makes you love and inn and want to go back.  And I look forward to having you all as guests in the future!

Have a great weekend.

Hang on to that sense of humor!

Good morning faithful readers!  Another very cold morning in Florida.  Mother nature has apparently decided that the sunshine state not be  spared its share of the record-breaking cold temperatures around the country.  Time to dig out those warm sweaters and socks!

Today I am tackling H in our journey through the innkeeping alphabet.  Of course, the first thing I came across while looking through the index was Ham and Cheese Strudel!  Sounds like good fare for a cold morning and I will have to try out that recipe.  Further down the list I came to Honeydew Melon with Prosciutto.  So far H is making me hungry!

As the title of this post states-hanging on to your sense of humor is crucial in the innkeeping world.  We have all had those days that from the get go were like a set of dominos.  Well, innkeepers are not exempted from those days-however, we not only have to deal with them, but be ready to greet guests in the afternoon looking calm and relaxed and ready to welcome our lovely guests into our home.

Keeping a light heart and a smile on your face can do wonders for taking care of situations that arise in an untimely fashion.  Innkeepers have to hire many people and deal with lots of regulations and sometimes it can seem a bit overwhelming.  So good planning and preparation can help one from getting too rattled.  In my last b&b, when our electrician, plumber, etc. was at our place I made sure they got coffee or muffins or coffee cake and took time to chat with them about their families or trips, etc.. This served a couple of purposes.  First it got me out of my innkeeping world and into the community around me even if for only a few minutes.  Second, when I had an emergency, I got great service.  When we discovered, on New Year’s Eve of course, that our hot tub wasn’t working, our electrician came over to fix it before heading out to his own festivities.

One again, I’m going to has my readers for some help.  I’m exploring social network marketing and trying to learn the ins and outs before purchasing my inn.  If anyone has a good book or website recommendation I would love to hear about it. I will share what I find out with you.  I think this form of advertising has great potential for innkeepers and appears  the wave of the future.

Thanks for reading.  Everyone have a great day and stay warm!  I’m going to have breakfast.  Reading about Ham and cheese strudel has made me hungry!

G-Part 2. Plus, I need some feedback from you!

Good Morning and a very happy new year to everyone out there!  I hope that you all celebrated last night in your favorite way and are ready for 2010.  I want to wish you all health, happiness and prosperity in the coming year.  For myself, I am feeling ready to hit the ground running in  2010 and make some things happen that I have been dreaming about!

So now we are back to finish up the letter G. This post is about the most important, and enjoyable, part of innkeeping- GUESTS! While an innkeeper can do everything perfectly and provide all the expected amenities, it is really the guests that bring an inn to life!  I think of it as a glow that seems to come from an inn where guests feel welcome and at ease in their surroundings.  A good innkeeper, to me, is someone who is the link between guests and the particular experience they are providing at their inn.  An innkeeper who does not fit his/her surroundings is not going to be comfortable and that will create a different atmosphere than someone who has created an ambiance they are comfortable with.  For some innkeepers 2 or 3 rooms with a lot of guest contact and little privacy keeps they quite content.  Others are more comfortable with a larger space and less guest contact with a focus on guest privacy.  The same is true for guests-there are different inns for different needs.  Still, I think there is a certain something that has to happen for a guest to want to come back and/or refer it to friends.

So I’m going to turn the tables here and ask you, my faithful readers, what makes your stay at an inn a peak experience?   While all the details (breakfast, beds, cleanliness, etc..) might be perfect, and the innkeeper pleasant-what specifically inspires you to return or refer the inn to friends?  Let me know how it all comes together for you!

Okay, I’m off to further organize my desk for the new year!  Anyone else with that resolution?  H is coming up next, and while it may seem a little thin, does include Handling stuff on a day-to-day basis, which innkeepers do to the nines.  Humor seems to be a good H word too.  So stay tuned for more innkeeping tidbits and reader polls.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your feedback about inn experiences.