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!