The Innkeeping Blog

Day one is over. For all those innkeepers who wanted to see me wiped out – mission accomplished. My day started with a 4:30 a.m. EST departure from my house in Haddon Heights, NJ. Grabbed some early breakfast a local diner, so I could review all of the training materials, checklists and polices Joyce Schulte (owner/innkeeper of the Chambered Nautilus) sent me. Caught a 7:40 a.m. flight out of Philly…short layover in Chicago and touched down in Seattle around 12:30 p.m. PST. Grabbed a cab for the 20 mile ride to the B&B. This is my first visit to Seattle, and I have a feeling I will not be seeing much of the city.Joyce greeted me with a hug, and we b-lined for my temporary living quarters. On the bed, I encountered a couple of the CN’s signature teddy bears awaiting my arrival. The note reads “Welcome to the CN — where only the bears sit around all day drinking coffee!!” My dark blue apron fit naturally over my head, and from my formative years working in a family restaurant, my hands instinctively tied the straps behind my back. Something about putting an apron on that makes you feel that it’s time to go to work and get your hands dirty.

I’m a bit tired right now (still on East coast time), so forgive me if I leave out some details of my afternoon and evening. I met two of the housekeepers – a couple of young ladies who seemed to really enjoy what they do and being in the inn, Kristin and Rhea. I think that’s a testament to Joyce’s virtues as a boss and co-worker. Joyce gave me a quick tour of the place and gave me a stream-of-consciousness, on-site training. When I arrived, she was expecting a fairly full house. In less than an hour, more reservations came in and the house was to be full this evening. Sixteen people for breakfast. One dog and one five-month old little girl to get ready for.

Joyce and I thoroughly reviewed her daily check list of duties, check-in/check-out lists, responded to reservation requests via Webervation emails, discussed rationale behind her policies and procedures, planned the next day’s housekeeping responsibilities (in which I will take part), emptied the dishwasher, interacted with guests as they came in and out of the inn, straightened up the living room, set the dining room table for tomorrow morning, chatted about the guests past and present, and got down to some quick ironing when we realized the linen napkins had not been pressed. See below for the awesome machine I was able to use. I had no idea what this was when I first saw it.

A Miele Rotary Iron

I took to rotary ironing like a champ. Not to brag, but Joyce was quite impressed (no pun intended) with how quickly and proficiently I jumped into this challenge. Truth be told, with some good tunes playing in the background, I could probably do this all day long. For the most riveting 45 second video you have EVER seen, see below for yours truly in action on the rotary iron. You’ll never be the same.

Rotary Iron

Later, I was able to pitch-in with the breakfast prep work by preparing the cream sauce that will be part of the fruit dish. I helped several arriving guests get checked-in, haul their luggage up the 27 steps from the street level to the front door and try to be as engaging as possible – but without letting on that I am not from Seattle. I was just waiting for someone to ask me about the area. I don’t want to let on that I’m the trade association CEO. Joyce introduces me as her assistant for the week. Joyce and I then prepared for the late arrivals, and we left for dinner and grocery shopping.

We had a nice, quick Italian meal, over which Joyce explained the ups and downs of being an innkeeper. Besides the hours and face-to-face interactions, there are some similarities between innkeeping and association management. In particular is the diversity of people and their expectations one encounters. But, that will be a blog post for another day.

After only one day, I’m learning some good stuff. First and foremost, a good exhaustive check-list of daily responsibilities is paramount to staying organized. Joyce seems to be a religious follower of “the list.” This is a good thing. With all the interruptions we encountered as we tried getting through the list, it would be impossible to run a busy inn like this without some source of consistency. This list provides the needed day-to-day consistencey. The phone rings. The doorbell rings. A glance at the computer then requires an immediate response to some emails. We chat for a while about whatever important details occur to Joyce that pertain to my education. We lose track every five minutes of what we were working on – and it all works out, because we have “the list” to go back to.

I’ve learned two other important lessons. The first is that group bookings are not for every inn or every innkeeper. Prior to my visit with Joyce, I would have assumed that any innkeeper would be foolish to turn down an offer to book the entire inn for one or two nights, even if it was over a weekend. It never occured to me that an innkeeper would likely have to turn away a great deal of business by doing so, such as those guests who want to stay three, four or more nights, which overlap the nights the group wants the inn. Plus, large groups tend to get into a pack mentality and take over every corner of the inn as though it is their own home. And, of course, they want a really good price. I can now understand the concept of a “group premium” instead of a “group discount.” Joyce runs an urban inn, so her occupancy is very high compared to the average B&B. She is in a position where she can turn away such requests for monopolizing the inn. She readily admits that groups could very well be the bread-and-butter for other innkeepers, and that is great. For the msot part, it’s just not her thing.

I also gained more respect for the “reservation request” process, rather than real-time reservations. Heretofore, I have naturally been a strong advocate of real time reservations. I’ve been fearful for the innkeepers who could be turning away business, because their reaction time to reservation requests might not be good enough for the time-starved, instant-gratification-requiring consumer. Watching and listening to Joyce interact with prospective customers on the phone – and hearing all the unique requests or situations presented to her – I can see why innkeepers still highly prefer the opportunity to engage a customer in more detail before confirming a reservation. WIth inventory levels as they are in our industry (let’s say about 6 rooms per night), it still remains possible to take requests. Someone mentioned to me recently that innkeepers can still have that all-important conversation on the phone AFTER a real-time reservation, as long as you’re collecting the customer’s phone numbers and inform them your intent to contact them. But, that would mean you – the innkeeper – having to track down the guest who preferred the relative anonymity and speed of using the internet to seal the deal. From what I saw today at the Chambered Nautlius, who has time to do that? And, it doesn’t really seem like you can convey all that you want to convey in a confirmation email. That phone interaction still seems to be paramount to the customer experience.

Off to bed for this innkeeper-in-training. I’ll be up at the crack of dawn to finish setting the tables,as I get ready to serve a wonderful meal to some hungry guests. How one does this seven days a week is beyond me at this point.