Innkeeping New Orleans Style
Written by Jay Karen on July 29, 2008 – 4:38 pmI was hosted by innkeepers Joe and Bebe Rabhan of the Avenue Inn Bed and Breakfast on St. Charles Avenue, and got to spend some quality time with Bonnie Rabe of The Grand Victorian, Patrick and Karma Ashton of Ashtons B&B and Jess Beaty of the Five Continents B&B. What great people. I don’t think I have ever eaten as well in four short days as I did on this trip. Have you ever had a deep-friend Poboy at Jacque-Imo’s? All I can say is that I’m still recovering. Some of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had have been in in New Orleans. A sincere thank you to all the great people I met! And a big thank you to all the innkeepers who joined PAII at the event.
The conference organizers invited me to participate in a Habitat for Humanity project out in Slidell, LA. I had the good fortune of working side-by-side Sharon Vennan, executive director of the Louisiana B&B Association, and Susan Sweeney, an internet marketing expert and speaker (often seen at recent PAII events). The invitation motivated me to attach a charitable element to the upcoming Innkeeping Conference & Trade Show, so stay tuned for that. There’s nothing like installing roof trusses with my peers in the innkeeping world! I had a great time and was so happy to have had the opportunity to contribute in a small way to the rebuilding of some of the areas hit hard by Katrina.
Sharon and I used old fashioned and modern tools to get the job done.
Can you tell that I love New Orleans?
I’ve got to add that I was looking at the Bed and Breakfast Association of Mississippi web site, and thought this was a great feature on their site. Other state associations should consider something similar. It’s their “See Mississippi on One Tank of Gas” promotion, where you can enter your zip code and search for B&Bs within a half or full tank of gas. You plug in the zip code, number of gallons in your tank and the average miles per gallon. Pretty cool.
I am looking forward to attending the upcoming Hospitality Association of Texas and Florida Bed & Breakfast Inns Association meetings.
Tags: Allied Associations
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
One Comment to “Innkeeping New Orleans Style”
Leave a Comment
Jay Karen, President & CEO of the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII), has a lot on his mind and loves conversation. The innkeeping industry is a dynamic place to be - the very center of hospitality, lodging, tourism, and travel. Come to this site for musings on best and worst practices, trends and outlook for innkeepers and the best conversation in our business. We invite you to participate! He invites you to leave your comments. This is the industry's conversation!
July 30, 2008 at 1:00 pm...
Jay, you forgot to mention that we had two outstanding lectures at the conference on the State of the Industry and Pricing Strategies that were very informative and cutting edge…oh, that's right, those were your presentations! What a great job and the feedback forms indicate that your topics were well received by all in attendance. We can't thank you enough for taking the time to speak at our Louisiana/Mississippi B&B conference. And we really enjoyed the time we shared with you at some of our world class restaurants here in the Big Easy. How 'bout that fried chicken and the alligator and crawfish cheese cake? Yum!
Joe Rabhan, Conference Chairman &
Innkeeper, Avenue Inn Bed and Breakfast