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.

Read more »