‘Don’t sweat the small stuff’, advice we hear frequently. But with new innkeepers starting off in the height of the season that small stuff can seem awfully BIG. Many of you may recall your first jittery days as innkeepers and can look back with a nostalgic chuckle or two. We received a very expressive email from newbie innkeeper, Yoshio Endo last week that we would love to share. Yoshio and Diane Endo purchased The Inn at Ormsby Hill in Manchester Vermont earlier this month. The B&B Team was proud to represent the Endos in the sale of this beautiful Select Registry, Four Diamond AAA property. Read on and see if any of this ‘small stuff’ sounds familiar.
“Friday the 13th was our 3rd day as innkeepers. The first day was frightening with the movers unloading and 3 guest check-ins. Diane was working until 10 pm to get prepared for breakfast the next morning. We didn’t even know where the light switches were for the outside and other places (as we never went through the night closing routines). We forgot how to adjust the air conditioning zone for some of the guest rooms and the guests were coming any time. Panic time! But we figured it out in the end.
The breakfast on the 2nd day was a bit rough as Diane was not used to the oven and each oven seems to have its own kinks. The bread did not come out as practiced in Westport and the hot entrée was suspicious of being slightly undercooked. The Japanese buns came out in funky shapes and certainly looked homemade, not very professional. Just when the guests started to sit down, I went to get an extra juice glass and dropped it. The glass shattered in the dining room with me standing like a deer in a head light. Candi, our housekeeping guru, came to the rescue. The guests were really great and very accepting of my mistake. We got lucky this week with a great group of people. Diane served 12 breakfasts on the 2nd day and 14 on the 3rd. There were supposed to be 15 tomorrow but two are leaving early so they are skipping breakfast. We offered to make a special arrangement for an early breakfast but they knew how busy we were and graciously declined. We gave them our travel mug in lieu of breakfast and they gave us a hug!
Saying the good-byes and the thank-yous is the best time of the innkeeping experience. It is so fulfilling and rewarding! Confirmation of the right decision we made…did not know we would get that feeling as quickly as we did.
Today those frantic days seem to have passed and we even had time for dinner on the patio after the guests had gone to dinner. Your advice to have time for each other away from the millions of things rushing in our heads is truly the best advice. We can’t forget why we wanted to do this to begin with. A balance in life…
It’s 9:45 pm and I am waiting for the guest who said they would check-in between 8 and 9. Well, that too is innkeeping. I am getting thirsty, if you know what I mean!
P.S. I didn’t get to finish my story about the experienced B&B travelers who booked their own restaurant. Despite my extremely limited information about the restaurant and not being able to help them much, the guests talked about us at the restaurant. The next day we found a vase full of flowers at our front step. The restaurant owner sent us the flowers welcoming us to the community and wishing us good luck!
Thanks to The B&B Team for introducing us to the wonderful life of innkeeping!” Yoshio Endo
We are so proud The B&B Team was able to be a part of their launch into innkeeping. We feel confident that with their enthusiasm and passion they will soar. Thank you Diane and Yoshio for sharing your first days with us.
