Well it is now september and I feel like I am finally making progress with my renovations!

I seem to start every new post these days with Ive been so mad busy! This last two weeks has been very busy in the B&B as well as my chamber maid's fiance died very suddenly. We are pretty much like family so I have been helping her with all the arrangements which have been dificult as he fell ill while driving to see his sister in London so we had to arrange to have him brought back and organise the service etc. I am counting the days as my chamber maid has a neice who is comming to study in England from Lithuania and wants to work part time for us. We in turn need a part time chamber maid as I am currently working myself raggid. So roll on July! wish me luck for the next few days! we are full of barber shop singers which though lovely are a bit flakey!

It has been an age since I have had time to post anything! We have been full since last wednesday and look to be full till this wednesday and it has been a nearly full change every day. I am exhausted! To help our chamber maid as soon as a customer has checked out I have been dashing round stripping the room and puting in the right sheets and towels. Plus today is laundry collection day so everything has to be bagged and counted for collection this morning. Its hard work. I walked to the post box for a 5 min break and saw my neighbour who also has a guest house through the window. She came to the door to say hi and confided she was working in her PJ's as she had a full change as well! That reminds me I must buy some more black traksuit bottoms from Asda they are a bargain at £3.00 and are super comfy for dashing round our place.

Had a mad day today my door bell has broken however we noticed and thought we had it fixed but we hadn't and came up from the basement to find a lady sat in the lounge another guest had let in! She didn't mind and was lovely but I felt awful! Spent the next two hours messing with the bells (if I hear another bell I may loose the plot entirely) Ours work on a radio system so you can take a speaker with you anywhere in the building so you can always hear the bell. When it works its great but it has now decided to no longer ring when in my lounge where I am most often sat and can't see either of the doors. My advice is stick to the old fashioned rings with a cable in between the bell and the push button anything battery operated is fatal. (I am baffled as put in all new batteries and now it doesn't work properly). Also read the instructions as when my dad fished them out it said should be changed about every 18 months and they havn't changed them in 4 years so no wonder they arn't working!

Ive just been on another course (I am taking my chance as I have a lunatic April comming) about How to write copy people want to buy your product ie do excellent brochures etc. Was quite useful (it was with Business Link should you wish to go yourself) Also met an interesting chap who works for Utility Warehouse who is going to save me some money (I Hope) Have checked them on USwitch and they are very competative so I am changing my gas and electric over and when my phone contract runs out I am changing that to. (I will get a free Blackberry and it will save me about 10 a month). More useful than the course really!

Have just read How to Buy and Run your own hotel by Mark Lloyd. I was pleasantly surprised with this volume as by now I have read a whole mess of books and some of it gets repetitive. This volume was mainly aimed at people who were in the Pre-owning stage of buying a hotel an area which has not been tackled in any of the volumes I have read. It is well written and humorous and its is obvious that the chap is smart and has done his homework. He goes through the early stages of putting in the offer, what courses you have to take and so on. He doesn't go into much detail as to how things run on a daily basis but that is my only criticism. The people he bought from sound potty as they had 7 staff for a 10 bedroom hotel plus themselves which seems excessive. Plus Mr lloyd only reduces this to 5 which to me seems a bit much. I myself have 12 rooms and we have me, my partner who also works full time, a full time chamber maid and my parents who sit in when needed and that is more than enough. He goes into detail as to what to look for and what to ask for ie accounts and so on which is something I cannot emphasise enough. All in all an entertaining read even if you are past that stage.

Hi chaps , well last week Simon and I went on Accounting and Bookeeping course with business link. I thought it would be things to do to help you with your accounts ie practical exercises and things like that. It was absolutely no practical help what so ever. Basically the advice was for people who were in the pre-start up stage and was telling them to make sure they keep proper records as you can get done if you don't. Also that you should take on an accountant or at least a trained book keeper. Therefore I wasn't really impressed with the course. However I am going on another course with business link about maximising your web site so I will report back what I think. However I suppose it is all free so we can't complain. The link is -
www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk/events

The second group are whingers and ususally start their complaint with I don't usually like to complain but .... they will tell you in graphic detail about whatever the problem is. The main problem with this group is they don't know what they want. So one of the techniques is to simply ask them what they want. (This takes balls) usually this stops them right in their tracks. If they come up with something that is reasonable then run with it. However what usually happens is they don't know what they want. So always have a selction of options for example room move, compliamentary dinner or whatever but don't offer more than is relevant to the problem. Ie there wern't any tea bags an equal compensation is a free pot of tea delivered not a free dinner. One of the things is remember especially if you are an owner run business you are the highest authority don't get angry if you feel they are criticising your place but remember you are in charge and some people can't be pleased and its best that they leave. This is a last resort but don't be afraid to ask people to leave and that this is an option you have at your disposal.

Some tips for handeling complaints. There are three main categories of complainants we call them Shouters, whingers and last but not least those with a genuene problem.

The shouters are trying to intimidate you into giving them a discount or are making a scene for the benefit of an audience ie a girlfriend or the whole of reception. It is usually a man though I have had some women do this to. With these people the trick is primarily to get them away from their audience for example into a more private area. Also they are worce if they have had chance to work up a head of steam or have had to wait for someone to speak to so if you can get to them right away. Also with this type get them sat down as this gives you the advantage they are all at the same level and it also stops them looming over you. If you can get someone else to make a pot of tea that is sometimes helpful to offer it to them as this also breaks their chain of thought and helps to calm them down. Pay them (and this goes for all complaints) your full attention I don't care if the phone is ringing or whatever don't excuse your self to answer it as this will agrivate them further. Ask them about the problem and write notes people who complain want more than anything to be listended to. Try not to look as if dealing with them is the last thing you want to be doing do your best to look interested and concerned. However with shouters some of them will never be placated and if you can get them on their way before they spread their grumpy vibes all over the place. In this category there are the professional complainers they will have a go to get any kind of discount. I have only met one couple who fall into the cattegory and they were violently unpleasant and the manager where I was working kicked them out. After they left they had the cheek to ask us to post their hotwater bottle back for free!

Went on a retaining customers by super customer service course provided by Welcome to Yorkshire. To be fair I tried to go into the thing with an open mind but was not particularly wowwed. The best complaints training I have ever had was with the Inland Revenue who due to the nature of the business is almost entirely complaints. Plus once you have been told at full volume that you are single handedly destroying a man's business and destroying his life there isn't much that can phase you. After two years there I developed hide like a rhino which has stood me in good stead for my hospitality work.

Now I'm split two ways about taking groups for 1 night stays for example we have a group of lads who stay with us and are lovely and never any trouble but they only stay on a saturday night. They book up the whole place which is a lovely bit of business but it blocks the Friday two night bookings. This thought is brought home to me by a group we have just had in who also book out the whole place but they only come on the friday and so block saturday breaks a bit. Oh well we just have to grin and bear it.

Was in discussion with people about one night stays. Some people before now would not take people for less than two nights as this increases your laundry and servicing costs. Well I'll be honest in the state that the economy is in as accomdodation providers I don't think we can afford to be that picky. I know a lady who wouldn't take people less than two nights as she did all her own laundry and now is in serious difficulties. The choice is yours but I'd think about it very carefully.

Second they are pushing Business Link which is a really good organisation providing free (Yes chaps thats free!) courses on all sorts of things marketing, first aid, financial planning, VAT and all sorts. They ask that you cancel if you can't come 48 hours in advance which I don't think is unreasonable. I am signed up for Marketing your business and another marketing one. If they are any good I will report back. They hold these courses all over and quite a number of times so you can fit them into your schedule . They are also different times of day which helps as well.

I would also recomend that you all have a look at the carbon trust web site which provides interest free loans for improvements to your business to save energy. I am considering applying for one to have all of our windows replaced with PVC as at the moment they are very draughty sash windows which are a pain to paint. We will see how we go.

Well I went to the Welcome to Yorkshire meet and great yesterday and learned a few things. One is that they are extraordinarily nieve. The impression I get from them is that they seem to think people don't get rated because they worry they aren't good enough. They simply havn't realised people don't see it as important and certainly don't see any financial value in it. I myself pay £409 per year for the pleasure of being a member of the AA (do we hear some sarcasm?) and in 5 years can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who have said they have heard about us from the AA. I think partly it is to do with our name it begins with a C. This may not initially make any sense but if you had an AA book and were looking for a place to stay you start ringing at the start of the section which is in alphabetical order and work through by the time they get to C in my town its too late and they are already fixed up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJmkp5cwx1g film of room 10

Well chaps Ive had a day of it I can tell you. Woke up to a strange noise of running water and found that water was gushing out of the fire alarm break point I was therefore not happy camper. I then had a lady ring to confirm her booking of two rooms for which we only had one! I then rang the booking agent who had booked it for her to find the other room was actually for her colleague whose name we had so crisis averted as I had already booked out 4 rooms for that night and was hoping not to have a 5th! Picked out my new dryer and have installed it woo hoo. However it turns out the water problem was caused by the pipe to the sewage being undone somewhere and was pouring in behind the tanking and when it got to the top of the tanking of the basement it poured in over the top lovely! so my virtually new carpet is covered in filtered sewage water and we can't use any of the rooms on the back of the hotel. Everything in my bedrooms stinks of sewage lovely!

As regards the pen idea I leave them at another hotel in town their guests have a reason to be in my town and hopefully they will find their way back to me next time.

1 I signed up with the bed and breakfast directory and have had zero business through this channel I signed up for 2 years as its a good price so I am going to wait and see but I am not impressed so far.

2 remember you and your service are what you are selling. Most people are crap and need to have it handed to them on a plate how amazing you and your product are. (I am assuming) So now is not the time to hide your light under a bushell. If you are close to an amazing attraction say so you do pankakes for breakfast let them know and if you are doing something for free other people are charging for then point this out.

Hi a friend asked me for marketing advice today and I wasn't sure where to start but here are some tips.
1. Take a stack of business cards with you everywhere you go you never know when the opportunity will arise.
2. if you are not online got online and don't think having a web site is enough by a long chalk.
3. use social networking sights ie YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for example I am currently filming all our bedrooms and putting them on You Tube and as I have linked this with my facebook they automatically update each other which saves me a lot of time. It also means that you can even send a customer a film of the room they will stay in when they book. (be careful of this in case you have to move them but if they have booked a feature room specifically then its safe enough)
4 Use your old reg cards send out advertising postcards get people thinking about you. I have ordered extra large postcards with special offers on from VistaPrint and 50 for £2.00 it just takes time to address them.
5 Get real about collecting email when you get an enquiry even if they never book save the email address its a free way to market and if they were enquiring they have a reason to be where you are and may have a crap time at another place and so come to you next time if they are the first name they have to hand.
6 think about having some branded stuff made for example pens and leave them in places they will get picked up this is inexpensive and they will adveritse for you as they are passed from hand to hand.

Hello some advice on what to do if you are ever over booked. We try not to let this happen but it does happen now and again. A place up the street from us put the wrong dates into their online booking service for example and we forgot we had given some rooms to an accomodation agent. When this happens and it will I strongly advise that you pick the people to go straight away and ring them about it. I always try to head them off before they reach you as there is nothing worce than getting to you only to be told there is no room at the inn. I always find them alternative accomodation and sort it all out before I call because then you can say yes we have made a mistake or had a plumbing problem or whatever but I have found you somewhere else very close by for the same price and you just need to go to the alternative location. We are lucky as we have 4 places within 4 doors of us of an equal standard which placates a lot of people. In some cases you can't get hold of them so its a case of doing your best.

I have also been sorting out to use Booking.com as an agent. It has taken me about 3 weeks to get a straight answer out of them about their service. In case anyone else needs this information They ask for 1 free night for every 100 they sell for you this is for their area reps when they come to your area but you don't have to take them. You only have to give 14 days to terminate the contract and there is no minimum contract. Hope this helps.

A lady asked me this week for any tips on smiling at the customers when you really don't feel like it. I was a bit stumped apart from the fact that sometimes if you don't laugh you'll cry. We tend to try and think of our guests as people we really like to see (even though we havn't met yet) and are pleasantly surprised that they have arrived. Another tip is to actually practice smiling and laughing. (I know this sounds bonkers) but laughing is actually a learned behaviour so you have to get your self into the habit of smiling and being happy. As we all know there are times when you just want to bang your head on the nearest hard surface. (I got over booked by 4 and believe me I was not smiling!) but Ive sorted out all the people and everything is back on an even keal so you get there. I am lucky to have a good relationship with my neighbours. I think one of the most valuable skills to have in customer service is the ability to laugh at yourself.

Also one of the reasons I havn't been blogging as much is I have been trying out direct mailing. Where I am is a conference town so I have been looking at the conference web sites getting a list of exhibitors and then searching them out on the internet and emailing them direct. So far I have been successful. This method cost nothing except your time rescearching and for one conference I did 8 hours rescearch and mailing and filled my entire place and my neighbour up the street as well so I feel the effort as regards the pay back was worth it.

Well have been on a really good course titled Confident Communications. I was a bit gutted because it was supposed to be held in my home town but that session was cancelled so I went to the one in Hawes (a good hour and 1/2 drive away) The main thrust of the course was about using all means of communication to contact your potential customers for example You Tube which is not a form I had ever considered before. Met some really nice people and had a free lunch. The teacher showed us how to make a slide show on Windows Movie Maker and then you can upload it to You Tube. The main thrust is to use every avenue avaliable to you to promote your business and to find ways of using areas which you hadn't even considered would be usefull such as Facebook or Twitter.

Hello everyone well I had hoped to be moved in by now but it is not at all going to plan! (not beyond shocked!) Well with the awful weather we have been having some of our pipes in the basement froze over because the builders could not fill them all in with insulation due to the snow. (There is a degree of irony there I feel) So that took at least a day to get fixed luckily the main problem was that they had to cut a hole in the bathroom wall to get at the pipes and therefore made a right mess. However we insulated today and should have all the jobs in the bathroom done by the end of tomorro. The electrician is comming tomorro to put up the three light fittings so that is one less job to do! So all that is left is to touch up the paint in the bathroom and put up a small shelf!. The carpet man who has been giving me run around all week should also be comming tomorro Wish me luck!

Finally nearly finished the decorating etc on the new flat (we have built proper living accomodation in the basement of the hotel!) However we did have a day of it yesterday as some of the pipes froze due to the super fun weather we have been having lately. Therefore we couldn't get any water in or out of the basement. There is a degree of irony in that if it hadn't snowed the builders would have insulated the pipes but havn't been by because of the snow! Oh well tomorro is another day.

Just another tip what decorators charge may seem extortianate and you may think to yourself I can do that and save the money. That may be but you loose the money in the time the room is out of commission. Also it will also pay dividends in the long run if you try and decorate you rooms in the same colours as it is so much easier to say have two colours in rather than 12 for touch ups. We also try to paint the lower part of the room in a darker colour such as red or brown as it doesn't show the damage from cases that are repeatedly banged into your walls. The upper parts a lighter colour so as not to overwhelme the room. The choice is yours.