Monday 26 April 2010

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.

Saturday 3 April 2010

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!

Thursday 1 April 2010

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.