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  1. Tom

    The Eclipse!

    A few years back, totality a hundred miles north of us, in Oregon. After the "show", superchargers were clogged with Teslas trying to get home. I'll be that Tesla increases its charging cost when the demand is high.
  2. Tom

    Put merchant CC fees on guest?

    Thanks, as usual, good advice
  3. Tom

    Put merchant CC fees on guest?

    We did well in 2022, income up about 50%, but also saw an even larger proportional increase in merchant processing fees from tee sis a subsidiary of glow ball .pay and are considering a switch to a different processor. My experience has been that they all seem to offer a lower fee structure, but...
  4. Tom

    Just Opened in Kona...well May 1

    Nice facility, you built well. Vrbo and Air will be useful, but ideally you will become known and will get direct bookings. With direct, you save money, but you want to make the direct deal seem good to the customer, too. People are used to Vrbo and Air having lots of fees, but not so much...
  5. Tom

    How I Ended Up Looking for a Recipe...

    Shaking my head; yup, that's the innkeeper's life. I'm reading it while I had the guest list open, thus inspired I looked up a guest from last fall and banned him. He was here when I had a tried and trusted innsitter looking after an almost full house. Guy booked 4 nights but was not happy...
  6. Tom

    10 Year Anniversary

    We opened July 9, 2009. Hard to believe it's been that long. Cooked thousands of breakfasts. Ooof!
  7. Tom

    Cancellation (and asking for future credit)

    As usual, interesting comment. Cancellation and policy are perennial problems. I've usually been pretty lax on cancellation so don't charge at all, and I have usually extended "rain check" courtesy credit against future use when I do. But I don't like it -- not the money per se, but the hassle...
  8. Tom

    Guests Smoke Weed In Room

    Yes: "enjoyed seeing this thread and so many old friends again!" My up-date, we have had no problems with legalized marijuana in Oregon. Guests often ask and since we have a comfortable covered outdoors smoking space, no complaints. We do have a few people vape in the room, typically nicotine...
  9. Tom

    Is anyone using texting to communicate with guests?

    Not individual codes -- rooms still have old -fashioned key. There is a one guest code for the main and side door entry. Wi-fi lock would be a must if you are not in the building. This fall I installed one (Kwikset) in a condo I share with 3 other families at Lake Tahoe so I can keep track of...
  10. Tom

    New Member Intro for Flora House Denver

    Welcome and best of luck!
  11. Tom

    Is anyone using texting to communicate with guests?

    Text all the time. I have about 8 stock texts like "Looking forward to your visit, when do you expect to arrive?" and road directions, all pinned to my own inn mobile number to copy and paste to guest mobile. Works really well. I'll text door keypad code for late arrivals, etc. I get guest...
  12. Tom

    Additional Guest Fee

    We charge $25 for an extra person, includes breakfast. They get a separate full queen or a roll-away twin for that. Children under ... well, it depends how you sound on the phone because we normally don't allow children under 12 unless you call (and we're not busy). Not too much extra cost if I...
  13. Tom

    Think Reservations or Little Hotelier?

    We have used ResNexus since 2009. Good service for sure, lots of options including bells and whistles we don't need. My perception is that it is on the expensive side for our 5-room inn. We've looked changing a couple times but decided the savings didn't make it worth it.
  14. Tom

    Hot Water Question

    We have a 5-room inn plus own quarters. One room has 2-person jetted tub. We use a mixed system: 50-gallon standard water heater acting as a reservoir for a dual line recirculating system -- not a valve, each hot fixture has 2 lines. The 50-gallon tank is fine for just us or one other standard...
  15. Tom

    Saying goodbye

    Belated goodbyes from here. Hard to believe it was 13 years since I opened the B&B and found Innspiring. You were a great guide to the critical beginning process of measuring your market, appraising your own capabilities and setting boundaries appropriately. Thankfully, we never had the PITA...
  16. Tom

    What would you do? Who right?

    Same. I answer the phone anywhere I am: in town, on the tractor, in the garden. I need to be able to quote a rate off the top of my head just to focus the conversation. Do you have any rooms? Me: yes, $185 to $195 plus tax. Then we talk. If I'm out of their price range, okay, I go back to work...
  17. Tom

    That’s not a diet requirement

    If I quit running the inn, I think the diet hassle be the main reason why. I serve a pretty traditional American breakfast. Everything is home baked. We have a couple of gluten-free items: waffles (rice, corn, oat), blueberry muffins, and French apple cake. Always available and always tasty...
  18. Tom

    What would you do? Who right?

    Hmm ... just checked our website. We just bumped two rooms by $10 and I hadn't made the change. Yikes! [I just did] If that happened to me, I would have been embarrassed, but would have pointed out that the invoice and taxes, etc. on the reservation form where the entered their cc was the bill...
  19. Tom

    Fail to Plan... Plan to Fail

    Exactly. I suggest a local motel which will be in the price range. Sometimes I tell them that the motel keeps crime scene tape in the maintenance closet because it is used so frequently. And younger travelers have been convinced by hotels dot, grope on, etc. to never pay full price. For chain...
  20. Tom

    Stairs and Private Bathroom

    Uh ... Americans?
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