Innkeeper Ettiquette

[Copperhead]

Gillumhouse stated "As a guest, I do not want touched by anyone until I know them a bit better. There are some people I would rather not even shke hands with"
As a guest, if I felt like not shaking hands with my host, I definitely would NOT want to stay in their home! As a seasoned Innkeeper I do not hug on arrival unless it is a repeat guest that initiates the hug.
The only point I will make here is that the way you greet your guests on arrival sets the tone for their stay. Greeting the guest on the porch as Gillumhouse stated sets a warm welcome. If I know who is checking in I will greet them by name. Here we greet by first names, we want everyone to be casual here, first names are casual. But believe me if someone introduced themselves as Mr. Smith, I definitely would know where I stand with him.
We do hug at departure but only if it is welcomed, it IS easy to know. Most the time it is initiated by the guest which is a great feeling, at least to me!

 

[swirt]

i am a little confused. i never saw these threads before. but the dates look like june?
anyway, i get quite a few hugs when guests are checking out ... sometimes they ask me if they can hug me. sometimes, they just do it. i'd be surprised if a guest hugged me when they checked in. the hugs seem to be a parting, thankyou kind of thing..

You might be seeing the "joined" date since many of the members arrived in June...the post dates are in the red band.... if you are seeing June dates in the red band, let me know so I can add it to my to-do list

 

[user 26]

i am a little confused. i never saw these threads before. but the dates look like june?
anyway, i get quite a few hugs when guests are checking out ... sometimes they ask me if they can hug me. sometimes, they just do it. i'd be surprised if a guest hugged me when they checked in. the hugs seem to be a parting, thankyou kind of thing..

You might be seeing the "joined" date since many of the members arrived in June...the post dates are in the red band.... if you are seeing June dates in the red band, let me know so I can add it to my to-do list
.

oh man .... i am sorry ... you are right

.... i am up way past my bed time!!! can't settle down for some reason.

 

[Willowpondgj]

Of course you introduce yourself...and learn which guests they are...But how would you greet them by name if you've never met them before and you have more than one room checking in?
I would never hug someone at check-in and my uncle is The Mad Hugger from Minnesota! Really!
I can barely get a handshake out of most people and often don't even meet them until breakfast because DH does the check-in...
Diffrent strokes for differnt folks, trishany, don't take it personally!.

Willowpond -- I have webervations -- so I know their first names.
I welcome all of the guests by their first names, welcome them to our house, and give them a hug.
Try it. It goes a looong way,
.

I have webervations too, but when they come to the door I don't know who they are! Do you just go down the list of names, like "name that guest"? You know what names go with which room, but don't you have to go thru introductions before you know what name to call them? How do you know their name before you've met them? Do you have them send you a picture so you get it right at the door?
.

Willowpond - look at your printouts.
You should know who's coming, where they are from, what date they are coming, the room they booked, the name of the additional guest, and if they want coffee or tea in the morning.
Of course I know which room they are each in. We only have 4 rooms.
.

Yes, but when they show up on your doorstep, you really know which guests they are without asking? Are you psychic?
.

Yes I know what time each guest is arriving. And they call me when they think they will be late.
They all don't show up at the same time.
For instance, today we had three couples coming.
One couple was named Fugi and Michiko (a given), another guest was Adam and Shannon, and another was Lisa and Eric.
I mean really, use your god-given common sense --You don't have to be psychic to figure it out.
Who do you think Shannon was?
Who do you think Lisa was?
Shannon (how Irish can you get) I knew it wasn't Lisa
.

No, I wouldn't know Lisa from Shannon just by looking and assuming someone was Irish. I sometimes go by my middle name, Chiyo, would you assume I was Irish if I gave you that name on webervations? If I told you my name was Laurie, you would assume I was Irish, you would be right, but I'm also Mexican, do you assume every woman named Maria is Hispanic or Italian?
We had some guests named Devon and Derek, which one is the female? I've met women named Michael, and yes, Shannon could be a man too...You must be really gifted for guessing names. If they reserved online as Pat and Kelly, would you know at check in which was the woman and which was the man without meeting them before? Do you make them state their sex on your reservation form in case they have an ambiguous name? I don't think so.

 

[YellowSocks]

It makes a big difference how many rooms you have, and how many of them are booked, and what kind of place you have, and what kind of guests you attract.
I don't hug people at check in, I shake their hands. I do try to open the door before they ring, when I can. Usually I already know their names because I only have four rooms and almost never have more than two rooms checking in on a given day. But it may have been a while since I looked at my sticky note where I wrote down everyone's names.
Usually (with a note that usually means one year so far, and one month at full speed) I meet people at the door, say, "Hi, I'm Kathy." Sometimes I'll say, "And you're so-and-so, right?" Other times they introduce themselves. If the ds4x2 are around I'll introduce them as well (although we don't expect people to remember which is which, many do). The ds4x2 are expected to refer to people as Mr. So-and-So. Younger persons (teens, young singles) are called Miss First-Name by them. I may call them by either their first name or by Mr. So-and-So, which is generally dependent on age, and how they introduced themselves, but I tend to go more formal because I'm setting the example for the boys. One family we had three generations of John So-and-So with us... the oldest I called Grandpa, it was just easier that way.
There have been a few guests that I hugged when they left, but very few overall. Generally they are ones who have stayed longer, spent more time, gotten to know us better. I generally avoid hugging male guests, even if they've become our new best friends. Tomorrow our guest who has stayed here eight weeks will leave us. We took her out to dinner tonight, because we will miss her, but I'm not sure I'll hug her... well, maybe. I do know we'll play Speed Scrabble one more time!
If I had seven rooms... it would be different, I'm sure. Or if I had only two rooms in a cozy little house. Or if I was a vacation destination where people stayed with me for days on end. Mostly we seem to get one or two nights, for weddings, games, reunions, meetings, etc. Three times a year we get full-house for four nights because of a seminar, which is awesome... those are the guests I get to know the best, enjoy the most, and am most apt to hug.
=)
Kk.

 

[trishany]

If they are all from your same state, looking at the license plate does not help..

Whaat!!?

 

[gillumhouse]

Gillumhouse stated "As a guest, I do not want touched by anyone until I know them a bit better. There are some people I would rather not even shke hands with"
As a guest, if I felt like not shaking hands with my host, I definitely would NOT want to stay in their home! As a seasoned Innkeeper I do not hug on arrival unless it is a repeat guest that initiates the hug.
The only point I will make here is that the way you greet your guests on arrival sets the tone for their stay. Greeting the guest on the porch as Gillumhouse stated sets a warm welcome. If I know who is checking in I will greet them by name. Here we greet by first names, we want everyone to be casual here, first names are casual. But believe me if someone introduced themselves as Mr. Smith, I definitely would know where I stand with him.
We do hug at departure but only if it is welcomed, it IS easy to know. Most the time it is initiated by the guest which is a great feeling, at least to me!.

Of course a handshake would be forthcoming - I was meaning a hug is not welcome until I know who is trying to hug me.
I want my guests to feel welcome - not like trapped victims of the Mad Hugger. Since I have not been called cute since I was 2 years old, I tend to be more reserved upon meeting people. The innkeepers here, for the most part, will answer questions honestly per their opinion but would not dream of telling someone how to run their inn (might suggest a policy or procedure to alleviate a situation but that is all).
We do not want to confuse newbies.

 

[winewitch]

This is from an EXPERIENCED innkeeper:

• Greet the guests that are late by making them wait on the porch for the exact amount of time they made you wait or hide in your OQ until the door bell rings the 2nd time or until they start walking all around the house looking in your windows to see if you are there.
• Greet them by all the names of your other guests and then all the names of your children and animals, this makes them feel welcome, because their mom used to do that too, rest her soul.
• NO Hugs at Check-in, if they don't stink maybe a handshake and then get the lysol out, wash your hands!
• If possible show them to the room, tell them what is necessary and when they start complaining about all the things that are wrong with it, show them the door.
• IF they wish to chat, they will initiate it and when you can't take it anymore, hit the 911 speeddial on your cell to have dh call you back so you can run.
• dietary needs Don't ask, they won't tell.

Serve an awesome breakfast and if they like it, great! Sorry no seconds, because you'd have thrown it all away most days and if they don't like it: WHO CARES!
BUT WAIT -we have a new system of check in:
Upon entering our city, our exclusive link with Comsat 1, in orbit, photographs the guests in their car. As they arrive at the front door and ring the doorbell, their fingerprints are scannned and immediately sent to the FBI data base. We invite the guests in and have them lie face down on the floor while we wait for a background check and credit report to arrive via fax or e-mail. Once we have both reports, and feel that they are worthy of staying at our inn, we allow them to stand. We then frisk them for harmful objects, (this makes them feel welcome.) If they have any harmful objects, we kill them and serve them for breakfast a la Sweeney Todd. If no harmful objects are found, we have them fill out a 300 page questionnaire with no fewer than 160 years of family history. Once the questionnaire is finished and notarized by a notary, that THEY pay for, we ask them the same questions while hooked up to a polygraph machine, if every single answer matches, and by the way, we do this polygraph with them individually, in separate rooms, we allow them 10 minutes of visitation (this makes them feel part of the family) before proceeding with check-in. If the answers don't match, we make them wear our dog's shock collar for their entire stay and zap them whenever they are doing something we don't like, this makes them feel like our best friend.
Once they are seen by our on staff physician and a clean bill of health has been given, and we are certain they've had all of their shots, we have them sign a contract that they will not transfer any bodily odors, diseases, infections, fungi, bodily fluids , then we offer them a hearty handshake! (Wearing our rubber gloves, of course, we're not totally insensitive!) We are now ready to show them their room.
Once they have slipped into their hazmat suit, which we provide, again, we're not totally insensitive, we then proceed to their room. It's such a joy to see the look on their faces, through the plexiglass mask, of course, when they see their room for the first time and realize that it is made completely of stainless steel. I'm not sure if it is a look of amazement or wonder or shock, but who gives a fat rat's a$$, none of their germs are going to live longer than two minutes on our stainless steel walls! We then close the door beind them, lock it from the outside and using our intercom system, wish them a happy stay! Breakfast is at 9, we'll slide it through the little slot in the door, wearing rubber gloves, of course!
More wine please!

 

[gillumhouse]

This is from an EXPERIENCED innkeeper:

• Greet the guests that are late by making them wait on the porch for the exact amount of time they made you wait or hide in your OQ until the door bell rings the 2nd time or until they start walking all around the house looking in your windows to see if you are there.
• Greet them by all the names of your other guests and then all the names of your children and animals, this makes them feel welcome, because their mom used to do that too, rest her soul.
• NO Hugs at Check-in, if they don't stink maybe a handshake and then get the lysol out, wash your hands!
• If possible show them to the room, tell them what is necessary and when they start complaining about all the things that are wrong with it, show them the door.
• IF they wish to chat, they will initiate it and when you can't take it anymore, hit the 911 speeddial on your cell to have dh call you back so you can run.
• dietary needs Don't ask, they won't tell.

Serve an awesome breakfast and if they like it, great! Sorry no seconds, because you'd have thrown it all away most days and if they don't like it: WHO CARES!
BUT WAIT -we have a new system of check in:
Upon entering our city, our exclusive link with Comsat 1, in orbit, photographs the guests in their car. As they arrive at the front door and ring the doorbell, their fingerprints are scannned and immediately sent to the FBI data base. We invite the guests in and have them lie face down on the floor while we wait for a background check and credit report to arrive via fax or e-mail. Once we have both reports, and feel that they are worthy of staying at our inn, we allow them to stand. We then frisk them for harmful objects, (this makes them feel welcome.) If they have any harmful objects, we kill them and serve them for breakfast a la Sweeney Todd. If no harmful objects are found, we have them fill out a 300 page questionnaire with no fewer than 160 years of family history. Once the questionnaire is finished and notarized by a notary, that THEY pay for, we ask them the same questions while hooked up to a polygraph machine, if every single answer matches, and by the way, we do this polygraph with them individually, in separate rooms, we allow them 10 minutes of visitation (this makes them feel part of the family) before proceeding with check-in. If the answers don't match, we make them wear our dog's shock collar for their entire stay and zap them whenever they are doing something we don't like, this makes them feel like our best friend.
Once they are seen by our on staff physician and a clean bill of health has been given, and we are certain they've had all of their shots, we have them sign a contract that they will not transfer any bodily odors, diseases, infections, fungi, bodily fluids , then we offer them a hearty handshake! (Wearing our rubber gloves, of course, we're not totally insensitive!) We are now ready to show them their room.
Once they have slipped into their hazmat suit, which we provide, again, we're not totally insensitive, we then proceed to their room. It's such a joy to see the look on their faces, through the plexiglass mask, of course, when they see their room for the first time and realize that it is made completely of stainless steel. I'm not sure if it is a look of amazement or wonder or shock, but who gives a fat rat's a$$, none of their germs are going to live longer than two minutes on our stainless steel walls! We then close the door beind them, lock it from the outside and using our intercom system, wish them a happy stay! Breakfast is at 9, we'll slide it through the little slot in the door, wearing rubber gloves, of course!
More wine please!.

More wine please!
Hic! can't 'cause we finished the last bottle.....

 

[Samster]

This is from an EXPERIENCED innkeeper:

• Greet the guests that are late by making them wait on the porch for the exact amount of time they made you wait or hide in your OQ until the door bell rings the 2nd time or until they start walking all around the house looking in your windows to see if you are there.
• Greet them by all the names of your other guests and then all the names of your children and animals, this makes them feel welcome, because their mom used to do that too, rest her soul.
• NO Hugs at Check-in, if they don't stink maybe a handshake and then get the lysol out, wash your hands!
• If possible show them to the room, tell them what is necessary and when they start complaining about all the things that are wrong with it, show them the door.
• IF they wish to chat, they will initiate it and when you can't take it anymore, hit the 911 speeddial on your cell to have dh call you back so you can run.
• dietary needs Don't ask, they won't tell.

Serve an awesome breakfast and if they like it, great! Sorry no seconds, because you'd have thrown it all away most days and if they don't like it: WHO CARES!
BUT WAIT -we have a new system of check in:
Upon entering our city, our exclusive link with Comsat 1, in orbit, photographs the guests in their car. As they arrive at the front door and ring the doorbell, their fingerprints are scannned and immediately sent to the FBI data base. We invite the guests in and have them lie face down on the floor while we wait for a background check and credit report to arrive via fax or e-mail. Once we have both reports, and feel that they are worthy of staying at our inn, we allow them to stand. We then frisk them for harmful objects, (this makes them feel welcome.) If they have any harmful objects, we kill them and serve them for breakfast a la Sweeney Todd. If no harmful objects are found, we have them fill out a 300 page questionnaire with no fewer than 160 years of family history. Once the questionnaire is finished and notarized by a notary, that THEY pay for, we ask them the same questions while hooked up to a polygraph machine, if every single answer matches, and by the way, we do this polygraph with them individually, in separate rooms, we allow them 10 minutes of visitation (this makes them feel part of the family) before proceeding with check-in. If the answers don't match, we make them wear our dog's shock collar for their entire stay and zap them whenever they are doing something we don't like, this makes them feel like our best friend.
Once they are seen by our on staff physician and a clean bill of health has been given, and we are certain they've had all of their shots, we have them sign a contract that they will not transfer any bodily odors, diseases, infections, fungi, bodily fluids , then we offer them a hearty handshake! (Wearing our rubber gloves, of course, we're not totally insensitive!) We are now ready to show them their room.
Once they have slipped into their hazmat suit, which we provide, again, we're not totally insensitive, we then proceed to their room. It's such a joy to see the look on their faces, through the plexiglass mask, of course, when they see their room for the first time and realize that it is made completely of stainless steel. I'm not sure if it is a look of amazement or wonder or shock, but who gives a fat rat's a$$, none of their germs are going to live longer than two minutes on our stainless steel walls! We then close the door beind them, lock it from the outside and using our intercom system, wish them a happy stay! Breakfast is at 9, we'll slide it through the little slot in the door, wearing rubber gloves, of course!
More wine please!.

roflmao. Please pass the wine

 

[Samster]

If they've been traveling, their eyeballs have turned a light shade of yellow, and you have a first floor powder room, you might offer it to your guest before you have them register and all that. This can avoid an uncomfortable guest or an unslightly accident.
Also it's good to verify their morning beverage of choice and breakfast time. This avoids kicking yourself in the toosh in the early am when you have to make a pot of decaf coffee instead of (or in addition to) the giant pot of regular that you just poured into a lovely carafe.
These are just a few things that I've learned as a newbie

Now where did I put my dimples??.....

 

[winewitch]

If they are all from your same state, looking at the license plate does not help..

Whaat!!?
.

What? If all the cars in the driveway are Colorado plates and they are all separate parties, are you trying to tell me that not only do you know their names on sight without ever having met them but you would be able to tell their names before you met them by looking at their license plate? You really are AMAZING!
And regarding hugs, even dogs sniff butts BEFORE trying to mount another dog, I'll stick with a hand shake thank you!

 

[Samster]

Trishany, when someone hugs me who does not know me from Adam... I really get a sick feeling in my stomach..

I think it's safe to say many of us get nauseated by some of the things that are posted here.
.

I've been a little queasy in the last few minutes while catching up. Time to turn in for the night (oops...it's already morning...). I need my sleep to get my sunny disposition back.

 

[mooseberry]

Of course you introduce yourself...and learn which guests they are...But how would you greet them by name if you've never met them before and you have more than one room checking in?
I would never hug someone at check-in and my uncle is The Mad Hugger from Minnesota! Really!
I can barely get a handshake out of most people and often don't even meet them until breakfast because DH does the check-in...
Diffrent strokes for differnt folks, trishany, don't take it personally!.

Willowpond -- I have webervations -- so I know their first names.
I welcome all of the guests by their first names, welcome them to our house, and give them a hug.
Try it. It goes a looong way,
.

I have webervations too, but when they come to the door I don't know who they are! Do you just go down the list of names, like "name that guest"? You know what names go with which room, but don't you have to go thru introductions before you know what name to call them? How do you know their name before you've met them? Do you have them send you a picture so you get it right at the door?
.

Willowpond - look at your printouts.
You should know who's coming, where they are from, what date they are coming, the room they booked, the name of the additional guest, and if they want coffee or tea in the morning.
Of course I know which room they are each in. We only have 4 rooms.
.

Yes, but when they show up on your doorstep, you really know which guests they are without asking? Are you psychic?
.

Yes I know what time each guest is arriving. And they call me when they think they will be late.
They all don't show up at the same time.
For instance, today we had three couples coming.
One couple was named Fugi and Michiko (a given), another guest was Adam and Shannon, and another was Lisa and Eric.
I mean really, use your god-given common sense --You don't have to be psychic to figure it out.
Who do you think Shannon was?
Who do you think Lisa was?
Shannon (how Irish can you get) I knew it wasn't Lisa
.

No, I wouldn't know Lisa from Shannon just by looking and assuming someone was Irish. I sometimes go by my middle name, Chiyo, would you assume I was Irish if I gave you that name on webervations? If I told you my name was Laurie, you would assume I was Irish, you would be right, but I'm also Mexican, do you assume every woman named Maria is Hispanic or Italian?
We had some guests named Devon and Derek, which one is the female? I've met women named Michael, and yes, Shannon could be a man too...You must be really gifted for guessing names. If they reserved online as Pat and Kelly, would you know at check in which was the woman and which was the man without meeting them before? Do you make them state their sex on your reservation form in case they have an ambiguous name? I don't think so.
.

I am with you on this. I have reservations, but also walk ins....I could not tell who is who unless they call ahead and tell me that they are only a few minutes out.
As soon as they come up to the door, I greet them with a smile, and usually, berfore anuthing elase, they either tell me they had reservations or are asking for availability.

 

[Proud Texan]

You guys wouldn't last a second in some parts of Europe. I've been kissed on both cheeks coming and going. It's no big deal. It's part of the culture. When you're in someone else's country, you follow their lead. If if makes you feel uncomfortable, stay home.
In the South we're generally more "touchy-feely" but I'm with GillumHouse on this. Whenever you meet someone for the first time, even if you know their name, it's generally accepted as proper to introduce yourself first with an extended hand. If you prefer to go by your first name, then introduce yourself that way. If your guests reply with "we are Mr. and Mrs. So and So, then it is improper to address them by anything else unless they give you permission to do otherwise. To become overly familiar at first meeting chances alienating your guests from the get go.
Generally I don't like strangers to hug me unless they're female and good-looking! Unfortunately, DW usually prevents that.

We have a small chalkboard posted by the outside front door. On that we write "welcome" and their full names. This has always met with guests approval. They feel important because you were thinking about them before they arrived. And who doesn't like to see their name prominently displayed?

 

[Morticia]

Of course you introduce yourself...and learn which guests they are...But how would you greet them by name if you've never met them before and you have more than one room checking in?
I would never hug someone at check-in and my uncle is The Mad Hugger from Minnesota! Really!
I can barely get a handshake out of most people and often don't even meet them until breakfast because DH does the check-in...
Diffrent strokes for differnt folks, trishany, don't take it personally!.

Notice I said IF they are reservations. Walk-ins cannot be greeted by name! For more than one room, look at the license plate or ask are you...?
When I post identifying myself as a seasoned innkeeper, it is ONLY to counter what I consider misinformation to newbies. I do not consider someone who has been an innkeeper a very short time - UNLESS they have taken innkeeper seminars - as someone to post a how to. Socks has done her homework and offers opinions on things but does not presume to do a How to. Actually most of the seasoned innkeepers do not do a how to because as Bree has shown to all - every day is its own circus. We laugh, cry, tell our sucesses and failures and let everyone do the how to for them and their area and IF it is an opinion, it is marked as such.
.

Notice I said IF they are reservations. Walk-ins cannot be greeted by name! For more than one room, look at the license plate or ask are you...?
When I post identifying myself as a seasoned innkeeper, it is ONLY to counter what I consider misinformation to newbies. I do not consider someone who has been an innkeeper a very short time - UNLESS they have taken innkeeper seminars - as someone to post a how to. Socks has done her homework and offers opinions on things but does not presume to do a How to. Actually most of the seasoned innkeepers do not do a how to because as Bree has shown to all - every day is its own circus. We laugh, cry, tell our sucesses and failures and let everyone do the how to for them and their area and IF it is an opinion, it is marked as such.

I can't even greet reservations by first name! Not unless they are the last folks thru the door and not even then because this might be a walk-in! I can look out the window and see 7 cars with MA license plates and each one of those guests got off a plane and rented a car. Not a one of them is from MA!
I have returned phone calls to guests named Kelly and have gotten a guy. And promptly embarassed myself by asking to speak with Kelly. 'I AM Kelly,' is the response. Oops. Bad start.
I don't shake hands, either. I don't initiate physical contact with guests. If someone, generally an older person, wants to shake hands, okey dokey.
A lot of Southern guests hug. That's ok. But I don't hug them first. European guests, for all the hugging they do at home, don't hug me. I'm like a cactus, all prickly. I don't come from a long line of huggers. I come from a long line of cacti.
And, yes, with the circus I've had here this week, hugging would have sent them out the door. At least a couple of them anyway. Like the ones who cleaned every surface in their room (bathroom included) with tissues and left little bits of tissue on everything.

 

[user 26]

we just had a young couple from italy check out ... the girl kind of presented the side of her face, each side, one at a time, for an air kiss i guess ... i go along the best i can when i'm unsure of what is expected. she laughed, i laughed. the guy with her did not do the air kiss but shook my hand.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

If someone hugged me at check in I would leave.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

You guys wouldn't last a second in some parts of Europe. I've been kissed on both cheeks coming and going. It's no big deal. It's part of the culture. When you're in someone else's country, you follow their lead. If if makes you feel uncomfortable, stay home.
In the South we're generally more "touchy-feely" but I'm with GillumHouse on this. Whenever you meet someone for the first time, even if you know their name, it's generally accepted as proper to introduce yourself first with an extended hand. If you prefer to go by your first name, then introduce yourself that way. If your guests reply with "we are Mr. and Mrs. So and So, then it is improper to address them by anything else unless they give you permission to do otherwise. To become overly familiar at first meeting chances alienating your guests from the get go.
Generally I don't like strangers to hug me unless they're female and good-looking! Unfortunately, DW usually prevents that.

We have a small chalkboard posted by the outside front door. On that we write "welcome" and their full names. This has always met with guests approval. They feel important because you were thinking about them before they arrived. And who doesn't like to see their name prominently displayed?.

You guys wouldn't last a second in some parts of Europe. I've been kissed on both cheeks coming and going. It's no big deal. It's part of the culture. When you're in someone else's country, you follow their lead. If if makes you feel uncomfortable, stay home.
In the South we're generally more "touchy-feely" but I'm with GillumHouse on this. Whenever you meet someone for the first time, even if you know their name, it's generally accepted as proper to introduce yourself first with an extended hand. If you prefer to go by your first name, then introduce yourself that way. If your guests reply with "we are Mr. and Mrs. So and So, then it is improper to address them by anything else unless they give you permission to do otherwise. To become overly familiar at first meeting chances alienating your guests from the get go.
Generally I don't like strangers to hug me unless they're female and good-looking! Unfortunately, DW usually prevents that.

We have a small chalkboard posted by the outside front door. On that we write "welcome" and their full names. This has always met with guests approval. They feel important because you were thinking about them before they arrived. And who doesn't like to see their name prominently displayed?

This ain't Europe, this ain't Ireland. This ain't California. If my husband kissed some incoming guests they would report him! One cheek or both cheeks. LOL
I agree with you - and this is really ridiculous the way this discussion has digressed from greeting the guests with a smile and welcoming them to the B&B.
I would espcially be turned off if the innkeeper hugged me upon check in with booze breath. Nothing like the stale stench of wine or liquor to send you running. Cigarette smoke is the same, it reeks. It promotes bad breath.
Let's keep the hugging for those we know and care about - if that be guests at CHECK OUT sobeit.

 

[Penelope]

I think the whole point of this forum is to be ourselves. If an innkeeper wants to greet their guests in a certain manner, who are we to judge. If an innkeeper doesn't want to hug their guests, then don't. Each part of the country is different. Each inn is different. Each person is different. Isn't that what makes Innkeeping different from, say, hotels?
I agree, a hug at checkin would be a little much for me, but that's just me. However, there have been guests who hug me after they pay and thank me for all I did to make their stay comfotable. I remember those guests and have a special place in my heart for them. To me, it's the special ones that make the job worthwhile. (I say job because I'm just the Assistant). Everybody can have a PITA guest, but it's the special ones that I remember the names of. I don't have to look at a reservation sheet to know if they connected with me or if they were a PITA. I remember the huggers.