Is this the place for me?

[wendydk]

And you have to pay out-of-pocket for extra help? I hope you're not getting taken for a ride here. Who will be responsible for the marketing, the website, the yardwork, the shopping? With 10 rooms, cleaning and laundry alone will be far more than even two people could handle in the time allotted.

 

[Don Draper]

And you have to pay out-of-pocket for extra help? I hope you're not getting taken for a ride here. Who will be responsible for the marketing, the website, the yardwork, the shopping? With 10 rooms, cleaning and laundry alone will be far more than even two people could handle in the time allotted..

I have to agree, I think I would ask for some kind of base salary and then bonuses based on commissions/sales. This is way too much for one person.

 

[EmptyNest]

Welcome. Go through and read the past postings as well as asking us. You will learn alot from that. I truly hope you are not the only cleaning 10 rooms. You will never survive if you are:-(

 

[Banana]

You can generally pick up a lot of useful info for any kind of lodging by hanging out here. You've been hired to manage the place? How much leeway do you have to implement new things (website updates as an example)? What is your scope of work? Managing others or doing all the heavy lifting yourself?
Given what you've said the layout is, I'd think making it more homey would include things like cookies at check-in, 24 hour coffee bar so guests feel like it's ok to mingle and not have to stay in their rooms. A comfortable lounge area (inside and out). Fresh flowers. Stuff like that makes it more personal.
That may already be in place. It's probably better for you to throw out ideas and see what sticks..

I am the only employee. This is a contract position. If I hire help it comes out of my pocket. My scope of work will be answering the phone. Check in and clean the rooms, minor repairs, & laundry. Work the office on weekends.
Great idea on the cookies! There is no indoor common area. Reception is pretty small. We do have a picnic table and fire pit adjacent to the rooms. There is a large lawn. I plan on picking up horseshoes, cornhole boards, badmitton, frisbees, etc. I hope to maximize the outdoor space. I am proposing building a gazebo this spring. The property is pretty large. I plan on putting in a cutting garden this spring so we can have fresh flowers in the rooms.
.

I am the only employee. This is a contract position. If I hire help it comes out of my pocket. My scope of work will be answering the phone. Check in and clean the rooms, minor repairs, & laundry. Work the office on weekends.

Oh holy cow. What is the occupancy rate there? When is your "season"? How long does it last? I'm sorry, but I think you are in for a shock. I do four rooms by myself (no spouse), with a full breakfast daily, take care of a pool and what I can of the maintenance around here, although I usually end up hiring someone for that. Once in a GREAT while, I can find someone to help me clean, but it's not often. I hire out the yard work. If I hire help, it comes out of my pocket too, but if I had ten rooms and tried to do it myself, I'd be dead, and I can't take the money with me. LOL I seriously think you are going to need some help there.

 

[JBloggs]

Example:
Began by stripping the room at 10am. Just finished room, at 1:10PM.
That was up and down the stairs, deep cleaning of bathroom, replacing ALL linens, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning all areas like window seals etc. I will take 20 minutes out to be fair for a couple calls I took. But still it was almost 3 hours for this one room.
Not all rooms will check out and leave the room perfect, some will require more intense cleaning and changing out of all linens, not just new sheets and towels.
My average strip, clean and make up a room (and this is with a system, with a laundry chutes and other shortcuts I have implemented) is about 1.5 hr.
If there were two of me we could tag team making the bed, one could vacuum while the other scrubbed the bathroom, etc. Then it would be half or less that time.

 

[Samster]

Example:
Began by stripping the room at 10am. Just finished room, at 1:10PM.
That was up and down the stairs, deep cleaning of bathroom, replacing ALL linens, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning all areas like window seals etc. I will take 20 minutes out to be fair for a couple calls I took. But still it was almost 3 hours for this one room.
Not all rooms will check out and leave the room perfect, some will require more intense cleaning and changing out of all linens, not just new sheets and towels.
My average strip, clean and make up a room (and this is with a system, with a laundry chutes and other shortcuts I have implemented) is about 1.5 hr.
If there were two of me we could tag team making the bed, one could vacuum while the other scrubbed the bathroom, etc. Then it would be half or less that time..

I found it could take me that long also with a complete strip & flip, especially if guests had been in the room for more than a couple of days. You really want to get after everything in the room if they've been camped out in there too. But I'd rather do that than flip rooms every night!
This is why I had to hire part-time help with 5 rooms which were really more than that because of the size of some rooms. Having 3 big jetted tubs also with separate showers in the room really took some time too. With 2 of us in the room, it really sped things up. 5-6 rooms to me is the max that I could personally handle, on my own with everything else there is to do! And that made for a very looooooooooooooooooong day.
Have a nice cool glass of something and try to relax for a few minutes!

 

[Kudzu]

Thanks for all your input. It does seem daunting. Can you say Reality Check?!?!
On top of that I have a small lawn care company! Keeps getting better eh? My partner will be moving here in the Spring so I will have help next season. I just need to get through the rest of summer and fall. Until then I have a couple of people I can call on to help clean rooms if need be. Also I will be doing the lawn care but am being paid for that.(thank goodness!)
Maybe my earlier post was not clear, There are a total of 8 rooms, The season here is spiring to fall. The weeks around July 4th being the busiest. Followed by leaf season.
The occupancy rate is pretty low. This week only 6 rooms rented. As I type this Friday night we have no guests. A couple stopped by earlier, I told them $89 per night which is $10 off the weekend rate. He said he would think about it. As he got in the car I came down to $79. He said that sounded good. They sat in the car and chatted then drove off. I chased them out of the parking lot begging them to stay.............(just kidding

).
There is a lot to learn!
There is no reservation system other than pen and paper. Is there a good reservation book out there someone can suggest? Hopefully next spring we can sign up for one of the online booking systems. Until then it will be the old fashioned way..........

 

[Morticia]

Thanks for all your input. It does seem daunting. Can you say Reality Check?!?!
On top of that I have a small lawn care company! Keeps getting better eh? My partner will be moving here in the Spring so I will have help next season. I just need to get through the rest of summer and fall. Until then I have a couple of people I can call on to help clean rooms if need be. Also I will be doing the lawn care but am being paid for that.(thank goodness!)
Maybe my earlier post was not clear, There are a total of 8 rooms, The season here is spiring to fall. The weeks around July 4th being the busiest. Followed by leaf season.
The occupancy rate is pretty low. This week only 6 rooms rented. As I type this Friday night we have no guests. A couple stopped by earlier, I told them $89 per night which is $10 off the weekend rate. He said he would think about it. As he got in the car I came down to $79. He said that sounded good. They sat in the car and chatted then drove off. I chased them out of the parking lot begging them to stay.............(just kidding

).
There is a lot to learn!
There is no reservation system other than pen and paper. Is there a good reservation book out there someone can suggest? Hopefully next spring we can sign up for one of the online booking systems. Until then it will be the old fashioned way...........

Sorry, I thought I read 10 rooms. Even so, 8 is a lot with all of the amenities included (kitchens & tubs).
You definitely need online booking and/or a way for guests to find you other than driving up. Are you listed with tourist info centers? Are there any other lodging properties nearby that would send overflow to you? Do you have any brochures you could pass out at restaurants around town?
Being empty on a Friday night in summer in the mountains is not a good sign. (It is a mountain location, right? Or is that my imagination?) But at least you're not going crazy trying to clean a whole lot of rooms right off. (That's the bright side.) But, you're not making much money, either. (That's the dark side.)

 

[gillumhouse]

Where else would you belong? The hotel world will say, "go away, kid, you bother me." because you are too small for them to notice. You may not do breakfast but I bet you will have a life similar to most of ours.

 

[Joey Camb]

may we ask exactly what marketing is being done? as there are a lot of things you can sign up for right away that would increase your occupany.

 

[Country Girl]

I'm a little late to the party but welcome! This is a great forum with lots of differing opinions offering great advice.

 

[EmptyNest]

Thanks for all your input. It does seem daunting. Can you say Reality Check?!?!
On top of that I have a small lawn care company! Keeps getting better eh? My partner will be moving here in the Spring so I will have help next season. I just need to get through the rest of summer and fall. Until then I have a couple of people I can call on to help clean rooms if need be. Also I will be doing the lawn care but am being paid for that.(thank goodness!)
Maybe my earlier post was not clear, There are a total of 8 rooms, The season here is spiring to fall. The weeks around July 4th being the busiest. Followed by leaf season.
The occupancy rate is pretty low. This week only 6 rooms rented. As I type this Friday night we have no guests. A couple stopped by earlier, I told them $89 per night which is $10 off the weekend rate. He said he would think about it. As he got in the car I came down to $79. He said that sounded good. They sat in the car and chatted then drove off. I chased them out of the parking lot begging them to stay.............(just kidding

).
There is a lot to learn!
There is no reservation system other than pen and paper. Is there a good reservation book out there someone can suggest? Hopefully next spring we can sign up for one of the online booking systems. Until then it will be the old fashioned way...........

We have been chatting about reservation system alot here lately. Look here:
https://www.innspiring.com/resources/website-tools/availability-calendars-/-reservation-systems
Do not lower your rates...just to get someone in the door. You will find most times, it is NOT worth it. You must be paid for the work you do and going too low just doesn't cut it and it makes you resent that you did it later.

 

[user 26]

this is totally the place for you. even though you are not planning to do breakfast (this might evolve into a b&b, never say never) there was a little hotel across the road from me that became a b&b and follwed my lead. we learned a lot from one another.
i did what you did. spring through fall.
rescued a place. renovated it. set up the website. marketed. shopped. cooked. cleaned. went crazy trying to find help. did all the work myself at the beginning with my son on board as carpenter / renovator / night time help. i was underpaid i should have had the confidence of innkeeper to go on this forum to say ' i deserve pay plus commission.' i totally underestimated the amount of work. eight rooms.
we werent always full. no way! sometimes we were totally empty ... no one knew i was there. or remembered it as an old wreck. trying to drag people in the door. just so i could pay the electric bill. and the taxes! and buy groceries for me.
i wowed (or tried to) wow every single person that stayed with me. to bring them back again. from marketing ... you know ... it costs xxxx dollars to get a customer, but less at xx dollars to retain him/her ... i was working hard to get repeats.
i did a lot of things to look busy ... so that people wouldn't say ... well, no one is there, wonder what's wrong with the place. i allowed people to park in the lot (don't ask morticia about that nightmare for her) but we were deserted and i needed to look busy. put lights on in rooms, played music, sat out on the deck, invited locals to come over, sit in the outdoor chairs and drink lemonade and eat cookies. my treat. i did promotions and opening specials, monthly specials, weekend specials, last minute specials, combo deals with other businesses. just to get noticed. to get our occupancy up. all the while trying NOT to look desperate.
eventually the place caught on. but i undervalued myself. i was exhausted. i had no idea how much work it would take, how much cleaning needed to be done. a guest will not come back, might not stay, if the rooms are not super clean and the place looks grubby or the grounds unkempt (you know this)
the place has survived, i did not (long story) ...
you need to renegotiate your terms. talk about commission based on room rentals so that you have something to work towards. how long is the average stay ?

 

[Kudzu]

I just wanted to check in and say howdy!
Labor Day weekend was exciting! Full all weekend. We turned 4 rooms Saturday, and 5 on Sunday. Several guests raved about the place, 3 couples said they would definately return and refer their friends.
However I think I will issue new rates for the following:

1. If your kid(or spouse) throws up and you don't clean it "all" up there will be a cleaning service charge.
2. Hairy guests and guest who shed hair like a malamute in Spring will also incur a hefty surcharge!
3. If you show up on a Sunday night of a 3 day weekend and want to put 7 people in a room for 4, I will not even begin to negotiate a lower rate for 2 rooms.

This is going to be a fun ride!
Thanks for all the great info you guys provide here!

 

[JBloggs]

"Shedders" see our online innkeeper list of definitions. Welcome to the innsanity called innkeeping. We look forward to your stories Kudzu.

 

[wendydk]

"Shedders" see our online innkeeper list of definitions. Welcome to the innsanity called innkeeping. We look forward to your stories Kudzu.

.

"Shedders"

Welcome to my summer every year!

 

[Kudzu]

LOL "shedders"...............

 

[birdwatcher]

Its definantely a GREATand INVIGORATING and sometimes FRUSTRATING ride..we work for someone as well but its the best job and when its not and you just have to let it out -this is the best place to come.

Kudzu-we are surrounded by it-never heard of it till I came here saw a recipy on a vegan website saying that if you cook and add it to a cake recipe it works like eggs....he he he...dont know if I will try that...

 

[Highlands John]

Like camberley I'm in the UK also, with a 3 room B&B so a slightly different perspective on some issues. There's two of us and we've just finished 3 room complete change-over (1pm) so your 8 rooms sounds a little daunting.
You're in the right place though for lots of useful exchanges and space to vent your splean.

 

[Emily Spiers]

Like camberley I'm in the UK also, with a 3 room B&B so a slightly different perspective on some issues. There's two of us and we've just finished 3 room complete change-over (1pm) so your 8 rooms sounds a little daunting.
You're in the right place though for lots of useful exchanges and space to vent your splean.

.

space to vent your splean.

Which happens all the time around here!