New Innkeeper desperately needs advice

[nancy]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

Curious as to how you ended up with two sets of under 6's and a baby with your no child policy. Did you have any idea the adults were bringing children? Did they ask?

 

[nancy]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

Curious as to how you ended up with two sets of under 6's and a baby with your no child policy. Did you have any idea the adults were bringing children? Did they ask?
.

Curious as to how you ended up with two sets of under 6's and a baby with your no child policy. Did you have any idea the adults were bringing children? Did they ask?

We tend to err on the side of hospitality. The parents ask if we accept children. We tell them the inn is not appropriate for children and tell them we have stairs and a pond. If they want to bring the kids after that, we make sure the Fruit Loops and Coco Puffs are stocked and greet them with a smile.
We don't like to say 'no' if we can help it.
The kids were well looked after so we didn't have to do much hovering. I did ask them to tell the kids not to stand on the pond filter. And they did, right away and with authority.
The bride and friends were more of an issue. I had to remind her that we have other guests and they needed to keep the partying to a minimum. I didn't get a chance to tell her to stay in her rented room and leave my clean rooms alone.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.

Up to you if you want to enforce hard and fast rules or if you want to play it by ear. I will say, the groups with the young kids were among our favorite guests this year. They absolutely loved the place and we enjoyed chatting with them. It is so very satisfying to see people enjoy your home that you set up for them.

 

[Morticia]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.

You are correct. You need to define your market and then cater to that market. If you choose no kids, then no kids it is. You are also correct that if you promise no kids by stating the property is not suitable for children then you piss off the guests who wanted to get away from kids.
Figure out your market, then go for what makes sense.
But get the info on your website, in your confirmations and in your 'elevator speech' that you give to guests who book over the phone. Make it as upbeat as possible, rather than saying 'no' all the time. Explicitly ask the number of guests and if they are both adults.
We walk a fine line all the time because we cannot turn away children. BUT, I can limit the number of guests in a room to 2. So your guest with one parent and one child would have been acceptable here but not 2 parents and 1 child in a room with 1 bed.
All of this comes with practice. We still get blindsided by parents who think kids are not 'guests' and thus don't even mention them in the booking. We don't find out about them until they show up, or the parent includes 3 names in the reservation. Or they suddenly remember Sally can't be anywhere near peanuts and they call us back to make sure we remove peanuts from the premises. (Not happening, sorry.)

 

[Copperhead]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.

Nancy you are correct. Once you have established the market you are wanting to attract you should make sure that your B&B and marketing reflects that from the beginning phase (website, all contact etc) all the way to the end when you say your good-byes at departure.
Your policies are there to support you, use them to help you stay firm. The rules are in place and only YOU should decide if you should sway away from time to time.
I like Morts thoughts on this as well. Good luck!

 

[TheBeachHouse]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.

Up to you if you want to enforce hard and fast rules or if you want to play it by ear. I will say, the groups with the young kids were among our favorite guests this year. They absolutely loved the place and we enjoyed chatting with them. It is so very satisfying to see people enjoy your home that you set up for them.
.

We've had both good and bad experiences. One mother let her snowflake toss raisins all over my brand new mahogany deck. I didn't appreciate that. Another mother was insulted that I asked her precious to refrain from throwing my landscape rocks into my pond full of expensive living creatures.
And I'll never forget the sweetums that loved hot chocolate and was just a tad too young to be trusted with a real cup full of hot stuff.
But in general, parents are on their guard.

 

[Kay Nein]

We have one room for all kids under 14. We've had people get a little bent about it when that room is already booked or they realize how much that room costs. Our new response is, "So, I get yelled at by you or I get yelled at by my other guests because there's a kid in the house. Either way I'm at fault. So, I have to stick by the rules to keep everyone happy." It has shut up quite a few grumpies.

 

[gillumhouse]

We have one room for all kids under 14. We've had people get a little bent about it when that room is already booked or they realize how much that room costs. Our new response is, "So, I get yelled at by you or I get yelled at by my other guests because there's a kid in the house. Either way I'm at fault. So, I have to stick by the rules to keep everyone happy." It has shut up quite a few grumpies..

I LIKE that response.

 

[MtnKeeper]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

Absolutely Nancy, if you have a no children policy then you have to stick to it or you risk upsetting those who believed they were booking at a place that didn't take kids. We recently had a family member visit with a child and we put them all the way away from everyone else -- we only had one other room of guests. That guest was a school teacher who was trying to spend time NOT NEAR ANYONE's KIDS and she wasn't happy, even though the child didn't make any noise. When she said this to us, I upgraded her to our most expensive suite at no charge and put some flowers from my garden in while she was at dinner. That changed her disposition. So we agreed that no one will bring a child when we have paying guests who assume we stick to our policies. 8 rooms of happy people or 8 rooms of upset people and one room of happy guests who got to bring along a child -- the math always works when you stick to your policies.
Also to avoid stating that you don't take children, state that the occupancy is set for 2 persons max and children do count toward that #. That's what I tell anyone asking -- it's called "Heads in Beds" by the fire department and our limit is set at 2 heads per bed and we only have one bed per room. End of story - you don' t have to get into saying no children. Our website also states that the B&B is not suitable for children under 12. But this doesn't deter people so you have to fall back on the occupancy limit set by the fire dept.

 

[undersea]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

I am currently a landlord with multiple properties, moving towards innkeeper.
I have a 4 page contract, very thorough. You can tell prospective tenants no pets and other things "required" by your insurance company. But they will move in and do certain things anyway. If they are good tenants, I tend to look the other way. Bad tenants, I tend to crack the whip.
You can make your rules, but people will often ignore/not see what is on your website and check-in policies and other things. You know the rules because you wrote them. They know what they have seen at other inns or hotels and have their own expectations.
These are customers/guests. A hostile "my rules" attitude may bring you may complaints and negative reviews and nonreferrals.
Each has their opinion, and needs to do what works for them.
As many have said here, you learn to be clever in your policies and responses and explanations, and flexible when you think it is needed.

 

[happykeeper]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

In reading the varied responses, I saw what could be seen as two different philosophies as being part of the same. One one hand, hospitality is the primary function of what we do. We work really hard at avoiding saying no.
The key to me is the work that goes into managing your guests and their expectations before they reserve. Absolutely everything that we do in advance is geared towards having our perfect guest arrive at check-in.
Although there is no accounting for crazy or completely inappropriate guests, one of the challenges I read about on this forum often is that the innkeeper does not take control of a situation prior to whatever calamity that befalls them. Assumptions get made and the end result is the guest gets slammed, the innkeeper is complaining, their policies get upended, and Innspiring ends up being more like Innspiting. Much of that back end crisis can be avoided by the work we do on the front end. Even then, we are all vulnerable to falling off the cart, forgetting our policies, and ending up in a pickle.
In all of that, you should definitely be in full control of your inn, know exactly who your perfect guests are, and be firmly rooted in policies that support what you want to happen. Then, if a situation calls for flexibility, you will be able to make adjustments without giving away grandma's vase.

 

[Morticia]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

Absolutely Nancy, if you have a no children policy then you have to stick to it or you risk upsetting those who believed they were booking at a place that didn't take kids. We recently had a family member visit with a child and we put them all the way away from everyone else -- we only had one other room of guests. That guest was a school teacher who was trying to spend time NOT NEAR ANYONE's KIDS and she wasn't happy, even though the child didn't make any noise. When she said this to us, I upgraded her to our most expensive suite at no charge and put some flowers from my garden in while she was at dinner. That changed her disposition. So we agreed that no one will bring a child when we have paying guests who assume we stick to our policies. 8 rooms of happy people or 8 rooms of upset people and one room of happy guests who got to bring along a child -- the math always works when you stick to your policies.
Also to avoid stating that you don't take children, state that the occupancy is set for 2 persons max and children do count toward that #. That's what I tell anyone asking -- it's called "Heads in Beds" by the fire department and our limit is set at 2 heads per bed and we only have one bed per room. End of story - you don' t have to get into saying no children. Our website also states that the B&B is not suitable for children under 12. But this doesn't deter people so you have to fall back on the occupancy limit set by the fire dept.
.

Also to avoid stating that you don't take children, state that the occupancy is set for 2 persons max and children do count toward that #. That's what I tell anyone asking -- it's called "Heads in Beds" by the fire department and our limit is set at 2 heads per bed and we only have one bed per room. End of story - you don' t have to get into saying no children. Our website also states that the B&B is not suitable for children under 12. But this doesn't deter people so you have to fall back on the occupancy limit set by the fire dept.

I think she has to state she does not allow kids as there were only two guests staying, one of whom was a kid. But, the OP hasn't stated anything yet, so being clear on the website is the first priority.
We have this a fair amount of the time. One parent, one kid. They don't break any of the rules, but sometimes that kid is a toddler who jumps on and off the bed. I do say which rooms are 'perfect for families' but it doesn't stop a parent with one child from booking a king room in the middle of the house, thus subjecting everyone to the jollity of a 3 year old.

 

[nancy]

We have one room for all kids under 14. We've had people get a little bent about it when that room is already booked or they realize how much that room costs. Our new response is, "So, I get yelled at by you or I get yelled at by my other guests because there's a kid in the house. Either way I'm at fault. So, I have to stick by the rules to keep everyone happy." It has shut up quite a few grumpies..

Thanks Kay Nein

 

[Lee2014]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.

Up to you if you want to enforce hard and fast rules or if you want to play it by ear. I will say, the groups with the young kids were among our favorite guests this year. They absolutely loved the place and we enjoyed chatting with them. It is so very satisfying to see people enjoy your home that you set up for them.
.

I will say, the groups with the young kids were among our favorite guests this year. They absolutely loved the place and we enjoyed chatting with them. It is so very satisfying to see people enjoy your home that you set up for them.

We love children here! The House makes sure they behave.

 

[gillumhouse]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

In reading the varied responses, I saw what could be seen as two different philosophies as being part of the same. One one hand, hospitality is the primary function of what we do. We work really hard at avoiding saying no.
The key to me is the work that goes into managing your guests and their expectations before they reserve. Absolutely everything that we do in advance is geared towards having our perfect guest arrive at check-in.
Although there is no accounting for crazy or completely inappropriate guests, one of the challenges I read about on this forum often is that the innkeeper does not take control of a situation prior to whatever calamity that befalls them. Assumptions get made and the end result is the guest gets slammed, the innkeeper is complaining, their policies get upended, and Innspiring ends up being more like Innspiting. Much of that back end crisis can be avoided by the work we do on the front end. Even then, we are all vulnerable to falling off the cart, forgetting our policies, and ending up in a pickle.
In all of that, you should definitely be in full control of your inn, know exactly who your perfect guests are, and be firmly rooted in policies that support what you want to happen. Then, if a situation calls for flexibility, you will be able to make adjustments without giving away grandma's vase.
.

In all of that, you should definitely be in full control of your inn, know exactly who your perfect guests are, and be firmly rooted in policies that support what you want to happen.
I AM in control of my inn and I DO know who is my perfect guest - the guest who books the room and presents cash, check, or valid credit card. And my policies state very clearly that we accept cash, check, or credit card for payment. I also state we welcome children provided they bring at least 1 well-behaved adult with them. I also verbally state freely that we accept 2-legged animals but do not accept 4-legged animals. So far, no one has tried to bring a chicken, duck, goose, or parrot.

 

[happykeeper]

Late to the party, but I wouldn't have said anything. If the kid doesn't play on the stairs, throw rocks or make farting noises at breakfast, it's not that big a deal. Feed them and send them on their way.
We have a no child policy and had two sets of under 6's this week as well as a crawling baby. All very well looked after by their parents. None spoke English! We had them help feed the koi fish and the parents and other guests had a fine time.
Not always the case, I've had less vigilant parents and louder, less respectful kids, but they leave.
Stuff happens, this is minor. (pun!).

good attitude. Keeping cool to me is better than agonizing and waving a policy sheet.
.

I understand your point of view but isn't it dangerous to let other people make the rules in your home? Shouldn't the innkeeper be in control of his/her own establishment? I am new to this so I don't know how often it happens. If it becomes a frequent occurrence, I really cannot promise adults looking for a quiet weekend that they will actually have a quiet weekend.
.

In reading the varied responses, I saw what could be seen as two different philosophies as being part of the same. One one hand, hospitality is the primary function of what we do. We work really hard at avoiding saying no.
The key to me is the work that goes into managing your guests and their expectations before they reserve. Absolutely everything that we do in advance is geared towards having our perfect guest arrive at check-in.
Although there is no accounting for crazy or completely inappropriate guests, one of the challenges I read about on this forum often is that the innkeeper does not take control of a situation prior to whatever calamity that befalls them. Assumptions get made and the end result is the guest gets slammed, the innkeeper is complaining, their policies get upended, and Innspiring ends up being more like Innspiting. Much of that back end crisis can be avoided by the work we do on the front end. Even then, we are all vulnerable to falling off the cart, forgetting our policies, and ending up in a pickle.
In all of that, you should definitely be in full control of your inn, know exactly who your perfect guests are, and be firmly rooted in policies that support what you want to happen. Then, if a situation calls for flexibility, you will be able to make adjustments without giving away grandma's vase.
.

In all of that, you should definitely be in full control of your inn, know exactly who your perfect guests are, and be firmly rooted in policies that support what you want to happen.
I AM in control of my inn and I DO know who is my perfect guest - the guest who books the room and presents cash, check, or valid credit card. And my policies state very clearly that we accept cash, check, or credit card for payment. I also state we welcome children provided they bring at least 1 well-behaved adult with them. I also verbally state freely that we accept 2-legged animals but do not accept 4-legged animals. So far, no one has tried to bring a chicken, duck, goose, or parrot.
.

If we were voting on who on the forum is in full control of their inn, you would get my vote.