Well... nothing like getting a bunch of reservations to perk me up!
(That, and a 3 mile hike, on a gorgeous day, in our gorge.)
I think one reason for feeling blah was the dearth of upcoming reservations... took one on the phone on the way home and had three more on the email.
Yay!
=)
Kk..
Just counted - from now til the end of Oct - I have 32 room nights booked - and I am here in Podunk!!
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gillumhouse said:
Just counted - from now til the end of Oct - I have 32 room nights booked - and I am here in Podunk!!
32!! That's fabulous!
This was homecoming weekend and I only had three room nights. I was starting to blame the economy. I was at ten room nights for the month (and three of those were for my best friend, but she says she must pay me) and debating whether to run some kind of special. Now I'm at 18! Almost doubled in one afternoon! And there's hope for more!
Last year October was good, so I was bummed when it looked sparse. We have homecoming and Family Weekend and Columbus Day...
Much happier now!
=)
Kk.
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Excellent, We have had a slow September (very messy teachers strike, and the not normal horrible rainy weather). October already has more booked nights and we are just beginning. We are also taking next week off as we have friends from Canada

coming to visit. Time for a bit of travel.
How many years after opening do you need to know when your peak and down times are? Because of the unusual circumstances this year, we are thinking it will take at least 2.
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We had the PO's numbers to go on for the first couple of years and we didn't do anything like their numbers, and never have. So, using our OWN numbers we decide best times for vacations, etc. However, we have been tripped up by shifting holiday dates like our Labor Day and Presidents' Day. The first year we had no guests booked in for the week after Labor Day so I went on vacation with my mom. The next year I tried to do that again and we were full. Same thing again last year, altho we weren't full over the holiday weekend itself. This year, because the 'weekend' was half in August, we were packed.
We had been taking the second weekend in Sept off as a respite for ourselves. Last year we had a wedding booked in, this year we were full again. So, even with 4 years of our own data, I'm not sure what's what!
The Valentine's Day/Presidents' Day combined weekend kills us in Feb. BUT, when they are separated, we get 2 good weekends.
The front page of the newspaper today was all about hoping the fall foliage season makes up for the lousy summer. I had the best summer season ever this year and foliage season is tanking. I should be full everyday this week, not even close. And it's not just me.
So, yes, you do need at least 2 years to determine your average peaks and valleys, but don't depend on it.
Gillum House said she has 32 roomnights booked in for the remainder of the month. That's slightly less than I have and I have twice the rooms. The only thing that's saving us this month is a slew of college parents' weekends and Columbus Day/Thanksgiving (Canada) holidays. And with the crash of a couple of German banks today, my guess is the Europeans will be headed home soon.
I'm thinking whoever survives this year, will come out a healthier business.
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