There is no shortage of information on how to save money when you travel, how to choose the best B&B or even how to haggle for a better priced vacation.
But I’m not so sure this topic is out there.
For a long time I’ve debated on whether I should write a post on how to be a better B&B guest.
After completing our first full year as B&B owners, my husband and I know there are certain things that make someone the type of guest we love and then there are … well, the others. We’ve been lucky and 99% of our guests have been fabulous.
photo credit: eva101
So do you want to be in the top 99 percentile of most popular guests the next time you stay at a bed and breakfast? Then, listen up!
First, here are a few things to remember about B&Bs.
- They are usually a family-owned business, where the one or two-person team is responsible for check-ins, check-outs, structural upkeep, marketing, cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, shopping … you get the point.
- They will likely have a maximum check-in time. For example, our check-in time is from 3:00-9:00 PM. We happily accommodate late check-ins, like the professor whose train was delayed last week and who didn’t arrive until midnight. That isn’t her fault … and we still love her.
- Because B&Bs are a small business they can often be more accommodating with breakfast or check-out times. So don’t be afraid to ask.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Most of the following tips boil down to one little word Aretha has been singing about since the 60s … respect.
photo credit: Ajda Gregor?i?
* Last week we had an Italian guest request an early breakfast. Instead of showing up at 7:00 AM (like she requested) she arrived between 8:00-8:30 each morning.
This is a sure-fire way to get on our bad guest list. We are happy to be flexible and offer our guests the benefit of an early breakfast – which most hotels wouldn’t do – but we are busy and that is just disrespectful.
* Our entire structure is smoke-free. When guests stand in the bathrooms and smoke – we know about it. And they, too, go on the list!
* No shows are more detrimental to a bed and breakfast than to a hotel. For one thing, B&Bs are limited in the number and types of rooms they offer. For example, we only have one triple room. If someone books that room, we have to turn other guests away. If that same person doesn’t show up, we’ve not only lost their business, but we’ve likely lost future business with the guests we couldn’t accommodate.
Also, remember there isn’t a staff member working throughout the night – it is the B&B owner. We’ve missed important events because we had a check-in who never showed up.
* Phone calls in Italy – even local calls from a land line – are not free. When guests take it upon themselves to borrow our phone, we lose money. I’d like to point out that Italian guests know this. We happily make phone calls for English-speaking guests (often making the calls ourselves to help with language barrier) and this is another thing entirely. Self-sufficient, Italian-speaking guests who know phone calls aren’t free, shouldn’t use our phones.
All four of these tips on being a better guest reflect a general respect for the B&B owners. Many of us got into this business because we love people. We love travelers. We want to help vacationers who visit our area. It is when guests take advantage of our openness and generosity that things turn icky.
And nobody wants icky now, do they?
Have you ever seen inappropriate behavior at a B&B or hotel? What happened? What other ways do you think people can be better B&B guests?
Philadelphia Convention Center Hires Former FBI Agent as Labor Director. website philadelphia convention center
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News September 14, 2003 By Marcia Gelbart, The Philadelphia Inquirer Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Sep. 14–Dave Gentile has spent the last 24 years working as an agent in the FBI’s Philadelphia office.
Now he is going in a different direction: He has been hired for the newly created job of director of labor services at the Convention Center.
As of Oct. 7, Gentile will be the person charged with making sure the center’s six trade unions comply with dozens of work rules contained in a much-publicized labor pact reached two months ago.
“What I do or do not know about the hospitality industry is not relevant,” said Gentile, 56, who is retiring from the FBI’s Philadelphia office, where he spent his entire career. In an interview Friday, he said: “What I know is about people and how people act and how people should act… and that’s a large part of the job.” Gentile was hired by the Elliott-Lewis Corp., a longtime mechanical-servicing contractor that will soon be the sole employer of all the center’s union workers.
“I thought he had very good conversation skills, and he knew or knew of most of the people involved — the union people and the politicians,” said Elliott-Lewis chief executive officer Bill Sautter.
“If there is a disagreement, he understands how to take care of it without letting [trade-show] exhibitors know,” he added. Six Elliott-Lewis floor managers will work under Gentile, with someone on the exhibit floor whenever work is being carried out.
Elliott-Lewis is sensitive about Gentile’s law enforcement background, which includes work in labor racketeering, public corruption and organized crime cases.
He came in contact with numerous crime figures. One of them was Nicholas Caramandi, who provided evidence against imprisoned Philadelphia crime boss Nicodemo Scarfo. In a 1991 Time magazine article, Caramandi credited Gentile as having “helped me a lot mentally when I was falling apart… . He’s my best friend in the world.” While embracing his FBI credentials as an asset simply because of the credibility they give him, Elliott-Lewis said law enforcement training was not a prerequisite for the labor director job.
“It was not the number one item as to why we hired him,” said Jim Gentile — no relation to Dave Gentile — who is corporate development director at Elliott-Lewis. Rather, he highlighted Dave Gentile’s status as an outsider to the labor-management fracas that has surrounded the center for nearly two years, and led to lost convention bookings.
Jim Gentile also called Dave Gentile “polished,” noting he has led several national police-training programs. He said Dave Gentile would aid the center’s sales team in turning around the Convention Center in the eyes of meeting planners who are wary of Philadelphia’s reputation as a difficult convention town, with archaic work rules, unruly unions, and high labor costs.
Four of the center’s six unions could not be reached or did not return calls Friday. The other two appeared satisfied with Dave Gentile’s hiring.
In the final days of labor negotiations, said Bill Hamilton, president of Teamsters Local 107, “it was indicated to us that [Elliott-Lewis] wanted somebody who was going to go down there with a little bit of backbone, and who was not going to be intimidated, and we like that.” Hamilton also praised the choice of Dave Gentile because “he comes in as an independent with no past loyalties, and he’ll deal with the facts and the issues.” John Dougherty, business manager of electricians’ Local 98, said: “I’ve always supported [Elliott-Lewis CEO] Bill Sautter, and I have a lot of respect for his judgment, and if he thinks this is what’s going to make the Convention Center work, then I’ll support it.” But Dougherty also said he would like to see the center rehire in some capacity William Corazo, a Local 98 member who was hired by the center for two years to help resolve labor disputes. Corazo’s job was eliminated in the new labor agreement. go to web site philadelphia convention center
Dave Gentile’s first days on the job will coincide with a convention he is intimately familiar with, the Oct. 21 gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
In his current FBI position, he has served as the pointman for coordinating that annual convention, expected to draw more than 14,000 law enforcement officials, including police chiefs, federal agency representatives, and U.S. prosecutors.
Before joining the FBI, Dave Gentile was an elementary and junior high school principal in Virginia. A 1967 psychology major from Lynchburg College in Virginia, he also has two graduate degrees in education.
Wow! It really is a 24/7 job. I’ve actually never stayed in a B&B but will probably be doing so in Tuscany at Easter. The thing that kills me at hotels are the guests that gorge themselves on the breakfast buffet. Pretty pathetic.
See, that doesn’t bother me at all. I’d rather them eat it than us have leftovers! lol Enjoy your B&B stay, let me know how it goes.
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We once had a guest rearrange the antique furniture in one of our rooms. She then came downstairs and announced she had ‘fixed’ the bad design! She even took down the giant gold framed mirror in the bathroom and re-hung it!! People are unbelievable. Of course she lit candles all over the place- a huge no no in a 100+ year old Vicotrian home made of wood
Oh no, that is horrible. I can’t believe she thought you guys would be happy about that. How long did you wait to change it back? HA!
South of Rome’s last blog post..Sikania: Sicily’s Bilingual Cultural & Tourism Magazine
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I think some people don’t realize a B&B is different from a hotel.
I went away with some friends and we stayed in a B&B in Martha’s Vineyard. One friend of a friend was annoyed because a guest in the room next door shushed (sp?) her several times. It was late yet this person couldn’t understand why she had to keep her voice down.
Staying in a B&B is like staying at someone’s home. Respect it.
I think most people are “nice,” they just don’t realize, like you said, that staying at a B&B will be different. We don’t have a 24 hour front desk or a hundred rooms. It is different, but in my opinion, it is a good different.
nyc/carribbean ragazza’s last blog post..Finalemente…I found a hairdresser.
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Good article Cherrye. It’s important to remember to be a good guest. I look at B&B as being invited into someone’s home. It’s more personal than a hotel.
Thanks, Nadine. We had another no show last night and we waited up so late until we finally called. You know what she said? “I didn’t call you again and confirm.” (But she did confirm when we asked her in her initial call, “are you confirming?” Mah!
Nadine’s last blog post..Coffee Snob
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Cherrye,
Great post! We work with innkeepers all over the country, and PITA guests (you know, the “pain in the a…) are everywhere, and almost always in very small numbers. Most innkeepers can count on one hand the guests that get blacklisted. It sounds like guests in Italy are no different than guests anywhere. Unfortunately, it’s hard to fix rude.
I’m going to RSS your blog. Would like to know if you get business from it.
Definitely, Peter. Thanks for the comment. I am glad to know others have these issues, too. It is sad a handful of ppl can make such a negative impact. But you are right. We LOVE most of our guests and can’t wait for them to visit us again.
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When one comes to stay at IL Cedro from the U.S.
Can’t wait to meet you guys!
What kind of gifts are much loved?
Ciao Teresa! Polite guests who respect the structure.
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