Bed, Breakfast and Beyond

Now that just over a year has passed since we started operating our bed and breakfast, I'm ready to reflect on my experiences as a small business owner and operator
 (both terms apply since I have no paid staff - my husband helps out of a sense of duty and the goodness of his heart).  With no previous business training or experience, this venture was based purely on my love of cooking, entertaining and decor.  I drew upon my own experiences from staying at other B and B's, my personal likes and dislikes and an inate sense of design that has garnered me praise on other fronts.  Overall, I think this has served me well - unless they are just trying not to hurt my feelings, my guests have praised my decor, attention to detail, hospitality and breakfasts.  My husband even gets the occasional compliment tossed his way - usually with respect to the coffee which is his domain.  We've even been given the occasional "tip" - totally unexpected - at first I just thought the money left in the room was a forgotten item.  Not a big believer in tipping myself, I never associated it with a B and B stay.  Of course, I give my husband all these generous offerings since the only payment he receives for all his hard work is a delicious breakfast (note:  he has since turned down these breakfasts as they are having a negative affect on his waistline) and my nod of approval. 
Like most novices, we had a few pre-conceived notions about what our "guests" would be like - most of which turned out to be false. 
Notion #1 (my husbands):  If he put out his collection of "Kennedy" books, certainly a few would go missing since they are such a collectors item!
Notion #2  (ours).  The glass stemware would certainly get broken within a few weeks when guests borrowed them to enjoy their glass of wine.
Notion #3  (his)  Nobody would book the 2 upstairs rooms because they would not like to share a bathroom with anyone else.
Notion #4 (my Dad's) Guests upstairs will dislike the fact that there is no television in their room even though there is a 40 inch flat screen tv for them to use in the lounge downstairs.
Notion#5 (my Mum's) Guests will want me to cater to their individual taste when it comes to cooking eggs for breakfast. 
Notion #6 (mine)  Guests would help themselves to any of the food in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer when they got hungry.
Notion #7  (ours)  Our neighbours might object to having strangers in the neighbourhood.
Notion #8 (ours)  Guests may show a total disregard for our house and we would have a huge mess to clean up every day.
In reality, none of these predictions came true. 

• We have found that our guests treat our home as if it were their own, with the same care and consideration for our possessions. 
• The only item ever broken was a plate that we dropped on the floor while making breakfast one morning. 
• The upstairs rooms are very popular with families and friends travelling together and have been booked more this summer than the downstairs suite.
• Guests generally do not put watching television high on their list of things to do when visiting the County.
• Guests seem delighted with whatever breakfast menu I decide on for that day and are most appreciative of the fact that I take food restrictions into consideration.
• Guests prefer to bring their own food items and store them in the refrigerator - never helping themselves to mine.  In fact, I've had to insist they help themselves to milk for afternoon tea or a cookie.
• My neighbours have been one of my greatest assets,  Dorothy and Iris bake my bread, they offer me the use of their clothes line to hang sheets, and I found one neighbour having a lengthy conversation with some guests one night on the deck.  They don't mind being paid in baked breakfast goodies either.
• As for the JFK books - they never made it into the B and B area - I'm still working on that one!

Meeting a diverse group of people from all over Canada and Europe has been the most interesting and enjoyable part of this new business.  The notion of "six degrees of separation" has stood to be true on more than one occasion.  All most people want is a break from their frenetic, stressful lives.  A restful night's sleep, a hearty and nutritious breakfast, a quite garden in which to relax, a glass of wine at the end of the day and a smiling, helpful host is the right prescription and the key to a successful B and B.  As much as I enjoy providing good quality service (what I myself would expect), my ego does love the positive feedback as well.  I've just discovered Tripadvisor and can't resist seeing how Nine Gables stacks up to the other B and B's in the area and I do not consider myself competitive - not really!