INNfo

Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Volume 2, Issue 14


PAII News & Announcements:
PAII Member Featured on TV Show

The Manchester Inn (www.TheManchesterInn.com) in Ocean Grove, NJ, will be featured on an upcoming episode of "It Takes a Thief" on the Discovery Channel. The show will air April 12th at 6:00 p.m. 

Who Done It?
Jon takes on a thirty-five room Victorian hotel, while guests enjoy "Murder
Mystery Theater" night. With 60+ patrons mulling about and a theatrical
performance underway, Jon and his crew  get busy pick-pocketing guests, raiding
their rooms and the owners' apartment. In general, the thief makes Clark and
Margaret look foolish, but in the end the inn gets a top-of-the-line security
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PAII Membership Minutes:
How to Set up Your Home Depot Supply Account

When you are ready to make your first Home Depot Supply purchase, simply call 800.431.3000 and give the customer service representative your business telephone number to pull up your account. Please use the telephone number that is in your PAII directory listing. The representative will give you your new account number and create an online account for future purchases. If you have any problems, ask for account services and explain that you are with PAII and we have a national discount program. Your future orders can either be completed online, via fax, or directly with a customer service representative.

Please note that Home Depot Supply had a name change last week and their new company
name is HD Supply Facilities Maintenance and you can visit their website at www.hdsupplysolutions.com.
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PAII Forum Digest:
Gift Certificates to Charities, Tori & Dean Inn Love, & More!
If you have not had time to log on to the Forum located in the Members Only section of www.paii.org,
here are some of the interesting topics that have been discussed this past week.

Gift Certificates to Charities Not Tax Deductible?
I'm just double-checking on this item, as I don't want to believe what my tax accountant says, but he's probably right. Like many folks, I donate several gift certificates to charitable organizations throughout the year. According to my accountant, used or unused, they cannot be claimed as tax deductible. His reasoning is that with that logic I could donate infinitely many gift certificates (not true, as you can only put as many out there as you have room nights), and could basically offset all income with donations.

Does anyone else have an accountant who treats this differently, or is mine right on the money?

Tori & Dean Inn Love: The B&B Reality Show on Oxygen Network
The show has been on for several weeks now. I have been watching the 10 minute streaming video at Oxygen.com. Episode 1 was about having a rummage sale in preparation of moving out of current residence where lease is soon to be up. Episode 2 was about searching outside of L.A. for a potential B&B to buy. Episode 3 about closing the deal and moving in to the inn of choice. So far, it's just amusing. Nothing totally outrageous—except Tori's storage unit. Some good insights as to why they chose the inn they're at. They spent very little time on the sale negotiation. The biggest issue was they didn't want it turnkey. They didn't want the existing furniture—it wasn't them. They made an offer that was accepted and moved in—fully furnished. They have 2 months to redecorate before they open as a new business. They have not touched on training, internship, advertising, cooking, or hiring.

The next few episodes should prove to be more interesting than the last few. So far, it's just setting the audience up for the process of buying an inn. As an innkeeper, I can't wait to see how they run it. If I wasn't an innkeeper, I don't know if I would have any interest at all.

Soundproofing
I am in the process of converting my century old Dutch colonial house into a three room bed and breakfast. I need to soundproof the area between a guest room and stairwell. The area inside the guest room already has sheet rock up. The area in the stairwell is exposed. It is approximately 100 sq ft. Any suggestions for type, or brand of soundproofing?

Resident Pets at Inn
There is a post farther down where I came forward and asked for everyone's help and ideas about ways to manage the two resident cats, the guests and the inn. Even though I felt embarrassed to post the topic, apparently I am not the only innkeeper who is having, or has had, issues with managing resident pets and guests. Today, I received off-line, the following from an innkeeper who has a very posh inn. I think it sheds more light on this topic and is worth sharing:

As for guests, we instruct our guests on the dos and don'ts relative to our dog. But forget it—they will do as they please. If we tell them not to feed the dog, they will. If we tell them not to encourage our dog to swim in the pool, they will. If we tell them not to take our dog on walks with them, they will. If we tell them anything— they do just the opposite . . . Bottom line is that guests think they know what is best for your pet. So if you have pets at your facility you can expect a challenge—and you cannot teach an old guest new tricks!

HE Washer Laundry Stains
I have a front loading HE washer that I love. My problem is treating stains on my sheets and towels. Most laundry stain treatments are high sudsing and so can not be added to the entire load. Do any of you have a full load treatment idea? I already use bleach and Borax in hot water but they do not remove many stains (make-up). So far I have been spot treating with Shout. It works great but is time consuming. Oxy Clean was good, but started graying my towels. I am also concerned that all that bleach is cutting down on the life of my linens.

Recourse For Hosting Service Dissatisfaction
Does anyone know what recourse we might have with a hosting company we are not happy with? We have used them for about two years and are now switching two of our sites. I paid for a full year in February for four websites and since they know I am switching two of my sites they have not helped out with problems I am having.

RE: Recourse For Hosting Service Dissatisfaction #2
The best way to avoid problems with your webhost is to be the "master of your own domain", so to speak. Your domain is managed through a domain registrar—places like godaddy.com, register.com, and the like.You must have control of this account—it's not terribly difficult to get the hang of, and it puts your domain in your hands.

Your domain registrar "points" your website to whatever server your hosting company is using (the "address" you point to is called a nameserver.) As long as you have control of your domain, changing hosts is a simple matter of changing your nameservers to the new company's server—takes 30 seconds.

If you're moving your files, etc. things get a little more complicated depending on how your site is run (you might have to download the HTML files using an FTP program, you might have to backup your database if it's run by a content management system, etc.) But by having control over your domain registration account will ensure that you have the final say in where your domain sits.

Security Systems
I am interested in getting a security system installed at our inn. Does anybody have any recommendations on a type of system I should consider? I am leaning toward a wireless alarm system that will monitor all the entry ways into the house, as well as glass breakage sensors and a motion detector. It's kind of difficult since we have to give our guests the liberty to come and go as they please. Any thoughts?

Website Pictures
We are planning to redesign our website and desperately need new pictures and want to hire someone who has experience in inn photography. I tried Jumping Rocks but they are booked up for the next year. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to go about finding the right photographer?

Ionizer for Odors/Smoke
Got a BreezeAT by Ecoquest from Ebay for $207 brand new in the box. Had a odor in a room that I could not nail down. Put the BreezeAT in the room on a low setting and the odor was gone. Trouble is, I decided to educate myself on the use of ionizers after I got one. Lot of discussion between the people who sell these (pro of course) and some studies on the effects of ions (O3 gas). Seems to work as advertised but then there are those studies that say they don't and you shouldn't use them. Any comments or experience (pro or con)?
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PAII Food Feature:
The Evergreen Inn Bed & Breakfast's Chambord French Toast
Let us feature a recipe from your inn!
Please send your submission (and a photo of the dish if available) to L1simpson@msn.com.

Laurie Carloni-Steets from The Evergreen Inn Bed & Breakfast (www.evergreeninn.net) in Spring Lake, NJ, offer this delicious, simple recipe for Chambord French Toast. Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients
10 Croissants
2/3 Cup raspberry preserves
1/3 Cup orange juice
3 Tablespoons Chambord
12 Eggs
1 Cup whole milk
3/4 Cup heavy cream
1 Pint fresh raspberries
Confectioners' sugar

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray pan or baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cut croissants into cubes, and arrange half of the cubes on the bottom of pan or baking dish. Mix together preserves, juice and Chambord. Pour on top of the croissamt cubes. Put the other half of the croissant cubes on top. Combine eggs, milk, and cream. Pour over croissant cubes. Scatter fresh raspberries on top. Bake 45 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.
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PAII Pointer:
Forgotten Faxes
Fax machines like to be cleaned, too! Try adding this essential office electronic to your vacuuming routine: Go over the keyboard with the brush attachment. Also, once a year, clean the internal glass that covers the fax scanner with alcohol and a cotton swab.
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About INNfo

INNfo is published weekly. Annual subscription is included in the price of membership.

Publisher
Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII)

Editor-in-Chief
Stacey Bleistein

Production Coordinator
Laura Middleton

Editorial Staff
Laura Middleton, Stacey Bleistein, Pam Horovitz, Karen Hudgeons, Jeanine Zeman

Editorial Suggestions and Contributions
Editorial comments and suggestions are welcomed. In addition, if you have a suggestion or would like to contribute news and announcements for INNfo, please contact INNfo’s Editor-in-Chief, Stacey Bleistein, at 856.310.1102 or stacey@paii.org.

Advertising Rates & Information
Weekly sponsorship ads are available. Please send all inquiries to Marlene Sapir at marlene@paii.org or 856.310.1102. MC/VISA/AMEX/DISCOVER accepted.

Editorial Offices
c/o PAII
207 White Horse Pike
Haddon Heights, NJ 08035
Phone: 856.310.1102 • Fax: 856.310.1105
membership@paii.org • www.paii.org

Title Image Courtesy of Jumping Rocks

©2007INNfo, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the editor.
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