INNfo


Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Volume 2, Issue 17


PAII News & Announcements:
Tell Us About Your Winter Business!
Would you like to know how your winter business compared to other inns across the country? Just click on the link below before May 15th and complete a 5-minute anonymous survey. The results will be posted in INNfo so you can gauge your business against other PAII members nationally. It's important for all of us to know how the industry is doing as a whole so please participate!

Click here to participate!
(back to top)


PAII Membership Minutes:
Home Depot Supply Account Set-Up Instructions
If you are having any difficulty setting up your account for the PAII discount with Home Depot Supply, please follow the instructions below:

- Call 1-800-431-3000 and advise the customer service representative that you would like to get your customer ID# or account #

- They will pull up your record (which has already been established) by using your inn's telephone number which is listed in your PAII directory listing. You do not have to identify yourself as a PAII member.

- Note: If you just joined PAII in March or April, your account may not yet be activated. If this is the case and you wish to place an order right away, please contact karen@paii.org and we will make sure your account is set up immediately.

- Once you have your customer ID#, you can go to www.hdsupplysolutions.com to place your order. Or, if you prefer you can place an order with the customer service representative.

- The PAII discount, which is the lowest catalog price indicated with a check mark, will come up when the order is charged and will show on the invoice you receive.

- If ordering online, pull up the Home Depot Supply website where you will see that they have changed their name to HD Supply Facilities Maintenance.

- Go to the columns on the right side of the homepage and the 2nd box down where it says "Not Registered Yet?" Click the box that says "register to order".

- On the page that comes up next, you will see a box with "Existing Customers" at the top. Enter your customer ID# and click the "register to order" box. This will bring you into the site where you can create your own password.

If you continue to have a problem, please feel free to contact karen@paii.org and we will be happy to assist you. It's a great PAII member benefit and we want you to take full advantage of it!
(back to top)



PAII Forum Digest:
To Pay or Not to Pay Yourself & 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.

Pay Yourself?
I'm working on a business plan for a 10+ room inn and am wondering about putting myself into it as one of the employees. Do owners typically pay themselves an hourly amount for certain jobs at certain times?

Policy on Friends & Family Staying at the Inn
I do love this forum: There's so much great advice and so many interesting stories. How do you handle friends and family staying with you?

Bookkeeping System
We are starting a bed and breakfast and wondering what is the best computer system to do invoices, payroll for housekeeping employees/cooks etc. Is Quickbooks the one most used or are there some software that is specific to B&Bs?

Disgruntled Guest
How would you handle this? It's our first irate customer in 9 months and I thought I'd get some advice from you wise innkeepers. Guest left last night at 1:00 a.m. with a note of dissatisfaction and demands a full refund. She is a mom of a newborn and we made an exception to allow her to bring the baby. She was getting away for a night from her husband and 3 yr old son, 2 1/2 hours away. She seemed very friendly; we had nice conversation upon check-in and when she returned from town later in the evening. Her complaint was that after 11:00 p.m. someone "repeatedly" slammed their door and awoke the baby, someone in the next room was snoring too loudly, and there was a black ant in her room that was on her drinking glass. She did not call before leaving. We're having a hard time justifying a full refund, as she enjoyed her room just fine for 8 hours. I'm considering offering 1/2 as a compromise. What do you think?

Important Info From NJ Preferred Inns Fire Safety Class!
We have owned our Inn in NJ for just 2 years. While in attendance on Tuesday at a Fire Safety class held for NJ Preferred Inns, one of the topics which came up was that whenever there are guests staying at the inn there must be someone on-site, at the inn, in-charge at all times. I feel this is something of extreme importance to be conveyed to new owners/innkeepers, if it is in fact, so. We were told that if a fire inspector came to the inn, and there was nobody, "in-charge," you would be fined and be in serious trouble.

Tori & Dean Inn Love: The Saga Continues
You know, something in my gut was beginning to tell me that all is not what it seems down in Fallbrook. Try as I might, I couldn't get my head round how Tori & Dean have managed to buy a 4-room well appointed inn in Southern California where prices are sky-high and refurbish it with professional designers AND give an opening bash like we saw last week with a professional party planner—all for $800K.

Do You Accept Packages/Mail for Future Guests?
I have been asked to "baby sit" a set of theater tickets for an overseas guest who is coming to stay with us in August. She wants to have them sent to our inn. I have already been asked to store several packages for other upcoming guests. These all seem like legitimate requests, but I am starting to feel like they could be a liability if things are damaged while shipping, or could be stolen from me, etc. How do others handle these kinds of requests?

Waiting for Guests
I run a B&B and also work full time away from the home. I try and talk with my guests prior to their arrival time to get an idea of their final arrival time. However, the thing that has saved me is a combination lock for the front door. The combination may be changed as often as you like—costs about $100—and is available at Home Depot or Lowes usually. This has also stopped "the lost key" issue.

Anyone Want Help Spotting E-mail Scams?
I don't know about others, but we get between 5 and 10 e-mail scams a day. Most promise several rooms for at least a week, but some look very legit and only after some research have we been able to consign them to blocked list on our spam filter. The U.K. Accommodation Providers Alert Scheme has a site dedicated to scammers. It provides great educational info and one can search for the scammer on the site. Click here to see the over 400 scams highlighted.
(back to top)




PAII Food Feature:
Mill Creek Homestead Bed & Breakfast's Congo Squares
Let us feature a recipe from your inn!
Please send your submission (and a photo of the dish if available) to L1simpson@msn.com.

Vicki & Frank Alfone from the Mill Creek Homestead Bed & Breakfast in Bird-in-Hand, PA, offer this delicious, unique recipe for Congo Squares. Serves 3 dozen 2-inch squares.

Ingredients
2/3 Cup butter or margarine
2-1/2 Cups brown sugar, packed (1 pound)
2-2/3 Cups sifted flour
2-1/2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
3 Eggs
1 Cup nuts, chopped
1 Cup Nestle® semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10 x 15 baking pan. Heat a sauce pan over medium high heat and melt butter or margarine. Stir in brown sugar. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat in each of the 3 eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour mixture. Add nuts and chocolate morsels and spread into greased baking dish. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.
(back to top)



PAII Pointer:
Book Smart
At least once a year, take a moment to dust your books. Start from the top shelf, and work your way down using a vacuum attachment.
(back to top)


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, 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.
(back to top)