In This Issue:
PAII News
Membership Minutes
PAII Forum Digest
PAII Food Feature
PAII Pointer
About INNfo

PAII INNfo Archives
2006 Volume 1
November:
Issue 1
Issue 2
Issue 3
Issue 4

December:
Issue 5
Issue 6
Issue 7
Issue 8

2007 Volume 2
January:
Issue 1
Issue 2
Issue 3
Issue 4
Issue 5

February:
Issue 6
Issue 7
Issue 8
Issue 9

March:
Issue 10
Issue 11
Issue 12

April:
Issue 13
Issue 14
Issue 15
Issue 16

May:
Issue 17
Issue 18
Issue 19
Issue 20
Issue 21

June:
Issue 22
Issue 23
Issue 24
Issue 25

July:
Issue 26
Issue 27
Issue 28
Issue 29

August:
Issue 30
Issue 31
Issue 32
Issue 33
Issue 34

September:
Issue 35
Issue 36
Issue 37
Issue 38

October:
Issue 39
Issue 40
Issue 41
Issue 42
Issue 43

November:
Issue 44
Issue 45
Issue 46
Issue 47

December:
Issue 48
Issue 49
Issue 50
Issue 51

Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Volume 2, Issue 18


PAII News & Announcements:
PAII On The Road & Winter Business Survey

PAII On The Road
Marlene Sapir, PAII’s Vendor Services and Sales Representative, traveled to Orlando this week to attend "The Gourmet Housewares Show" in search of new products that will better serve PAII members. "The Gourmet Housewares Show" has a strong focus on upscale gourmet products such as kitchen gadgets, cutlery, cookware, special appliances, decorative accessories, specialty foods, and even gardening and outdoor living products.

Winter Business Survey
Please click the link below to complete our Winter Business Survey by May 15th. The survey takes five minutes to complete and the results will be used to help us measure how the industry is doing as a whole. We will share the results with you later this month. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=356773052073
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PAII Membership Minutes:
Do You Have a Story to Tell?
Laura Middleton has been promoted to Communications Coordinator for PAII and is interested in hearing from you if you have a story to tell. If you like to write, and have specific knowledge on a topic that would benefit your peers in the industry, please let us know. We'd like to hear from innkeepers, aspiring innkeepers and vendors who are interested in writing timely articles for our newsletters and magazine. We would also love to include your favorite breakfast recipes. Contact Laura@paii.org for submission details.

Getting Inn: PAII's electronic monthly newsletter, geared specifically toward Aspiring Innkeepers, with articles about buying and running a successful B&B. Topics include; working with a realtor, financing a purchase, website do's and don'ts, marketing plans, housekeeping, handling guests, software, purchasing insurance, refurbishing an existing inn, building a new inn, and more.
Circulation: 1,000–All PAII member Aspiring Innkeepers, PAII's list of prospective aspiring innkeeper members, and others who have registered to receive this complimentary publication.

innkeeping: PAII's electronic monthly newsletter with articles on a variety of topics including; marketing, operations, finance, food, fire safety, gardening, website makeovers, and the law.
Circulation: 2,500–All PAII members and state association leaders.

Innkeeping Quarterly: PAII's new four-color quarterly magazine that will debut later this month with articles on marketing tips, industry trends and research, inn profiles, state association spotlights, technology, human resources, and more.
Circulation: 5,000 each quarter–All PAII members and state association leaders. Note: 2,000 different inns from PAII's prospective member list will receive the magazine each quarter.

If you are a vendor and would like information on advertising in any of the above publications please contact Marlene@paii.org.
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PAII Forum Digest:
Girlfriend Weekend Trend, & 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.

Girlfriend Weekend Trend...
Need some advise on what kind of websites I should list my B&B for this new trend of girlfriend, mother/daughter and overall women's only vacations. It's a really big thing right now and I really have no idea where to advertise that we would be a great destination for a group of women who would like to just take it easy without kids, husbands, boyfriends and such.

Need Your Thoughts: Aspiring, But Can a Person Alone Run a B&B?
I'm an aspiring innkeeper and am solo, so would be entering innkeeping without the immediate assistance of a partner or housekeeper. I would love to hear from other sole innkeepers—the good, the bad and the ugly, of running an inn as a one person affair. How is it done? When do you know you need additional staff? How many rooms for a sole innkeeper is reasonable? etc., etc. Any words of wisdom are welcome—from sole innkeepers or not.

Front Load Washing Machines
Can anyone advise on a good front loader washing machine? We're replacing our washing machine and would like to hear comments from B&B owners on excellent quality machines to purchase. Heard several bad stories, now we're ready for the good ones.

Fire Safety Cost Surprise
Any insights greatly appreciated on this problem—bought our inn 15 months ago. Inn passed inspections by fire department (including one 6 months ago). Fire Marshall comes in a few weeks ago and gives us a 32 point "must promptly comply" write-up. To comply will cost us easily over $100,000, maybe closer to $200,000.

Comments on Website: Scammers Got Into It!
Found out today that because there is a comments area on our webpage where our photo gallery is there were many comments that are not genuine. Spammers have gotten into our website and added porno sites onto our photo gallery. Talk about being really upset, not only that, but somehow they got into it and changed the passwords that were in there for changes. Anyone have anything like this happen to them? Our webmaster said it's a common thing when there is a "comments" click on any website. We will take extra notice of our website from now on.

RE: Pay Yourself? Owner's Draw? #6
When we assess any inn and/or advise owners or prospective purchasers on their business plans, we always suggest that their compensation not be included as a line item. We talk about "Net operating income BEFORE debt service, depreciation, and owner compensation."
As an owner, especially when an S-corp or LLC owns the "business" and you own the real estate personally, you have a great deal of flexibility in how you compensate yourself, which is one of the beauties of this type of ownership. As for payroll (since others have mentioned it), if you use QuickBooks Pro (and most innkeepers should) there is a very reasonably priced payroll module which will calculate all the withholdings, etc. for a LOT less than you'll pay a payroll service company.

Phones
We will be opening our B&B in Washington in August and we're very excited as this has been a long time dream of ours, but are also a little overwhelmed with all we still need to do. I do feel that I've learned a lot by reading what you all are going through, but have found nothing that addresses my question. Basically, we're starting to work on the phones. We only have three rooms and aren't planning to have phones in the rooms. We had originally thought we'd have a phone for guests to use in our common area but now are wondering if that is really necessary due to the popularity of cell phones. We're also wondering about business lines—the number needed. For a small B&B, how many lines do you all think are needed?

Small Commercial Dishwasher
To save myself from putting in a three compartment sink, I must upgrade my dishwasher to one that uses a chemical sanitizing system that is visible or audible when more soap/sanitizer is required. Any thoughts or comments are welcome. I will be serving hot breakfast to three rooms.

Video On Your Website
At the recent PAII conference several of the people speaking mentioned videos on your website as the up and coming thing to do. I am in the process of speaking with a local company about this and am looking for examples of B&B or inns that have this feature on their site, so I can see how it works. If you have a video on your site could you please let me know—either through the forum or send me an e-mail. Thanks so much for your help. I really enjoy this forum and get a lot of great ideas from it.

RE: Front Load Washing Machines #3
The June issue of Consumer Reports has a complete breakdown on top and front loading washing machines. This is one of the few areas where I believe it is helpful to have the repair insurance policy.

B&B Friendly County Laws
I am wondering if anyone considers their county to be B&B friendly as far as rules and regulations. A group of us are approaching our county as far as rooms we can rent (5 is allowable) and whether or not we can hold events and group parties or tea parties, etc. Our laws are restrictive and we are looking for established counties that have rules and regulations in place that we could show our county as an example.
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PAII Food Feature:
Forgett-Me-Nott Bed & Breakfast's Fresh Herb & Asparagus Baked Omelette
Let us feature a recipe from your inn!
Please send your submission (and a photo of the dish if available) to L1simpson@msn.com.

The Forgett-Me-Nott Bed & Breakfast in Victoria, British Columbia offers this delicious, unique recipe for Fresh Herb & Asparagus Baked Omelette. Serves 6.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon butter/margarine to grease pie plate
5 to 6 stalks fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 shallot, finely minced
1 teaspoon butter
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper to tase

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position rack in center of oven, and lightly grease 9-inch glass pie plate with butter or margarine. Steam asparagus for 2 to 3 minutes until tender and bright green in color. Spread in greased pie plate. Saute shallot in butter until translucent. Sprinkle evenly over asparagus. In a medium bowl, mix eggs well with milk. Add herbs, salt and pepper. Pour over asparagus and shallots. Bake for 25 minutes or until set.
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PAII Pointer:
CDs Can't Handle Heat
Store compact discs in dust-free, cool locations. Also, remember to regularly rotate CDs in your car: CDs warp if left too long in dashboard players that can reach temperatures of 125ºF and beyond.
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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
Laura Middleton

Production Coordinator
Laura Middleton

Editorial Staff
Laura Middleton, 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, Laura Middleton, at 856.310.1102 or Laura@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