INNfo

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Volume 2, Issue 26


PAII News & Announcements:
 North Carolina Innkeepers Alert: Sales Tax Extension Notice, PAII Office Hours, & The Bed & Breakfast/Country Inns Industry Study of Operations & Finance

North Carolina Innkeepers Alert: Sales Tax Extension Notice
There has been a temporary Sales Tax Extension placed. The tax drop that was due to be in place by July 1st has been moved to August 1st. County and city taxes were not changed in most locations. If you use a reservation system that calculates the sales tax, be sure to go in and update the main frame to make the adjustments on all reservations coming in. Please visit The North Carolina Department of Revenue for more information on the NC State tax extension.

*Alert courtesy of the North Carolina Bed and Breakfast and Inns Association

PAII Office Hours
The PAII office will be closed Wednesday, July 4th in honor of Independence Day and will re-open Thursday, July 5th. Happy Holiday!

The Bed & Breakfast/ Country Inns Industry Study of Operations & Finance
The NEW Bed & Breakfast/ Country Inns Industry Study of Operations & Finance will be available for purchase this month! Please check the PAII website for updates. For those of you who participated in the study, you will receive your free copy via e-mail before the end of the month.

(back to top)


PAII Membership Minutes:
Last Chance to Complete the Spring Business Survey

Would you like to know how your spring business compared to other inns across the country? Just click on the link below before July 10th 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, this year versus last year. It's important for all of us to know how the industry is doing as a whole so please participate!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=oRktgdOuZeHZLaEvgKJK8g_3d_3d


(back to top)



PAII Forum Digest:
For Sale Sign, & 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.

For Sale Sign
Our inn has been on the market almost a year with only a couple of offers, both which eventually fell thru. We plan to get more aggressive on marketing the inn for sales and thought about putting a "for sale" sign out front. Does anyone have experience whether this is a good idea or not?

Omelets
I am looking for an omelet recipe that can be baked the night before and then re-heated for our guests that stay in our cottages. I have found it is best to drop everything off the night before to guests.

Good Advertising-A Word of Caution
Be careful about signing up for Google online ads! In January I tried out the 30 day trail for $5.00. Upon questioning them about total costs, finding that it would cost me more than expected, I cancelled by phone on February 1st. Apparently the person working for Google was not experienced and did not follow through to cancel both. It is a real mess. I would like to know if anyone else has had any similar experiences.

Free Guests and ADR Tracking
We occasionally have family visit midweek and take a guest room at no charge (only with our permission first, of course). I am wondering if I should count those room nights in the total for the month and mark them as zero income, or take them out of the available room nights for the month. Similarly, would I also remove them for the total available room nights for the purpose of tracking occupancy rates? What do people do?

Scam? Pastor Olesen
I received this email this morning. Is this the same pastor just changed his name?
"I am Pastor Poul Olesen, a Bishop of Mount Zion and I work with the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) her in Ghana. I will be coming over for holidays. Could you please send me a more detailed description of your accommodation and what the cost of rental per week? My sponsors will be paying you in advance of our visit so that we can be assured on an accommodation during our stay, because this is our fist visit."

(back to top)




PAII Food Feature:
 Inn at Occidental's Applesauce Spice Muffins
Let us feature a recipe from your inn!
Please send your submission (and a photo of the dish if available) to Laura@paii.org.
 Jerry & Tina Wolsborn from the Inn at Occidental (www.innatoccidental.com) in Occidental, CA, offer this delicious recipe for Applesauce Spice Muffins. Makes 12 muffins

For Muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus unsalted butter, melted
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup pecans or walnuts (3 1/2 oz), coarsely chopped

For Topping:

2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin pan. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl until combined well, then add butter, a little at a time, whisking until mixture is creamy. Stir in applesauce, the fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened. Stir in nuts and divide batter among muffin cups.

Make topping and bake:

Stir together all topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and cool slightly.

Chef's note: Keep completely cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day.

(back to top)



PAII Pointer:
Baking Soda and Non-stick Frying Pans
Use a mixture of baking soda and water to remove lingering food smells and tastes from your pans.

(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
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

©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)