INNfo

Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Volume 2, Issue 27


PAII News & Announcements:
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.

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PAII Membership Minutes:
PAII Vendors Now Eligible for Home Depot Supply Discounts

PAII is very excited to announce that we have negotiated with HD Supply Facilities Maintenance (formerly Home Depot Supply) to expand the innkeeper discount program to include our vendor members. HD Supply Facilities Maintenance offers discounts on over 18,000 products including cleaning supplies, hardware, office equipment, and telephones, in addition to their line of hospitality merchandise.

PAII members will receive their lowest published catalog price on every item and there is no need to reach minimum thresholds on your purchases. This means you can buy a quantity of one and automatically receive the case price break. Just look for the check-marked price online and that is the discounted PAII price. This adds up to an average savings of over 14% off their everyday low prices. Payment must be made in advance via credit card.

In addition to great prices and an extensive product line, you receive FREE delivery* directly to your company usually in a day or two. There is a $50 minimum order to avoid a $5 handling charge. (*A few items are plus freight and these are noted in the catalog). Their vast distribution network ensures you'll get fast, on-time FREE delivery from coast to coast.

To make your first purchase, simply call 1.800.431.3000 and advise the customer service representative that you need your customer ID number. They will ask for your telephone number to pull up your account so please provide the company phone number that is listed in PAII's Vendor Marketplace. Once they give you a customer ID number, go to www.hdsupplysolutions.com to place your order.

Once on their site, click on "register to order" in the 2nd box down on the right side of the page where it says "Not Registered Yet?" 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 need assistance, please feel free to contact Karen Hudgeons at karen@paii.org or Kristin Strong at kristin@paii.org in Membership & Member Services and we will be happy to assist you.

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PAII Forum Digest:
Which Bed Configurations Bring in the Most Business, & 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.

Which Bed Configurations Bring the Most Business?
We are renovating an existing room in our inn and extending the room another few feet to build a private bath. My question: Which bed configuration will bring in the most business? One queen size bed or two twins? We are in a quandary with this because we get a lot of request for mother/daughter or two friends who prefer separate beds but who do not want to pay for two separate rooms. On the other hand, maybe more business would be generated by couples wanting one queen size bed. What do you think?

Need Mangler
Sadly our trusty mangler past away and a new one is about $2,000.00. Anyone know anything regard a second hand reliable one.

Bellhop.com and Scam Emails
I am finding that there is a correlation between a large amount of scam emails and us being on the Bellhop.com Website. We have a tracking system on our website and Bellhop.com is #1 as far as inquiries go. I find that hard to believe. Is anyone else on Bellhop.com? Are you experiencing the same abnormally high amount of scam emails?

B&B Financing Options
As aspiring innkeepers, my wife and I are researching various banking options. We've talked with "traditional" institutions requiring 2-20% by purchaser as well as lenders allowing 10-15%. My question is to anyone who opted for the lower down payment. Pros and cons, how did it work for you?

Forecast for Summer?
I'm just wondering how summer reservation are looking for others? We are in a summer resort on Lake Erie and at the start of June I didn't think we'd reach budge but we did on account of lots of last minute reservations. Thus far reservations are light for July. August is also light on bookings. Is anyone else noticing this trend?

Commercial Dryer
We are looking for a small commercial type dryer for our townhouse facility as door opens cannot accommodate custom commercial dryer size. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Printed Sheets
I am in need of new sheets for one of my cottages. I have been holding out for some nice printed ones 300 plus thread count deep 18 inches. So far no luck. The ones I have found are over $130 a set. Any ideas? I've found either 180 count or 400 plus count but they are expensive. I can't believe someone can't make a nice 300-400 count printed sheet. Guess I'm going to have to spend the big bucks or go with solid.
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PAII Food Feature:
WelshSpirit Coffee Company's Frosty Mochas
Let us feature a recipe from your inn!
Please send your submission (and a photo of the dish if available) to Laura@paii.org.
Linda J. Welsh, Founder / Owner, of WelshSpirit Coffee Company (www.RabbitsRunJava.com) offers this great recipe for Frosty Mochas.

Ingredients:
1 cup of freshly brewed coffee
1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softened
6 Tbsp of chocolate syrup
1 cup prepared cold coffee

Directions:
- Blend hot coffee and chocolate syrup in blender. Blend until smooth.
- Cool the mixture to room temperature.
- Pour the mixture into a medium bowl. Add the softened ice cream and cold coffee.
- With a rotary beater, beat until smooth. Spoon into tall glasses and serve immediately.

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PAII Pointer:
Cleaning Marble at the Inn
To remove stains, sprinkle salt on a fresh cut lemon. Rub very lightly over stain. Do not rub hard or you will ruin the polished surface. Wash off with soap and water.

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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