Professional Association of Innkeepers Int'l

PAII's Latest Industry Study Survey Going Well!
So far, 88 innkeepers have taken the online PAII Industry Study Survey: Thank you! Please consider joining your fellow innkeepers in participating in this important study. The questionnaire takes about an hour to two hours to complete. This year, the study will include information about capital expenses, a new feature. The survey is designed so that you can log in and out, and work on answering the questions as you have time available. To prepare for the survey you can gather the following information from the 2006 fiscal year:

- Financial statements
- Payroll records
- Rate cards
- Reservation and rooms history

Thank you, again, for helping us provide you with the best up-to-date information on your industry.

PAII Membership Minutes: PAII Convention & Tabulating Travel Costs

2007 PAII Convention
- 65+ Workshops to help you increase your bottom line.
- 75 Exhibitors with everything you need to run your inn, plus trade show specials.
- Lots of networking, camaraderie, and fun.

Sheraton Myrtle Beach Hotel rooms are going fast, and the cut-off to get PAII's special rate is Wednesday, February 21st. The room block will sell out soon, so make your reservations now! Note that if you are coming early or staying late, you may need to phone reservations, rather than book online. To book online, click here or call 800.325.3535.

Tabulating Travel Costs
The across-the-board increase in the cost of air travel over the past year is affecting plane tickets to everywhere—including Myrtle Beach. But don't be too discouraged when you see that ticket price, because the other travel costs to attend the 2007 PAII Convention are very reasonable! Hotel rooms are just $129 per night at the Sheraton Myrtle Beach and you do not need to rent a car. The Sheraton has a complimentary shuttle that will pick you up at the airport. The beach is an easy four-block walk away, and there is a shopping and restaurant area called Broadway on the Beach to which the hotel's shuttle offers complimentary rides.

2007 PAII Convention
March 26-29
Myrtle Beach, SC
www.paiiconvention.org

PAII Forum Digest: Refrigerators, Black Streaks on Pillow Cases, & 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.

Refrigerators
Anyone have any experience with the much lower priced Frigidaires? There is a basic white or stainless steel model, both very modestly priced, but I can't find any reviews.

Black Streaks on Pillow Cases
Where are the black streaks on my pillow cases coming from? I look for mascara and makeup marks and treat before washing. This is something else but only on my pillow cases. I have a stack of very good pillow cases I can no longer use because I cannot get these stains out!

How Do You Make A Breakfast Basket?
How do you put a breakfast basket together? What do you serve? Sounds like you plate the food and cover plates with a stainless cover. What kind of container do you put juice in? How do you serve fruit? Maybe in bowls covered with plastic wrap? What size baskets do you use? Do you use one basket per table?

Cleaning Wolf Griddle
I have an old Wolf range with a griddle top. What's the best way to clean the top? I don't want to scratch the surface with abrasives, but do need to remove all cooked on bacon/sausage grease to avoid a build up. It's been a very tedious process thus far using the plastic scrubber.

Dreading the Summer Heat Already: A Cool Summer Breakfast Anyone?
Anyone have some good ideas for a "Cool Summer Breakfast". Here it is February, and I am already dreading the summer heat, especially serving guests breakfast outside in sweltering temperatures. I need to come up with a "Cool Summer Breakfast" menu for those 90+ degree summer mornings. This will keep me out of the kitchen (for the most part) and keep the stove and oven off. Okay, what to serve for a cool California Summer Breakfast? Chilled melon soup? With banana muffins baked the night before? Cut fruit? A wide variety of juices?

International Exchange/Foreign Exchange
I hope this finds everyone with a GREAT start to a new year! I'm looking for information from anyone who has experience with a work study/co-operative program—college, university, or overseas experience: good, bad, or otherwise.

AAA Alternative?
Has anyone else had my experience with AAA? They were very nice people, and I do offer a special rate to AAA members, but I felt as a small historic hotel, we just did not fit. We were like a square peg trying to fit in a round hole (e.g., although we have gas log fireplaces in five of our seven rooms, feather beds on all beds, ironed hand crocheted sheets, turn down with truffles, a library where guests can browse and borrow books, across from several great restaurants, paddle fans and air conditioners, telephone booth, in-wall ironing boards in all rooms, etc.) we do NOT have telephones in the rooms, televisions in the rooms, pool, elevator, security chains on all doors, restaurant on premises, smoking rooms, etc.

Internet Design/Hosting
If you're interested in a new website/web host/webmaster or any of those things, I would take the time to do some homework. 1) Do not get taken in by fancy technical buzz words. 2) You get what you pay for to a point. Too cheap is bad, but so is too expensive. 3) Get references. At least check on them. 4) Basic web hosting should never cost more that $15-$20/mo. If it does there better be a really, really good reason. 5) Make sure your website host is not just some guy with a computer in his mom's basement.

Liability Insurance
We have property and liability insurance. I am trying to determine what type and amount of liability insurance is appropriate for our country inn and also what companies specialize in insurance for our industry. It's not an area with which we are familiar and are having a hard time finding objective advice about what type and amount is necessary and advisable.Any guidance on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

PAII Food Feature: Wings Hill Inn's Crepe Recipe
Let us feature a recipe from your inn!
Please send your submission (and a photo of the dish if available) to L1simpson@msn.com.

Tracey & Christopher Anderson from the Wings Hill Inn in Belgrade Lakes, ME (www.wingshillinn.com) offer this delicious, simple recipe. Feel free to add fresh chopped herbs, or a bit of lemon extract. For sweet crepes, add a touch of brown sugar to the batter.

Ingredients
1 Cup water
1 Cup milk
4 Eggs
2 Cups flour
1/2 Tsp. salt
2 Oz. oil.

Instructions
Blend 1 minute to combine well. (May need to scrape sides once.) Heat your pans, pour a bit of oil, then pour the oil right back out. Add batter to pan with ladle, rotating the pan to spread. BATTER SHOULD SIZZLE IMMEDIATELY. Use only enough batter to coat the pan. Flip when cooked enough to release; same for other side.

PAII Pointer: No More Folding Fits

When folding fitted sheets, the first step is to nest the corners:

Take the sheet and hold it up.
Slide your right hand under one corner and call it “Corner #1.”
Use your left hand to bring the sheet edges together as you slide it to the adjacent corner: Corner #2.
Allow your left hand to give Corner #2 to your right hand (still under Corner #1), nesting Corner #2 under Corner #1.
Repeat until all corners are nested under Corner #1.

Once all the corners are nested, fold the margins of the sheet inward (these are the edges that cover the depth of the bed). Once the margins are folded inward, you will have a fairly flat rectangle to work with: Then, you can double-, triple-, or four-fold as you wish!

About INNfo

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

Editorial Staff
Pam Horovitz, Stacey Bleistein, Karen Hudgeons, Laura Middleton, 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.

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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