INNfo

Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Volume 2, Issue 8


PAII News & Announcements:
13 Days to Industry Study Deadline,
Karen Hudgeons Promoted, & TIA's Culinary Travel Study

13 Days to Industry Study Deadline
Many thanks to the 150+ innkeepers who have participated so far in PAII's Industry Study survey! Please consider joining your fellow innkeepers in participating in this important study. As in the past, all data is kept confidential and only averages and totals are used in the final report. All participants who complete the entire survey including the financial section are entitled to a free electronic copy of the final report.

The deadline for completing the questionnaire is March 5th.

The questionnaire takes about 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

Click here to take our survey.

Karen Hudgeons Promoted
PAII is pleased to announce that Karen Hudgeons was promoted last week to Director of Membership & Member Services. “Karen has been behind a number of new programs at PAII, including Member-Get-A-Member, Member Kudos, Membership Minutes, and Mentors,” noted President Pam Horovitz. “These programs helped us hit our targeted number of over 450 new members last year, and they’re also helping us reach new levels of service with our members. She has our thanks and our congratulations!”

TIA's Culinary Travel Study
PAII helped to sponsor a first-of-its-kind national survey on the popular culinary travel niche market that was published by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) last month. This study found that over 27 million American leisure travelers engaged in food and/or wine related activities while traveling within the past three years. "These travelers are younger, more affluent, and better educated than non-culinary travelers," seeking "unique and memorable" culinary experiences, TIA finds. The study identifies culinary travelers' demographics, trip planning/behaviors/destinations, and potential interest in future culinary travel. Hotels/Motels/Resorts topped these travelers' lodging habits, followed by friends'/families' homes, and then B&Bs. Partnerships and packages with local restaurants and wineries are recommended to help B&Bs tap into this market that includes "millions of travelers spending billions of dollars."



PAII Membership Minutes:
New Convention Vendors & Sheraton Cut-Off Date

New Vendors Exhibiting in Myrtle Beach
Those of you who have attended past PAII Conventions know that you can always count on seeing loyal PAII vendors that you have worked with over the years. Below is a sampling of the new PAII member exhibitors that you can meet with in Myrtle Beach, including Trip Advisor, Home Depot, and Bob Hope Insurance! If you haven't already signed up for the 2007 PAII Convention and Trade Show, this is just one more good reason to come!

Agua Dolce Vineyards: California Wine
American Hotel Register Company: Hospitality Products & Services
Arbonne International: Amenities & Gift Shop Items
Bob Hope & Associates: Insurance & Financial Services
Comerica Bank: Banking Services
Fewer Empty Rooms: Marketing Resources
Findmybedandbreakfast.com: Online Directory
Home Depot Supply: Online Hospitality & Maintenance Products
Image Technology Systems: Property Management Systems
Integrity Lending Services: Lender
Key Bank: Banking Services
Nespresso USA: Espresso/Coffee Machines & Products
Pillows & Pancakes: B&B Online Guide
Private Quarters: Linens & Amenities
River Rock: Natural Soaps & Lotions
Signature Worldwide: Hospitality Training Programs
Tea & Chi: Blended & Loose Teas
Trip Advisor: Consumer Reviews
Turkish Towel Company: Towels & Robes
UXL Studios: Website Design & Internet Marketing

For a complete list of exhibitors visit:
http://www.paiiconvention.org/tradeshow-exhibitors-full-list.htm.

For more information on the convention and trade show visit www.paiiconvention.org.

2007 PAII Convention
March 26-29
Myrtle Beach, SC

Sheraton Myrtle Beach Cut-Off Date Extended

There's a new cut-off date for the PAII room block at the Sheraton: Friday, February 23rd.
But don't hesitate to make your reservation—the block is almost full!

If you were told over the weekend that the PAII room block at the Sheraton Myrtle Beach was full, you received inaccurate information due to a glitch in the Sheraton's reservation system. The hotel has extended the cut-off date to accommodate PAII Convention attendees.

TO MAKE A RESERVATION AT THE SHERATON MYRTLE BEACH:
Call 843.918.5000, dial 0, ask for the in-hotel reservation desk, and do not push the reservation prompt number. Also, do not try to make reservations online and do not use the national reservation 800 number.



PAII Forum Digest: Third Party Reservations, Blood Stains, & 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.

Third Party Reservations
How do you handle the situation where one private party makes a reservation for another private party for a specific date(s)? The party staying at the inn has absolutely no monetary obligation on the line because their friend or family member is paying for the rooms. Yes, the rooms are fully paid prior to arrival. Everyone assumes the guest will not cancel, but what if they do with little or no notice, or don't show?

Blood Stains
Before you use Oxy Clean in every load, look closely at the commercial and test it on white towels, keeping back a reference sample not washed in Oxy Clean. Yes, it does remove stains and in the commercial the red wine "disappears," but it also turns your fabric a very light grey, not white as compared to the surrounding fabric. We have noticed the slow greying of the white towels with its use, and Clorox does not remove the grey tinge created by Oxy Clean. Therefore, we have stopped using Oxy Clean altogether and rely on Tide, Ivory Soap, LestOil, and Shout to remove stains.

Liability Insurance
As far as inn size, ours is about the same as yours and we pay between 20% to 30% less than you do. Though without knowing your business we may be comparing apples to oranges since we may not cover as many people for health insurance as you, but we also have Liquor Liability Insurance and have a restaurant, as well. What you should also consider is "Business Interruption." Most overlook this. You may get paid to repair any damage, other bills still come (like health insurance, car, etc.), but without income, those may go unpaid and put you in a financial bind.

Dreading the Summer Heat Already: A Cool Summer Breakfast Anyone?
We served outside for 12 years and you are right, guests would wait till a table was available rather than eat indoors. I found that guests LOVED to have something different for breakfast, something they would never have at home. So for summer we made fruit cobblers and shortcakes for hot days. They are similar to the desserts they are named after, but not quite as sweet. They are cool, guests love them, and they are easy on the chef since the cooking is done in advance. Since they are prepared in individual dishes or ramekins, they are also great for room service and don't need to be kept hot or cold for service.

Help Needed on Coffee-Making Equipment
My wife and I recently completed construction of a 3-bedroom lodge on a river, and plan to cater to fly fishermen here in Montana beginning this spring. The lodge is fairly well-equipped, with the exception of coffee-making equipment. Being new to the lodging business, we are not sure what type of coffee maker(s) to buy. Do we get one that dispenses it through a side spigot on the coffee maker? How does one brew coffee that is served to guests? Via an airpot? By thermal coffee carafes? How many? What size? HELP!

Converting Two Twin Beds to a King
Recently, I visited another bed and breakfast where a previous owner had converted two twin beds to a king. I think there was actually a t-shaped foam wedge that bridged the gap between the mattresses, then a topper mattress. Has anyone done this? Is there an actual source for the
t-shaped wedge? Or does a topper mattress do the job? We have just one room with twin beds and it would be great to be able to quickly convert it to a king. Our beds are already high, so it would be good to not add lots more thickness.

Over the Range Exhaust Hood: Slide-In Range Question
What do any of you know or have heard about the "slide-in" ranges? I can have a slide-in because I have countertops on both sides of where the range sits on the floor.

Source for Candles Needed
We provide candles in our rooms and use our votive holders, which we feel are relatively safe (heavy leaded crystal). However, several local candle sources have dried up, and I don't like what is available at Walmart! Our intent was to use a higher-end candle that would burn longer and need to be replaced less often. Any leads on sources would be appreciated.

Guests with "Visitors"
Guests from out-of-state booked our suite online for 3 guests. The couple emailed me that the husband was a photographer and they were coming to the inn specifically to use the room to take photos of the 3rd person (pregnant sister) coming along. When they arrived at 3pm , 7 people piled in the door, all laden down with photography equipment. All trudged up to the suite with the equipment and immediately closed the door. The four extra folks (men) never left until after 11pm. Turns out the rest of these people were local family and hung out in their room helping with this photo shoot. They came down to the common area and helped themselves to every last cookie, snack, beer, wine, beverage, and fruit, we have available for guests. I decided to hope for the best, let the evening play out, and make sure I added something to my website policies so this would not ever happen again.

Did not see this one coming, but I can imagine since they had such a great time that night they may well be calling to have another "photo shoot" on some future occasion since they have family here. I do not remember seeing anyone have a policy on their website mentioning "no visitors" to the inn without prior innkeeper's approval. Any suggestions?



PAII Food Feature: Poached Pears
Let us feature a recipe from your inn!
Please send your submission (and a photo of the dish if available) to L1simpson@msn.com.

Richard & Loretta Caron, Aspiring Innkeepers in Kenosha, WI offer this delicious, simple recipe for Poached Pears.

Instructions
Peel and core the pear. Cut a thin slice from the bottom so the pear will stand upright on the plate.

For the liquid, take 4 cups water and 3 cups sugar. You can also add vanilla, honey, cinnamon, etc. Bring to a boil and add pears. Cover and reduce heat, simmer 15-20 minutes. The smell is great!

You could do something fancy with some jams. For example, wrap strips of puff pastry around the pear (kind of like a pear mummy) and bake—a little time consuming, but really good. For a dessert it is really good with some chocolate drizzled on it!



PAII Pointer: Apply I.C.E. This Winter
What is that EMT doing with that unconscious woman's cell phone? Don't worry, he's not calling Fiji, he's looking for I.C.E.: “In Case of Emergency” contacts. Emergency responders know to look for I.C.E. in the cell phone address books of the unconscious in order to identify you and contact your loved ones in the case of an emergency. So take a moment to list your emergency contacts under “I.C.E.” in your cell phone address list this winter.

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
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.

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