Sometimes, at happy hour, our guests will pull us aside, and ask us conspiratorially “What’s being an innkeeper really like?”
Now, I can’t share all of our secrets, of course, because if I did I would be thrown out of the club and shunned at all the innkeeper parties. But I can share a couple of fun facts…especially if you promise not to tell anyone!
Here we go:
1. We haven’t used a full roll of toilet paper in our house for 12 months now. You know how the rooms at our inn always have a full roll of toilet paper on the spindle? What do you think happens to all of those half-used rolls? (Note: the toilet paper fairy does not take them). We take them home and use them there!! Of course, when we have guests at the house, we do buy brand new rolls for them. Because we care that much (and because our parents might not appreciate having to change the paper every day!)
2. When people do stay with us in our private home, we never make them breakfast. If they want to eat something special, they can fill out a breakfast card and come to the inn. We will turn on the coffee machine for them before we leave for the day.
3. We love bumping into our guests at dinner. We don’t just recommend great restaurants to our guests, we like to eat there ourselves. When we bump into our guests, we see how happy they look–not because they get a rare chance to see us out on the town, but because–for a second–they feel like locals when they bump into someone they know in our little town. (That’s why if I see our guests in town, I always stop the car and say hello). Plus, they then know that we really do like the restaurant we suggested, and we don’t just get kickbacks for sending people there (note: we don’t get any kickbacks from restaurants. Although I like the sound of it!)