Louise’ s Thirty Tips
1. Buy the widest ironing board available – it cuts down on ironing time – sheets have to be shuffled fewer times on a larger board.
2. Buy duvet covers with poppers rather than buttons, as it saves time on bed changeovers.
3. Standardise sheets and duvet covers so that linen is interchangeable and you never run out of linen on one day changeovers – this also applies to towels.
4. Try to buy the best / tastiest sausages you can afford as these make a lasting impression on guests – it’ s remarkable how many guests comment in our visitors’ book on the quality of the sausages!
5. When it comes to serving breakfast you should grill all bacon and cook eggs freshly to order, but a grilled sausage takes too long to cook so can be prepared slightly in advance and kept warm in a low oven.
6. We offer a limited menu for breakfast but this does not stop most guests customising their breakfasts to suit – scrambled or poached or boiled eggs; baked beans on toast; even coca-cola and soy sauce( separately!) – are all breakfast requests we’ ve had in the last year. The tip is BE PREPARED – take a deep breath and prepare each dish to the best of your ability. A guest would rather you supplied what he wanted rather than a blank refusal to try. You will also need to stock the whole range of breakfast beverages – coffee normal and decaffeinated, tea normal, herbal and decaffeinated.
7. We have discovered that a jug of iced water on the breakfast table is greatly appreciated, especially if the guest has had a heavy night of it the previous evening. This also saves you some costs as guests may drink less fruit juice, coffee or tea!
8. Last minute bookings – these happen rarely but have to be dealt with when they occur – a) if referred by a fellow hotelier / B & B owner the chances are it would be a genuine booker looking for accommodation. If this is the case make sure this guest gives you his full name and address and ensure they pay the full amount for their stay on arrival as a matter of policy – b) if you get a late night phone call from someone who sounds vaguely dubious you should have no compunction to declare your rooms full.
9. En-suite bathrooms should have bins with lids and be lined with plastic bin liners to maximise hygiene, minimise smells and make room cleaning easier.
10. I always leave a new, wrapped large bar of soap in the bathrooms but also leave an opened, hardly-used bar of soap for guests’ use as this is both economically and ecologically more sustainable; the guest who is squeamish can open the new soap or the guest who doesn’ t like waste will use the opened one.
11. Always have available small thermos flasks for supplying fresh milk for guests to use in their rooms where they can have their own tea or coffee. I always check whether