Not everyone’s cup of tea

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Karen’s Column, Part 1 of 2 for April 2021, written by the Founder of the B and B Academy

 It’s taken me 17 years in business to be comfortable with the fact that you can’t run a B&B that appeals to everyone. For every guest who loves your B&B, there’ll be another who just doesn’t get it. 

I was very much reminded of this by some of my favourite repeat guests, who had an unusual approach to booking. 

It’s 12.30pm on a changeover day; both the house and I are a total mess, when the doorbell rings, accompanied by loud barking. 

Answering the door, I tried hard to muster a smile and not blurt out the “check in is at 4 and you didn’t tell me you were bringing a dog” welcome. But it wasn’t my guests. 

“Hello, we want to visit Shropshire, so we’ve driven down to check out some B&Bs.” 

I showed them round, then they left saying they’d check the other B&Bs and call me. 

5 minutes later they were back, making a booking. 

They became some of my favourite guests; staying 5 nights, at least 3 times a year. Ex hoteliers, they showered me with praise “this really is the best b&b we’ve ever stayed at”. 

One day they turned up, unannounced again, this time with a friend – another day trip – so they could show her the B&B. 

Afterwards they told me she’d hated the B&B and couldn’t see what the fuss was about. 

How lucky they’d bought her for a day trip first! 

URL:

bandbacademy.co.uk/blog

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About Karen Thorne 20 Articles
Karen is the owner of Bed and Breakfast Academy. She has run her own successful B&B in Shropshire, England, for 17 years and supporting and guiding aspiring and existing B&B owners through B&B academy for the last 15 years. If your dream is to run your own amazing bed and breakfast... I will support you to create a business you'll love owning, and which guests will love staying at.

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