dutch people who rule, and others

Jeroen Lemkes & Jose (but it has an accent on it) Dohle. obviously those are the Dutch people. They came here a couple of weeks ago and we had a great time, even if it was short, like 3 days I think.

This past weekend, we were full to the brim, and everyone was unnaturally cool, but a few people need to get the shout out:

Michael & Christine
Mari & Marcelo
Justin & Jenny

So one thing everyone needs to know about innkeeping is that when holidays happen, you work, unless it happens to be your already scheduled day off. You work because someone is always there on holidays, especially the possible perceived as romantic ones. Lots of people ask me if we are closed on days such as Christmas, and I look at them in wonder. As if people didn't need somewhere to stay when they come to visit their families in town, or maybe they want to get away from their families and have a quiet weekend alone, drinking champagne and talking about what they missed that year. That's where we come in, making both those scenarios a possibility.

Last year I went out for New Year's Eve. This year I was only able to do it halvsies. But it was an especially excellent turnout. During holidays like New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day, we take advantage of the fact that people want to do a little somethin special. We offer guests who book a room that can accommodate it a four course candlelight dinner in their rooms. It's a great package, especially because you get both a bottle of wine of your choosing and a bottle of champagne as part of the deal. You don't have to go out and worry about the drunk drivers, and you can drink yourself into a stupor if you like and stay safe. Since there is no server to pay, (I do all the serving and cooking myself,) we can charge a decent amount for it and everyone is still happy. Well, I had only one couple who took me up on the dinner this year, and while I could have made more money if more people chose to do the dinner, it was still totally worth it because they were so very cool. It made it like I was cooking dinner for friends instead of strangers. Of course, they added to that by offering me a martini before dinner, so that solidified the good feeling I already had about them. To my surprise, they said that it was one of the best meals they'd ever had. I knew it was going to be good, but I never would have expected that specific comment. So, I'm glad I made them happy.

On another note, the topic of cancellation policy is back in the mix. But this time it wasn't on my head. I had a couple who booked my last room just 3 days before the big weekend. I made a reservation for them, by their choice, at a place about 15 minutes away from the house. When I secured the reservation, the restaurant informed me that they had a 24 hour cancellation policy and required a credit card number to seal the deal. Now this isn't normal, but I figured since it was such a big night, and restaurants count on these kinds of nights just like I do, I gave them the guest's card number he had given me for the room and then called the guest to let him know what I had done since he had ample time to cancel should he feel uncomfortable. Fast forward to the big night and it snows. I ran into the couple about 2 hours before their reservation and they asked me if I had a relationship with anyone at the restaurant whom I might talk to in order to get them to waive the cancellation policy since they didn't want to get caught in the dangerous snow. They had already talked to the owner of the place and he had agreed to only charge them for half their prix fixe dinner. I told them unfortunately not, and that they were already getting an extremely good deal, as I would do the same thing or charge them more. I don't understand why people forget that it snows in winter in the Northeast! Then when it does, they expect to be the exception to the rule. I advised these people that most of the drive to the place would be on a major road, more likely to be cleared, and that if they left an hour before their reservation, and drove like they were blind, old people, they'd probably get there on time. At least, that was what I'd do. They decided against it and ended up getting pizza and a bottle of wine and staying in. Their room happened to be right next door to the room I did the dinner for, so they had to smell all the great aromas coming from my kitchen and the dishes as I walked past their door. I'm sure they were kicking themselves for not taking me up on my dinner offer.

The next morning, I had to fight to not call the rest of the people who hadn't gotten dinner from me fools as the guests who had my dinner regaled the experience. There's no sense in rubbing someone's nose in it. I hope they'll think twice next time. Of course, most people didn't care about the snow and went off and had fabulous evenings, so I was happy for them. I even got to go to a local party and managed to leave after the ball dropped but still sober and able to work the next day. A good time was had by all.