Adventures of Owning a B&B – Part 2
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Home » BLOG • stories • Ideas • Outdoors • Environment • Adventurers • Business » Adventures of Owning a B&B – Part 2
Here is part two of the delightful interview with Rodney, co-owner of Strawberry Creek Inn, located in southern California, posted earlier this week. This interview wraps up a run of posts that contemplate the intersection of personal passion and the outdoors. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this interview about the journey of owning a B&B as much as I did:
What would you describe as a memorable moment at the inn?
It’s pretty hard to narrow in on a single memorable moment in this business, since what we are basically selling is a collection of memorable moments. The nervous boyfriend who finally finds the right moment during a stay to propose? The time two guests sat across from each other at breakfast with a gnawing feeling of familiarity, only to discover after talking for 30 minutes that one was the kindergarten teacher of the other in another state?
The first egg laid by one of our hens? The first snowfall of our first Winter here? We’re actually having a ‘memorable moment’ as I write this: while transporting the new batch of chicks to the yard with the older hens a few days ago, the overhead netting caught onto Ian’s very-expensive diamond earring (because why wouldn‘t you chicken-farm in diamond earrings?) and flung it into the hay. Unwilling to accept the loss, Ian is now painstakingly conducting an archeological dig in the chicken yard (which may have to be followed by a forensic examination of collected chicken ‘fertilizer’). Memorable moment indeed.
What are some of the challenges of owning and operating a B&B?
I would say the difficulty of finding the time to nurture one’s own needs in the midst of focusing on your guests is a pretty universal challenge for innkeepers. But it must be done! Having to wear so many different hats at the same time can also be quite the challenge at times. The hours are VERY long, and the days are filled with interruptions. It’s not always easy to personally experience all the great activities and events that attract guests to our area. But if I HAVE to work for a living, this is not a bad way to do it.
If someone were to want to open a B&B, what is the most important piece of advice you would give them?
A lot of my advice your readers have probably already picked up from my previous answers:
Take your diamond earrings out before you go into the chicken coop!
We hope you will visit Rodney and Ian at the Strawberry Creek Inn sometime soon. Meanwhile, you may join their Facebook fan page or follow them on Twitter.
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