Two Year Anniversary

Uncategorized   |   Jan 13, 2020

Happy New Year to you all! It has been a while since I last updated our story but that’s not through lack of exciting things to tell! In November we hit our two year anniversary. In those 2 years we have welcomed approximately 1200 guests through the door, which equates to about 100 dozen eggs cooked! Wow, that’s an awful lot of poached, fried and scrambles! Of those guests I think we have probably had visitors from every continent in the world too! Korea, Vietnam, Russia, Oz, New Zealand, US, all of Europe – to name but a few. It is fair to say that no two days are the same. Currently though we are pretty much closed as having a new bathroom fitted in our room 7, the twin/king room on the second floor. New fittings, new wallpaper, new soft furnishings, new carpet and new bed. I can show you the ‘before’ and ‘during’ pictures so watch this space or our Facebook page for the ‘after’. The wardrobe has a wardrobe within it – funny those Victorians!

So what else have we been up to? I put a cheeky entry into the Dorset Tourism Awards. I  didn’t tell Andy that I was entering us as I knew he would say we weren’t ready. He was probably right but if he had his way we wouldn’t enter anything until all our planned refurb is complete. That is going to take a few years as time and money allow. We have changed the essentials; new beds, linen, towels and have ensured we’ve sourced local good quality produce for breakfast. After all in a bed and breakfast those are the most important two elements – do you agree?

Anyway back to the awards – I’m not sure how I managed to keep it from him, but I did, until there was a potential for an overnight visit from a judge. Had to come clean then. We passed the first stage which was an assessment of our website, reviews, social media. We were lucky enough to get through to the second stage – the visit. Very similar to the AA assessment, they visit as a secret shopper and then declare their real reason for visiting as they check out. We had some really useful feedback, we know what we need to do next and know that we were up against some really good, established guest houses.

However after a few weeks we had the email that made our year – we were awarded a Commended! Totally unexpected. We were pretty chuffed and the certificate hangs in pride of place in the hall. One of the areas for suggested improvement has been our breakfast menu. I have mastered the basics and enjoy cooking the full English and variations, even when were full. Every place on the hob has a particular item that I cook on it and I never deviate – this makes for a well oiled machine in the morning. So we are planning to add omelettes, Eggs Benedict and Eggs Royale and warm croissants to order. As well as the occasional special. I can’t say I’m not nervous. I can cook all of the variations but I’m a little apprehensive about how they fit into my established routine. Speaking to other guest house owners, I don’t think I’m the only creature of habit! So come and visit us this year and taste my new additions!

Lastly if you are thinking of coming to visit please, please book direct. The big online travel agents, such as Booking.com, although useful with their powerful search capabilities, charge us 15% commission. There are benefits for you too! In booking direct you will always get the best price even if the OTAs are under-cutting us (and they do). You will get the most appropriate room for your stay – for example on the ground floor if you have huge suitcases or mobility issues, or a king-size bed rather than double. A deposit of only £50 to pay with the balance at check in. You also get to start off the whole guest house experience from a personal perspective – much better all round – for you and us. So from us to you – if you would like to visit us this year we are offering 10% discount on our website price for 3 nights or more. To make the most of this offer you will need to pay the total amount at booking, which is non-refundable. If this suits then call us direct! If you prefer the low deposit option on website price, then still call us direct! Offer valid until end of February 2020. We look forward to welcoming you soon!

• By Lynne Fisher
• 2 Comments

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