Through the eyes of an Aspiring Innkeeper - Part 2 (Lauren)

So now that my intro is accomplished, let me tell you about my shadowing experience. I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and was immediately put to work. I learned everything from how to make and strip beds, clean the rooms, check in and out guests and most importantly learned all about the breakfast!

Rise and Shine breakfast Service - I was exhausted after my first day, but I woke up at 6:00am the next morning to do it all over again! That morning the focus was on the breakfast aspect of a B & B. Making breakfast is the easy part! However, it can be very chaotic trying to make breakfast for the couples, when they come downstairs at different intervals. While trying to make breakfast, you are also responsible for greeting, entertaining, serving and clearing. The phones may also need answering for reservation details.

Over the course of the weekend I learned how to make The Blue Door's specialty breakfast bowls, which I so love. There was Baked French toast and omelets. My cooking skills have certainly improved after that weekend at the Blue Door! Once everyone is done with breakfast its time to clean up, take a bit of time for ourselves. A time to reflect on the great conversation, and the uniqueness of each on of the guests,. And a simple time just to sit back for a few minutes with an entire cup of coffee and breakfast of our own.

Darn Sheets - Then it is off to cleaning the rooms again and the laundry. I have never seen so much laundry! It’s like it never ends. I have to say; the hardest part of the whole weekend was learning how to fold the sheets the proper way! I can say with certainty, that when I do open a B & B I will hire someone to do the sheets!

There are bits of downtime throughout the course of the day for an innkeeper. On the weekend, the House is full with lots of activity. Just when you think there is nothing left to do, there is someting lurking to yet be done. Even at the end of the day once all the rooms are cleaned and the guests are checked in, it is time to prepare for turn down service. During my stay I did not have to bake any goodies for the turn down service, but that would be part of the nighttime activities. And finally, preparing for the next morning's breakfast.

Turn down service was fun. I enjoyed making the tray full of goodies to bring to the rooms. Every night but one night the guests were out. On the nights that the guests were still in their room I just knocked on the door and left the tray outside for them to enjoy. Then you get to hear the great comments of the treats left at their bedside, it is quite flattering.

For two nights of my stay, Roger and Cecilia trusted me to run the B & B all by myself! They went to stay on their boat with Leopold while I took over. I must say I was very nervous to do this, but all worked out well. Both nights were quiet!

I had a wonderful time and learned so much. I know now more than ever that this is what I want to do one day. I couldn’t have asked for better people to shadow. Roger and Cecilia were a wealth of information. I was so inspired after my weekend of shadowing that when I returned to New Jersey I took a class called ServeSafe. ServeSafe is a food handling/safety class that the city of Baltimore requires. Other cities may require it too, but it varies from place to place.

I can’t wait until my next visit to the inn and get another turn at the Blue Door.

Through the eyes of an Aspiring Innkeeper (Meet Lauren)

What it was Like to Run a Bed and Breakfast? Ever since I was a little girl, my dream was to run a Bed and Breakfast. I am not sure were I came up with that idea, as I had never experienced a bed and breakfast before and no one in my family was in the business.

My first experience with a bed and breakfast was in Williamsburg, VA at the age of twenty-two. After staying there, I was hooked. It was a lovely place, the host and hostess were more than accommodating and I loved the atmosphere. There on after, I refused to stay in hotels and wherever I traveled I would stay in a bed and breakfast.

Enter the Blue Door -

In December 2010, after having no plans for New Year's Eve, my boyfriend and I decided to book a bed and breakfast in Baltimore, Maryland for something fun and different to do.We had an amazing time staying at the Blue Door on Baltimore and decided to make it a tradition, so the following year we returned on New Years. It was during that; stay that I talked to Roger about my dreams to one day open a bed and breakfast. Roger mentioned that my best option would be to find a bed and breakfast that would allow me to shadow them for a weekend in order to get a true feel for business. He then offered for me to come down in the spring to shadow him and his wife.

I find out for myself - In April 2012, I was off  driving down to the Blue Door Inn to start my first shadowing experience. I was not sure what I should expect, as I had never done this before, but my experience was more than I could have asked for. I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and was immediately put to work. I learned everything from how to make and strip beds, clean the rooms, check in and out guests and most important learned all about the breakfast!

Details, Details, Details - I know attention to detail in the Bed and Breakfast business is extremely important, however, the small details that the Blue Door Inn includes, makes them unique. I thought cleaning the rooms and changing the beds would be easy…I mean how hard could it be? I was wrong!There is so much detail that goes into making the beds! All the sheets must be put on the bed in a very precise manner and folded to make most fabulous night's rest at the Blue Door. The pillows need to be fluffed and placed on the bed in just the right way. And the service trays, magazines, and towels all needed to be placed in their own special locations. If they were slightly off, Roger would tell me it was time for me redo it.

There is more to the story in Part 2 of my visit - Stay tuned. I had a wonderful time and learned so much. I know now more than ever that this is what I want to do one day. I couldn’t have asked for better people to shadow. Roger and Cecilia were a wealth of information. I can’t wait until my next visit to the inn. Hope to meet you on your visit!

Lessons For Life (Lesson of the 5 Balls)

Just as you are reading this blog post, we at the Blue Door reach out to other sites in search of things to make our guest experience the Best in Baltimore. We came across this posting on one of our daily hospitality site newsletters from Dr. John Hogan at Hospitality Educators, Hogan Hospitality.

We hope that we can keep our "work" ball in Check so that we might present the un-shattered qualities of the other four balls to you our guest's as you choose to stay with us.

Dr. Hogan Writes -- This might have been a recommended reading, but in fact, it is mainly commenting on one small section in a 2001 book by James Patterson. I discovered an important observation and a learning lesson on page 20 in a diary entry of Suzanne’s Journal for Nicholas, where a main character describes life.

The character says life is a game in which people must juggle five balls. The balls are called:
1. work
2. family
3. health
4. friends
5. integrity

You keep them all in the air and one day you come to realize that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

The other four balls are made of glass and if you drop one of them, it will be changed. The balls representing family, health, friends and integrity if not handled properly can become scuffed, nicked or perhaps even shattered.

Over the past 5 years or so, I have had many people reach out to me in many ways. The tough global economy, the indecision of both government and business on how to respond and the ever increasing pace of life in the information overload we now experience all contribute to how we deal with those five balls.

Once one really understands the lessons of the five balls, you have the beginnings of balance in your life.

I encourage anyone reading this to slow down for just a bit, take the time to think and appreciate the lessons of those five balls and what they represent to you.

-- Thank you Dr. John Hogan

What should we do on a Weekend or 2-Day Visit to Baltimore?

Never Been to Baltimore before? Wondering what to do with the two days you have selected to be with us? These are our most commonly asked questions at check-in or at breakfast.   

Please do check out our Travel Tips Blog Category for some very specific things to do. But, our best answer is to experience the  Harbor using the Water Taxi. The Fells Point Water Taxi Stop is just 8 blocks from the Blue Door and provides an easy access point to the greatest sampler of Baltimore highlights. For a nominal fee of $12 per person you can use the Taxi ALL DAY, getting on and off at as many locations as you may wish.

• Take in some art at the American Visionary Arts Museum
• Visit the Science Center or the Aquarium
• Sample some of our restaurants using the offer coupons available onboard the Taxies
• Enjoy the views of the harbor from multiple vantage points (Federal Hill, the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and the Korean War Memorial)
• Take in the marina districts in Canton and Fells Point 
• View boats of all sizes under power and full sail
• You can even have some crab at Captain James' waterside dock
• Go to Fort McHenry (Limited Service April - Mid October)

With the sun shining, there is no better way to experience  the "big deal" about Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Even on a not so stellar day, when the clouds may drift in, you can seamlessly drift from one ivenue to another. Want to remove some walking time to the Convention Center or the Ball Park?  The The Water Taxi is just the ticket giving you very special views of the city along the way.

Hungry along the way? Great restaurants and Pubs in Canton, Fells Point, Harbor East, The Inner Harbor, and Federal Hill are just steps off the docks. You can always get a lively discussion going by asking the drivers or hands who has the best crab cake - The most hotly debated item on the Baltimore Food scene. If you don't have one before you leave, you have not really had a taste of Baltimore.

Also, see what our past guests may have done.  In each of our rooms we have log books where our guests jot down some things they did during their visits. Viewing our log books makes for some engaging  light reading upon relaxing after settling in your room or maybe upon your return from your first great dining experience in Baltimore.

Inn Keeping looks like it may be fun but it sure looks like a lot of work. So what is it like? (Part 2)

In "Part 1 of Innkeeping What is it like", we explored what work needs to get done in our innkeeping day. As promised we are back to provide the answers  to your assignment.

It  is always our desire to have all of our three special guest rooms constantly filled,  but there are some days where it is a bit more quiet at the Inn. On those days Leopold wonders where everyone has gone and has to witness strange happenings. We then undertake the tasks to make our Blue Door experience even better.

The ladders come out and Leopold delights in the new but strange smelling colored liquids being applied to the walls and ceilings, and to the backs of our white foyer steps. These same liquids also make funny marks on the floors when he just so happens to see what they are about. There are floors that are wet to the paw, freshly mopped, and furniture sometimes in the hallways while strange sounding construction noises eminate on the other side of a closed door.

We also look forward to our annual trek to the International Hospitality Conference each November in New York where we get to go shopping for you, our guests. There are all sorts of things to pick and choose from to make our guest experience very special. Our sheets, which have made their way into several on-line review comments, and our lounging robes that seem to fly off our shelves as soon as we re-order more for our gift shop are acquisitions from our trips to New York. Shopping is fun especially when you throw in a night at the theater and some great restaurants.

So you remember those daily tasks from Part 1?

Here is what happens: 

• Up at 6:00AM starting with breakfast service and ending the day at 7:00PM when all of our guest rooms are turned down for our guests. comfortable return from dinner.
• Table is set, breakfast is prepared for serving starting at 7:00AM
• There is paperwork to be done (email, bills, website updates, Facebook and blog posts like this one to name a few), and relax until guests arrive to begin breakfast.
• Serve breakfast and enjoy conversation
• Breakfast service is over at 10:00 with dishes cleaned up usually by 11:00. There are breaks in the action - rarely do we see 4 straight hours of breakfast service, but it can happen.       
• Cleaning starts around noon and  finishes sometime around 2:30 PM with a little help from our housekeeper on the fully booked days.
• Then it is our time to slow down the pace, relax over dinner, attend to our guests who will check-in until Turndown at 7:00PM.  In between we may learn more about Baltimore from where guests when they explore. Multi task finishing previously started  things and starting new ones.       
• In between all that, we answer the phone, taking reservations, answering questions, and dealing with vendors.  We are also shop for groceries and office supplies,  and bake the breads and pastries, in addition to the night time treats. 
• When everyone is staying over we can decide to put the crunch on to catch up on a specific set of tasks (like the laundry which is never done completely) or put things on hold  till the next rainy day and go out and play ourselves.     
• It will start all over again at 6:00AM the next morning so do not be surprised if your phone call at 10:00 PM is met with voicemail.      

In 2011 (Thank you for your reservations so that we can show you these numbers): 

• 403   Check–ins
• 780   Room nights served up
• 1400 Breakfasts made
• 3600 Breakfast breads, and pastries baked
• 3100 Cookies, brownes and fudge made and presented for turn down
• 3900 cups of coffee served
• 780 Beds Made – (1800 Sheets washed, 3600 Pillowcases washed and steam pressed, 600 duvet covers washed and steam pressed)
• 2600 Assorted Towels Washed
• 1400 Robes laundered and folded
• 1600 Assorted table cloths and napkins laundered and ironed
• 3100 cleaning cloths laundered

Oh, about the pictures for this posting series. These are from the entire house checking out on the same day. One load of breakfast dishes for dishwasher number one. One load of pots, pans, prep items and guest room servicing items for dishwasher number two.  Ten loads of Laundry if you take into account on a check out day with three sets of king bed linens  (two top sheets, a fitted bottom, six Pillowcases and Duvet cover), two to four robes, assorted towels, bathroom rugs, breakfast table linens, and cleaning cloths. 

REMEMBER WE DO NOT NEED TO FINISH ALL OF THE LAUNDRY TODAY. We can take the time to enjoy all of our wonderful guetst while you stay at The Blue Door, too.