Nelson House - Clean, Green B & B

It's great to tell you that this week we have installed an amazing Energy Star qualified, high efficiency gas furnace AND an air filtration system that removes 99.98% of all allergens from the House' air - even the flu virus!

Our bed and breakfast's long journey towards energy conservation and a more healthy living environment is finished - at least for 2009. Blog posts from March, April and September reported on the history of this century-old home's construction and our earlier insulation and eco-renovation efforts.

The culmination of this year-long project is a new central heating system that holds the highest energy efficiency rating of 96.7 per cent. I am told that the old gas furnace was lucky if it converted 60% of the fuel burned into usable heat for the house. Where did the rest go? Into the atmosphere. Oh, global warming. Oh, major fuel bills. No more! We have now lowered our thermostat settings as much as 5 degrees F. and the interior of the House - all of it- is warm, dry and toasty like never before! The variable-speed DC fan motor even uses less electricity while it accomplishes this minor miracle.

Better yet, the air flowing through the B & B, whether heated in winter or simply circulated for mild summer cooling, is now cleaned to 8 times the hospital standard achieved by conventional HEPA filters and 100 times the purity of air blown through the old one-inch thick furnace filters. All of the common triggers for asthma and allergies have been removed. Dust, pollen, spores, even bacteria and viruses of .1 microns or more are now gone.

This is a system that every home should have for the sake of family health. It is a system that my family has fallen in love with after only a few damp, frosty Vancouver nights. I know our bed and breakfast guests will love it too!

If you are mulling over home energy or interior air quality improvements, please feel free to contact me for the manufacturer and contractor's details.

Innkeeping - you just gotta Love People

I once read that innkeeping is "the hardest job you will ever love".

I think the author was talking about the long hours and physical labour involved in maintaining a large house. However, the important message is that all of that hard work takes place in a happy and relaxed atmosphere. And all of that work is by your own choice, for your own profit and enjoyment.

If you ever thought you might someday like to operate a B & B, ask yourself if you really do like people, engage with them, manage them and want to know more about them - starting with yourself.

Do these characteristics sound like you?

At the very least - you must be cheerful and optimistic. Well - are you?

To run a bed and breakfast, you can't be afraid of hard work, but it sure is easier if you are self-motivated.

Every day in this job, you are going to meet a wide variety of people. Do you communicate well?

Can you handle more than one thing at a time?

Stay cool when the unexpected happens?

If you truly are a "people person", you will learn from your mistakes and forgive those of others.

It helps if you have an innate desire to keep your home clean and tidy.

It will help more if you don't make your guests uptight over tracking in mud or a spilled coffee.
A bed and breakfast is a home, meant for the living.

Are you flexible?

Practical?

Non-judgemental?

If you can answer Yes to most of these questions, then innkeeping may be your thing. Most of your guests just want to enjoy themselves, unwind and learn a little about the place they are visiting. Generally, their demands will extend no further than asking for an extra towel, explaining their dietary restrictions or picking your brain for local restaurant recommendations.

As it turned out for me, an innkeeper sets the tone and the guests intuitively pickup on it. Be yourself. Be a gracious host and you will have very grateful guests.

Vancouver 2010 Olympics Accommodation

Love the Olympics? A true sports fan? Still looking for a room for the Vancouver Games? Please see the google map for our great, downtown, West End location. From here, you can easily walk or take transit to all Olympic venues.

***

The photos above are of our last remaining room still available for the 2010 Olympics. Our spacious "Vienna" room overlooks the front garden. The European, antique brass bed is queen-sized. Old-fashioned ceiling fan, mahogany desk, vanity, rockers & other furnishings complete the ambience. Vienna is also more budget conscious, with a lighted mirror & vanity sink in the room and a hallbath shared with one other room.

***

For any bookings that overlap the 17 night, Feb. 12-28th(inclusive) period of the Games, we are charging our regular 2010 High Season room rate of CAD.$138(+ 15% tax)/nt for single occupancy or CAD.$148(+)/nt for double. Rates include full breakfast, free local calls, wireless internet and offstreet parking!

***

Here's the catch: Due to excessive demand, Olympic bookings must be for the minimum 17 nights mentioned above. No shorter-term reservations will be taken.

***

Payment will be by Visa/MasterCard – 50% at time of reservation and 50% at check-in. No refund of either payment will be made under any and all circumstances. Maximum double occupancy. No sub-letting or substitution of guests. We recommend private trip cancellation insurance to minimize the risk of cancellation.

***

Please make Olympics room bookings IN WRITING using the RESERVATION REQUEST FORM on our website(sorry- no phone bookings) but feel free to email or call if you have any questions. We look forward to welcoming the world!

Guest accommodation - fit for a Queen.

Nelson House B & B enjoys an excellent reputation and a google ranking to match. In perusing the internet, I have noticed that you can find vacation lodging for the most discriminating tastes. Take for example this central London "townhouse" currently listed on holidaylettings.co.uk. Though certainly not your typical bed and breakfast, this accommodation is catered and offers "deluxe living in the heart of England's capital city."

Rates may seem a little steep at first but here's what is on offer: "19 state rooms, 600 bedrooms and 78 bathrooms". It is a gated property with 400 staff to meet your every need. Indeed, there are two people just to look after the 300 clocks. Outdoors, "the balcony is large enough to fit several members of your family who may wish to wave at all the passing crowds". The guest-house owners are onsite but described as "discreet." A heads up for travellers with allergies - they do keep "a number of loveable pet corgis".

How to get there: "The nearest tube station is Victoria (who was also a famous relative of the owner.)There is the option of horse drawn carriage or the owners Grandson can borrow an RAF vehicle should you wish to fly directly in."

The location offers the convenience of "local shops such as Harrods and the lovely local square called Trafalgar."

It may seem a little over the top but this holiday getaway is even referred to as a "palace". Apparently, nothing is too much to please discerning guests. Just imagine. "On arrival a flag will be raised to signal your stay at the property."

See for yourself!

Top Bed and Breakfast Myths

"RULE 1: ALL guests must report for breakfast at 6:00 AM SHARP.! Fingernails and shoes will be inspected before coffee."

Do Bed and Breakfasts have strange rules or a curfew? Not by my experience. Sometimes an innkeeper might post a note that is meant to help a guest figure out a light switch or in a rural situation, might warn visitors against throwing too much stuff down the loo. Since both guest bedrooms and the guesthouse' front door are inevitably locked at night, guests are always given keys or codes to come and go as they like. Maybe the idea of a curfew dates back to the guest's own family home or college dorm. The notion certainly doesn't gibe with any B & B that I have seen.

Yes, a Bed and Breakfast may also be the personal home of the innkeeper. Unless the property was purpose-built of concrete, it is certainly very nice if a guest shows consideration and respect for others when coming in late at night. My experience is that guests very quickly take their cue from the ambience that a Bed and Breakfast conveys. If it's an older home, they do usually speak quietly when in the hallways at night and keep the television to a decent volume. On the other hand, if the B & B has a party room, a pool or hot tub for guests' use, well then, relax and enjoy the amenities.

Most Bed and Breakfasts do everything possible to respect a guest's privacy. It's natural as B & B's are often marketed as "romantic getaways". Hint. Hint. Do not worry, the bed has been tested and will NOT squeak. Chances are that the quality of mattresses, pillows, duvets and linens will be top-notch. Toiletries too.

And speaking of amenities - most modern inns/guest-houses/bed and breakfasts offer a bundle of goodies such as free parking and free WIFI, delicious homebaking and of course, an unusually good breakast that would be expensive ad-ons in many hotels.

But will it be clean? Frankly, some people should look under their own beds for dustballs. The vast majority of bed and breakfasts are sole-proprietorships, where the BOSS inspects regularly, takes a hands-on approach to the business and demonstrates pride in his/her B & B home. Would you invite guests over without applying the shine and polish?

And lastly, there is the myth that you will be forced meet people and talk to them. Maybe this one has some truth to it. But you can choose to read a paper at breakfast or just chat with your other half. No pressure. Maybe listen to the flow of conversation and add your two cents after the second coffee. When was the last time that you really enjoyed a free-wheeling and open-minded conversation with new acquaintances or made a genuine, new friend in a hotel? It happens round our breakfast table all the time.