I’m a big proponent of ongoing professional education. It’s critical if we are to understand and meet the needs of our “customers”. Two weeks ago Tom and I took a break from our bed and breakfast, the Whistling Swan Inn and went to the Mid-Atlantic Innkeepers’ Conference in Hunt Valley, MD, a three-day event where a bunch of inn owners learn about important stuff like new industry trends, exceeding guest expectations and increasing online presence.
I could have listened all day to keynote speaker, Robin Crow, owner of Dark Horse Recording, who illustrated his topic of “Exceeding Expectations” with anecdotes about such music luminaries as Neil Diamond, Taylor Swift, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
One of the breakout workshops offered tips on strategically using Pinterest to build online interest and gain followers. Check out my boards and feel free to repin.
But my favorite part of every conference is the trade show. I smelled, tasted and felt my way around the exhibition center at least three times each day looking for goodies to bring back to the Inn.
I sampled exquisite tea from the Cozy Tea Cart, which will be making an appearance at my tea parties in the near future. The just-launched rosemary and mint bath amenities from Gilchrist and Soames were definitely worth waiting for, but the piece de resistance were the luxurious, plush robes from Chadsworth and Haig, which now hang proudly in each of my suites. These robes are the ultimate of softness, and believe me, once you put one on, you won’t want to take it off. I certainly didn’t.
Ros
Ros Bruno
Innkeeper
The Whistling Swan Inn
110 Main Street
Stanhope, NJ 07874
973-347-6369
www.whistlingswaninn.com
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