My secret plan to manage and keep on top of my bookings was very simple: Oscar Wilde.
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression”.
If you want to maintain a good mental health, take a little time (you decide, every week, every month etc.) to devote to the summary of reservations. In your communications, repeat the address, telephone number, house rules, check-in procedures. Everything that is essential for you must be said over and over.
On a sheet of paper mark the check-in and check-out dates, the name of the guest and the number of people you will host. Keep a space for notes. If you taken a special agreement, mark it among the notes. This will allow you to arrange your time optimally. It will be of great help for the time of check-in and preparation. It is not a waste of time.
Washing and ironing sheets and towels. It’s a race against the clock. "Sorry, sweetie, I can not go to the movies with you. I’m checking-in” could adversely affect your relationship.
Check carefully check-in and check-out times on the same day. I’d rather have a few bookings with good reviews than to risk receiving negative feedbacks because I could not keep up with all the requests.
Your noblest goal is to offer your guest the best possible experience, but the most material goal is to get good reviews.
Clean the house after check-out. Fix up your bed all nice and fresh. Cleaning is essential especially if you have continuous rotation of guests. Do not neglect the details. The shower. The kitchen. The laundry basket. The lightbulbs.
A flawless house. A crumb on the sofa could become a synecdoche that stands as a paradigm.
If one of your towels has a stain, my advice is to change it. Even if you have washed it to a thousand degrees, in the eyes of those who will have to use it will always seem just a dirty towel. And that also applies to the sheets.
The guest lady who does not remove her make-up before going to sleep is much less infrequent than you think, So you’d better choose colored sheets: sober colors able to camouflage stains.
Forget bathrobes: they are expensive and require infinite drying times. Much better bath towels.
Tableware and household utensils. Accurate control. The idea of pulling out a fork with the dirty tines or a greasy pot would have made anyone's stomach turned. Check the previous guest has washed the dishes carefully.
Kitchen. Few useful tools, otherwise you'll find an amount of things to wash after each change of guest.
Sponges for kitchen. When I see an old and dried sponge, I lose my appetite. You’d better replace sponges frequently.
Kitchen cabinets. Throw all open packs, even if they have not expired, with the exception of vinegar, oil and salt. Yup, it’s a waste of food. Nobody will drink a milk carton opened by someone else.
If you choose tablecloths, the same rule applies to sheets and towels. A kitchen is not complete without a corkscrew, especially in Italy.
The whole house must communicate freshness and cleanliness. Therefore, remove your stockings from the shower pole!
Essential equipment: tool box, drain cleaner and, especially in summer, bug spray.
Remove the dried leaves in the garden and do not leave dying plants prominently at the entrance of the house. If they are dry, say a requiem for them and throw them away!
The treasure you need for the high season traffic:
° toilet paper;
° trash bags;
° soap bars;
° lightbulbs;
° batteries for remote controls;
° ballpoints pens (the guest puts them in his suitcase);
° scotch tape;
° extra set of keys.
This treasure must be jealously guarded like the ring of Frodo Baggins in a very secret place. I happened to be “robbed” by compulsive guests that took my bedding supplies in a few days. Grrr!
Extra touch. Nothing expensive, but something that make the guest understand that you are something more than an anonymous hotelier. In addition to the typical flavors of your land, let him find something that reminds him of home or that you think is part of his habits. Things you would want your guests to find: good tea for English guests, peanut butter for American guests, spices for Asian guests.
Become a regular visitor of the local tourism office. The guest will hold you in even higher regard if you can publicise festivals, exhibitions, concerts, markets, everything you think might be worth seeing at that time.
Now, after a busy season of bookings, after months of suffering and fatigue, you can retreat here, in the arms of CC, watching "The walking dead", eating buckets of ice cream or killing yourself with an overdose of Pringles, hidden from all.