Question for our next issue:

Tell us about your most memorable marketing coup - or crash!
Email your responses to InnkeeperNews@BedandBreakfast.com. If we publish your comments in the Innkeeper News, we'll thank you with a $25 credit in our Featured Properties Auction program!

We Asked:
What is the funniest thing that ever happened at your inn?

You Replied:

"One morning I came downstairs to start breakfast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a bat whiz by in the living room. I went upstairs to get my husband, and by the time we got back downstairs, several bats were circling the room. I closed the room off from the rest of the house, opened the French doors leading outside, and I went to the kitchen to start the coffee. Only moments later I returned to find at least 50 bats circling, and we needed to be cooking breakfast!

Karbach Haus B&B New Braunfels, TX

"When our guests appeared for breakfast, we told them that we had a special treat for them that morning... a bat show. They were fascinated. Fortunately, none of them seemed too horrified, and the bats stayed at to the front of the house. All of the exterior doors were open, and we hoped the uninvited flying guests would just leave.

"After breakfast, I checked, and all bats had disappeared. That evening, I noticed in shock that the bats had returned. I sat in a chair in the living room and watched them swoop around. I noticed little heads peeping out from the pleats in the drapery, then dropping down to join the swirling fray. They had simply spent the day sleeping in our living room! Again, I opened all the exterior doors. Gradually all of the little creatures found their way out into the night. I won't even try to describe the mess under the curtains, but they were as happy to leave as I was to see them go.

"Late that night my husband went up a tall ladder to seal the chimney with fine mesh, so that the bats could not re-enter in the morning. Too bad we had no advance warning, or we could have booked all the rooms in the house with a "special." One couple were visiting from the Netherlands, and they were so excited about "die Fledermaüse" that they could hardly eat their breakfast. They wrote us from Holland after they returned to tell us again how special the stay had been. It just goes to show, 'If you don't laugh at yourself, you'll miss the best joke in town!'"
Kathy Kinney, Karbach Haus Bed and Breakfast, New Braunfels, TX

"Our bed and breakfast is in a small Texas town across the street from a granite courthouse that resembles a European castle. On New Year's Eve, 1999, a couple drove 300 miles to get married in the first minute of 2000. They arrived in the afternoon and proceed to unload their luggage -- wedding dress and all. Laden with suitcases, they started up the courthouse steps wondering why so many police officers were hanging around. They thought perhaps some folks started celebrating the millennium early. Trying to ignore all the people, they toured the first floor of the courthouse looking for the check-in desk, and started to wonder what was happening to their peaceful romantic getaway. Finally, they asked, 'where is the honeymoon suite?' You can imagine the rest of the story when they realized they were trying to check in at the County Courthouse for New Year's Eve."
Margaret Atkinson, Abbercromby Penthouse Suites, Decatur, TX

We Asked:
What has been your biggest innkeeping challenge, and how have you overcome it?

You Replied:
"For high traffic weekends in our university town (sporting events and graduation), people would make reservations for multiple nights and send a deposit for one night. After arrival, they would cancel the rest of their stay, and move over to cheaper accommodations that had become available due to last-minute cancellations. We then initiated the policy of payment in full within five days, no cancellations or refunds. It has worked wonderfully. The guests are calling earlier, sending their monies immediately, and are happy to know they will not be overbooked as happens at the local hotels. Guests reserve here because they really want to stay at our B&B, and not because it is the cheapest place.
Nila Haug, Bed and Breakfast, The Golden Haug, Iowa City, IA