I have been doing B&B for about 21 years now, and it’s great. I live in a beautiful place, people come here, give me money, and leave with nothing except the experience. Many to return again. What a brilliant way to earn a living. My thanks to all those who keep me in the luxury to which I have become accustomed. Not that luxury includes a substantial income, as I haven’t troubled the taxman in years. My luxuries include beautiful environment, no alarm clock, no commuting, freedom to order my own time, time to potter about with things that don’t produce any return, and a general contentment that comes with lack of ambition. I feel a little like Tom Bombadil from LOTR, mostly untroubled by the rest of the world.
But I do like greeting guests. Many are returning from having stayed here before and it is like greeting friends. How comfortable is that. They have voted with their feet that they like they place, and know exactly what to expect. I can relax knowing they will be satisfied. It won’t be just the same as their last visit as the weather and wildlife can be vastly different, but the general experience they appreciate. I especially like greeting guests who have never been here because Possum Valley is a bit on the wild side and not as predictable as a motel in Bowra. Some are shell shocked and ashen-faced from the gravel road in and gripping the steering-wheel with white knuckles. Some say what a beautiful drive in. Then I get to show them a cottage which were built for a family to live in rather than for tourist accommodation. There is a delicate balance between what guests get and what they expect. The expectations are built up from previous experiences of accommodation and levels of amenities, my advertising and responses to inquiries, my website and pictures, the tariff, and a dash of the guests imagination. The complex calculation of all those factors to determine pass/fail is reached within 10 seconds of being shown through the door. The gestalt impression is very quick. I am pleased to say, if I say it myself, that I nearly always get a pass.
And my impression of guests is equally quick. I have had over 20,000 guests by now, which is a statistically viable sample of the population on which to make draw some conclusions. In the brief time when I am showing guests around the cottages, I find I really like you and pleasure in the meeting. A tiny percentage I fail to make any connection with, usually because they are so tight, I can not detect any sense of humour. Sorry, I just cannot seem to connect with people without a sense of humour. I am sure out of 20,000 people, there has been nobody I actively disliked. This gives me great faith in the general good nature of people.
I especially like kids having a good time here. For them to be exposed to what I consider the ‘real’ world. Though I have to admit that now most of the world’s population now lives in cities, what is the normal reality is up for debate. I like to think ‘real’ is where trees grow with reckless abandon, and the animals roam doing their own thing. Kids are some of my best customers and drag their parents back here, I hope not kicking and screaming. It is very satisfying being a B&B operator.
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