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B&B what are your rules


JJ
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we are new to this and are finding it quite surprising what guests do.

we are running a B&B in Normandy and find that alot of guests turn up with bags of food and then expect you to store it! and not Knowing how it's been stored prior to arrival worries me. I have said to various couples that we do not allow food in the house because of the above and also if they become ill from food they have failed to store properly it will be us they will look to and then they look at me like I've just landed.

Do any of you out there have a set list of rules that you tell your guests? I know they are on holiday but some really do take the biscuit! would appreciate any comments you may like to share with me.

I personally wouldn't do half the things some of our guests do but there is a very fine line and not wanting to spoil/upset anyone's holiday.

Thanks in advance!
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We have plastic box's that take up a shelf in the fridge. They place their food or drink in the box and we put the box in the fridge. The fridge we use is only for guests personal food stuffs. None of the food we give them goes in that fridge and neither obviously does our food. Some French CDH's have small kitchens (like a fridge, hotplate, microwave, knifes, forks, plates etc) for guests to use but we don't have the space. We have a large garden and don't mind the picnicking in the garden. Some have asked to use our kitchen but we draw the line at that with a polite 'no' although in the old days I believe owners did allow guests to use their kitchen.
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Thanks for that.....we only have the two fridges in our kitchen - 1 for b&B and 1 for our use and over spill from B&B! I like you will not allow the guests use of our kitchen and there are no other fridges in the house, just have the 4 letting rooms. I personally find it quite rude to turn up at someone else's HOME (although they are paying!) with food and expect it to be stored. Finding it quite hard with some guests as they are convinced that this place is a hotel and not B&B and do as they please. I know what I would like to say but they are on holiday but that doesn't give them the right to abuse your home & hospitality!! thanks anyway
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Couldn't you put a guest fridge in the breakfast room? There are smart ones.

Please, we punters pay and b&b's are not the cheapest of accommodation with have used, most of us do not abuse, but we do like the opportunity to keep things cool, not unreasonable in what can be a hot country.

 

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[quote user="JJ"]I personally find it quite rude to turn up at someone

else's HOME (although they are paying!) with food and expect it to be

stored. [/quote]Assuming they haven't turned up with three shopping bags full of perishables... I don't find it rude. Do you provide evening meals for guests? Or are they turning up with provisions for picnic suppers?

Our guests have their own under-counter fridge in their coffee / tea-making area. It is made good use of and I supply stickers for them to write their names on their produce to reduce confusion between different sets of guests. In general, they are not permitted to use our kitchen for cooking but if they are catering for babies then I'm somewhat flexible about this. Also, if I like the guests and they want to prepare fish (say) that they've caught, they can do so in the kitchen and cook it on the barbecue.

The thing with running your own business, you make - and vary! - the rules. [:D]

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The problem with putting a fridge in the breakfast area for guests to store their food is that it does not stop there. You then get people looking through your cupboards for crockery, knives, fork, glass's etc without asking which they leave on the outside tables for you to clear up. On more than one occasion when I have had the table laid for the guests evening meal and people helping themselves to these items straight off the table in front of the guests who are paying to dine in. Not a great problem as we obviously have more plates etc but it's a bit of a cheek and I have to reset part of the table. They do this even though we have told them that we have picnic baskets with everything in they could possibly want and they are free. You then find they start nicking stuff like butter, orange juice etc that belongs to you and is for the guests breakfast. Not normally a big deal but when you worked out that you have enough for breakfast and four rooms to clean after so you don't have to worry about going to shops the day before your then left without enough food for breakfast. Even worse, like once many years ago, we actually had a fight because somebody had taken another persons butter or something.

There is no such thing as a B&B in France, it's a chambres d'hotes, its different, and you are in somebodies home and not an hotel and as such should respect the place. 99% of the time people do, you just get the odd one and the simplest way I have found is to throw them out which fortunately I have ever only done twice in ten years.

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I do take great issue with a chambre d'hote, 'just being in someone's home'. It maybe the name we use, but as far as I can tell from this board and from the odd one I have stayed in, it is a business and far far removed from say a household  in the old days who would take in someone in, their spare room, or farm would do the same for that matter. That sort may still exist, but we are not talking about the same thing at all, as far as I am concerned.

Also I find chambre d'hote are often expensive, I can stop in cheaper cheap hotels too, that are perfectly OK, places like B&B hotel etc. And in the ones that are staffed all night, we have asked for our cool blocks to be put in the freezer and everyone has been very nice about it. We are always good clients, we are quiet and tidy and don't steal other people's things.

I don't know what other people expect from a chambre d'hote, I know what I expect from the prices that are asked.

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we learnt early on that guests these days (in all the years we were B&B guests we have never done this or even thought about it) will arrive with food & drink to have in their rooms, & after various incidents (chicken carcasses in bins, mouldy milk down drains, bags of cheese hanging on door handles & baths full of beer) we set up a coin cuisine with 2 large fridges, microwave, enough crockery, cutlery, glassware, microwave dishes etc for 8 people & I would say the majority of our guests now picnic on their terrace.  It is certainly one reason why we have so many repeat bookings.  Have never had any fights between guests, though at times the kitchen turns into a student squat which does infuriate me as I have enough to do without doing peoples washing up..... & I find when we are full I do need to empty the bins several times a day.  It really bugs me when the trays provided are not used & drinks are spilt all along the corridor (this happened this weekend & have spent the day steam cleaning the carpets.....)We do not allow BBQs or offer access to our kitchen facilities - have some guests due next week who have asked if they can bring a portable grill - to which we have responded no......with a wooden upper terrace, strong winds & drought we are a high fire risk....fingers crossed they dont sneak one in.... There will always be guests who push you to the limit, but vast majority are no trouble.
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[quote user="sweet 17"] some medication items like eye drops for glaucoma need to be kept cool also.[/quote]

[:-))]I've started using glaucoma drops and my ophtho didn't tell me to keep the stuff cool - it's by my bed so I hope it's ok.

But back on topic, if I'm staying in a chambre d'hote I wouldn't dream of using their facilities to cook but would appreciate being able to store the odd perishable that I was going to use for a picnic the next day.

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[quote user="Quillan"]The problem with putting a fridge in the breakfast area for guests to store their food is that it does not stop there.[/quote] For us, there's a clear deliniation between guest accommodation (the upper floor with its own front door) and ours - downstairs with the stairs going down from the guests' sitting room. There is no reason for them to come downstairs except for breakfast, for dinner if they are eating in or if they want to talk to us. If they want to talk to us, they usually come half-way down the stairs to attract our attention and then I walk them back up to the guest sitting room to discuss whatever it is. We have our own front door.

That clear distinction between our area and theirs seems to be a barrier that - so far! - hasn't been crossed. They have to ask us for plates and cutlery if they want to eat outside - and I make it quite clear that providing this is part of the service - so I control what they have and make sure it all comes back. So far, so good... though obviously, human nature being what it is, at some point there'll be "some issues"! Yes, I do a fair bit of running around after some of them, but that puts me in control and it's much better to "guide them"! than leaving them to their own devices. And yes, if they picnic, that's extra washing up... but they enjoy themselves, the dishwasher doesn't take long to load and loading it is faster than spending 3 hours cooking for them. [:D]

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  • 1 month later...
Really, all it needs is some common sense. We have a guest kitchen where they can freeze their ice etc. We frequently store the odd item, but no-one seems to take the mickey.

Why do so many people get on their high horse on these things and start shooting their mouth off about rules, policies etc.

We have no signs in our CDH, except the statutory fee notice. Long may this situation remain.
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quite agree - generally if you treat the guests with respect they will treat you the same - hate Cd'H with signs everywhere, we like our guests to feel at home with us....... any little quirks we have (blue towels are pool towels, try not to leave wet towels on the ends of the antique, upholstered beds, use trays from kitchen to room) we mention when we show them the room.  For the most part we just let them do what they want & during the summer months very few of our guests leave the premises as they feel so relaxed.  

Hope you have all had a good season - we are starting to unwind as the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter.....pool cover goes on soon, one less thing to worry about......shame about the pile of ironing getting ever higher as each day goes by......

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