As I have written on numerous previous occasions, here at TerraVina we are very fortunate to be blessed with lovely guests, most of whom keep returning to us time after time. We love welcoming them back, we greet them as friends and some of them have in fact become just those… proper friends, when the relationship transcends beyond a very friendly client/guest interaction. In a nutshell we love people, we hugely appreciate the guests who visit us and we try hard to look after everyone in a relaxed, friendly and warm manner.

However, now and then (and very rarely), we have to deal with some who are a little “prickly”. They may be guests who have not been to us before and are not sure what to expect, so are not quite so relaxed on their arrival, guests who have had a bad day and are stressed, or feel out of sorts, or guests who simply don’t like us- we understand we will not be to everyone’s liking  and that sometimes we won’t be able to win people over and so will probably not have the opportunity of welcoming them back- as hoteliers we accept this fact and are thankful that is only a minority… however, the really challenging ones are those that arrive happy and seemingly relaxed, but then become unreasonable or difficult as their time with us progresses. When it is due to something we have done wrong, then hands up, guilty as charged and we will try our utmost to rectify the problem and hope that the end result still remains a positive experience for all concerned, but there are times when we simply cannot please everyone and then I have come to the conclusion that after all of our best efforts have been tried, it is probably more sensible to admit defeat.

In the time we have owned hotels, (not far off 20 years) there have been a handful of such times when guests and the general public have amazed us by their demands, tantrums and comments…… people are fascinating and as such that is what keeps being a hotelier such an exciting, unpredictable and positively challenging profession and of course there is so much scope for a book!

Thus just a word of cautionary advice for anyone thinking of becoming a hotelier, for all the fantastic guests you will have through the door, be aware that there will be some who complain that there are no Christmas carols playing in the restaurant, not enough Christmas decorations or ones that are to their liking, no carpet on the floor of the restaurant, that they hate the colour of your front door, that it is the hotel’s fault that the guests in the room next door are noisy, that a baby is crying, that their high heels (and trousers that are too long) caused them to slip on the floor, that the guests sitting on the table next to them/across the room from them are having a good time and are laughing too loudly, that it rained during their stay, that we should have known they had a food allergy, or an allergy to feathers in their pillows, even though they forgot to mention it during their stay and so the list goes on…. indeed people and their personalities are fascinating, challenging and you just never know what they are going to spring on you next!  That’s what makes being a hotelier so exciting and keeps each day fresh and inspiring.

I admit there are some days when I dream that if I ever do another business I will not deal with people (not quite sure what business it could be)… but then of course life would be so dull and I would hate it; and I would miss all of the lovely guests that we are blessed with. Look out for our regular e shots and newsletters that we email to you all as there are some super offers and always news of what’s going on here to keep you updated.

Till next week

Nx