A Day in the Life of an Innkeeper

Have you ever thought about running your own bed and breakfast?

The thing about being an Innkeeper and part of the reason Kjersten and Greg love what they do, is that every day is different. No two days are exactly the same. "There are different people in our building all the time, so you're meeting new people. You get to experience people's personalities and perspectives. There is a typical rhythm to the day, we always laugh that we are the first people up and the last to bed."

6:00am - 10:30am/11:00am Prep for breakfast.

Breakfast is the biggest portion of the day, probably the most important part. It's the part of the day that our guests look forward to the most. Kjersten is in charge of coffee, including getting the beverage service including juice and water going in the dining room. Greg is our cook and does all the cooking. Kjersten is the Sous-chef (second in command of a kitchen) and they help each other by complementing each other's strengths. Greg is a cook and does all the seasoning and preparation of meals, Kjersten is more of a baker. "If it needs a recipe, Kjersten does it. If it doesn't need a recipe, Greg does it."

Rarely is a breakfast prepared the night before, it's almost always done the morning of which means our breakfast is always super fresh. "We're prepping it, cooking and serving it all within a couple of hours."

While all of this is going on, guests are greeted as they get up and come down to breakfast. We serve plated breakfasts, so guests sit down at a table, and we explain what breakfast is going to be (we serve Chef's choice). We take care of the serving, clearing of plates, and cleaning up of the kitchen.   

10:00am - 11:00am Cleanup and Guest Checkouts

Many guests take their leave after breakfast. This is a great chance to talk with them and make sure they had a great stay.

11:00am - 4:00pm Housekeeping

Kjersten is in charge of the housekeeping schedule. We have an amazing housekeeping staff who flip all the rooms and get them ready for our next round of guests. The middle of the day is used for picking up the house, making sure the kitchen is clean and the dining room is reset. 

11:00am - 4:00pm Maintenance

Greg uses this time for maintenance type duties. Mowing the lawn, shoveling the driveway and household upkeep. He also uses it as time to run errands including grocery store shopping, picking up parts, etc. (On this particular day, he was dropping off clues downtown for the upcoming Murder Mystery)

During the week, Kjersten also works a full-time job from home and does it from a small office in the back of the main floor. During the day she also handles customer pop ins, taking the phone calls for the business or handling vendor appointments. She enjoys giving the occasional "tour" to someone who has heard about the Inn and has questions about the history of the building, the kind of breakfast they serve or would like to see some of the rooms. 

4:00pm - 9:00pm Check ins

Handling Check ins and guest tours of the building. As a B&B our amenities are very different from a hotel's. Where do you go to get a cookie? Where can you find games? What happens at breakfast? Where do you get coffee, water? So guests are always given a tour to show them where everything is and to answer any questions they have. Then we take them to their rooms, and show them what amenities are in their room. We give them the rundown on how to get on the internet, how the television works and make sure they have everything they need. This is a great time for questions. What is there to do in town? Where can I go for dinner? These are some of the most popular questions at check in.

One thing we have learned to do that really helps is the sending of a text the day of your arrival. "We're excited for your arrival and glad you're coming. Do you have a general idea of when you're going to be here?" Most people have a general idea, and it helps to plan our check in process. Sometimes people want to have an Early Check-in or later check-in, and this is a great chance to plan for and accommodate that. 

5:00pm - 6:00pm Dinner with family

We do try to find time to sit down for dinner as a family, but it depends on how many quests have checked-in and if they are all here. Often, we find ourselves eating way too late in the evening or on the run. Innkeeping is hard on the waistline. 

Evening

Sometimes guests like to gather in our lounge or any of the common areas' downstairs. We love to talk to guests about what they've done. They love to tell you about where they've shopped in St. Johns, what they've found or where they've been. Sometimes they tell us a story about another Inn they've stayed at. They like to hear more about the house, about its history. We often get the question ‘Mint city', what does that mean?

"This is our best chance for connecting, being able to talk with your guests and connect with them in a way that's more meaningful than a typical hotel stay. We meet the most amazing people who have interesting careers, who have done and seen really interesting things." 

9:00pm -10:00pm End of the day

This is usually when the day ends for Greg and Kjersten, a chance to finally spend some time in the Innkeepers' Quarters, but keep in mind it is a 24/7 365 type of job. The phone can still ring or a guest may still need something. We have doorbells placed around the building that can be used if something is needed. Guests can always text or call, it's part of running a place to stay.

"For example, last weekend we got a late text that a guest had a shower handle pop off in her hand and water was spraying everywhere. We were hoping for an easy fix, but it didn't turn out that way. The water to the house had to be turned off and a late emergency Friday night call to a plumber had to be made. It just happened to be during a snowstorm!"

Not all days are typical.

One of the best features of the Nordic Pineapple is its events. We have a Murder Mystery coming up which will take place all weekend long. With an event like this, we're interacting with our guests throughout the entire day. They are not typical days for us, but we really love the events. During a six week stretch we have two Murder Mysteries, two euchre tournaments and a Yoga Retreat.  

We couldn't do it alone.

We have a great staff that currently includes three housekeepers (including the Head Housekeeper who also serves as the gardener), a social media specialist, an Assistant Innkeeper and Greg and Kjersten (Head Innkeepers). "People often ask us if we do it alone, but there is just no way. There is always something that needs to be done." Most of the housekeepers are room flippers, turning over the rooms. Sam, the Head Housekeeper, also does common areas on a rotation. The Dining room, kitchen, library, lounge always get cleaned weekly. We take pride in how people always remark how clean it is. We strive to make sure all of our spaces are cleaned all the time. It's all part of making your stay the best experience possible!