A Cariad Life

As of Saturday, February 4, Repos à Ribérac has been open for two weeks. When we first prepared to open, I was concerned that bookings would be slow at first, especially during the low season. Oh my goodness–have I been surprised! In the last two weeks, we have had three sold out nights and most nights we are at least 50% occupied. It has been so consistently busy that Darrell and I actually blocked out Saturday night this weekend, so that he and I could go out on a date night, have one morning to sleep in, and also get caught up on laundry. Unfortunately, I got a stomach virus this weekend…so it wasn’t quite as restful as we hoped, but at least we had one night without guests and another 2-3 rooms to turn–we also slept in this morning until 9am:)

We have absolutely loved meeting so many new and interesting people. Our guests are so diverse, and they have been pleasures to have in our home. Every night there is a different feel, as the collection of different guests creates a unique atmosphere. We’ve learned to adapt and appreciate each new community of guests. We try to treat each person as a welcomed guest and…there are a lot of details in preparing that experience. Back when I was in HR, I would share with my team, no one or very few will remember to thank you when they were paid the correct amount on their check, or when the onboarding process ran perfectly, or even when you were able to provide an answer in the moment they needed it. They will, however, remember and take note when those things don’t happen. It’s the same as guests–they expect (and should consistently get it) a clean, tasteful, and hospitable environment. They should expect kind and gracious hosts, who are genuinely glad you’ve arrived and want to make your stay as pleasant as possible. They may not always thank you, but they know when that experience is sub-par. It’s in the details…which are not terribly sexy, but so important.

One of those “not very sexy” details is the laundry. Sometimes, and please don’t take this as complaining, it feels like we are drowning in laundry. For example, when we are fully booked, we have 7 fitted sheets, 7 flat sheets, 14 pillowcases, and 14 shams to wash, hang to dry (more about why we don’t use the dryer in a minute), fold to prepare for ironing, iron, and put away–not to mention the napkins from breakfast, bath towels, hand towels, washcloths, bath mats, duvet covers…oh, and of course, there is our own laundry, which I have fallen behind on (until today.) I’ve posted a picture below of the current state of our upstairs kitchen, which has now become a drying and ironing station.

So why do we hang our sheets instead of drying them? Well first, I learned early on that the dryer uses a lot of electricity and Europe is having an energy crisis…it could be that EU outlets put out 220 volts instead of the 110 volts in the US. Also, sheets hung out to dry are easier to iron than sheets that come out of a dryer. “Why iron your sheets?” you may ask. Well, because there really is nothing like sleeping on 100% Egyptian Cotton ironed sheets–it is an experience–it feels clean and luxurious. It also lets our guests know we are attentive to the details. I’ve also learned some tricks about how to fold them before you iron them that really saves time, but yields the same result. It’s one of those details that no one may thank me for, but if we didn’t do it they would notice.

The same goes for the depths we go to clean the B&B. I am convinced that there is no one on earth who can clean bathrooms better or vacuum more thoroughly than Darrell Martin–he inspects every inch, not a stray hair or dust bunny to be found anywhere once he gets a hold of a room or bathroom. He relentlessly searches for cobwebs, scuff marks, and any stray dirt which may have been tracked in. We did have a guest recently who commented on how clean the inn was, which I held in my heart and repeated to myself several times that day. “People do notice,” I thought.

Does it get monotonous or overwhelming to keep up with all of these details? To be honest, it can. What I have realized though is that we all have routines, things we do daily, that can get monotonous if we think of it as another thing to do…another task that has to get done. It can feel that way with grocery shopping, carpool lanes, paying bills, etc. Owning a bed & breakfast in France doesn’t change having routines and tasks that must get done. What has helped me though is thinking about the end experience. I think about the people who will enjoy those sheets once I finish ironing them; those guests who, after a long day, can soak in one of our bathtubs and not be distracted by mold or grime and instead see white porcelain and shiny chrome; and, those guests who feel completely fine with their two year old scooting on their bum up and down our stairs (that happened just Friday morning:) If I focus on the experience that the routine will provide, it helps bring purpose to it.

Though some may say, “the devil is in the details” because that is the place where there may be snags and hang-ups, not in the overall vision of the experience you want to provide. I am learning that “God is in the details”–being attentive and thorough is important and sacred to accomplishing mission. It is missional work to build a space and a place where people feel valued and cared for…down to every single detail.