I know that it is important to save our planet. Recently I read the policies of one inn that seemed to really focus on conservation of energy, time and materials. “Please don’tuse towels just once.” “Don’t call for service inthe room unless you really need it.” Limit your time in the shower.” and on and on! It is important to minimize our footprint and impact planet earthas little as possible.It seems to me that going “green” can also be used as an excuse for poor servive. The attention may be on maximizing profits as much as saving the planet. But motives are hard to judge.
The American Canoe Association recently commented that kayaking grew by272% in the past 9 years and is the fasting growing segment of its industry. Our kayaks do get a lot of use as our gussts enjoy the serenity of the wildlife/waterfowl refuge. We have kayaks,canoes and paddleboats for guests to
explore our shoreline. Watts Bar Lake is the least developed of the lakes on the Tennessee River system. TVA estimates that there are about 65 species
of birds in this area. The water is warming up and the boats are ready.
The innkeeping conference at Disneyland in LA last week provided a wonderful opportunity to hear about the latest developments in technology for innkeepers. A major focus was the increasing trend to register online at bed and breakfasts. As innkeepers we want to maintain the highest level of warm hospitality to our guests. Recent statistics indicate that a significant number of our guests want to make their reservations on their own terms at times selected by them. With the advent of improved web sites and virtual tours I acknowledge that online reservatiopns are here to stay. It still seems strange to me that a guest can arrive at Whitestone Country Inn without having asked 20 questions about the color of drapes or how far it is to Gatlinburg.
So much information is available online that the very nature of business has changed in every arena. We still answer the phone by the third ring and we can still describe the rooms. But A good web site answers a lot of questions and you can make dependable reservations online. I just wonder
“whats next”?
Paul
Whitestone Country Inn will host 21 travel writers from across the southeast on Thursday April 3rd. Their arrival is a bit unusual in that they will be arriving by paddlewheeler.
After a whirlwind tour of many East Tennessee attractions, 21 writers and 8 state tourism officials will board the Watts Bar Belle at Kingston,
Tn.
and travel up-river
for
about
1 hour
and arrive at Whitestone at 7pm for a special dinner.
Travel writers are very important to the tourism industry and we look forward to hosting this event.
Having a country inn on a dead end road surrounded by a wildlife waterfowl refuge violates the conventional wisdom of location, location, location. However the advantages far outweigh
any disadvantages. I was reminded today of the value of our location
as a sat on the porch and looked across the Tennessee River at the Smokys.
The osprey have returned to the Paint Rock Refuge this week. Read the rest of this entry »
