Innkeeper Passion Statement for the Morning Glory Inn located in York, ME

Bonnie and Bill Alstrom, innkeepers of the Morning Glory Inn, located in York, Maine, submitted the following Innkeeper Passion Statement:

1. I love Innkeeping because it involves so many different responsibilities. It requires a large tool box. It also requires a personality that likes to learn new skills. Each day is filled with a diverse set of activities. If we’re not concierging a guest (a couple popped in from Denmark last night!), we’re gardening or house painting. We might be improving our web site or taking photos to add to our gardening blog. Of course, there is always the design aspect. Bonnie is constantly finding fresh ways to make the guest rooms and common areas more interesting and inviting (without cramming them full of stuff). She also leads the charge in keeping the breakfast presentation fun and interesting. I try to make the best coffee possible. So we love the diverse set of jobs – I could rattle on, but you get the picture.
2. But it always comes back to how you treat the guests. If you enjoyed the customer service angle in your previous life, you might enjoy this. If not, forget about it. If you enjoy serving the public and seeing the results of your “cultivation” in the form of many returning customers, this could be for you. Many of the requests we get we consider an opportunity to please and help. If you consider it a bother, I’d find another career.
3. I like the independence. Our staff meetings are simple. Conversations over a coffee or a glass of wine lead to fresh approaches to the business. We think of something, talk it over and simply do it. Both of us are “corporate refugees”. We lived the frustration of business bureaucracy for decades. It wasn’t fun. This is. We don’t make much money compared to those days, but we pay all our bills on time and take nice, long winter vacations.

Ten years Innkeeping and we’re still here and having fun. Sometimes it’s exhausting fun, but still fun.

Warmest regards,
Bonnie and Bill Alstrom

Go to the Morning Glory Inn Bed and Breakfast for their contact information