Renovation Project - We have our first booking
Well this is it, we are are ready and raring to go, we just need to have some customers now!
We have arranged to have our first guests tonight, this is more of a thank you to Gerda, Gerda has taken our photographs for the website and has very kindly offered to do the translation for the website. We had considered using Google translate but after having a practice with it, we quickly realised that this was not a viable option. If you don't believe us, just try adding a paragraph to google translate and see what it gives you!
We have invited Gerda and her husband Andy over for dinner and to give the guest room a test drive. It seems quite fitting as we met Gerda and Andy through this blog, they were one of the very first people who came to visit us in the early days, when we still didn't have floors or doors! So to have them as our first guests truly marks the end of an era.
The evening is going wonderfully well, as always, and dinner is a success.
The telephone rings after we have finished eating and it is not a number I recognise, so I assume it is a sales call (we do get quite a few of these). Here is a small transcript of the call:
Me – Bonjour
Caller – Bonjour
Me – Bonjour
Caller – Nothing
Me (a little louder) Bonjour/hello
Caller – Hello
Me – Who is this?
Caller – It's ******** (names have been removed)
Me – Where are you from (still assuming a sales call)
Caller – From France
Me – (Now getting a bit narked!) - No what company are you from?
Caller – Is that Huelgoat B&&B?
Me - (In my head) Bugger, Bugger, Bugger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it's someone ringing about the B&B, I now try to back track and attempt to sound professional in my bestest French, luckily she is very understanding and we discuss vacancies for July, she books (I didn't scare her away).
We have 2 rooms booked for the festival in July, both for 4 nights, this is so exciting, but how on earth did she get our number, at this point the website was not live, we had no sign outside the house. Then I check the internet, we have gone live on the Huelgoat Tourist Information site.
My goodness how efficient was that! We had expected this to take quite some time.
We are buzzing for the rest of the night, and I am so pleased that Gerda and Andy were here. It's at this point that we take the champagne outside to celebrate, we had been planning on doing this anyway but to have our first booking is the icing on the cake!
Cheers everyone and here’s to many more bookings!
Well this is it, we are are ready and raring to go, we just need to have some customers now!
We have arranged to have our first guests tonight, this is more of a thank you to Gerda, Gerda has taken our photographs for the website and has very kindly offered to do the translation for the website. We had considered using Google translate but after having a practice with it, we quickly realised that this was not a viable option. If you don't believe us, just try adding a paragraph to google translate and see what it gives you!
We have invited Gerda and her husband Andy over for dinner and to give the guest room a test drive. It seems quite fitting as we met Gerda and Andy through this blog, they were one of the very first people who came to visit us in the early days, when we still didn't have floors or doors! So to have them as our first guests truly marks the end of an era.
The evening is going wonderfully well, as always, and dinner is a success.
The telephone rings after we have finished eating and it is not a number I recognise, so I assume it is a sales call (we do get quite a few of these). Here is a small transcript of the call:
Me – Bonjour
Caller – Bonjour
Me – Bonjour
Caller – Nothing
Me (a little louder) Bonjour/hello
Caller – Hello
Me – Who is this?
Caller – It's ******** (names have been removed)
Me – Where are you from (still assuming a sales call)
Caller – From France
Me – (Now getting a bit narked!) - No what company are you from?
Caller – Is that Huelgoat B&&B?
Me - (In my head) Bugger, Bugger, Bugger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it's someone ringing about the B&B, I now try to back track and attempt to sound professional in my bestest French, luckily she is very understanding and we discuss vacancies for July, she books (I didn't scare her away).
We have 2 rooms booked for the festival in July, both for 4 nights, this is so exciting, but how on earth did she get our number, at this point the website was not live, we had no sign outside the house. Then I check the internet, we have gone live on the Huelgoat Tourist Information site.
My goodness how efficient was that! We had expected this to take quite some time.
We are buzzing for the rest of the night, and I am so pleased that Gerda and Andy were here. It's at this point that we take the champagne outside to celebrate, we had been planning on doing this anyway but to have our first booking is the icing on the cake!
Cheers everyone and here’s to many more bookings!
Huelgoat B&B
Gerda Bolton Photography
Click on the links to visit the B&B website or Gerda Bolton Photography
Awesome how exciting I have been enjoying following your journey. Best of Luck
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, lets hope the next chapter will be as good if not better :)
DeleteI think you guys must have already had bottle or two as you are all stood in the flower bed, :) many congratulations
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha, it was the best place for the automatic camera :)
DeleteWell done, the web site looks really good.
ReplyDeleteJust a small tip, don't put 00 in front of your 'phone numbers, not all countries use 00 as the external dial code. You should us a + sign instead and bracket the leading zero so anyone calling from within France will be able to dial.
Your main number should look like +33 (0)2 98 27 25 13.
Hope it helps
David
Thanks for this tip, changing it now :))
DeleteSo exciting - I was a little late to join your journey but am thrilled to see it working out for you!
ReplyDelete