Strange Search Terms and Stuff

I was looking at the stats analysis on the blog and came across the page that gives you the search terms that people use to find a site. In the case of this site its no surprise that "Country Encounters" was the number one search term. Now there was some terms that are not so unusual. Things like "Alberta Chef's Blog" and " Crowsnest Pass Blog"  seem reasonable. Then come the off the wall ones "bed and breakfast recipes "scalloped potatoes" ,
" Who makes wedding cakes in the crow's nest pass" and

my all time favourite  "how do you pronounce the christmas
 bread - panettone"

To all that have searched and found us: Thank You

To the person looking for Scallop Potatoes: I hope they worked out

To  the wedding cake people: Yes we do make cakes ... sometimes 

and finally to the person wanting to know
 how to say the name of the Italian Christmas Bread: 
I was told it was pronounced pan - a-  toni 

And on a slightly different topic: referring sites. 

Still the number one site to refer people to here is :John Prince's blog 
followed closely by CNPLive .  

Thank you Guys for the links  

What a Summer

Well after all the racing around getting things ready, reorganizing, renovating etc. etc.etc, summer showed up ( at least the months that are supposed to be summer)  We hosted 4 Exploritas programs and a large number of our friends from the Niagara fly fishing club. We had weddings and reunions and guests from all over the world.( hi ladies from Australia)  We got several reviews on Trip Advised ( that's really good) and had our guest book filed.

Was the summer a success? Yup I think so. Was it different that past years ? You bet it was. But thats ok change is good, isn't it?

Trade Type Shows

In the past year I have participated in two trade show type gatherings: The Crowsnest Pass Trade Show  in April

 and the tourism trade show in the Pass in May  ( now I probably have the names wrong on these but you get the idea)

 Now I have an opportunity to go to the tourism trade show in Fort MacLoud  on Thursday. The great thing about these tourism shows put on by Southwest Regional Alliance and Community Futures is they are free. You get to meet and network with other operators and those in a position to help you market your company ( aka Travel Alberta, Southwest Regional Alliance, etc). They are open to the public for part of the time so you get exposure there too.   All around they are well worth the time.

The New Meeting Space

A couple of weeks ago we finished the upgrades to what used to be my office. Today I find it full of Scrap bookers; here for a retreat for the week end.  The room works great. After adding a new window and entrance door, painting and reorganizing things turned out well.

   We have a number of week end retreats booked for this space, Photography,scrapbooking etc and some cooking classes. It has worked well for those groups that have used it.

Comes complete with A/v equipment, beverage station and tables and chairs. It can seat up to 16 with room to work or up to 30 meeting style.

New ways to post

You can tell that Sunday and holidays are the days I spend cruisin' around looking at stuff on the net. I came across this article at Hospitality Trends http://www.htrends.com/trends-detail-sid-42081.html and immediately thought of the nice comment Sue @ Turtleback cottage left me and a chat I had with Dianne from the Bellevue underground mine( ya we are all talking about blogging and twitter etc. and how it can be used in our respective jobs.) Now this type of post could work for me as a quick post during those times when I'm really busy. So I think soon we will be seeing more photos and things from the kitchen and B&B but not too many. I've never been a fan of all pictures.

The Deposit Dilemma

This topic sprouted because of a bill I am having trouble collecting on. This doesn't happen very often in fact while catering it has happened only once before. But it has caused me to look at my deposit policies.


For accommodation bookings I have always required a credit card number. It’s just good sense. In the occurrence of a bad renter (I’ve never had one) you have the security of being able to charge the customer for damage done. If they do not show up for their reservation you can still charge them and all that stuff. It’s just protecting yourself. For catering I have always resisted taking deposits on a function. My payment terms are net 7 and most people pay their bill on the night of the function or within a couple of days after.

Why have I resisted deposits on catering? All the expenses are due at about the same time as the function (within a week before or after) and I have never wanted to find myself in the situation of owing for the groceries or staff but having spent the funds on something else. Next reason: I never know exactly what the final bill will be until after we have served. So deposits have to be approximate. Next reason: I don’t want to find myself owing the customer because they made deposits and then their numbers were not what they expect. And the final reason is a bit sketchy. It’s kind of a fear thing that has never happened to me but could. Meals are very personal and I never want someone to pay full price for a meal that they are not happy with (also never happened to my knowledge but could in theory). Again I could end up owing the customer.

So what to do to prevent the situation from occurring again is the real question. You never really know when this could happen. The person in question is not one I would have expected to do this. So do I relent and insist on a deposit from everyone? Not really possible. I mean many of my clients are non profits, big corporations, school boards etc. I could just apply it to individuals I guess. Then how much deposit do you take? 10% , 30% 50% . I don’t know. The thought I have had is to take a credit card number like I do with accommodation bookings but the flaw with that is how many people can afford to have $4000 charged to their credit card? If you can’t charge the bill (because it has to be charged after we serve)to the card then you are no further ahead and it may encourage more people to pey via credit card and that only costs me.

Any other ideas how to work this?