Run a hotel, they said. It’ll be a blast, they said.
First day of retirement: excellent. Not sure I’ll ever get used to just…waking up. Not having to get up at 4am is lovely for anyone, but this morning I simply had breakfast by myself, no guests asking me anything. No kitchen crises. No sheets to fold or big fry-ups to make. Nobody lost their keys, or came back at 2am after a few too many drinks and caused a stir. It was just…me. So quiet, so calm.
I wonder if I’ll ever go to stay in a Lorne hotel? Maybe not for a few years; it would just be far too strange. I’ve been a guest at other places before, of course. I did take holidays sometimes, if not nearly as often as I would like. But still, going back to Lorne to stay in a hotel, after 50 years of working in one? That would just be a bizarre turn of events. I’ll leave it for a bit, see how I feel.
One thing being a hotel owner DOES do is make you ultra-judgmental of other places. I will say I tried to take off that hat and learn some things from the places where I stayed, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as fun. Judging just comes naturally when you’re in the same profession. If there weren’t enough mints provided, or I didn’t get a change of bed linen during the day, or if the breakfast wasn’t quite up to scratch, then I would let them know. Gently. It’s the only way people improve, and I’d want to hear if I was lacking in a certain area.
How is Lorne accommodation ever going to improve unless it gets proper feedback from outsiders? Not from me, though…not for a while. Which is a shame, because so many hotels could use my wise advice and many years of experience.
-Bruce