Bring In Extra Revenue With an Inn Gift Shop

When someone takes a trip, they bring home souvenirs. They go to the Jersey shore, they bring back seashells. They visit Canada, they pick up some maple syrup.

But what if one of the most memorable parts of someone’s trip was their hotel room?

Many innkeepers are taking advantage of this idea – and thus creating more revenue — by taking a space on their property and essentially turning it into a gift shop where guests can purchase the sheets, towels, robes, and other amenities they’ve enjoyed during their stay.

Guests enjoy having luxury linens and other comforts when they travel, giving them a break from the familiar sheets, towels, mattresses and blankets they use at home. Some of them even call InnStyle directly to purchase these products. But these customers could – and should – be purchasing through you.

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How to Use a Table Runner

When we set out to blog about table runners, we decided to look into the history of these unique decorative items.

There doesn’t seem to be a definitive origin story for table runners, but most writers we found seem to agree they came about in the Middle Ages.

As blogger Amy Isaman put it:

“Apparently, back in medieval times, people would wipe their faces on the table cloth. Eventually, thank God, this became unacceptable and somebody invented napkins, but people still ate like pigs and spilled their food and drinks all over the tablecloths which then had to be laundered, so some wise woman invented the table runner to protect the table cloth.”

The idea was that the table runner would catch all the spills and dropped food, and then be gathered up for cleaning at the end of the night, leaving the pristine tablecloth behind. Tablecloths and table runners became standard dining fixtures by the 1600s.

Hopefully, you’ll be using your table runners for decorative, and not simply practical, reasons. Here are 10 ways you can put one into play in your home:

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InnStyle: In Our Own Words

The Professional Association of Innkeepers’ 2016 conference is just a few months away. The PAII sent us a questionnaire to fill out, and as we did, we realized they’d given us a great opportunity to share our story with the world. Here’s what we had to say.

1. In 500 words or less, please tell us about your business:

We have been in business since 1952. We began with a store called County Linen Center in Doylestown, Pa. (Bucks County), selling linens for bed, bath and dining for the home. Since we had many local hotels purchasing from us, we recognized that innkeepers could not purchase luxury linens in small quantities at wholesale pricing.

So we went nationwide in 1988, calling ourselves InnStyle. At that time, most hospitality industry suppliers only offered products by the dozens and did not offer fashion products.

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How to Use a Table Runner

Did you know that table runners have been used in dining rooms as far back as the Middle Ages? It’s true.

Way back in the Medieval period, table runners were used to protect rare and valuable tablecloths from messy and uncouth diners, many of whom tended to use the tablecloth in front of them as a napkin.

Dining room manners, of course, have changed quite a lot over the past thousand or so years, and today, table runners are generally used for decorative purposes. And yet they also keep expensive tables—and yes, expensive tablecloths—safe from forks, knives, liquid spills and food debris. So maybe things haven’t changed all that much after all!

If you’d like to add a table runner to your own dining room, bear in mind that they can be used for both formal and informal settings. In either situation, they bring color, texture and an added interest to your table. You can use them to celebrate special occasions, to observe the holidays, or simply to change the mood of the room.

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Cozy Up with Down Blankets this Fall

What is the difference between a down blanket and a down duvet?

Generally speaking, down blankets are more lightweight. They use a sewn-through (or stitch-through) construction, where the top layer of ticking is sewn directly onto the bottom layer to keep the down evenly distributed. Down blankets are typically sized a bit more generously than a duvet, as they’re often used in lieu of a duvet, woven blanket, or coverlet. Many of our customers use a down or down alternative blanket as a third sheeting instead of a traditional blanket. It is a good choice for those who do “turn-down” service as it looks lovely when guests return to their room after dinner.

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Which Amenities are Most Important?

We have been asked by many Innkeepers which amenities are most important to have available for their guests.

Below is a list of basic items which most guests would expect to have in their guest room.

Soap at the sink and in the shower
Shampoo
Conditioner
Body Wash (optional) some people prefer to soap
Hair Dryer
Robes
Slippers
WiFi availability (free is preferred-if not in room-available in a common area)

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Bath Towels, Bath Sheets & Pool Towels

Bath Towels

We have many customers asking us about the best size to purchase in a bath towel. Many years ago the most popular size of a bath towel was 27”x 50”. As the years went by, manufacturers were offering larger sizes starting with 27”x 54” up to 30”x 56” for a bath towel and in some cases 30”x 60” or 34”x 64”(in the past, considered a bath sheet size). Customers are requesting large bath towels which will wrap around their body. Larger bath towels are, in most cases, more luxurious in size, weight, cotton content and softness. Most bath towels can fit on a normal size towel bar.

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Cotton Sheeting

How long should my bed sheets last?

Cotton Sheets from InnStyle — 310 Cotton Sateen Sheets

This is a question asked frequently by both our innkeepers and by our customers for home use.

For home use & hospitality use, with proper care, fine bed linens (depending on the sheets you purchase-this is why I state “fine linens”) can last for many years. It is best to alternate the use of each set on a weekly basis for home use. For innkeepers, of course, sheets need to be changed each time a guest checks out and a new guest arrives. Innkeepers will find that most sheets will need to be replaced sooner (than a homeowner) depending on how often their turnover is of guest occupancy in their properties. Three sets of sheets for each bed is a good guideline to follow for hospitality and for your home: one on the bed, one in the wash, one in the closet. In between each use, launder and store your linens in a well-ventilated space. For best results when laundering, use a non-chlorine bleach and a gentle liquid detergent. Wash on a gentle cycle with warm water. Tumble dry until slightly damp. Over drying or drying on too hot a setting is the single biggest factor in reducing the life of your sheets.

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Quilts and Matelasse’ Coverings

Traditionally a quilt is a cover that is able to be used in a variety of ways. Quilts have a layer of batting or padding placed between two layers of fabric and then stitched into a specific pattern or design to hold the layers in place. Batting is a soft and bulky assembly of fibers that gives the quilt loft and creates a layer of insulation.

There are 2 different types of quilts. The first type is made with a single uniform piece of fabric for the top layer. This is different from the second type, a piecework quilt that joins smaller sections of fabric together to create the top layer. On each type of quilt, the underside will be a single piece of solid color fabric. Pieced quilts are often made from fabrics that may have been used previously in clothing, upholstery, former drapery, or bedding. Any fabric that is not being worn or used for its original purpose can be reused in this fashion. Some quilters will purchase bolts of fabric or yards of fabric and cut into smaller pieces to make a quilt of their own artistic design. This makes for an interesting and unique cover for a bed, couch, throw, or chair. Some quilts are made from a combination of antique fabrics, old clothing pieces, or upholstery fabric.

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The What and Where of Fingertip Towels

A fingertip towel is a small towel designed to be easy and convenient for drying hands and particularly ‘fingertips’ quickly. It is smaller than a hand towel, yet larger than a wash cloth. A fingertip towel can be functional, decorative, or both. It is a versatile towel that can be laid on the countertop next to the sink, hung on a small towel rack, or draped over coordinating bath towels or hand towels, particularly in guest bathrooms.

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