We just returned from the PAII conference at Disney World in California. You may be wondering what is PAII? You may have seen their logo on many Bed and Breakfast websites. PAII is a national organization for B&Bs and full service Inns. This organization provides innkeepers with education allowing us to stay in tune with new trends in the industry.

This was our first PAII conference; we had a blast and learned a lot. We even had enough time to check out Disney World. The conference included educational sessions in many aspects of innkeeping including marketing, operations, technology, legal, financial and of course breakfast. The conference also included a trade show, we were able to purchase some great items for the Bed and Breakfast.

Of course it wasnt all work! Tim entered the Idea Fair before we left, his idea along with 14 others was chosen to be presented and voted on at the Conference. Tims great idea was to automate the lights, thermostats, and fireplaces in the guest rooms. For example, we currently only push one button to turn all of the lamps in our living room and breakfast room. It is a great way to save time and energy. We love saving energy up here in Vermont, it is how we keep Vermont greener then the rest of the country. Tim WON the contest with his smooth presentation and great idea. We won 3 Roomba Vacuum Cleaners from iRobot!!!

We also attended PAIIs Birthday Bash. They were celebrating their 20 year Anniversary with a party complete with drinks, dessert and games. Since we are not much for musical chairs, I entered the hula hoop contest. I was a finalist! Unfortunately there were some better hula hoopers then me. Well you win some and you lose some.