A Course In Innkeeping

Cromwell Manor Historic Inn

The blog below was written by Pamela Rini, my innkeeper at Cromwell Manor Inn. Although everything she said about me is true, I did not force her to say it! Jack

When you search online for courses in innkeeping there are many to choose from. It is a business I have always found interesting, having had the pleasure to stay at many and even got married at one! But I don't need to take a class, or maybe one could say that I am taking a class of sorts. I am very fortunate to be learning firsthand about the business by working as an innkeeper at one of New York State's Top 10 Inns, Cromwell Manor Inn.


I started working for Jack in February 2009 working in the kitchen making breakfast for guests on busy weekends. A busy weekend meaning anywhere from 18 to 30 meals each morning. I quickly caught on after receiving excellent training from Jack in the kitchen. I also made the observation that innkeeping entailed more than serving a beautifully plated gourmet breakfast and conversing with guests! As Jack became busier with other innkeeping duties such as networking, tending to guests, sales, tending to guests, marketing, tending to guests, reservations etc. etc., tending to guests, he entrusted me to other important duties around the inn. He introduced me to the laundry room. When you run a 13 room inn there is a lot of laundry to contend with. Two large washers and 3 dryers. And as I learned in the kitchen, there is a system for everything, including laundry! I guess I proved my worth in folding because then Jack started training me on the computer reservation system and handed the phone over to me to begin taking reservations and other guest calls. After a few months of my new duties, Jack decided he needed a break from the inn and probably from me, too. So he and his wife, Cynthia, went on a well deserved vacation leaving me in charge of the inn for 10 days. A blog will be posted about that experience soon. I will say that Cromwell Manor is still standing and better than ever! And I think Jack would say that I am a keeper, and an INNkeeper, too.

Pamela hard at work!

Hope to see you one day at the Cromwell Manor Inn.