'cause there's no-one here to say we can't have cake for breakfast'

For the first time in history,  Napier hosted a One New Zealand Warriors rugby league game against Brisbane Broncos . I hope this doesn't happen again. https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/warriors/132168068/mclean-park-pitch-invaders-may-stop-warriors-coming-back-to-napier Not a fan of Warriors fans. Being in the accommodation industry, I am usually in full support of events being hosted in Hawkes Bay, particularly in Napier, that attract visitors to our city. We sold every bed.  We've hosted for big events in the past. We actively try to have everyone in the house for the same reason as this generally means they have a common rhythm and are tolerant and respectful of each other.  We had over 40 people in the house with tickets to that game...some of them would not even have made it in the gate. If, and it is an if. the Warriors play in Napier again, I will be reluctant to host their fans. The damage inflicted on our property, the disrespect for other guests and staff ju...

Catering is coming to Toadies In another life I worked in the Business Improvement team for New Zealand Post Group. I was an administrator and training coordinator in those days, supporting Project Managers in data gathering and process mapping. Our job was to find inefficiencies and make improvement recommendations. Later I worked in the Change Management team. This involved supporting Change Project Managers as they implemented change into a process. These two area's of work have helped me in my own business. I do constantly look for ways to improve our processes. The key factor is, one problem should not be 'fixed' which creates a greater problem down the line. Which is why the whole end to end process must be mapped. One of the processes we have been looking to improve for our guests is catering. Cooking can be a challenge for our larger groups. They are busy - often not getting back to the house until evening. Helpful parent support is not what it used to be. Time and ...

  Confession time.. I thought writing the blog post after my birthday would be easy. A whole bunch of fabulous photos of my beautiful friends. A few words about how much fun it was and Bobs' ya Uncle! Well..I failed!.  The business brain in me had a justified plan. Shut down the building, have only our friends staying to play, loud and long, without the risk of disturbing paying guests.  In my head, I would gain pics of my beautiful friends - they are all beautiful - showcasing the spaces while they had a great time. These could be used to promote Toad Hall for private functions. A whole stay and play campaign.  Complete fail! I have a civilized group photo of the earlier arriving guests...never got a pic of everyone. Had planned to have pre dinner drinks on the roof terrace but never made it past the courtyard. Took a few pics in the front room...terrible ones that can't be used for advertising. - No-one wants to see me pretending to drain a tequila bottle while my ...

 Did you miss me?  Last Tuesday was Anzac Day. We do dawn service.  In fact 28 folk from Toadies went up to Marine Parade for dawn service. Kings College were here. The wine makers - all being internationals - came up to see what happens. We had a busy breakfast service when we all got back. We hosted King's College U17 boys football team for two nights. They were a flurry of activity in a very quiet fortnight.  The pool table got used a lot.  Jacob called it - 'They won't eat much, they're footballers.'  How is that a thing?  But he was right. 100 Anzac cookies was enough. I have had discussions with two suppliers about rate increases.  Seriously, where is the customer service when they gave me a bit of paper to  sign stating they wouldn't put the rates up and then I have to prove that!! Twice! 100 years ago when I was super green in business - I'm more olive coloured now - we requested some work to be done. (I'm going to stay vague about th...

 This week has been a mix of ground hog day,  thought provoking conversations  and a really odd comment... Ok, let's start with the odd comment...those following on facebook will already know about the couple that inspected the Toadie Room and deemed it to be  "This is not flash enough to bring the Very wealthy people we are meeting." For context, this was not a 'one off' statement. He seemed a little fixated on telling me the people they were meeting were VERY wealthy. So after the fourth time telling me this, I physically bit my lip. Over wine we have gone through all the imaginary scenario's as to WHY would someone book a shared house and consider the bedroom to be where they entertained VERY Wealthy people. After the 3rd glass you can imagine where our imagination went. This has got to be a Tinder hook up! We actually have no idea what this couple were planning or why they were meeting VERY wealthy people. Or why it had to happen where they were staying in...

Use the bread maker and have a couple of wines while you wait for the dough...in my experience this is the key to great Easter buns! Add to the bread maker pan, in this order: 350ml water 1 egg - break it up a bit 2Tblp oil (not olive. I use canolla) 1 tsp salt 2 Tblsp sugar 4 cups flour 3 Tblsp milk powder 1 tsp bread improver 2¼ yeast 1 Tblsp cinnamon 1 Tblsp mixed spice Set bread maker to dough. After a bit, or when it beeps, add 1 cup sultanas ¼ cup mixed peel When dough is done, remove it from the bread maker pan and put in a glass bowl. Have another glass of wine. This resting period is important but if you leave it in the bread maker it can get messy! Mix to a paste: 2 Tblsp water ¼ cup flour Divide your dough into about 18 buns and arrange on a baking tray. Let them rest for 15 mins. With the paste in an icing bag, paint the crosses onto each bun. Take creative license with this, happy faces and spirals are fun! Bake in oven at 190° for 15-20 mins. Let them rest before serving ...

Easter Break Regardless of what it means to you in terms of Pagan Festival, Christian remembrance, or just the kids being home from school, in this business it means domestic guests have four days to travel We had a great Easter with most of our guests here for the Mission Estates , Rod Stewart concert. It is an opportunity for us to attract domestic customers away from the motel industry. Many of our guests had not stayed in a shared house model of accommodation before. I think we did pretty well! I baked hundreds of hot cross buns. They are easy to make and soooo much better than store bought. If you have a bread maker, most of the work is done while you sip wine. (oh, that was me). This may have been why some of the crosses on my hot cross buns got all creative into swirls and happy faces. I planned to make Sunday morning breakfast the main event for Easter. I have a very clever and crafty mother - and I know she reads this - so Hi Mum and a very big thank you! Mum sent me some of ...