Advice

The guests could have got the water taxi as soon as their plane touched down and reached us by Tuesday night, but because they had paid for a night on Skiathos they thought they would be in some way losing out if they didn't use it, so they stayed. On Wednesday we had a general strike including ferries and the weather was too windy for the little water taxi to bring them across, so they had to spend a second night on Skiathos. The strike has now been extended up to Friday, so no ferries until Saturday and the sea is still too high for the water taxi, so more nights stranded on Skiathos.

If these were paying guests I would be frantic by now, but thank goodness they are old friends hoping to enjoy our generosity and their holiday under our roof is free once they get here. They are also likely to be far better adapted to killing time in dismal weather on Skiathos than most of our punters clientele.

I went down to inspect the bathroom floor to see what vinegar would do a Lo! All the pink had vanished. I rinsed it with tap water and the tiniest amount of pink reappeared. OK, so a good rinsing and letting it dry thoroughly is the answer.

The weather, grey and gloomy, wasn't conducive to taking marketing shots with the exception of this windowless one. I see that a lot of places use props in their photos and I don't have an issue with making the place look 'in use' but I think some go that bit too far and I would be very keen to hear your opinions. I have seen some places use photographs that I think would be better suited to a restaurant or a recipe book – a close-up of some food with everything else in soft-focus. Tell me, does that encourage you to rent specific accommodation or would you rather see what it is you are renting? I feel that if an owner would prefer to show you what you can get from the supermarket than what their property has to offer then they have something to hide, but perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps in most people photographs of food release endorphins making them want to rent the place where the food was photographed? Pictures of food just don't jangle my bells.