Ina Flohil Opinion

Moment of fame

B&B owner Ina Flohil

Ina Flohil, owner of B&B At the Beach

The other day I was phoned by the editorial staff of the German show WISO. They asked if I wanted to cooperate in an episode of ‘WISO mit Nick, unterwegs mit 150 Euro in Den Haag’. Speed was of the essence because the show was already planned to be aired on the public channel ZDF in two weeks. The intention was to welcome Nick and show him the accommodation.

Within 3 days the film crew stood on my doorstep. Of course, with this ultimate opportunity as a prospect I was prepared to perfection. A friend with the skills for it had provided me with a thick layer of make-up. Completely unnecessary, as it turned out later, because my dachshund – that was so mischievously lying on the window-sill – seemed to appeal to the image more. Luckily, the film crew raved about my bed & breakfast At the Beach. Nick was extensively filmed for 2 hours, in and around the accommodation.

Soon after that, I received the email that the show would be on TV that night. I can assure you: If I must, I can reach a lot of people and telling them not to miss it. On the stroke of 19.25 I was in front of the TV, completely ready for it. WISO started twenty minutes late. There were items about winter tires, kids menu’s and insurance portals, but nothing about The Hague and – more importantly – my B&B. That night I had a lot of explaining to do about last-minute alterations of live TV programming. That my ‘item’ was replaced just like that, while the German government hadn’t even fallen and while there wasn’t any other breaking news whatsoever, is still hard to explain. However, one week later it was finally time.

Curious about the promised 30 seconds in the 7-minute tape, again we sat tensely in front of the TV. In exactly 7 seconds Nick and our accommodation flashed by. Being the owner of course I recognized our paving. But I cannot imagine these 7 seconds enthusing the five million German viewers to book with us! However, because the promotion film of The Hague still is nice I did place it on our website. On Bbbdenhaag.com you can witness my very short ‘moment of fame’. Now we’re only waiting for those German visitors…

Ina Flohil is the owner of Bed & Breakfast ‘At the Beach’ in the Dutch town of The Hague. You can regularly read columns about the lock, stock and barrel in her bed & breakfast on this blog.

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