The Innkeeper's Resource

Lake Lure... Carolina On My Mind

2009-10-09T15:33:45-04:00

Ken Burns most recent documentary series, National Parks-America’s Best Idea, is a brilliant assemblage of stories full of mystery, suspense and adventure, definitely not a tired travel log. In the last episode of the twelve part series that covers the years from 1945-1980, the focus is on the American tourist that is keen on getting out and exploring their country. There was a renewed sense of wanderlust in those post WWII years and vacationing in our national parks was the perfect place for young families to enjoy themselves easily and affordably. Beyond 1980 and into the present, we see a renewed wanderlust, where today’s contemporary traveler is searching for meaningful getaways and experiences that promote togetherness among travelers and for destinations that encourage connections to nature, history, or culture.

What better way to connect with nature than with a visit to one our treasured parks and rediscover what many US travelers have ignored over the past years as they trekked off to Europe or vacationed in high priced island resorts. Yet beyond our National Parks, and often right next door, there are countless areas of quiet, peaceful scenic beauty that await our visits, places that renew our spirit and make that connection to nature and history so genuine. There is one place that has been a retreat for the soul for countless generations of travelers from the Cherokee to today’s contemporary destination seeker, Lake Lure, North Carolina.

Lake Lure, the town and the lake, is nestled between the Piedmont Region and Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina. The lake has been called one of the most beautiful man-made lakes in the world by National Geographic. The climate is unusually temperate and lies in the ‘thermal belt’ of the region where it is warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

But what lies beyond this technical description is the lure of the place. One native that has lived away for many years has described Lake Lure as a place that…”once you have lived there, it never leaves you. My best memories were living at the foot of Chimney Rock Mountain, fishing, and exploring Bat Cave and swimming in the lake. I think it is time to go home again.” Chimney Rock Park, Hickory Nut Gorge, Rocky Broad River, and the Bat Cave are all a part of the area’s richness and ripe for exploration.

Another aspect of Mr. Burns talent is revealing stories behind the obvious, little bits of Americana and historical trivia that give his documentaries a real richness and meaning. One such story is connected to The Lodge on Lake Lure, a picturesque country inn that sits high on a hillside overlooking the lake. The lodge was built in 1937 as a memorial to George Penn, a highway patrolman killed in the line of duty, presumably in a shootout with bootlegging gangsters. The lodge was a retreat for state troopers and their families until 1990 when it became an inn. Many who stay there say the spirit (in the good sense of the word, not the spooky!) of George Penn still remains. So if your spirit needs some renewing and your feet are itching to wander, Lake Lure is waiting, beyond the mountain mist and into the blue clear lake waters.

Janet Wolf

Eastport…Downeast Maine’s Must See Destination!

2009-09-18T11:31:39-04:00

One of the joys of being part of The B&B Team is the opportunity we have to work with great Innkeepers at great Inns in great locations. Many of the locations are in well known ‘destination locations’ and some are in less known ‘undiscovered’ locales.

Eastport, Maine is a small town on an island accessible by a causeway and is touted as the eastern most US city, where the sun rises first. Just northeast of Bar Harbor off US Route 1, definitely worth the journey.

So…what’s new in Eastport and what makes it the newest must see destination? To start with there is The Pickled Herring, Eastport’s newest upscale dining venue. But don’t let the word upscale turn you away. More like innovative…clam martini!... that got my attention. Here are a few excerpts from Trip Advisor reviews that tell it all.

“A most wonderful surprise in a beautiful but under visited Maine seacoast town. If in the area of Eastport, it is definitely worth the detour.”

“A great meal in an interesting little town, I would recommend a trip to Eastport anyway, but the addition of The Pickled Herring means you can now get an excellent meal while you are there.”

“Eastport has come of age with the recent opening of The Pickled Herring Restaurant. Everything is fresh, prepared to order and the wood fired grill imparts a wonderful flavor.”

These reviews not only praise a wonderful new restaurant but they also give the reader a glimpse into a most interesting town. To go back a few years , a 2005 article from Fodor’s Travel News describes Eastport as “still undiscovered by the sunburnt crowds that jam Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor every summer, Eastport’s surroundings are as scenic as the more popular downeast destinations.” Eastport may still be undiscovered in 2009 but for those that work and have businesses there they know there is plenty of ‘downeast Eastport’ to share with the lucky visitors that ‘discover’ their part of the world. The wealth that the town and surrounding area offers is unique. Another quote from the Fodor’s article describes the town as having a “wonderfully eccentric vibe”. With many of the 2,000 locals being artists, writers, filmmakers and now innovative restaurateurs, the creative atmosphere could be catching.

Another way to see Eastport is from the viewpoint of someone that has been vacationing there for almost half a century!

“Let me start by saying I have been going to this island city since the 1960’s. Not a lot has changed in all those years (not a bad thing) we have made a lot of friends here and always look forward to our next trip back. The sunrise over Campobello is amazing, gotta get up early though. So much to see: the Old Sow whirlpool, the tremendous tides, life in the slow lane for sure.”

So whether you stay at a turn of the century campground (as these folks did) or a lovingly renovated, elegant Bed and Breakfast like The Chadbourne House, Eastport’s unparalleled scenery, home grown traditional festivals and events and creative locals welcome you to ‘discover’ them. Come with an explorer’s heart and you won’t be disappointed!

Janet Wolf

On Transformative Events and the Human Community

2009-09-11T18:25:44-04:00

Today is September 11, 2009. We all remember this date eight years ago, but today as I was listening to many of the memorials and speeches and talking with friends and family about it, I was reminded about how our lives can be forever changed by transformative events like the attacks of 9/11/01. And many of the changes are positive.

Big, and I mean really big, events and periods, especially those that we view as terrible at the time of their occurrence, have a way of causing us to reexamine what is important in our lives. Whether it be an illness or death of a friend or family member, a stock market crash and harsh recession, or watching the attack of our homeland on live television, we always end up taking stock. Taking stock of what we think is important: our jobs or careers, whatever. And then, surprisingly, many of us decide that we need to do something else. Behave differently. Be kinder. Do something more meaningful. Worry less about some things and more about others. And it is this taking stock that has brought many people into Innkeeping.

Why? I think it's because Innkeeping is about people. Service. Kindness. Restoration. Many of you who believe that you want your life to be about more than just "making a living" and, instead, want to make a difference in other people's lives while still making a living, have chosen (or are considering) Innkeeping as a profession. At The B&B Team we're glad you think this way, because we have the good fortune of working with people who, in our humble opinion, are somehow a little bit better than many, more elevated, sharing a higher purpose.

After the attacks of 9/11, innkeepers across the country found their business upended. An initial flood of cancellations in many cases lead to new bookings by folks needing to get out, get away, find some peace and security. And where did they turn for that sense of safety and togetherness? To small inns. These weary and frightened travelers looked to innkeepers for solace, even as those innkeepers themselves needed some solace of their own. But in the serving, the sharing, the caring for, the feeding and smiling for the benefit of others, innkeepers found themselves uplifted as well.

Community is an overused word in this era of social media, but the community of humanity remains an enduring precept, one which transformative and often tragic events make us appreciate all the more.

Peter

Aspiring Innkeeper Seminar at Iris Inn is a Hit!

2009-08-10T17:19:12-04:00

One of the things we at The B&B Team enjoy most in our work is introducing enthusiastic aspiring innkeepers to the myriad aspects of this wonderful lifestyle and business. This past weekend we had a terrific group that came from as far away as Arizona and as close as a couple of miles from Iris Inn in Waynesboro, Virginia where we gathered from Friday to Sunday. With Delaware, South Carolina, New York, and Florida also represented, it was a diverse group, and, I think all agreed, we had a great time.

Key to our seminars is bringing a strong dose of reality to the table. We know future innkeepers have dreams and aspirations, and we love to support those ideals with facts, figures, and experience gained from many years on the ground as innkeepers, consultants, and brokers.

A core focus of our seminars is the process of building a model. It's both so easy and so hard to simply take a stab in the dark trying to find a B&B, but a focused idea of what business model, location, style, and income needs comprise makes the process of searching for an inn much more efficient and enjoyable.

In our last post here we wrote about The Basics of Inn Valuation, and our attendees got a (mind swirling!) dose of information on what the difference is between commercial and residential real estate and financing as it applies to the Innkeeping world and acquiring or starting an inn. They learned about the role of cash flow in valuation and how the marketplace assesses the different components of inn value.

We also talked about current marketing trends, the importance of branding by creating a unique and memorable experience, and the basics of hospitality as well as some tricks of the trade.

It's gratifying for us to read comments like this: "Fantastic! Current, cutting edge, frank and honest, not sugar-coated to give a false or misleading impression of all the nuts and bolts of running a successful B&B," or "It took some of the intimidation edge off, as far as feeling capable of running a B&B."

As the seminar leaders, Rick, Janet and I especially enjoy dinners with our attendees, where we all have a chance to relax with a glass of wine, get to know each other a little better, and delve into some of the questions and concerns we don't or can't cover in a weekend-long seminar.

Our thanks to all who attended this weekend and to Dave and Heidi Lanford for being such great hosts! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and hope it was a rewarding experience for you! With our next seminar s coming up in October at Candlelight Inn in North Wildwood, New Jersey, and November at the English Meadows Inn in Kennebunk, Maine, we'll continue with our practice of refining our program thanks to the thoughful feedback from our graduates.

Peter

The Basics of Inn Valuation: never, never forget!

2009-07-31T17:29:18-04:00

As the years go by and we at The B&B Team do our work for current and aspiring innkeepers, there is one issue which never fails to perplex and which is so fundamentally important that we thought we should cover the topic again, briefly. That topic is about the basics of inn valuation.

If you own an inn or hope to some day, you need to have an exit strategy founded on sound principles. If the goal of an exit strategy is one day to sell your inn, you need to know what you will be selling and how the marketplace values it. Fundamentally there are two basic property types in the Innkeeping world: residential and commercial. Smaller B&B's are generally residential, and larger, viable inns and inn businesses are commercial. Each will be valued and financed differently.

Residential real estate is valued based on what the marketplace is willing to pay to live in a given house on a given street and is only limited by supply and demand. The result is that most smaller B&Bs, which are very desirable as homes and have limited income, are worth more as a residence than a business. In fact, they are generally only worth the sum of the real estate and the furnishings. Sellers of smaller B&B's should consider an exit strategy founded upon selling their wonderful home and hoping someone will take over the "business" even if they don't pay you for it. Like most small businesses, when you are done, you are most likely to close your doors and take down the sign, gratified in having enjoyed your Innkeeping experience.

On the other hand, owners of larger, viable inns must remember that buyers are looking for a business, not a house, and everything about their purchase and evaluation will hinge on revenue. Where the smaller inns can and should take advantage of every possible tax shelter, as this is a significant financial benefit of ownership, owners of larger inns should keep bottom line profits in mind as a priority over avoiding paying taxes.

Lenders will want to see three years' tax returns to verify income statements, so it's never too late to begin operating your business like a business. If that means you have to pay some taxes, so be it. Modest increases in net operating income can generate a ten-fold increase in value, dollar for dollar. The increase in value will far outstrip the short term benefits of the tax savings, so report all your earnings and don't pad your operating expenses with personal items. This excludes line items like depreciation, rent you pay yourself, interest expense, and other legitimate deductions.

If you remember these simple principles, you'll enjoy a far more swift and profitable exit when the time comes to move on to your next great adventure!

Need Another Room? Try a Spa!

2009-06-16T17:51:54-04:00

Inns and B&B's everywhere are usually faced with some limitation on the number of rooms they are allowed. This can have a negative impact on cash flow, but there are creative ways you might be able to create another "room" without violating your local ordinances: create a spa!

Lots of you are offering massage as part of a package. But there's a lesson to be learned from some successful innkeepers that is supported by research from PKF Consulting. Let's look at a real life example.

Once upon a time in a lovely seaside community there was a beautiful inn, a grande dame if ever there was. She radiated warmth, charm, and sophistication. She welcomed guests from around the world year after year and rewarded those returning guests with an ever increasing level of service and guest experience. Rooms were constantly updated; trends were always being catered to. No stodgy innkeepers here, these owners wanted to grow their business.

Over time they increased the number of rooms in the inn until they hit the town's limit, but still they wanted more (kids in college will do that to you). They had a small conference room which doubled as a TV room, as they didn't have TV's in the guest rooms. Alas, times had changed. Guests didn't want to sit in a common room to watch TV anymore, so the innkeepers reluctantly acknowledged that their guests WANTED TV's in the rooms, and now that they could add flat screens, the TV's didn't interfere with the decor. And business meetings had dwindled to the point where the conference table wasn't serving any useful purpose. So, what to do?

The robust gift shop they had developed over the years was now proving to be very profitable. Spas had become popular, too, and with that meeting room going to waste they decided to make it work for them AND their guests. They divided the room in half, converting one part to a small spa room with a bathroom, an independent HVAC system, sound proofing, sound system, fancy lighting controls, and ample room for two massage tables. A true pleasure cocoon!

Working with independent massage therapists, they have now effectively created another guest room, as this spa room generates the income equivalent to one of their lodging rooms without violating any ordinance. And, its very existence helps sell more rooms, because they now have a dedicated spa onsite. They are generating about 5% of total revenues from the spa, most of which is from the rental of the space to the massage therapists, not the pass-through fees to the therapists themselves.

PKF Consulting says that spas generated 3.9% of total revenue (in large hotels with dedicated spas) in 2007. Of that revenue, the largest piece, 55.6%, was massage, with all the other services like skin care, salon, and retail sales making up the balance. It may be risky to try too much on a small scale, but massage is clearly a hit. A really "tricked out" spa room may be a better alternative to in-room massage if you have the space. And if you need another guest room but aren't allowed, this may be the answer.

Have you created a spa in an interesting way? How is it working for you? Please tell us about it.

Peter

The "Death" of Bling and Getting Back to Basics

2009-06-05T14:20:49-04:00

Had a most interesting conversation with Taittinger Champagne's National Director of the Americas at the opening event of Kennebunkport's 5th Annual Arts In The Inns last night. Strange intro to start off with Champagne and the demise of bling...but bear with me.

Jerome is a charming gentlemen and we wound up next to each other in line for a glass of bubbly. After brief introductions, the conversation began with the obligatory, "how's business?" He responded that he was pleased to see a public return to desires for value, quality, and integrity of product. This equated to a positive answer for him as the public's desire was showing the beginnings of a re-emergence and re-interest in, by almost any ones standards, a luxury product! By the way, Taittinger is the third oldest producer of Champagne and has been around since 1734.

As a writer put it, "Champagne is a celebration....but the truly impressive choice doesn't need a second mortgage to afford and therefore can be enjoyed all the more. This seeming paradox of Champagne is found in a bottle of Taittinger."

The point of this homage to Champagne? Our industry and all of us as Innkeepers offer our guests a celebration too! Times together with someone special are times to celebrate. A well deserved getaway is a time to celebrate. Staying with hospitable Innkeepers in a glorious Inn is a celebration too. Just as Jerome suggested that Champagne can be enjoyed on a regular basis, instead of just on birthdays, anniversaries, and so on...your Inns can also be enjoyed too on a regular basis. We offer a similar paradox to the public in that we offer value, quality and a luxury product that doesn't require a second mortgage. The challenge is for us to continue to communicate this message to the public in frequent, convincing and compelling ways. We can be enjoyed regularly too!

Inns today are catering to those travelers looking for a more authentic experience...and leave the bling behind! This new (at least new within the past few months?) sensibility bodes well for us on multiple levels. Leaving aside the more sensitive issues of politics, religion, and the world, let it suffice to say that this new sensibility does bode well for B&B's and Inns as we are the keepers of the keys to creating an authentic experience for our guests. One that is driven by the basics of hospitality, value, authenticity and integrity of experience. The Bling in our lives during this decade has been shown to be flashy, transient, transparent, and of little real lasting value...no room at the Inn for bling in 2009!

So to all of us in the unique lodging industry, I propose a toast, with a glass of Taittinger of course, and wish you a summer of blue skies, full rooms, and a lasting legacy of gracious hospitality. Cheers!

Rick

Champagne is a celebration. The minute the familiar pop of a champagne cork is heard the mood is lightened and smiles brighten. However, the choice of champagne is always a difficult one. Those looking to impress will usually start at the bottom of the list where the big names, with bigger price tags, reside, but the truly impressive choice doesn’t need a second mortgage to afford and therefore can be enjoyed all the more. This seeming paradox of champagne is found in a bottle of Taittinger.

Read more: http://french-wine.suite101.com/article.cfm/champagne_taittinger#ixzz0HZzNQHPM

Birthdays, Blogs, and Twitter

2009-05-18T10:45:14-04:00

Today is my son's 31st birthday. As a father, I'm proud of him. He lives in Costa Rica, so we don't see each other very often. Over the weekend he asked me to be his friend on Facebook. Like his sister a few weeks ago, I didn't exactly "ignore" or reject the offer, but I gave him the chance to reconsider and opt-out. Like his sister, he agreed.

Why would I NOT want my children as "friends" on Facebook? Most parents would KILL to have the insights that being a "friend" can give about their kids. It wasn't that I didn't want and wouldn't love the chance to be their "friend," it was simply that Facebook, for me (and, I suspect, for many who are reading this post) isn't really a social tool. It's a business tool. So why should that matter?

I have a tendency to tweet things every so often, usually about great hospitality-related articles that would be of interest to my Twitter followers in the lodging industry. Those show up on Facebook. And I usually comment on hospitality related subjects on Facebook, though not as much as I might or should. Blog posts like this on The Innkeeper's Resource sometimes show up on my pages, too. It's coming along, little by little, as I develop more of a network with innkeepers and become a fan of more inns. The thing is, when I look at my kids' Facebook pages, they really do carry on conversations with friends about cultural things, personal things, politics, and humor. My conversations, such as they are, are business related. And that kind of throws cold water on their youthful musings.

Maybe I should get a separate "personal" Facebook page. Don't get me wrong, I've had some old friends from my past find me on Facebook. And it's a treat to reconnect. But Facebook for me is a networking tool. And, as I get the hang of it and others in the innkeeping industry get the hang of it, it's bringing some of us together. That's fun. I think it will be to our mutual benefit. But somehow, Dad's business just seems out of place on a 30-something's page.

Am I wrong? Have any of you experienced a similar dilemma? Let's hear about it!

Peter

Fine Wine, Smart Ploys, and Bookings

2009-04-27T17:27:06-04:00

Wine and travel go hand-in-hand. For those of us who love a good bottle of our favorite (or maybe an undiscovered favorite!) wine, no journey or evening meal are complete without a glass of the nectar of the gods. So it comes as no surprise that many of your guests also love a great bottle of wine.

Regardless of a traveler's budget, there are great wines out there today from around the world. But this isn't a column about wine, per se, and The B&B Team doesn't recommend (officially) any wine at all. However, we love to talk about service, ingenuity, and personalization in the travel industry, so I enjoyed reading a recent article in the Wine Notes section of the Wall Street Journal called, "Bringing Your Own to Fine-Dining Places." It seems even the toniest restaurants are having to be creative in this challenging economy.

Most people know that if you want to (and are allowed to) take a special bottle of your own wine to a restaurant, you'll pay a (sometimes hefty, even punitive) corkage fee to have the sommelier open it for you. That hasn't completely changed, but there is writing on the wall.

Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher write, "More and more restaurants are offering special deals on wine - 50% off on Mondays, say. But we were looking out for something more - BYOB with no corkage at top-notch places." As it turns out, they found a few experimenting with a range of variations from "corkage-free" specials to discounted wines on otherwise slow nights, or even every night. The goal was to encourage folks who might otherwise stay home or go somewhere less pricey to dine with them and save on the cost of wine. Danny Meyer of the Modern restaurant in Manhattan is quoted saying, "We decided ... there would be a graciousness behind it, that you would actually flatter us bringing in something from your cellar to have with our food and hospitality. We decided that if we did this, we have to actually go overboard to demonstrate our appreciation."

Does this sound familiar to innkeepers? It should, because those of you who make your living offering gracious hospitality are experimenting with variations on this theme to generate business. Stay three nights, get the fourth free. Stay with us five times, and your sixth stay is 50%. Book our best room for Friday and Saturday, and we'll include a gift card for our favorite restaurant (or maybe a bottle of your favorite wine). You get the picture.

Creative packaging is all about adding value and personalizing, recognizing that creating an incentive to spend time/money with you can generate win-win scenarios, whether it's no corkage fee for your wine while at a fine dining restaurant or special promotions and add-ons to stimulate the desire to book a night at your bed & breakfast now.

Are there any great restaurants in your area offering a deal on wine or "no corkage Mondays?" Do I hear "weeknight rooms?"

Peter

The Innkeeping Conference / Atlanta / April 2009

2009-04-17T14:49:04-04:00

What a great conference!

High energy, a true sense of camaraderie and a realistic and renewed optimistic outlook for 2009. Kudo's to all the attendees who made the trip to Atlanta, the PAII staff, the vendors for their support, the sponsors and all the speakers who shared so much information and thought with us all.

Peter and I had the "Privilege of the Podium" for several different speaking opportunities. One of the highlights, for us, was a collaborative effort with Peter Yesawich, of Y Partnership, on "Inside the Heads of Your Guests....How the latest on Traveler Behavior Affects B&B's and What To Do About It!" This presentation incorporated the latest information from Y Partnership's most recent travel and hospitality industry overview and is now blended with The B&B Team's overview and information about the B&B and Country Inn industry.

Key areas covered include: Web 2.0,Travel 2.0, Social Media Tools, Blogs, Twitter, Reputation Management, Mobility and more. For those of you in Atlanta, thank you for joining us in this session. For those of you who did not attend the conference, we would be pleased to share the findings, observations, recommendations and suggestions that will help you navigate the 2009 season.

For more information, Peter can be reached at 434-286-4600 or I can be reached at 207-967-1995.

Rick