After almost 30 years visiting Inns, giving seminars on Innkeeping, consulting in the transfer of hundreds of Inns and B&B’S, our commitment has not varied: we love the Inn business and are proud to be part of this hospitality niche. There is PAII and Select Registry to provide on-going training and updates on every imaginable segment of this business, but we here in Brattleboro, Vermont have tried our best not to let prospective Innkeepers buy Inns that are not right for them. Inns have to be viable businesses and you the prospective buyer need to love serving your guests. Sound easy? Well think again!

The greater hospitality marketplace has taken a hit in the economic slump; but not inns that have further dug into what they do best: giving the guests more than they asked for, eliciting the “wow” out of that satisfied guest.

That doesn’t mean that Inn owners are not worried. The game is that Innkeepers need to stay on top of the curve; being ambassadors to their area, marketing the highlights of their area such as art, music, mapping out hiking or biking trails, easy access to canoe rentals, telling the guests how they can enjoy themselves; and after their muscles ache, relax in the pub and luxuriate with a scheduled massage and dining over a fabulous meal of regional delicacies!

You think that double income person isn’t out there anymore, you are wrong! Chicago, Illinois’ greater area has towns like Galena to escape to, we visited the Bernadine’s Stillman Inn, as well as the Goldmoor, and saw that Mississippi river snaking through the pastoral green meadows and were impressed how much there is to do.

Seattle, Washington is another area. On the foot of Mount Rainier there is the Alexander Country Inn, not fancy but really comfortable, friendly and what a majestic area that Inn is situated in. And at an almost equal distance, there is the town of Seaview. If you love the Pacific Ocean , visit the Lewis and Clark exhibit on a rainy day, or go bicycling for 26 miles along the ocean, then stay at the Shelburne Inn. You might be lucky and the owner will serve you his fresh caught trout for breakfast.

What about Washington D.C. area, or New York and the out-lying towns around the Boston area; how about all the Inns I have visited in  North Carolina and  Georgia. Magic places, I could go on and on and on, there are many great Inns, caring Innkeepers to cater to your whims; who appreciate that you have chosen them and want to give you a piece of their rural world and their gracious hospitality.

Innkeepers are doing well, if they put their heart and soul into what they do! Isn’t that true for anything we do passionately? So go and stay at an Inn and have a great weekend! Heide

Tags: Galena, get away, Heide Bredfeldt, Inn Partners, Inns, inns for sale, Travel