Maine Mag October 2011

Bear Mountain Inn Website - for sale

www.bearmountaininnmaineforsale.com

Survey

We are putting together a survey for aspiring innkeepers. So far questions include:

Are you looking for year round or seasonal?

Are you open to location or focused on a region?

How much time have you spent in Maine?

Will you be running the inn or hiring a manager?

More coming....

Bear Mountain

Visited Bear Mountain in Waterford this week - so gorgeous. AND if someone is looking for a venue for weddings and events, this is IT!

Primrose Inn

Working with the income and expense numbers for clients on this beautiful property. Right in town Bar Harbor, great location and the current owners have put a great deal of time, effort and money into the property. A really great opportunity.

Showings Today

Looking forward to showing inns in Bar Harbor to a buyer I have been communicating with for some time. It is important to know what you want, while staying open minded for things that may just hit you.

The first thing to do is to talk about the overall business, the environment, the available financing etc. Then focus in on a few properties to see if they meet your needs. It is similar to matchmaking. Know your non-negotiables. For me, it is location, potential for growth and condition. I WANT to totally renovate design wise, so the wallpaper, bedding, furniture to me is nothing. I really could not care less how the rooms are decorated. The room in the photo here had a queen bed, a princess canopy in pinks and blues and white furniture - not even done transforming this. For me, that is the fun part. You need to figure out what is important to you.

After the first day of discussing these things, seeing some actual properties for sale, take the time to think things through then regroup and focus.

Furnishings List

As I prepare the Inventory list, or personal property list, or bill of sale - all the same thing really - for the contract for the West End Inn, it occurs to me that innkeepers should have a list of each room and what furniture and artwork it contains. This is important for many reasons, not just a sale.

From the number of pillows to the towels, the size of the bed to the number of lamps, if we know at all times what the rooms and the common rooms have, we know what they need and we can draw a cleaner line between what belongs with the inn and which items from our personal collections are living in the rooms temporarily.

Good to know... for so many reasons.