[innlove]

Hi everyone,
this such a great forum! I am looking to run a B&B in New England and am seriously considering VT. I'd like a friendly town with some culture and activities. One that is not too far from shopping or medical care.
Appreciate any input, thanks.

[mustmove]

There always seem to be some for sale. You know how to make a million dollars with BLANK? Start with two million. Fill in the blank if the joke works...

[creoena]

Based on what you said I'd consider Montpelier, although I think you'd get better business in Stowe due to Tourism. Native Vermonters for the most part could care less about B+B's so you're after tourists, and Stowe is one of the best areas for that

[tkln]

I've seen quite a few for sale, and there are some in Stowe as well, but they aren't cheap. There's also been a lot of buzz in Stowe about how hard it is for the hotels/B&Bs to get by with the high taxes they have there...you might want to look into the Mad River Valley...lots of tourists but I've found that it's cheaper than Stowe...

[chaz longue]

I might wait until I knew whether AIG was going to sell Stowe Mountain Resort or not...

This decision will effect more than just Stowe, I'd guess.

[innlove]

Thanks tkln & chaz! Good suggestion about AIG. Hopefully things in general will start to turn around soon!

[unconscious]

Originally Posted by innlove

Hi everyone,
this such a great forum! I am looking to run a B&B in New England and am seriously considering VT. I'd like a friendly town with some culture and activities. One that is not too far from shopping or medical care.
Appreciate any input, thanks.

my uncle owened a ski lodge in stowe we used to go there in the summer.he sold that & had a large rest.&bar maybe hotel in swanton.he sold that and went back to stowe. he said he was going back to were people came to spend thier money & wernt afraid to.

[Lilybeans]

It isn't like Newhart.

[highfallslover]

I'm not sure if it's still for sale but I THINK it's called The Hunger Mountain Inn in Waterbury [Near Stowe] was for sale. It's in a nice area with Mountain views and it's close to everything. That's owned by one of the Trapps. I think B&B's in the area are not doing so great even in the bigger areas, I might be wrong. I've never been a big B&B person but did stay in one in Waterbury one yr when we couldn't find anything else because it was during holiday season. That one has also closed down. That might be for sale too, it was nice with private baths and an antique shop attached. It was for sale when we were up there in Aug. That's right across from the Apple or Cider Mill, what ever that's called right on the main route. I've also heard the Village Country Inn in Manchester is for sale, not sure if that's true or not. That place is massive, you'd need a big staff for that place. It also looks like it needs a ton of work.

We stopped at the Hunger Mnt. Inn one one day and they were working hard trying to get rooms ready etc. I don't know if they didn't have help or what but husband and wife were doing all the work. The one we stayed at the people were up at 5 a.m. making breakfast. It's a ton of work. My cousin thought we should all go to VT and open a B&B. She might do good at it since she's a people person, I'm not. Unless the guests would enjoy a box of Cheerios thrown at their heads in the a.m. they wouldn't want me as their Inn Keeper! Good luck, hope you'll find something and it's successful.

[sugarmaple]

Hi, I would suggest looking in the south central area, for example, closer to Okemo/Ascutney Mt. and the lakes regions. You would have access to the Woodstock traffic, Reading, Weathersfield Ascutney, Ludlow, Mt. Holly, Cavendish and Plymouth. There are some B&B's in those areas including hotels and inns and I understand they all do well. And, the Reading, Woodstock & Cavendish areas are also closer to the Green Mountain Horse Association (very well known) and during the summer there are constant activities with GMHA and the equestrians are always looking for places to stay.

One thought if you want to consider doing something a bit more unique is to find a B&B that also has some extra land and perhaps an outbuilding; I have learned that there is an organization from NE (although I believe it may expand even moreso) that look for places that not only they can stay but room for their horses...they pay additional sums for the opportunity to have their horses in fields and meadows .. sort of an equestrian B&B..you don't have to be a rider -smile- but just having the additional amenities for equestrians would give you a great advantage and of course, you could always contact GMA and ask them for assistance. The other possibility to consider is contacting VT Bike Tours (they are in Woodstock) and talk to them about hooking up with them in some way with your B&B...bike tours are a big thing in this area...just a couple of thoughts for you to entertain.

Feel free to email me if you want....