Confess. Each time you spend a night in a Bed and Breakfast you think to yourself — hmmm, I could do this. I could run a B&B. This could be for me. Or could it?
Phil Courtney giclée watercolor of the Wooden Rabbit
Soon you find yourself inventing all kinds of excuses to come back to Cape May — not that you need an excuse — checking into other B&Bs trying to capture a glimpse of what innkeeping is really all about.
Relax. The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC) is offering its 14th annual “INN Deep Workshop” Sunday, March 16 through Thursday, March 19. Innkeepers from Cape May serve as faculty and consultants for the five-day workshop in which prospective innkeepers have a chance to learn everything they need to know about acquiring, restoring, and operating a bed and breakfast.
Phil Courtney watercolor print of the Queen Victoria
Staying at a B&B while attending the workshop is, although not compulsory, certainly encouraged and advisable. A 10% discount is offered on the workshop for those who do stay at one of the 30-plus participating B&Bs.
Tom Carroll, fifth owner of the prestigious Mainstay Inn circa 1872 and moderator of the workshop, said the sessions were originally developed as a way to fill the weekdays during Victorian Week in October.
“The program was so successful,” Carroll told CapeMay.com, “that we figured we’d better make it a time when we, the innkeepers, were free from our usual responsibilities.”
The workshop achieved particular success during the 80s and 90s when the bed and breakfast industry had its greatest modern day growth spurt. As many as 150 people have participated through the years with the current workshop enrollment limited to 70 participants.
“We have about a 65% success rate with our graduates,” said Carroll, “and many of them bought inns right here in Cape May. There are a variety of different innkeeping workshops around the country but ours is unique in that we have so many different innkeepers with so many different approaches.
Patricia Rainey, Congress Hall
Some offer a continental breakfast, others offer a five-course breakfast. Some run the inn themselves, others count on employees. Our attendees get a rare chance to see how a particular innkeeper runs their particular property and sees their particular problems.”
Carroll, an innkeeper for 32 years, opens the workshop Sunday with a lecture on choosing innkeeping as your lifestyle.
Patricia Rainey, the Physick Estate
“We want to know what you think our lives are like,” Carroll continued, “and then we’ll tell you what they’re really like.”
The introductory lecture is followed by dinner at the Pelican Club at the Marquis de Lafayette Hotel on Beach Avenue, followed by another workshop on the nitty-gritty business of choosing an inn.
Phil Courtney, The Mainstay Inn
Private consultations are available and those not wishing or able to attend the full workshop can opt for three, two or even a one-day session. Reservations can be made through the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (MAC) by calling 609-884-5404 or 800-275-4278 or logging onto the web at www.capemaymac.org then click on Tours and Events on the top menu bar.
What is Tom Carroll’s take on life as an innkeeper?
“It’s a lovely lifestyle where you can be your own boss. I never responded very well to doing what someone else told me I had to do. And I like the people who come here. It’s like having your best friends come to visit and they leave money behind.”
