Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507110012
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARTHA SLUD ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
On a whim, the Engels decided to buy the home and convert it into a bed-and-breakfast inn. It all seemed so romantic.
Six years later, the five-room Inn at Monticello draws guests from around the world. The Engels invested in antiques, landscaped the grounds and have begun to turn a decent profit.
Now, the Engels want their lives back. They have been trying to unload their dream house for about a year.
Like many country innkeepers, the Engels are burned out from the tireless routine: rising each day at dawn to make breakfasts for guests, spending hours scrubbing bathrooms or making midnight trips to the supermarket for strawberries.
``The reality is so different than what you think,'' Mrs. Engel said. ``You're so busy creating this warm and nurturing environment, your own personal life goes by the wayside.''
There are more than 10,000 bed-and-breakfasts in the United States, according to the American Bed and Breakfast Association in Midlothian. It is not known how many are for sale.
But if the price is right, Mrs. Engel suspects, most innkeepers would be willing to unload. The demands can be grueling, and many people are ready to move on after a few years, she said.
Pete Holladay, president of the Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia and a real estate agent who specializes in inn sales, says burnout is the No. 1 reason innkeepers decide to sell.
He warns prospective innkeepers to think carefully about what they are getting into.
``I spend a lot of time bringing them back down to Earth,'' he said. ``They think this is the good life. It is, but there is a whole lot of work behind this good life.''
Even though the Engels have previous business experience - they ran a golf bag manufacturing company before opening the bed-and-breakfast - they said they weren't prepared for the demands of innkeeping.
Many bed-and-breakfast novices discover they aren't suited to the innkeeper's life, said Joe Mulay, who runs the Whistling Swan Inn in Stanhope, N.J., with his wife, Paula Williams.
The couple offer seminars for people interested in the business. Most participants decide not to take the plunge, Mulay said.
``This is not sitting around with a cup of coffee chit-chatting with guests,'' Mulay said. ``It's show time all the time.''
Guests ``don't expect you to have personal problems,'' he said. ``They came to get away from that.''
Larry Engel has toiled to help make the Charlottesville inn successful, but acknowledges that he doesn't share his wife's enthusiasm. And although they run the business together, Engel says he doesn't get much time to spend with her.
Sarah Sonke, president of the American Bed and Breakfast Association, said that unlike the Engels, today's buyers are more likely to have conducted extensive research to make sure their plan is viable.
``Their eyes are open,'' she said. ``They are really preparing detailed, exhaustive business plans.''
For those who want out, it usually takes about two years to sell a bed-and-breakfast because many potential buyers often don't have the capital or have difficulty obtaining commercial loans, Holladay said.
Also, many buyers are picky.
``You may have a perfectly fine inn for sale and people will look at it and it's just not them,'' he said.
by CNB