So many of us in Vermont travel during the holiday season, but the lucky ones stay in. The very lucky ones stay Inn. There is nothing quite as spectacular as spending the holidays holed up in front of a fire in a Vermont B&B. The Fox Creek Inn in Chittenden has a fireplace in almost every room – and one in each common room. They could be yours…

If you have ever considered owning a B&B, the holidays this year might just push you over the edge. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the forecast for late December through January calls for lots of snow. Fox Creek Inn must be seen under a blanket of white. Chittenden is less than 15 minutes away from downhill skiing at Killington. The Fox Creek Inn is less than two miles  away from world class cross country skiing and snowshoeing in Central Vermont.

The MLS description for this property is also pretty persuasive: “The Fox Creek Inn is tucked away in a quiet, tree-filled valley complete with it’s own trout-stocked creek. A member of Select Registry, it is one of Vermont’s most enchanting hospitality destinations, offering quintessential country ambiance, amenities, and service.” Take the Christmas carol “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” and substitute the little town of Chittenden and you’ll start to get into the spirit of this wonderful place.

And then let’s think about the Yuletide. “Yule” has its pagan roots in the Norse mid-winter festival, “jol.” Some relate yule to an Indo-Europoean root word meaning “to go around.” And the “tide” in Yuletide is from Old English, meaning “division of time.” Some break down Yuletide to mean simply “time” or “season.” Using holiday algebra – we can interpret “Yuletide greetings” as “Happy go-around Time” or maybe even “it’s a great time for a happy change.” 2012 could be the year you become an innkeeper.

Here are a few of the amenities at Fox Creek Inn:

• 8 bedrooms – all with private baths, most with fireplaces
• Full furnishings
• Greeting room
• Den
• Equipment shed
• Workshop
• The Pub and wine cellar
• Exposed wood interiors
• The dining room seats 25
• Commercial kitchen
• Butler’s pantry
• Office with reservation system
• Stocked trout stream
• 7-bedroom Guest House

Contact me for more information about this amazing Vermont Inn. Yuletide Greetings!

The is the National Bank of Middlebury. We've worked with them for years.

The short answer? Much more than it used to. There was a day when banks approached us. Once you could get a loan for a hospitality property based solely on a great business plan. Today it is a bit more complicated. Now banks want to see more money, more business experience and another source of income.

To get your foot in the door many banks require 20% Down. To make it work with your bank, you’ve got to approach them with better business plans and greater flexibility.

These days when you buy and inn or B&B, the bank often wants to see another source of income. In the hospitality industry, this can be a nice possibility. You can telecommute from a beautiful inn. The right inn or B&B will provide you with a great place to live (rent-free) and room to keep your office.

Here are some other ways to improve your chances of getting that commercial loan:

• Work with an experienced Realtor who knows lodging properties.
• Research your options. Look at commercial loan terms from different banks and other commercial lenders. Try several banks. Don’t give up.
• Get a great lawyer.  Find a commercial real estate attorney who specializes in hospitality properties.
• Have a great business plan. Make sure your business plan is water tight. Show your business strengths; Plan for contingencies, Back it up with good data. Here are some tips from the SBA.
• Have some cash to put down
• Look into SBA Loan programs

Take courage. Small banks are ready to talk to you. From a recent story on Marketplace (an American Public Media radio program): “A small bank that is strong, they want to do business with you right now. So you should go talk to them.” We had great luck with the National Bank of Middlebury and will be happy to introduce you.

$ image credit: SBA

Stick season in Vermont is a good time to take stock and determine if you have what it takes to be an innkeeper or run a B&B in the Green Mountain state. Traditionally this time of year marked a time of ending and rebirth (Samhain for the Celts, All Saints Day in the Roman Catholic Church, Day of the Dead in Mexico). For the B&B owner, it’s a short breather between leaf peepers and Christmas revelers.

There are many great innkeeper examples in our culture from the innkeepers who kicked out Mary and Joesph to national and regional innkeepers associations in the US and abroad.

In the 1570′s the rowdy crowds drawn by theatrical performances were frowned upon by the London establishment, so innkeepers stepped in to host Shakespeare’s plays. Sure it was a great business strategy to provide bed and breakfast to a captive audience of mead-happy thespians, but innkeepers became the benefactors of great art. (more…)

My favorite Brit tells me that the UK has the best B&Bs in the world. I don’t doubt it, but as a New Englander, and former inn-keeper, I have to defend my own. While the Bed and Breakfast industry in Vermont is not the £2 billion ‘cottage industry’ it is in the UK, Vermont B&Bs are nothing to sneeze at.

For several years I was co-proprietor with my husband John K. Nelson of the Swift House, a Middlebury landmark. Of course it still ranks high on my list of fabulous Vermont B&Bs. There are hundreds of notable B&Bs in Vermont. Vermont Bed & Breakfast Inns provides links to most of them.

Ye Olde English Inne on the Mountain Road in Stowe comes to mind. An English couple on vacation in Stowe, Chris and Lyn Francis fell in love with Vermont and decided over lunch in 1983 to become innkeepers. To this day, Ye Olde English Inne brings Old and New England together in a wonderful inn and pub.

If you are a B&B connoisseur, you probably already know Pamela Lanier’s Bed and Breakfast Inns website. She lists B&Bs all over the world, including those in Old and New England. Compare her list of Vermont B&Bs to those in the UK, and it is easy to see that the Brits win on numbers of B&Bs (and yes the Beatles are probably better than the Monkees).

But B&Bs are one of the glories of the British tourist industry, precisely because real people run them; Vermont is also famous for real people (think Patrick Leahy, Ethan Allen, Rudy Vallee, Robert Frost, John Irving), so we can compete when it comes to character.

And it certainly takes character to run a Bed and Breakfast; I met many in Middlebury at the Swift House.

While I don’t currently have any B&Bs for sale in Middlebury, I do have a spectacular lodging property in Shelburne: It is a handsome Queen Anne Victorian and listed on the National Register of Historic Places…The Heart of the Village Inn is a centerpiece in the Village of Shelburne.

Kiplinger’s focused on “out-of-the-box thinking” in their latest search for the best 10 cities for growth and growth potential in the next decade. The three factors deemed to spark innovation, jobs and a wonderful place to live and work are smart people, great ideas and collaboration. Here’s what they say about Burlington, VT:

Burlington’s local-food movement perhaps best tells the story of how environmentalism drives much of the city’s economic growth. Many shops and restaurants along Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, the famous pedestrian mall, serve up local goodies. A couple blocks over, the City Market/Onion River Co-Op, a community-owned grocery store, offers more than 1,000 Vermont products. (And atop the supermarket, generating 3% of the Co-Op’s energy needs — enough electricity to power six Burlington homes — are 136 solar panels from groSolar, another Vermont-based company.) And the crown jewel for locavores: The Intervale Center is a nonprofit organization that has managed 350 acres of family-owned farmland in Burlington since 1988 and provides 10% of the town’s food. “We’re 30 years ahead of the country with the local-food movement. . .”

When you first lay your eyes on Deerwood Estate, you realize why so many have fallen in love with Vermont.  With 34 acres, 750 feet of lake frontage, magnificent scenic views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains, large open meadows and well-landscaped lawns, rich history and well appointed amenities.

Deerwood Estate is centrally located in the beautiful Champlain Valley of Vermont – 20 minutes from Middlebury and the prestigious Middlebury College, 20 minutes to Vergennes, one hour to Burlington International Airport and a short drive to many of the state’s and the lake region’s great attractions and destinations.

Deerwood Estate is a newly opened Bed and Breakfast in a perfectly restored 1832 Greek Revival home. It boasts three guest rooms with wonderful public spaces; a  living room, a formal dining room, a TV room, and a gorgeous sunroom. The owners quarters have a private bath, dressing room and office. There are beautiful views of the mountains and Lake Champlain as well as 100 feet of lake front for boating and swimming. Adjoining land is available if you are interested as well as  plans and a building under construction. Some furniture will be included in the sale price and other pieces will be negotiable.

Contact Christine and John if you have any questions or would like more information about this beautiful property.

As part of the expansion of the homebuyer tax credit, existing homeowners are eligible for a $6500 tax credit (versus the $8000 credit for new homeowners). Here, Jeff Teplitz, a mortgage consultant with PrimeLending in South Burlington, answers some common questions and helps clarify this new feature of the bill. To see the full listing of changes, click here.

Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?

Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.

Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for the new $6500 tax credit?

Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment (when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.

Question: I am a first time home buyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered,however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?

Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill. The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase, which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement, you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you’re within the phaseout range).

Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I have found a home with a nonnegotiable price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any of the $6500 tax credit?

Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an absolute ceiling.

Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the other eligibility tests?

Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000 and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The keyword here is “consecutive.” As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he did since 3 years doesn’t impact eligibility.

Question: I am an eligible first time home buyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the extension date affect me?

Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30
(or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit.

According to statistics from Smith Travel Research, Yen Lee for Travel Industry Blog believes the leisure travel industry may have bottomed out. Although the numbers are the lowest they’ve been since 2002, 2009 seems to have stabilized somewhat, with projections for continued stability in the US (numbers are on the rise in Europe).

What this means is that travelers are taking the time to research great travel deals – and are expecting great deals. This may be the perfect time to promote local travel – travel close to one’s home for the experience and luxury of travel without high costs of plane tickets and rental cars. People want to travel but don’t want to break the bank or put themselves in a precarious financial position just to do so.

Running a bed and breakfast or inn in Vermont is a perfect way to encourage local travel at a reasonable price. Travelers from Quebec, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Maine, Connecticut and of course, Vermont have easy access to the treasures the Green Mountain State has to offer with just a short drive. The luxury and peacefulness of staying in a Vermont inn, having a delicious, hearty breakfast, and gorgeous surroundings at a reasonable price is enough to get people out for  a few days, or perhaps if the price is right, a week or longer.

Check out some of our past blogs about starting, owning or improving your Vermont Inn or Bed and Breakfast. Or get in touch with us with any questions – we would love to hear from you!

Energy Efficiency Tax Credit for 2009

There’s never been a better time to improve the energy efficiency of your inn, bed and breakfast or home. During 2009/2010, you can recover part of your investment by:

• Lowering your energy bills now and every year after
• Save up to $1,500 on your tax bill.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 establishes tax credits for many energy efficiency improvements to your home. Homeowners may claim up to 30% of costs of all equipment purchased during the aggregate two-year period of 2009 and 2010, up to $1,500 total.

Tax credits for installations made in 2006 and 2007 are still limited to the previous law’s $500. Purchases made in 2008 is not eligible for this tax credit.

Eligible Improvements

Owners of existing homes can qualify for a tax credit worth 30% of the cost of energy efficient upgrades to their home. Cost includes labor for installation. Qualifying energy improvements are listed below:

• Installation of improved insulation materials and system
• Exterior doors and windows (including skylights)
• Roofs (metal and asphalt) with cooling technology
• Electric heat pumps
• Central air conditioners
• Natural gas, propane or oil water heaters
• Natural gas, propane or oil furnace or hot water boilers
• Electric heat pump water heaters
• Biomass stoves that use renewable plant-derived fuels

The Energy Efficiency Tax Credit eligibility performance and quality standards vary by technology chosen. Visit the Energy Star web site for detailed information on products that qualify. Click here for complete details on the Residential Energy Efficiency Tax Credit (Source: DSIRE)

What is a Tax Credit?

The difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction is very important. A tax credit is worth more then a tax deduction. A tax credit comes directly off your total tax liability. While a tax deduction just reduces your taxable income before the tax liability is calculated. The bottom line is you save substantially more with a credit.

Interested?

If you are interested in an already energy efficient and ‘green’ inn/home, check out the Churchill House Inn, a Green Hotel located in Brandon, VT.

Innkeeping.org, a site run by the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII), has monthly and weekly newsletters available to paying members of their site. These newsletters are full of industry tips, advice, stories, news and link innkeepers (or those interested in innkeeping) with a world-wide community. In this month’s issue, advice is offered to those thinking of joining the industry. Here is an excerpt from this article regarding how to choose what size and type of lodging property you would like .

During your search there are several things to keep in mind:

• Be truthful with yourself about the aspects of innkeeping that are most important to you
• What are your owners’ quarters requirements/personal space?
• Is there an option for other revenue streams? For example: restaurant, retail, catering, yoga, massage, etc.
• Location affects business;  is the property located in a destination or in pass-through town? Does it get weekend only traffic, does it get any business travelers?
• Season; 6 months or year round (seasonal may offer substantial time off but sometimes finding seasonal employees is more difficult than year round help). I associate a seasonal 6 month business in a busy destination location as a light switch without a dimmer – it’s either on or off. You work hard for 6 months and relax for the other 6, providing the business is strong enough.
• Village or rural setting; coastal or inland; lot size affects use
• Do the current rates allow room for increase?
• Is this your hobby, primary source of income or lifestyle choice?
• And very importantly, enjoyment. Ask yourself, “will I enjoy being here?”

Often the following can be used as a rule of thumb:
Higher priced properties:

• higher income
• higher potential income
• more than 8-10 rooms
• affords housekeeping and sometimes an assistant innkeeper
• location, location, location
• amenities such as water or mountain views, spa tubs, body jet or steam showers, fireplaces, etc.
• can support owner’s living expenses

Lower priced properties:

• lower income
• often priced based on residential value if business value is not there
• fewer than 6 rooms
• often there is room for potential, but it might be limited because the property is already year round
• lower advertising budget, though it takes advertising to grow the business
• until the income grows, innkeepers are the housekeepers
• might require a second income source

Remember, as former innkeepers, John and Christine have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with you and are more than happy to guide you through the process of starting a new business. Contact them today with any questions you may have.