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Do you want to be a Bed & Breakfast Owner?
Have you spent weekends hosting guests in your home pampering them with homemade breakfasts and guest room amenities? Do you enjoy entertaining people and recognize all the details that go into making an experience special? Are you ready to see if your hospitality skills are marketable? Diane and Ron Emineth, owners of Sandlake Country Inn, have the welcome mat out for you for a VocationVacationsÆ dream job holiday as a bed and breakfast owner. Join them at their intimate, four guestroom bed and breakfast in the coastal community of Pacific City on the beautiful Oregon Coast for the opportunity to learn what it is like to own and operate a bed and breakfast.
Diane had been a successful musician in Los Angeles for more than 20 years. She had also played her viola and violin all over the world, recording or performing live with artists like Leonard Bernstein, Placido Domingo, Madonna, Cher, and Smokey Robinson. However, as often happens with careers, she began to burn out.
“For years, in the back of my mind I had dreamed of being a bed and breakfast owner,” remembers Diane. “After taking an inspiring innkeeper seminar, I knew it was time to follow my dream.” Within three months, Diane and her husband Ron quit their jobs and bought Sandlake Country Inn in 2001. An historic house built in 1894 from shipwreck bridge timber, the inn had been a bed and breakfast for 12 years. Diane went from making music to making beds and breakfast.
What does Diane strive to provide her guests? “As an innkeeper, you need to be a good ‘reader’ of people so you get a sense of what your guests are expecting,” says Diane. Romance, relaxation, pampering and privacy are offered for the enjoyment and pleasure of her guests. Not surprising then that Sandlake Country Inn has been recognized by the Travel Channel as one of the best places to kiss; received the “five kiss” rating by Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest; twice been voted the "Most Romantic Hideaway" by Inn-Traveler Magazine; and has the top TripAdvisor ranking for bed and breakfasts in Pacific City. The inn’s countrified, farm-like surroundings give no hint of the elegance and luxury that await guests in the four large, very-private suites.
Diane acknowledges being an innkeeper is hard work and requires you to wear many hats. “You need to understand how to market your property, in addition to the everyday maintenance, cooking, and hosting responsibilities. It also helps if you are somewhat of a therapist. It is amazing what people share with you,” she laughs. In the first four years in business, Diane and Ron increased the business revenue 120%.
Diane has come a long way from the glamorous world of making music to a world that includes scrubbing bathtubs and serving guests breakfast in bed. But she loves it. “My biggest reward is making people happy,” says Diane. “The guest diaries in our rooms are filled with notes deep from the soul. Knowing that we have made a difference in people’s lives and have helped them reconnect definitely makes all the early mornings and hard work worthwhile.”
Diane will mentor you in some or all of the following Innkeeper activities:
- Prepare & serve breakfast
- Guest check-in and check-out
- Manage the property and its many physical operations
- Purchase supplies and food
- Quality assurance
- Sales & Marketing
- Prepare for breakfast the next day
- Housekeeping – in guest rooms and common areas
- Familiarization of the inn and surrounding towns to facilitate conversation and inquiries from guests about area
The Sandlake Country Innkeeper VocationVacations® experience includes the following:
- Two days of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job as an Innkeeper
- The opportunity to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post-VocationVacation career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
- A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job becoming a reality
- Light lunches with your mentor
Available: All year based on mentor's availability
Price: $799 Per Person
Required Accommodations
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Sandlake Country Inn |
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Minimum two-night stay required (Not included in the price of the VocationVacations® holiday)
Other activities and tourist destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:
Full payment of the VocationVacations dream job holiday is required to make a reservation. A $100 non-refundable fee is assessed if a VocationVacations experience is cancelled or rescheduled prior to 14-days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday, based on the approved availability of the mentor to reschedule. A VocationVacations adventure cannot be rescheduled and is non-refundable if cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday. Written notification of cancellation or rescheduling is required in all cases. In the US, Grounded Nomads, LLC and VocationVacations holidays encourage all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling. In the UK, Grounded Nomads, Ltd and VocationVacations holidays must require all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling and provide verification of such travel insurance to Grounded Nomads, Ltd. |
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