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Bed & Breakfast Owner

Hospitality: The Yelton Manor, South Haven, MI
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Do you want to be a Bed & Breakfast Owner?

Would you describe yourself as a joyful person with the ability to share your zest for life with others? Are you a multi-tasker, intuitive about people and the ultimate host, no matter what the circumstances? If so, being a Bed and Breakfast owner may be the perfect career for you. Find out on a VocationVacations® dream job holiday with Elaine Herbert and Robert Kripaitis, owners of The Yelton Manor Bed & Breakfast and The Manor Guest House located just steps from the sandy shore of Lake Michigan in South Haven, Michigan, just two hours from Chicago.

Elaine and Robert describe themselves as “corporate escapees.” Both had successful corporate jobs in medical sales/marketing in Chicago. But Elaine just wasn’t happy.
“I felt I was selling my soul,” Elaine remembers. It was time for a change. She and Robert sat down and drew up a list of things they liked to do together – entertain, renovate, decorate, garden, cook, tinker, etc. The idea of owning a B&B seemed to be a good choice for a new career for both of them.

“I had never even stayed at a B&B,” remembers Elaine. “However, I had a vision of luxury, elegance and high-touch service.” But Elaine and Robert could not find an existing B&B to buy that even came close to their expectations. So, they decided to build their own.

Wanting to move near family in SW Michigan yet be close enough to Chicago for a viable market, they found a perfect lake front property and began building their dream B&B in South Haven. The Yelton Manor Bed & Breakfast was completed in 1988 and the additional Manor Guest House in 1992. Since then, more than 300,000 guests (many have become longtime friends) have enjoyed the award-winning service and accommodations graciously and impeccably delivered by Elaine and Robert.

Their 12-room, five-suite property has received top ratings from The Chicago Times, InnTraveler Magazine, Yahoo and TripAdvisor to name a few. “Our goal is to provide flawless service,” explains Elaine. “We want our guests to be blissfully oblivious to the effort that goes into it.” Yelton Manor is open May to October seven days a week, weekends and for special events November through April. Elaine and Robert have three year-round employees and eight seasonal employees. “The hours Robert and I put in probably add up to 10 full-time employees,” laughs Elaine.

The Yelton Manor Bed & Breakfast is not a “hobby” business. It is a successful, competitive, profitable operation because Elaine and Robert deliver an upscale, high value product in an ideal location. From spectacular gardens to perfectly maintained rooms, they keep everything running smoothly. They have learned a lot over 20 years and are eager to help others “look before they leap” into B&B ownership.

As a B&B owner, every day is different, filled with challenges, opportunities and new people. “You truly have to love people, learn what their expectations are for their stay, then do whatever it takes to deliver the perfect experience for them,” explains Elaine. “Skills can be learned on the job, but from day one you need the right temperament, an open heart, and a desire to serve in order to be successful and happy in this business.”

If you are looking for a thorough immersion into the life of a B&B owner and how to successfully run a “big” little business, head for the shores of Lake Michigan and the opportunity to discover whether owning a B&B just may be your dream job. Robert and Elaine are ready to welcome you.

While on your Bed & Breakfast Owner VocationVacations® dream job holiday with Elaine Herbert and Robert Kripaitis at The Yelton Manor Bed & Breakfast and The Manor Guest House, activities will include some or all of the following:
  • Consider your personal mission, expectations, limitations, and finances. Learn how to match your temperament and energy level to a hospitality style choice. Learn strategies to balance personal life, time, family and friends, working with a spouse, and maintaining your health within a 24/7/365 occupation. Discuss emotional elements of the job, innkeeper burnout risk factors.
  • Interact and serve inn guests, the most important and most enjoyable aspect of the job. Learn professional concierge skills, how to make effective and engaging small talk, phone sales techniques and strategies for dealing with difficult guests. Hear hilarious guest stories, many lessons learned.
  • Learn hands on with food preparation and meal service - menu planning, grocery shopping strategies, food handling requirements, cooking and baking skills, food presentation, food trends, dietary restrictions, table service.
  • Participate in a round of housekeeping - learn bed making, laundry and closet management, stain removal, etc.
  • Experience immersed interaction with staff as “family” - learn the legal and ethical responsibilities of hiring, training, motivating, insuring, and firing.
  • Full tour of facility systems, i.e. telephone, cable TV, wireless internet, plumbing, heating and cooling, electric, hot water, food and supply storage, security systems
  • Discuss interior design options; learn some tried and true decorating tips. Learn techniques to minimize guest damage to furniture, walls, beds, appliances, etc.
  • Hands on computer training with reservation software - learn about online reservations, other sources of reservations i.e. Travelocity. Learn typical office organization, view useful internal forms. Discuss examples of typical inn policies, i.e., late cancellation, smoking, etc and learn techniques to enforce them.
  • Discuss website creation, maintenance, web tracking. Learn how, why and when to write a press release. Discuss Web-based marketing strategies, advertising and promotion. Consider brochure options.
  • Learn how to create a business plan to submit to a lending institution. Discuss business issues, variable mortgages, cash flow, lines of credit, credit card rules, taxes, insurance, accounting, bank account management, budgeting, tracking and forecasting.
  • Learn about networking opportunities, essential local, state and national associations, and innkeeper training seminars.
  • Consider how to be a “green” inn, recycling, reduction of paper use, etc.
  • Tour other local B&Bs, meet the innkeepers, experience varied marketplace and hospitality options. If scheduling permits, participate in a relaxed “social hour” discussion of your inn keeping concerns with a panel of experienced innkeepers.
  • Seize the opportunity to make a lifelong friend and business mentor.
The Bed & Breakfast Owner VocationVacations® dream job holiday with Elaine Herbert and Robert Kripaitis at The Yelton Manor Bed & Breakfast and The Manor Guest House includes:
  • Two or three days of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job as a Bed & Breakfast Owner
  • The opportunity to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post- VocationVacations career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
  • A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job coming to reality
  • Light lunch with your mentor

Available: Summer season and holiday weekends: 3-night minimum stay required and 3-day VocationVacation; "Off-season": 2-night minimum stay required and 2-day VocationVacation with an option for a 3-day VocationVacation

Price: $1249 or $999 Per Person

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Required Accommodations

Yelton Manor

(Minimum two-night stay required, not included in the price of the VocationVacations® holiday)

Other activities and tourist destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:
Reservation, Cancellation and Rescheduling Rules and Conditions:
Each requested date for a VocationVacation is 100% dependent upon the mentor’s approval of dates.  Each Vocationer is required to sign a liability release stating that they are 18 years or older, 21 years or older if the VocationVacation involves the production or serving of alcohol.  Full payment of the VocationVacation 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 VocationVacation 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.  Grounded Nomads, LLC dba VocationVacations encourages all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling.