Inn Your Dreams
Aspiring Innkeeper Seminars and Hospitality Workshops
Our seminars and workshops are Maine-centric, for buyers looking to purchase in Maine. We’ll discuss Maine tourism and the state of the hospitality industry in Maine. It’s never too soon or too late to learn. This is can be a relatively long process. Buyers and Brokers establish relationships, they don’t just take part in a quick transaction.
Don Johnson, a former innkeeper of several inns on Mount Desert Island, (his favorite the former Inn at Canoe Point) was an icon in the inn brokerage business. He began holding aspiring innkeeper seminars back in the late 80s with The Swan Agency and sadly passed away in 2011. We are paying homage to Don by continuing the seminars he named “Inn Your Dreams”.
I don’t sell real estate, I sell a lifestyle. I help give buyers the tools they need to make their dream a reality. And sellers the tools to plan for their exit strategy.
One Day In-Depth Workshop for Future Sellers
How best to position you and your business for the marketplace and when.
- exit strategy
- when to list?
- how long can you expect to be on market?
- pricing strategy
- preparing your books for review – providing a clear P&L and understanding the relevant impact on value
- how brokers, lenders and appraisers look at your financials and tax returns
- physically preparing your inn for showings
- mentally preparing yourself for the marketplace
Two Day Weekend Prospective Innkeeper Seminars
(as Don would say, "So you think you want to be an innkeeper?")
Searching For Your Inn/Acquiring Your Inn
- criteria
- understanding your financial needs
- understanding tax benefits
- destination location vs destination inn
- knowing the area
- how many rooms are needed to make money
- how much of a cash flow is enough for you?
- full service with restaurant or just rooms?
Marketing
- social media
- curating content
- analytics
- reputation management
- website review
- networking/partnering
Financials/Reservation System
- effective rate management
- budgeting
- managing the OTAs
- yield management
- creating additional revenue streams
- packaging
- exit strategy
General Operations
- overview
- staffing
- delegating
- effective time management
- best practices
- maintenance
F&B (food & beverage)
- cost control
- purchasing
- breakfast – plating, garnishing, creating the WOW factor
- additional F&B revenue streams (events, weddings, corporate meetings)
- beer, wine or liquor license, yes or no?
All of our in-person workshops were postponed in 2020 so we shifted gears and began offering them by Zoom. This worked out even better than we anticipated, they were convenient for attendees and they sold out quickly. We will be adding some workshops to our 2023 schedule soon.
They will be held on a Saturday and Sunday from 10am-2pm (with a short break each day)
COST: $95
We will bring in guest speakers such as:
Maine Lender
Maine Attorney
Maine Accountant
Seasoned Innkeeper/owner
Hired Innkeeper Manager
New Innkeeper/owner
Reservations system representative – reservation systems, yield management and OTA integration
Staff members of Hospitality Maine – the best advocates for our industry in Maine!
