InnAdvisors

10/30/2026

What does it take to build an award-winning boutique inn - and a more valuable hospitality business?

Angelo and I learned a great deal during our nine years as inn owners, from creating memorable guest experiences to making strategic investments in marketing, operations, and property improvements.

I recently joined Kin Meng Sio of Lights On for a podcast conversation about our experiences, what worked, what we learned, and how those lessons can help independent lodging owners today.

We also discussed an important principle: Building the value of your hospitality business starts long before you're ready to sell.

A big thank you to Kin and the Lights On team for inviting me to share our story!

🎧 Watch or listen to the full conversation on the Inn Advisors blog. Visit our website @ innadvisors.com

10/24/2026

JUST LISTED | 13-Suite Boutique Inn in Okoboji–Spirit Lake, Iowa

An exciting opportunity to own an established boutique inn in the desirable Okoboji–Spirit Lake area of Iowa's Great Lakes region!

This distinctive boutique inn features luxurious guest accommodations, upscale amenities, and beautifully landscaped grounds—all thoughtfully designed to deliver an exceptional guest experience and create a compelling hospitality investment opportunity.

Property Highlights:

-13 guest rooms and suites, all with private bathrooms

- Guest accommodations featuring fireplaces, whirlpool tubs, and select private patios or verandas

- Approximately 10,000 square feet, including owner/manager living quarters

- Beautifully landscaped 2-acre property with a gazebo and outdoor pavilion

- Located in the popular Iowa Great Lakes vacation destination

Whether you're an experienced hospitality operator looking to expand your portfolio or an aspiring innkeeper seeking your next chapter, this property deserves a closer look.

For additional information or to discuss this opportunity, contact Inn Advisors.

10/16/2026

Thinking About Selling Your Inn or B&B? Start With the Right Questions.

Selling an inn is a significant decision. For many owners, it's not just a real estate transaction — it's the culmination of years of hard work, personal investment, and hospitality.

And naturally, it comes with questions.

How much is my inn worth?

When is the right time to sell?

What financial information will buyers want to review?

How do I prepare my property and business for a successful sale?

These are some of the questions we regularly hear at Inn Advisors.

In our latest Ask an Inn Advisor article, we address the questions owners should be asking as they consider their next chapter.

Whether you're thinking about selling soon or simply beginning to explore your options, understanding the process early can help you make more informed decisions.

Read the full article: https://innadvisors.com/ask-an-inn-advisor-top-questions-about-selling-your-inn-or-bb/

10/16/2026

Not to be missed! Register for the conference now if you haven’t yet!

🤖 What happens when AI audits your website… and then two industry experts audit the AI?

That’s exactly what this ALP Unlocked session explores.

One property. Three audits. Three different sets of ideas and opinions. And even after comparing all three, there were still issues none of them had caught.

This session will walk attendees through the full experiment, including what worked, what didn’t, where AI fell short, and how to use the process on your own property without making it another overwhelming project.

You’ll leave with the prompts, the pitfalls, and a practical way to make website improvement a whole lot easier.

Featuring Cynthia Leonard of Refuge Inn, Liz Hamilton of Maia Internet Consulting, and Scott Hall of ThinkReservations.

Join us in Boston for ALP Unlocked 2027, February 22–25.

👉 Register: https://www.alplodging.org/attend-alp-unlocked-2027/

10/08/2026

General Manager - Hospitality Opportunity | Ohio W**e Country

A distinctive luxury hospitality property on the southern shore of Lake Erie is seeking an experienced General Manager to lead its next chapter.

This is a hands-on leadership opportunity at a beautiful lakefront destination featuring a 15-room boutique inn with luxury suites and private cottages, a full-service wellness spa, and an intimate, locally focused restaurant.

The General Manager will work closely with ownership and lead the overall operation, with responsibility for guest experience, team leadership, financial performance, and operations across lodging, spa, and food and beverage.

The property is looking for an experienced hospitality professional who understands that exceptional independent hospitality requires both strong business discipline and a highly personalized guest experience.

The ideal candidate will bring leadership experience at an upscale boutique inn, luxury bed and breakfast, wellness resort, or similar high-touch hospitality property. Experience with integrated food and beverage operations and seasonal destination markets is especially valuable.

Compensation, performance incentives, and benefits are competitive and commensurate with experience.

Interested, or know someone who may be a great fit? Please contact me at [email protected].

I'll be happy to share the full job description and connect interested candidates directly with ownership.

Please share this opportunity with your hospitality network!

10/02/2026

Join Carol Edmondson for an Upcoming Cape Cod Workshop

We're pleased to share that Inn Advisors Principal Carol Edmondson will be leading an upcoming workshop focused on something that's essential to all of us in hospitality: the strength of the communities our businesses call home.

10 Ways to Grow Your Community's Hospitality Reputation and Your Bottom Line

Carol will share practical ideas for how hospitality businesses and their community partners can work together to:
- Build stronger local partnerships
- Improve guest satisfaction and visibility
- Attract more visitors
- Strengthen the reputation of the destination
- Ultimately create greater opportunity for individual businesses and the broader community

Carol brings 30+ years of experience as a small business owner and entrepreneur in hospitality and commercial real estate, along with her work today as a Principal Consultant with Inn Advisors and Certified SCORE Mentor.

DATE: Thursday, October 15, 2026
TIME: 12:00–1:00 PM
LOCATION: Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
COST: Free to attend

If you're a Cape Cod hospitality professional or local business owner, this should be a valuable hour with plenty of practical takeaways you can put to work.

Register for Carol's workshop: https://score.tfaforms.net/112?EventID=a10Vt00000XHY5V

Please share this with others in our Cape Cod hospitality and business community who may want to attend.

09/29/2026

The Best Time to Build Value Is Long Before You Sell

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is: "I'll focus on preparing my property when I'm ready to sell."

In reality, that's often too late.

The most valuable hospitality businesses aren't transformed in the year before they're listed.

They're built over time.

Every property improvement.

Every operational system.

Every five-star guest experience.

Every thoughtful investment.

Together, they create a business that buyers feel confident purchasing.

Whether you're planning to sell in two years or twenty, the habits that build a better business are the same habits that build a more valuable one.

Question: What's one improvement you're making today that will still pay dividends years from now?

(The image shows before and after images of a bathroom we renovated five years before we sold. The new bath delivered the guest experience our guests were seeking, while allowing us to confidently adjust rates to drive revenue and value.)

09/23/2026

There’s still time to donate a stay to the ALP The Great Stay Auction, happening October 6–29.

Why participate? Your donated stay can introduce your property to new travelers through ALP’s promotion of the auction and through all the members, Allied Partners, guests, clients, friends, and followers who help us spread the word. 📣

Plus, ALP will give you a Promo Toolkit with ready-to-use social posts, emails, and graphics, so participating gives you fresh content for your own marketing, too!

Want to maximize the opportunity? You can donate more than one stay.

⏰ Donations are due - donate today!!

👉 Donate today: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd1pxpjr5x70Qd78lEJI5KzdUqFJgYOaeYIgXjYpjeYAI5m2w/viewform?utm_source=chatgpt.com

🏡 Put your property in the spotlight!

There’s still time to donate a stay to The Great Stay Auction, happening October 6–29.

Why participate? Your donated stay can introduce your property to new travelers through ALP’s promotion of the auction and through all the members, Allied Partners, guests, clients, friends, and followers who help us spread the word. 📣

Plus, we’ll give you a Promo Toolkit with ready-to-use social posts, emails, and graphics, so participating gives you fresh content for your own marketing, too!

Want to maximize the opportunity? You can donate more than one stay.

⏰ Donations are due September 24.

👉 Donate today: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd1pxpjr5x70Qd78lEJI5KzdUqFJgYOaeYIgXjYpjeYAI5m2w/viewform?utm_source=chatgpt.com

09/19/2026

A Property Isn't Really for Sale If It's Priced Where No Buyer Can Buy It

One of the harder conversations we sometimes have with hospitality owners is about value.

An owner may have a number in mind based on what they need for retirement, what they've invested, what another property sold for, or simply what they believe their inn should be worth.

But buyers — and ultimately their lenders or investors — look at the property differently.

They look at financial performance. NOI. Condition. Deferred maintenance. Guest rooms and baths. Marketing. Reputation. Future capital needs. And whether the business can support the purchase price.

Before bringing a property to market, we prepare an estimate of value using many of the same approaches commonly used in hospitality valuation. We're brokers and advisors — not appraisers — but it gives us a grounded basis for discussing what the market is likely to support.

Sometimes that number and the owner's expectation are far apart.

Price a property significantly above what the business and real estate can support, and qualified buyers may never engage. If one does, financing may become another hurdle when the lender's appraisal doesn't support the price.

The property sits.

Sometimes for years.

Meanwhile, marketing, maintenance, guest experience and business performance can decline — and the value the owner hoped to protect can actually erode.

So an important question needs to be asked:

Are you ready to sell — or are you only willing to sell if someone pays a number the market may not support?

There's a meaningful difference.

Ultimately, the owner decides the asking price. But understanding what buyers and lenders are likely to see allows you to make an informed decision: sell at a realistic market value, continue building value, or decide that now isn't the right time.

09/17/2026

The Small Details Tell the Biggest Stories

Whenever I visit an inn, I find myself noticing the little things.

A handwritten welcome note.

Fresh flowers in the common areas.

A favorite chair by the fireplace.

A beautifully restored staircase.

At our inn, one of those details was something very personal to me.

We would serve guests freshly brewed espresso using my mother's Moka coffee pots, along with special espresso cups that had been given to me years earlier by a close friend.

They weren't expensive amenities. They weren't something you'd find on a checklist of things an inn should provide.

They were simply part of us.

And I think that's what makes the small details in independent hospitality so powerful.

Individually, they may seem insignificant. Together, they tell guests something important about the people and the thought behind the property.

The best boutique properties aren't memorable because they're perfect.
They're memorable because they feel personal.

That's what guests remember.

What's one small detail at your property that has a story behind it?