In an earlier post I introduced you to inn sitting as a little known travel opportunity. You also met Anne Struble, half of a pair of sisters who do professional inn sitting. This time you’ll meet Sue Kalis.
Sue is the other member of this inn-sitting duo, and she is headquartered right here in Michigan. Sue fell in love with the business when she and her husband started staying at B & Bs for their anniversary outings.
“I wondered to myself, ‘What do they do when they want to get away? Close the doors?’” Sue remembers. “I went to a couple of seminars to learn more about the business. Then I got a chance to clean for a place in Minnesota.
“In 2004 my daughter did a four-week study program in New York City. I didn’t feel comfortable just leaving her there so Anne and I stayed at the Bricktown Inn in Haverstraw, NY—just a train and ferry ride away from NYC.
“We got to know the owner, and that led to my first real inn-sitting opportunity.” The rest, as they say is history. That was five years—and many inns—ago.
Just as Anne did when I talked to her, Sue suggests caution for would-be sitters. “Yes, you get to visit lots of interesting places. But you may not have time to explore them. There is a lot of work involved.” But Sue and Anne love what they do. “Anne would really go anywhere,” Sue says, “but I prefer to stay in the United States.”
It’s hard not to get intrigued when you listen to the sisters talk about inn sitting. “You just don’t have any long-term commitments. It’s like being grandparents in a way. You can spoil the kids, and then you get to go home.”
There are plenty of resources for anyone interested in exploring inn sitting seriously. Once you start looking, you’ll find a fair number of husband-wife teams. Bob and Suzanne Ellis, for example, ran their own B&B in North Carolina.
Interim Innkeeper Network has as its goals the education and training of aspiring innkeepers. Internships programs and apprenticeships are available through the organization.
The Michigan Lake to Lake Bed and Breakfast Association has a page devoted to aspiring innkeepers. Here you can find a list of current aspiring innkeeper members, complete with names, addresses and email addresses. You will also find lots of other resources, including a list of inns for sale and postings for positions wanted.
Even better for would-be inn sitters is the section listing “shadowing opportunities.” These are experienced innkeepers who invite aspiring innkeepers (or sitters) to “shadow” their operations and learn more about the B & B business first hand.
There are usually about a half dozen such inns listed. But here’s where it probably pays to ask. If you’re interested in seriously exploring inn sitting, you could just approach a local B & B, explain your interest and ask for opportunities to help on a volunteer basis to start.
Remember, we aren’t talking huge chain operations here with hundreds of locations. A B & B is a small business, and my bet is that most innkeepers would be more than willing to talk informally about their business and give their perspective on the pros and cons of inn sitting.
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