Behind the Scenes at a New England B&B

Go behind the scenes with one Vermont couple to see what it takes to run a B&B in New England.

By Ian Aldrich

Aug 14 2013

The front of the Inn Victoria in downtown Chester, Vermont.

Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich

Yankee went behind the scenes at a Vermont inn to experience first-hand what it’s like to run a B&B. See the full 2013 Yankee print feature: So You Want to Run a B&B?

Among the many roles an innkeeper takes on is tour guide. Here, Dan Cote helps a pair of guests map out their afternoon.
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

Penny's Apartment — Penny with her cats and her dinner (homemade apple pie) at the end of the day in the back apartment she and Dan have called home for the last four years.
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

The Cotes — In researching the B&B business, the Cotes discovered countless stories of inns that had closed because the owners just couldn’t afford to keep their business afloat. “The owners burn out mentally, and they’re out of cash, there’s no way they can make it go for another year or two,” says Dan. “They can’t get their money out of it. They can’t buy the food on the table for the next guest. There’s a lot of reasons why B&Bs take cash upfront when a guest makes a reservation.”
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

Penny tries to fix the satellite service for the TV in the inn’s main sitting room.
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

With the day’s end sort of in sight, Penny finishes up the last bit of cooking before dinner is ready to be served.
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

Assistant innkeeper, Jessica Knisely, ladles hollandaise sauce, while Penny waits to serve her guests their breakfast.
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

Penny hanging a shower curtain after it’s been cleaned. Exceedingly diligent about the way the inn’s rooms look and feel, she says even the slightest trace of dirt on something like a shower curtain can determine whether a guest will return or not.
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

In leaving his corporate job to run an inn with his wife, Dan braced himself for the vulnerabilities that come with starting and running your own business. “When you have to worry about someone pulling in your driveway, that someone has to want to come here, then whoa, it’s a whole new thing,” Dan says. “That can be scary.”
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

Penny holding a basket of clean clothes that for the last week she hasn’t had time to iron.
*Photo Credit : Ian Aldrich*

Ian Aldrich

Ian Aldrich is the Senior Features Editor at Yankee magazine, where he has worked for more for nearly two decades. As the magazine’s staff feature writer, he writes stories that delve deep into issues facing communities throughout New England. In 2019 he received gold in the reporting category at the annual City-Regional Magazine conference for his story on New England’s opioid crisis. Ian’s work has been recognized by both the Best American Sports and Best American Travel Writing anthologies. He lives with his family in Dublin, New Hampshire.

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