2002-12-19 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

14i," ,,' .'. " .'.. ., ...', .~~lt:~~!J,:.,:.,'.:,;;,:~:;:;,'.;~: ,....,'.: :.>. .tiation,fse;ffJisWee~ Small Towns Gel Economic Boosl from Bed and. Breakfasts I by Amy, lorenlzen. the night is at a bed and break. Fr01n an economic development standpoint, a bed and red. fast. When visitors spend the Assoclo Press Wnrer night in a community - no mat. breakfast is the right kind 01 business fior rural areas, ter how small - it can benefit local businesses as the new eus- said Trine 1WcBride, economic development director for tamers buy food or 'eat out, gas up their vehicles and shop at Central Nebraska Community Services. retail stores. .} 11 "It's a positive thing," Raven- uIn tne sma communities, the home-based and the na Mayor Gerald Rei'ners said. small business is the only type 01economic "There is a spin-off from it'," , With no hotels or motels in de'oelopment that there is,' " she said. RaVeDJlEt, Shrader's home and another bed and breakfast in town fill a need for lodging in the community of 1,341 people, :Reimers said. "They give people a place to stay where they didn't have bofore," said Shrader, president of the Nebraska Bed and Break- fast Association.. From an economic develop- ment standpoint, a bed and breakfast is the right kind of busi!less for rural areas, said Trine lvIcBride, economic devel- opment director for Central NebrasI:ca Commlmity Services. "In the SElall cc'"Ytillunities, the hOlne-based m:cd the small business is tbe only type of eco- nomic development that theTe is," she said. As o\vner of the bowling alley and Ya'll Co!ne 13ack Saloon in Ora., McBride appreciates what bed and breakfasts do for her, especially during hunting sea- son. "A lot oft-he bed and breakfast lodging geared to hunters H' Can have qcit~ a substantiL~ effect RAVENNA, Neb. CAP) - Make an old-fashioned breakfast f8sturing homemade CL"'1TIar10n rolls. Clean two bathroOl~s and four bedroom-s. Water +~le flower gs.rden. Balance the books. Entertain a house full of guests. It's a typical day at work for Betty Shrader, owner of the Aunt Betty's Bed and gyoakfast. She l'1:n8 the business out of her 1907 Victorinn hor;:e just blocks fTom '~l'1is fmnling camm'!..:..luty-'s downtown. '~{ou certainly don't do it to get lich and it certainly isn't easy," said Shrader in her home's lavishly de.co-rated living room. Otherwise retired, Shrader does a~'precj_ate the extra h"1COme 2nd entertaim:c.cnt from run- ning the business. Bed and bre.akfasts, especial- ly those in rural area; have b8come popular geta'way desti~ nations in Nebraska. Their cozy oven~ight accorn- modEtions, \yarm l10spitality and homemade breakfasts pro- \ride E;uests with a H1J)re memo- rable experience than staying at a hoteL Many of the state's 70- plus bed and bre2.kfasts are in older, distinguished houses. Because of their appeal, bed and breakfasts are helping boost the econom.:es of Nebraska's small towns. In :'Lany rural-areas, the only pbce that travelers can sDend on local businesses, taverns, cafes and grocery stores," she said. Bed and breakfasts draw tow'ists to all parts of Nebraska, from Crawford to Weeping Water, said Tom Doering "\i.~i.~1. the N ebrc:ska Department of F~conomic Development. "Tnere are bdividuals who are seeking more uni que kinds of vacations a'1d can get a bettcy local flavor of an area by st2.ying at B-and-Bs," he said. Shrader sees .visitors from around the wOTld. During one week last sumnler, she had g-llests from Germa.r..y, Eng~and and France. "-fall get to meet so many interesting people ~ it's gTatif)r- ing," she said. The 57-year-old wi"1o retired. from a state unemploYl;nent office in Grand Island three years ago, started her bed and breakfast business abo' a decade ago with her husband, Hmvey "I: was. kind of a new thi:!lg," she said. "When I started in this little tu\vn of Ravenna, pe.ople really didn't }{pow what it was." At her five-bedroom home, which is sU1Tounded on one cor- ner by a flower garden and small fish pond, Shrader offers visitors severallm..-uries including a hot tub in the old cani.age house. She'll even let her guests choose what sort of breakfast they'd like to wake up to - and she has a haYd time letting them leave without trying one of her signa- ture cinnamon rolls. Operating a bed and break- fast might not provide enough money to live on, but it can pro~ vide a supplemental income - especially far :residents in areas hit hard by the poor farm econo- my: "That is the kind of business that is especially helpful in the rural areas ... that can help affect agricultural mcomes in areas that arc sometimes on the margin," Doering said. With a bed and breakfast, Gherryl LovejDY h8.s been rnak.- ing extra money for seven years off her family's ranch, 16 miles south of Valentine. The Lovejoy Ranch bed and breakfast has grown each year with usually at least one of its three rooms occu!;Jied each night from May to October, said the 57-year-old Lovejoy, who also works part time at the Valentine Chamber .of Conlmerce. Guest to the Lovejoy Ranch pay $75 to $95 a night to experi- ence life in Sandhills, including a first-hand look at the ranch's 300-head cattle operation. They also are invited to ride the fami- ly's horses while they stay - or even bring their ovvu. The ranch is "a good way for people that ordinaYily do not get to experience country life to. see what it is really like," she said. . Details: Nebraska Bed and Breakfast Association: http:// WW\v.nabb.com; Central Nebras- ka Community Services: http://www.welcome2cncs.comlc ed.htm.