25 YEARS OF SERVICE !

THE OAKWOOD INN BED & BREAKFAST CELEBRATES


The Oakwood Inn Bed & Breakfast of Raleigh, North Carolina is celebrating its twenty five year anniversary this year. In June 1984, Raleigh’s first and largest Bed & Breakfast opened its doors to welcome Raleigh visitors. The house that was converted into the Oakwood Inn was built in 1871 and is located in Raleigh first historic district, Historic Oakwood, which is a part of the downtown area. Because it was the first B & B in Raleigh, there was a lot of resistance from the city fathers. The city council had to be convinced and educated as to what a Bed & Breakfast was in concept, as well as what type of cliental it would bring into the area. The city council did not want anymore boarding houses in the area at the time. The Oakwood Inn B & B was certainly not a boarding house when it opened on Saturday, June 2nd of that year. The beautiful house, which was totally renovated and decorated with antique furniture, custom drapery, and gold-gilded chandeliers, was also Wake County’s first bed and breakfast.

Now that may not seem a long time, however; in terms of the Bed and Breakfast industry, a 25 year anniversary is a milestone achievement. “For a bed and breakfast to stay in business this long is quite an accomplishment. Innkeeping can be a tough, yet rewarding business. The folks who have been running The Oakwood Inn must be doing it right, obviously having been rewarded by a constant flow of loyal customers for a quarter-century,” said Jay Karen, President & CEO of Professional Association of Innkeepers International which is referred to as PAII in the industry.

Doris and I purchased the Oakwood Inn Bed & Breakfast on September 1, 2001. Since that time we have gone through a lot of good and bad times. The one thing we have tried to maintain is to make sure our guests are satisfied and happy, and we must be doing it right, because we are still here running the Inn. We are the longest running Innkeepers of the Inn as we will be completing our eighth year this coming September. Over the past couple of years, I have had to return to the workforce outside the inn for various reasons. That means that Doris is really the sole innkeeper still providing the high quality service. It’s a lot more demanding on her, but she loves doing it, and it’s that passion that provides the basis to achieve a long sustaining tenure.

For the next few months, I will try to have a article in the newsletter providing a little more history of the house and its past owners as well as pass on a few bits of information about it as a B & B. “One definite thing we need to do,” said Doris, “is thank all of the neighbors who have stayed with us or have had family and friends stay with us. The neighborhood business is well appreciated and always welcome. We are so happy to be a part of this wonderful community.”

And of course, we need to thank all of our past guests who have supported us whether it was their first and only time they stayed with us, or if they have come every week or month for a night or two, and we have had some that regular.

Now I will also tell all of you that the Inn, just like many other businesses today, is having a difficult time business-wise. Occupancy has been down since about early September last year when much of this worldwide financial fiasco hit. Luckily, I am working and can help keep providing some cash flow to keep it moving along. As I tell many people, Doris and I bought the place 10 days before September 11, 2001. That day changed everything for us. What happened was that we lost all of our weekday business travelers, but our weekends were fairly full with pleasure travelers. People were afraid to travel, but had the money and means to do so. With today’s economic mess, people are not afraid to travel, but they just don’t have the money to do it.

“But things are starting to get a little better for us,” Doris said. “I tell Gary almost everyday to just think positive and the positive will come.” And it will. When you think about the first people who had the house built in 1871, and all of those others who lived in the house, or came to visit. When you think of who dug out the basement, who installed the first bathroom, when did the house convert from fireplace heat to a furnace, and who made what renovations and why…. you really appreciate the house and its soul. You begin to understand that this house has a life and a will to survive.

This house is one of Oakwood’s fourth or fifth oldest surviving homes. It has endured wars, wind, possibly fire, termites, snow storms, hurricanes, foreclosure, tax auction, tornadoes, segregation, integration, renovations, floods, additions, deletions, diseases, epidemics, depressions, recessions, and inflation…. it survived 9/11 and it certainly will survive and add to its legacy the Greatest Worldwide Depression of 2008/09.

Come and join us celebrate this year. Check out our website for 25 year specials. www.oakwoodinnbb.com
Gary
Owner/Innkeeper