Every inn normally grows from the personality, skills and unique energies of its innkeeper plus the particular setting and architecture of the inn. Every inn is an expression of that combination of characteristics. It definitely takes a lot of heart and soul to last in offering hospitality year after year in a small inn. How do you prepare for this career and what education will hone your skills? There are a variety of seminars and books on the subject but we wanted to share a unique training course taken by Cliff Cottage's Sandra CH Smith:
"After I had spent 7 years sailing alone in the Pacific (bought a 35-foot sailboat when I was 43 and taught myself how to sail and took off), as my boat was about to sink off the coast of Central America somewhere, I got a "message" to move to Arkansas, limped my boat back to Puerto Vallarta, sold it in a few minutes and ended up in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I bought a property with a rare Sears' first kit home (Cliff Cottage) built in the 1880s. Then I designed and built (did a lot of the work myself) a Victorian replica next to it and opened Cliff Cottage Inn in summer 1993 and have been at it ever since." Sandra CH Smith, Cliff Cottage Inn
