Inn on Main Street

Value. Profit. A gracious lifestyle.

History
Inn on Main Street is a seven-room Country Victorian B&B built by a physician in 1900 and placed into service as a B&B in 1989. Joel and Melba Goldsby, who did extensive renovation and decorating on the inn but never promoted the business heavily, took it out of service about 1995, then sold it to Dan and Nancy Ward almost fully furnished with antiques in 1998.

Since that time, the Wards have built the business to become competitive with the finest B&Bs in Asheville's historic districts. They have also added central AC, replaced the oil heat with an efficient gas furnace, added six gas fireplaces and remodeled baths to include three whirlpool tubs and ceramic tile, as well as other updates and maintenance.

Inn on Main Street has obtained AAA 3-diamond ratings the past several years, and is listed on more than 1000 web sites. Inn on Main Street has been cited in several publications, including U.S. News and World Report, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, and Our State Magazine. Inn on Main Street is a member of the Asheville Bed and Breakfast Association and Green Hotels Association. Dan Ward serves as marketing chairman and webmaster liaison for the Asheville Bed and Breakfast Association. ABBA's marketing and networking advantages add enormous value to its members as well as provide new innkeepers with valuable mentoring.

Location
Inn on Main Street is in Weaverville (pop. 2100), just 10 minutes north of downtown Asheville. It is 15 minutes from the Biltmore Estate, the area's single largest tourist draw and primary year-round attraction. In recent years, I-26 was completed past Weaverville to I-81 in Johnson City, TN, turning it overnight into a major north-south corridor. The new road has contributed to advance bookings from the Northeast and a heightened awareness of tourism potential in downtown Weaverville. Through traffic turns off Main Street onto Merrimon Avenue two blocks away from the inn, which makes the location central but quiet. The two blocks north of the Merrimon intersection contain four restaurants, a fly-fishing outfitter, several galleries and a luxury day spa, the Secret Garden, created from a former B&B. Another fine B&B, the Dry Ridge Inn, is two blocks from Inn on Main Street.

Through an effort between innkeepers and local artists, Weaverville has become known as an arts mecca, and hosts the Weaverville Arts Safari studio tour twice a year. Innkeepers have traditionally cooperated to promote the town and each other. About 15 minutes east of Weaverville is an entrance onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Within half an hour of town are fine whitewater rafting and hiking opportunities, and within 45 minutes are natural hot mineral springs and skiing.

The Inn
Inn on Main Street contains seven guest rooms with private baths, all furnished in period antiques and excellent reproductions, fine linens and amenities expected at a luxury B&B. Five guest rooms are in the original house, and the other two are in the cottage, a single-story building erected in the 1940s or 1950s. The kitchen includes granite counters, custom cherry cabinets, handmade tiles, laminate floor and a reproduction electric stove modeled after antique wooden cook stoves. An NSF dishwasher and commercial grade refrigerator were installed to comply with health codes. Laundry facilities include a Maytag washer and gas dryer. Common facilities are the parlor, dining room and large front and back porches. A landscaped garden surrounding a koi pond in the back yard also contains seating. The lot is two-thirds of an acre and is zoned residential with a transferable zoning waiver for a B&B. Weaverville provides water and trash pickup. The Metropolitan Sewerage District handles sewage. The inn has cable TV service and wireless internet for the office and guests.

The owners quarters
An 936-square-foot apartment over a three-bay garage provides plenty of space and a degree of privacy lacking in most B&Bs. The apartment includes two bedrooms, two bathrooms, galley kitchen, living/dining area and its own laundry hookups. The garage includes a workshop, vehicle bay, another bay for storage or workshop, and a storage/utility space behind and connecting them all. The apartment is heated by baseboard electric and cooled with a window AC unit.

The bottom line: $989,000

Inn on Main Street is being offered turnkey and furnished (with the exception of a few non-essential private pieces and owners quarters furnishings) for $989,000, an exceptional value in a location noted for year-round tourism, a desirable climate, vibrant cultural scene, and top rating for its standard of living.

By the numbers: (annual average of 2006-2008, taken from Form 1040 Schedule C)

Gross receipts $186,699
Gross profit $174,427
Room revenues $168,055
Room nights 1203 (Includes free, bartered and discounted nights)
Occupancy 48 percent (Not adjusted for closed days)
Revenue per room $24008 (Does not include profits from non-room package components)
ADR $139.74

Cost per room: $141,286

Gross Revenue Multiplier: 5.3

Income Capitalization: 9.2 percent (This is based on an average net before debt of $91,084, including depreciation).