coldwell banker cb - Watertown Daily Times

PROGRESS 2008
WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES Sunday,March Day,Month Date,Year 2,2008 17 C5
PROGRESS 2008
Alice A. Holman, owner of Candlelight bed-and-breakfast in Sackets Harbor.
NIKO J.KALLIANIOTIS n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
COLLEEN WHITE n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
Carmen Sweet, co-owner of The Butterscotch House bed-and-breakfast in Lowville, says
"we don't like to send people out hungry" when describing the full breakfast he and partner
Jim Randall serve their visitors.
MELANIE KIMBLER-LAGO n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
Milton & Rena Goldberg.relax in the the sun room of the bed-and-breakfast at 247 Proctor Ave. Ogdensburg.
B&Bs find cozy niche
QUIET ROLE: Diverse places catering to wide range of clientele
help draw repeat visitors and groups to Northern New York
By COREY FRAM
TIMES STAFF WRITER
There are more bed-and-breakfasts in the area
than you probably realize.
They’re as plentiful as they are diverse — elegant
riverside estates for the rich, durable setups
for the snowmobile crowd and comfy settings for
those wanting to escape. Operators come from all
walks of life, and their offerings are just as varied.
They have a quiet — if not overlooked — role in
bringing people to the north country.
“There’s enough of them here that it’s a nice addition,”
said Gary S. DeYoung, executive director
of the Thousand Islands International Tourism
Council. “They don’t get as much attention as the
big chains.”
Nobody has a good count on how many there
are. Travel brochures and Web sites feature anywhere
from dozens to more than 100. Almost
every list has one that’s out of business.
“They’re getting more popular and customeroriented
than your everyday hotel chain,” said
Carmen A. Sweet of the Butterscotch House Bed
and Breakfast, Lowville. “We haven’t found this
niche to market the B&Bs locally. Even people in
Watertown, I’m not sure they’re aware of the B&Bs
to take the night or weekend to experience the luxuriousness.”
There is no clearinghouse tracking B&B customers,
but operators agree on one thing: They
LOOKING FOR A B&B?
The following places can help you find bed-andbreakfasts
in the north country:
St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce
101 Main St.
Canton, 13617
(315) 386-4000
www.northcountryguide.com
Lewis County Chamber of Commerce
7383-C Utica Blvd.
Lowville, 13367
(315) 376-2213
1000 Islands International Tourism Council
P.O. Box 400
Alexandria Bay, 13607
(315) 482-2520
www.visit1000islands.com
St. Lawrence County Bed and Breakfast Association
www.stlawbandb.com
Empire State Bed and Breakfast Association
www.esbba.com
INNSMART
www.innsmart.com
thrive on repeat visitors.
“Once you stay at a B&B, you’ll probably return
a number of times,” said Daniel Macura, owner of
COLLEEN WHITE n WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
Patricia R. and Douglas M. Dietrich have been catering their Glenfield bed-and-breakfast to snowmobilers
since opening in 2001.
the General’s Mansion Bed and Breakfast, Cape
Vincent. “The B&B crowd is more relaxed. They
spend a lot of their time socializing with the owners.
We tell them what’s in the area and give them a
run-down of the restaurants.”
ADVERTISING, FINDING A NICHE
The 14-member St. Lawrence County Bed and
Breakfast Association produces a brochure featuring
all members, and they share the cost of letting
people know where they are. Jefferson and Lewis
counties lack a cooperative, but the B&Bs in Sackets
Harbor regularly meet and discuss ways to promote
the village’s colonial appeal.
“This is about the only business that you’re
competing with each other but also help each other,”
said Alice A. Holman, owner of the Candlelight
Bed and Breakfast, Sackets Harbor.
Advertising runs the gamut of Thruway rest area
brochures to displays in tourism and trade magazines.
Many survive by catering to a niche that’s dictated
by location.
The Golden Shamrock Bed and Breakfast, Glenfield,
buys space in snowmobile trail guides. The
B&B, which has been run by the Dietrich family
since 2002, encourages visitors to enter through
the basement, where drying racks are ready for
helmets, boots and snowsuits.
“There’s a lot of people getting into catering to
the snowmobiles because it’s big booming business
up here,” said Douglas M. Dietrich.
MARKETS VARY
B&Bs in waterfront communities such as Cape
Vincent and Sackets Harbor draw vacationers,
particularly those from Western New York, Canada
and even Europe.
B&Bs in the heart of St. Lawrence County have
the colleges to thank.
See B&B, page 18