Enjoy early access to Liz’s story here; before it is published to all of the popular platforms on September 26, 2026.
Episode #203: Liz Scheessele
Owner/Innkeeper
Roanoke Boutique Hotel | USA
Guest Bio
Liz Scheessele is the owner and innkeeper of the Roanoke Boutique Hotel, a cozy bed and breakfast that caters to outdoor enthusiasts and travelers seeking comfort. With years of experience staying at B&Bs and a personal passion for hiking and hospitality, Liz combines her love for wholesome breakfasts and welcoming spaces to create a memorable stay for her guests. Her journey to innkeeping began with thoughtful research and a chance visit to the Roanoke Boutique Hotel, which led her to take over the business in 2024.
Show Summary
In this episode of the Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Podcast, host Jason Elkins speaks with Liz Scheessele about her unique path from frequent bed and breakfast guest to owner of the Roanoke Boutique Hotel. Liz shares how her solo travels and appreciation for personal touches in lodging inspired her to pursue innkeeping as a life goal.
She recounts the story of a planned road trip that introduced her to the Roanoke Boutique Hotel and its then-owner Diane, whose decision to sell the inn sparked Liz’s decision to step into the role herself. Their conversations and Liz’s experiences staying at the inn highlighted the balance of historic charm and modern conveniences that she values deeply.
Throughout the conversation, Liz emphasizes the importance of creating a welcoming atmosphere for guests, especially those who, like her, enjoy outdoor adventures and a hearty breakfast to start their day.
Key Takeaways
- ✓ Personal travel experiences can provide valuable insights when pursuing a hospitality career.
- ✓ Solo travel often highlights the importance of safety and personalized service in lodging.
- ✓ Combining historic character with modern amenities enhances guest comfort.
- ✓ Building relationships with previous owners can create opportunities for new ventures.
- ✓ Outdoor enthusiasts benefit from accommodations that cater specifically to their interests.
- ✓ A thoughtful breakfast service is central to the bed and breakfast experience.
- ✓ Following one’s intuition can guide important life decisions, such as purchasing a business.
- ✓ Flexibility in travel plans can open doors to unexpected opportunities.
- ✓ Running a small inn requires balancing personal passion with business operations.
What You’ll Find on Roanoke Boutique Hotel
- ✓ A welcoming bed and breakfast designed for outdoor lovers and solo travelers.
- ✓ Comfortable accommodations blending historic charm with modern updates.
- ✓ A focus on hearty, wholesome breakfasts to fuel a day of exploration.
- ✓ Convenient location with easy access to local hiking and dining options.
- ✓ Personalized service from an owner who understands the guest experience firsthand.
- ✓ A peaceful retreat ideal for rest after a day of travel or outdoor activities.
Learn more about Roanoke Boutique Hotel | USA and connect with Liz at:
https://www.roanokeboutiquehotel.com
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Podcast Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated on recording, and has not been edited by a human. It may contain lots of mistakes, crazy words, and stuff that makes no sense. The host and the guest are not responsible for the accuracy of the transcript.
Jason (00:00.754)
Welcome back everybody to another episode of the Big World Made Small podcast for the adventure traveler. So happy to have each and every one of you back today. Edit, edit, edit. Did you hear any echo?
Liz (00:07.515)
Yeah, you can check everyone.
Liz (00:15.557)
Nope.
Jason (00:16.312)
Okay, I’m gonna just I’m gonna do a quick audio test. One, two, three, test, one, two, three, one, two, three. Check, check, check. Okay. For some reason I heard myself as an echo on your side just for a second and that that’s really hard to edit out. So if it I just wanted to check I think we’re fine, so we’re not gonna do anything. I’m just gonna start talking again.
Liz (00:27.808)
Yeah, you’re right. Okay.
Sorry, I wanted to move my fan back again ’cause I could hear my feel feel. I could see my hair blowing again. So okay. Am I centered okay? All right.
Jason (00:41.388)
Okay. Yep, you look good. Edit, edit, edit. Welcome back, everybody, to another episode of the Big World Made Small podcast for the adventure traveler. So happy to have each and every one of you back today, and also very excited to have my guest. We’ve got Liz Scheessele. She is the owner and innkeeper of Roanoke Boutique Hotel. Liz, did I say your last name right? That’s part of the game here. Well, we practice
Liz (01:06.105)
You did, Jason. Good job. How are you doing? Yep. Mm-hmm.
Jason (01:09.902)
We practiced a few times before I hit record. So anyway, Liz, so happy to have you here. I think we spoke, geez, I guess it was just last week and yeah, and I just loved your energy, loved your story, and thought we should come back and dig a little deeper. So thank you for joining us. Sometimes I ask people, gee, Liz, where are you located? But since I introduced you as owner and innkeeper at the Roanoke Boutique Hotel, I maybe we can skip that, except I’m
Liz (01:18.275)
It was a week ago, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:26.415)
Thank you for having me.
Jason (01:39.372)
I’m not gonna skip it completely because not everybody knows where Roanoke is. So where is Roanoke?
Liz (01:45.242)
Yeah, Roanoke is in Southwest Virginia. It’s actually in the Blue Ridge Mountains, right along the Blue Ridge Parkway, very close to the Appalachian Trail. it is the largest city in Southwest Virginia, which isn’t saying a whole lot, but we’ve got a population of about a hundred thousand folks. and then we’re surrounded by some more rural counties.
Jason (02:08.267)
I’m I’m happy that you mentioned things like Appalachian Trail, Blue Ridge Mountains, because now everybody’s like, I get this. I get the connection here. That’s an adventure hot spot. So we’re gonna dig into that a little bit, just kind of things that are around the area. We’re also gonna dig really deep into your story, your history, figure out how the heck you got from where you were to where you are now, because I know that’s interesting. but let’s let’s do take a moment just to speak about now I’m gonna you’re B and B.
or your boutique hotel, what other terms do you use to describe it?
Liz (02:41.787)
I like to use the acronym RBH a bit. To me, it sounds a bit adventuresome. I also took over this business several years ago and the business was already named Roanoke Boutique Hotel. I struggled for a while in the decision of whether to keep that name or not, because Boutique Hotel, as I’m sure you know, is a very trendy term these days, and the previous owner wanted to capitalize on that. But I also don’t
Jason (03:10.551)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (03:11.901)
want to give people the misconception that this is a hotel. we do not have, you know, a front desk with someone staffed twenty four hours. This really is a bed and breakfast and my home. So
Jason (03:25.013)
All right, very cool. And let’s let’s talk a little bit about, you know, yes, we’re on video, but I’m not gonna ask you to walk around and and you know, show us the rooms and everything. So I know that sometimes it’s a challenge, but I’ve seen your w No, no, no, and that’s and that’s okay. Yeah. we’re gonna get behind the scenes on the the bed and breakfast or boutique hotel business. And and but anyway, let’s let’s do our best to kind of describe your
Liz (03:36.507)
I was about to say I didn’t prepare for all that today, Jesus.
Liz (03:44.633)
Yeah.
Jason (03:54.07)
your house really and what guests you know what guests can expect. I’ve seen your website, so I already know. I already know how nice the place looks, but what would you like t people to know about kind of I guess just the B and B at this point. And then we’re gonna get into the history.
Liz (04:09.06)
Yeah.
Sure. Well, the house is gorgeous. it was built in 1890 and is one of the oldest homes in my neighborhood, which is Old Southwest, which is a historic neighborhood walkable to downtown Roanoke. So that’s a definite plus. the house itself has a ton of exposed brick, which is which is very cool, and a lot of historic character. Yet when this last renovation was done, all new systems, all new layout. so the house
Also looks kind of clean, you know, sleek and modern. I’ve got three guest rooms plus my own room. All of those rooms have king beds, and two out of three of the rooms have antique claw foot tubs in addition to the showers. the one room downstairs is almost the bottom floor. it’s got a private patio. it also is my only pet-friendly room to non-shedding breed dogs only.
Jason (04:56.333)
Right, cool.
Liz (05:10.653)
But it also has a pull-out full sleeper sofa so it can accommodate up to four guests. So total I’ve got the capacity to host eight guests at a time. There are also plenty of outdoor spaces. The private patio I mentioned for the suite, but then I’ve got an upstairs front balcony, a back deck, a front patio. So those are always, you know, really nice to have guest spaces as well. in indoors I’ve also got
Jason (05:10.667)
Yeah.
Liz (05:40.714)
a shared den area and then folks can also hang out in the kitchen and bar area either in the morning or in the evening to play games, that kind of thing.
Jason (05:50.39)
Do have a lot of guests hang out in the bar in the morning? Just
Liz (05:53.772)
What
I see the bar, but we’re literally sitting at the bar top right now. So the bar top is in the kitchen. Maybe countertop would be a little bit more appropriate, but I actually do have guests. This is where I serve coffee in the morning before breakfast is served. So I do have a good number of guests who come down and then we’ll get coffee. And some might go into the den, some might take it back up to their rooms, but I do have a lot of people sit at the bar here and kind of talk to me as I fix breakfast in the morning. So yeah.
Jason (06:04.097)
Yeah.
Jason (06:24.183)
Very cool. We’re gonna we’re gonna get into the kind of adventure part of just you as a person and and why.
Liz (06:24.989)
Okay.
Liz (06:30.043)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (06:31.477)
I thought we would have a great conversation, but I also recognize, and you know, through my conversation with you and spending some time, you know, researching is that you’ve got a lot of a lot of your guests are kind of those people that would listen to a podcast like this. And so let’s touch a little bit about, you know, kind of the activities and just, you know, what’s the typical guest that comes there comes there and what are they doing that we kind of would see as outdoorsy adventurous y type of stuff like that. So people get kind of an idea.
Liz (07:00.035)
Yeah, so my favorite outdoor hobby is hiking. And because we are in the Blue Ridge Mountains and very close to the Appalachian Trail, granted that’s not the only trail system nearby, but I do have quite a few people come in to hike. In fact, just this past weekend, every set of guests I had hiked the McAfee Knob hike, which is very local to hear. I would say it’s the quintessential Roanoke region hike. It’s about eight and a half miles out in
Jason (07:21.293)
Okay.
Liz (07:29.979)
back moderately challenging but it’s also got the most photograph spot on the entire AT so it’s a very popular hike but we’ve got things you know from like short little bits that are
Easier. we’ve got a lovely greenway that’s next to the river, but then we’ve also got lots of more challenging hiking as well. Rowan Oak is also known for biking. We just hosted the national endurance mountain bike competition for the second year in a row, and it actually moves every two years, so it won’t be back again next year. But that is a week-long competition where people come in from all over to participate in different types of
Competitions, whether it’d be like long format, like a marathon or like a short endurance type course. So lots of hiking, lots of biking. but then anything else really that you would want to do outdoors where we’re close to winter sports, but it’s not like right in the backyard, you know, maybe like an hour to get to some good maybe skiing and and snowboarding from here. we do have a couple of recreational.
lakes that people definitely come for leisure activities. and our local river system is quite small. It’s like a you know creek slash stream sort of river. And so you’re not really doing anything motorized in there, but a lot of people have been tubing, kayaking, that kind of thing. So yeah.
Jason (09:04.223)
okay. All right. Very, very cool. And you I think you mentioned kind of how far it is you mentioned the Appalachian Trail and you mentioned the something knob, what was it? McAfee knob.
Liz (09:11.707)
Mm-hmm.
McAfee Knob. Yeah. So that that trail is on the Appalachian Trail. Mm-hmm.
Jason (09:19.743)
Okay, and how so if I was staying at your place and I wanted to go spend a day walking on part of the Appalachian Trail, how long would it take me to get there by I’m gonna say by car or by bicycle?
Liz (09:32.954)
By car, probably
20 minutes, I guess, to get to a good trailhead location to then be able to hike around. Yep. But very locally we’ve got Mill Mountain Park, which is where the Roanoke Star is. and there’s 12 miles of trails up there, kind of a choose your own adventure with various difficulty levels. we’re also very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which unlike some other scenic roads a little further north that
Jason (09:38.111)
Okay, that’s close, yeah.
Liz (10:06.973)
you have to pay to get on to. The Blue Ridge Parkway is free, lots of locations to get on and off, with lots of hikes kind of throughout the parkway. So the AT isn’t the only game in town when it comes to hiking.
Jason (10:16.781)
All right.
Jason (10:20.641)
Got it. And I I didn’t grow up. I spent time in southern Vermont. We were pretty close to the the ATE, the Appalachian Trail, where it passes through Vermont. But I still know almost nothing really about it, other than stuff I see social media. I’ve got some friends that have done it. My question is, is sh I don’t know, I I’m gonna ask. I don’t know how to ask it, but
So there’s people that go will spend several months. I don’t know how long does do you know how long it takes generally to do the whole thing if you’re really motivated?
Liz (10:51.545)
I think several months is kind of the right answer, but honestly, those aren’t typically my guests.
Jason (10:54.137)
Yeah. Well that’s where I was going with the question. Okay.
Liz (10:59.513)
Yeah. So my tips my guests are typically like me and they might like a couple nights, you know, backpacking or to do a short circuit or something, but a lot of them are day hikers that like a nice cozy place to lay their head at night, which is exactly the type of place I look for when I travel. And that is exactly the the place that I strive to be here. So
Jason (11:24.429)
Part of why I asked that, honestly, is because I know your place is nice and everybody should be able to stay in a nice place if they want. And I’ve spent enough time in the outdoors without a shower to to I imagine the scenario where you’ve got a couple there on their honeymoon and just really enjoying the finer things in life and then you’ve got, you know, the you come through hikers, is that right? Like the people that are yep.
Liz (11:45.871)
That that’s right. Mm-hmm.
Jason (11:48.022)
And then you’ve got some through hikers that show up on a Friday night and have been out in the woods for a month and I I just imagine that that could be an interesting scenario. So have you had that happen ever? Or is it just just doesn’t happen? I d I don’t know if there’s an interesting story there.
Liz (12:05.701)
So I have had a couple where just one of them was hiking the AT. So the other one would drive into town and then pick up their partner. Then they would come here for like a weekend to kind of, you know, have some time together, get a little time off the trail. I can tell you that I can definitely tell when I’m cleaning the bathtubs, like whether someone has been like out on the trail for some time or whether it’s someone who’s taking
Jason (12:28.981)
Yeah.
Liz (12:35.685)
bath just like, you know, to soak like you think many of us do, right? So yes, yes. Yep.
Jason (12:40.589)
Uh-huh. Yeah. All right. That that’s pretty cool. okay, so that’s not necessarily your typical client. It sounds like an exceptional type of thing. where does where does your typical guest come from? Are they mostly people that live close by Washington DC? Where do they come from? I don’t have any idea how far Washington is from Roanoke. That just came out of my mouth.
Liz (12:46.32)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (12:55.535)
So yeah. Well
Maybe three hours, but yeah, I do get a lot of folks from Northern Virginia, DC area, Maryland, North Carolina. So if someone’s looking to do like a weekend trip, then I do get people from like close close by like that. quite a few of my guests are actually staying overnight on their way to or from somewhere. And I mean I love to have that business, but I also love when people make
Jason (13:25.101)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (13:28.857)
Roanoke their destination. but because I am, you know, in a beautiful place with a lot to do, but I’m also so convenient to the interstate and somehow a good stopping point for folks headed many different places, I do tend to get a lot of of those travelers as well.
Jason (13:47.478)
All right. Before we get into the childhood traumas and everything that cost you to take this route, that’s a joke. let’s I think what I wanted to ask you was gee, now I don’t even know. I’ve wor I mentioned the word trauma and my mind just went blank. I’m I’m kind of on the avoidance side of that. So I don’t know where that came from. But honestly, I think I have no idea what I wanted to ask you. Please.
Liz (14:11.055)
Well, I have something that I’d like to say actually. So it I I kind of smirked when I said that I, you know, like that I I’m happy to have that traveler that’s on their way to or from someplace and just need a place to stay because that’s literally how I found this place was taking a road trip and just needing a place to stay. And I stayed here one night and fell in love with it and now I own it and run it and Yeah. So it’s yeah.
Jason (14:35.399)
okay. Okay. Thank you for bringing that up because that is a huge part of the story and part of what I just enjoyed about you, just that adventurous just like, hey, let’s go do this. Let’s change my life. That’s super, super cool. And the other thing though, I I think we should touch on, believe it or not, I think there’s people to listen to this podcast that have never stayed in A B and B.
Liz (15:01.162)
I get so many first timers actually. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Jason (15:03.647)
Yeah, and I think some of them, you know, there’s there’s this other similar concept with a similar type of name that latched on to the whole thing that is totally different experience. But let’s let’s speak to those people that have not stayed in an in a b b a B and B. what’s usually their biggest surprise? What do you like I don’t know, what do you want to share with someone that’s never done it?
Liz (15:13.549)
Right.
Liz (15:27.363)
So usually if someone has not stated a B and B before, they typically tell me that within like a few minutes of walking in the front door. and I am, you know, set up to host all of my guests. I meet all of my guests at the front door. There’s no self check in here and I’m basically walking welcoming them to my home. And part of that is to make them comfortable, but part of it is to make me comfortable too, I must say. but you know
Jason (15:45.977)
Yeah.
Jason (15:55.404)
Yeah, yeah.
Liz (15:57.35)
I think because of the location of the house as well as the recent renovation that like makes it look more modern. I think some people think of a B B in their mind, and I love these places too, don’t get me wrong, but I’m a B person. You know, the old homes that are like very cottagey and have like collections of stuff, you know, that have been growing over decades, kind of like everywhere. and my place, I think.
I think draws in first timers and kind of a younger crowd just because.
It’s kinda cool and hip. and hopefully when people look at my website, which is the only way you can make a reservation, you know, the information that I provide about myself and my story makes p people feel comfortable, you know, coming and wanting to meet me. I have to say that like some of the best reviews that I’ve gotten are the ones that say, This was just like staying in a friend’s house, you know, in the best possible way. So
Jason (17:02.925)
In the b I love that you added the best possible way.
Liz (17:03.777)
Yeah. Well and the review actually said that, which is why I was like, well that that is good ’cause I guess sometimes there are some crummy parts about, you know, staying with friends. But it was
Jason (17:16.109)
There’s yeah, there’s an awful there’s an awful lot of people that when they go visit family or friends in a town intentionally book a hotel or a B and B. Yeah, exactly.
Liz (17:28.707)
Yeah, or a bed and breakfast. I actually, you know, I get quite a few guests that are here visiting folks locally. And either, you know, the people that they’re visiting just don’t have the space to accommodate them, or the people visiting want to have their own space, or the people in town might want the guests a little bit further away than in their own home. So so I’m happy to, you know, have those people also. And I actually offer a locals discount for staycations.
as well as for people who are like visiting folks locally. to yeah, try to kind of bring that bring that business in. So
Jason (17:58.894)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (18:03.373)
Okay.
Jason (18:07.073)
Very cool. I suspect there’s there are just some people that just you say, you’re gonna go stay in some stranger’s house, a homestay, or whatever type of terminology we might want to use. And they’re just like, either, yeah, we did that once through a booking platform and ended up in someplace, or or just basically are just like, Yeah, I would never do that. So I guess my question is like if you had to
Liz (18:17.69)
Right.
Jason (18:34.143)
If you were sitting here coming up with marketing, for example, and you’re like, who this is for, you’ve got a list of this is for the person that likes this, like this, like that. But then you might say who it’s not for, what would you put on that list? Are there types of people or just maybe mindsets that some people have that have maybe never done it, but that you kind of understand like, yeah, this is probably not for you.
Liz (18:59.129)
Hmm. So it might be easier to say like w who it’s not for. So yeah. So I do get
Jason (19:04.043)
Yeah, that’s what I was trying to get at. Who is it not for?
Liz (19:07.555)
Yeah, so I do take same day reservations if I’ve got availability and some of my colleagues don’t, so I’m happy to welcome those people. However, I can usually tell on the phone if someone’s calling me from the road whether they’re gonna be a fit or not. So if the first thing they you know say is, I’m just looking for a place to lay my head, I’m like, this, you know, probably isn’t for you. Also, if they’re calling me at like 8 30 at night, probably
I’m gonna say, you know, to find a hotel, because unless I’m waiting for other guests, you know, to check in, then I’m getting ready to like retire to my room for the evening, you know, by that time. Yeah. Well, right. So yeah, so so someone who wants the freedom and flexibility to check in at any time of day, you know, that is not a bed and breakfast.
Jason (19:46.485)
Yeah, and when they say and when they say eight thirty they mean ten thirty.
Liz (20:01.827)
I mean, I try to accommodate folks as well as I can, but I’m also not gonna stay up till like eleven or twelve at night, you know, ’cause I’m also the one up making breakfast the next day. Not to say that I haven’t done that when someone’s had like a, you know, traffic accident or some you know, there’s always like times you would make an exception. But if folks don’t want to come in and interact with a host, and I you know, well there was a the booking platform that we mentioned a few minutes ago uses the term host and I
Can’t say that I agree with the way they use that term because I am literally hosting someone, you know, in my home. Granted, I bought this house to be a business. It’s not like it was my house and now I’m just like turning it into a business or allowing people to stay in rooms. You know, the whole business is to cater to the guests, and I kind of, you know, work myself around that.
But yeah, if you’re looking for like, you know
the cheapest place, it’s probably you’re probably not a bed and breakfast stayer. In this instead, if you’re looking for an authentic experience for where you are visiting, with someone who’s actually gonna care whether you show up or not, who’s going to care to give you recommendations that they want to stand behind, then you know, being somewhere with a host like me makes a lot of sense. So
Jason (21:29.003)
Okay. Yes, and I appreciate that you mentioned that. And how how do you draw hm here’s the thing. I’ve been traveling full time for almost five years. I’ve stayed in a variety of different types of places, none of them that I would would classify as a B and B. but many of them I would say involved sharing space with a family or a person and
sometimes it feels a little overwhelming. I’m just I’m sharing my experience. It has nothing to do with your experience. I’m just bringing up my experience. And some yeah. So how do you manage that like helping guests feel welcome, comfortable, taken care of without feeling like they because presumably you get a lot of couples that maybe are on a romantic weekend away. So what have you what have you learned about that? yeah, okay.
Liz (22:22.211)
Yeah, I get a lot of singles too though. Mm-hmm. So I think I can kind of read people well and I can tell pretty quickly if these folks are gonna be interested in, you know, me just giving them the basic information or if they also are gonna wanna, you know, chat me up about my story or if they’re gonna want recommendations and
I just kind of follow the lead of the guests. So I’m happy to just show them, you know, to their room, show them all the things they need to know. And then if they’ve got everything set and good to go, then that’s fine. But I have to say that the majority of bed and breakfast guests, part of the experience is interacting with the host. And I know when I travel, if I’m staying at a bed and breakfast, I don’t only want to see the host at check-in and then be like wondering where they are, you know, the whole rest.
of my visit especially if I want to talk to them about something. So yep.
Jason (23:20.599)
You mentioned something interesting. Well, you’ve mentioned a few things that are interesting, but the one I just latched onto just now is the whole single traveler thing. yeah, I c I can relate to that because I also stay in a lot of places where there’s nobody else around. And other than like a conversation like I’m having with you now, I don’t have much of a social life. so I I I actually as I heard you discussing that, I was like, you know what, maybe I should change up my model a little bit and maybe go stay in places that are more of the tr you know traditional B and B, have a friend.
Liz (23:26.651)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (23:40.219)
Uh-huh.
Jason (23:49.966)
And how do you hm I don’t know if you want all your all your potential guests to hear this next part, but I’m gonna ask you anyway, how do you manage a situation or how do you keep yourself from yeah, I’m just gonna ask it this way and see how you respond. How do you keep yourself from having a new best friend for a month that that needs you all the time?
Liz (24:16.697)
Wow. I can’t I can’t say that I’ve been in that situation yet. But I also my permitting only allows people to stay up to fourteen days. So so a month would be you know, out of the question. But
Jason (24:26.763)
Well there you go. Okay.
Sorry, you gotta go. See? Here, it’s right here in the rules.
Liz (24:35.075)
Yeah, you know.
Liz (24:40.751)
I I’m not quite sure exactly how I would deal with that. If and th I guess the way I’m thinking of it is like if someone else wanted to be kind of around me all the time, but like I didn’t have the bandwidth for that, is is that ki is that kind of your question?
Jason (24:54.962)
That’s that’s ki yeah, that’s kinda where I’m going with that because
Liz (24:57.391)
I just can’t imagine that happening. I mean, I actually I’ve gone out to dinner with guests before. I have hung out and played games with guests before, you know, but I also make people very aware of like my schedule and what I have to do throughout the day. So I am a single traveler, solo traveler myself. and and
Jason (25:19.799)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (25:22.627)
do get a bunch of folks who this might be like their first venture into like solo travel and so I do try to give them especially females you know give them my perspective and I don’t I don’t mind taking time to do that but a lot of folks who travel solo like spending time themselves like like
Yeah, like solitary time. So I I can’t really say that I’ve run into that issue, Jason.
Jason (25:50.026)
yeah, you you bring up a good point. Yeah.
Jason (25:56.204)
So, you know, I asked you who are BNBs, maybe your B and B, who is it not for? I think it I want to dig into people that are listening to this and maybe are imagining doing kind of what you did and buying a BNB or starting a BNB. I suspect you have a pretty good idea who that is not for. So be you know, owning a BNB is not for you if you’re this type of who is it not for?
Liz (25:59.991)
Liz (26:26.043)
If you’re not a sociable person and don’t like people, it is not for you.
Now that said, I’m a sociable person, but I’m an introvert. So I love the fact that I don’t have to leave the house and people come to me and some of them want to talk and some of them don’t, and it still allows me plenty of time solo, you know, as well. let’s see. I personally think that the second B in the B and B is very important. I’ve been to bed and breakfast where I don’t feel like enough emphasis was put
on breakfast. So either the person doing what I, you know, am doing now needs to love to cook, or they need to hire someone who loves to cook, you know? there I think there’s nothing more disappointing than going to a bed and breakfast and the breakfast just being an afterthought and very lackluster and yeah. Right, right.
Jason (27:03.693)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (27:21.889)
Bowl bowl of corn flak cornflakes, some yogurt containers, maybe some cut up fruit, yeah.
Liz (27:28.323)
Yeah, Continental just doesn’t cut it. With the exception, I will say European continental breakfast, you know, with meats and cheeses and fresh fruit and pastry is like that’s all amazing. But American continental breakfast, yeah, no. I mean I do offer it for folks who need to eat earlier than I can be ready to do plated breakfast. But the majority of folks, by and large, you know, wanna make sure that they get, you know, the full the full plated breakfast in the morning. So
Jason (27:57.166)
Do you maybe this is not a fair question to ask, but I know of after well, no, don’t get worried. Fair meaning I just don’t know if it’s whatever. I’ll get to it. I know that some travelers have very specific dietary requirements. And I’ve managed facilities where we fed them, you know, three meals a day and dealt with all that stuff. I say it’s not fair to ask because maybe you don’t have experience with the the dinner part of it, but
Do you find that dietary limitations become a big thing for you? Does it come up very often? Or have you just figured out how to do breakfast that has enough flexibility that it can kind of work for everybody?
Liz (28:39.716)
So
I really love to cook. I love to bake. I like to expand my repertoire into new things. And I make a point on my website in your confirmation email, you know, to say, you know, please list your dietary restrictions, dietary needs. You know, I’m happy to accommodate special diets with advanced notice. and I often get, you know, gluten-free folks, a lot of them are lifestyle gluten-fle gluten-free.
Jason (29:03.052)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (29:11.035)
But I definitely have had folks with allergies or celiac, that kind of thing. Lots of vegetarians, a good amount of vegans. Vegan gluten-free can get a little tricky. But vegetarians are easy. I mean, eggs for breakfast, you know, is is great. But I I also don’t
Jason (29:26.773)
Yep, yeah, yeah.
Liz (29:32.184)
Serve just a single thing to the guests in the morning. I always offer a menu and I love bed and breakfasts that do this as well. So each person independently gets to order what they’d like to eat from a list of options that always includes eggs cooked to order. And then there’s also a savory option and a sweet option for entrees. There’s different meats, there’s different carbsides. So, you know, there’s there’s a good amount of flexibility kind of built into the way that I offer.
Breakfast to begin with. but I also like the idea of reducing waste. And part of the reason why I offer the menu that way is because I feel like people are more likely to eat what’s on their plate if you give them something that they got to order themselves, right? Yeah. But but I I I really love the challenge of you know, specific dietary restrictions and allergies, things like that. So
Jason (30:16.333)
If if it’s something they ordered. Yeah, that makes sense.
Jason (30:27.821)
So I I imagine a scenario where you’ve got somebody maybe that’s gluten free and vegan. Let’s not make it any more complicated than that. I guess what I’m curious about, like, have you gotten ideas from your guests like before? Like maybe like have you learned new menu items, new recipes because because they’re I don’t wanna say their li their dietary requirements are too limiting or too whatever.
Liz (30:37.455)
Okay.
Liz (30:54.405)
But they’ve gotten used to cooking for themselves, so they might have some ideas for me. Yeah.
Jason (30:58.762)
Right. Yeah. You might be like, hey, you know what? This is a a kind of a new one for me. I’m curious. If you have a couple favorite like breakfast things you like to eat, you know, recipes or something, send them over because they probably have them and then you could I don’t know if you want to put that out to the world that you can do that. I’m just curious at ever if it’s ever happened.
Liz (31:15.427)
It’s never happened in that direction, such that I actively reached out and asked for ideas from guests. I will do research and kind of figure things out on my own. I might reach out and be like, hey, I’m thinking about this. How does it sound? But I definitely just in conversations with guests at breakfast have gotten recipes from well, not recipes at the table, but they’re like, I’ll email you my grandma’s pierogi recipe. That was that’s one I just got. And
Jason (31:37.033)
yeah.
Liz (31:45.294)
Gosh, what was a buckwheat pancake recipe because I love buckwheat. but most buckwheat recipes are also mixed with all purpose flour, which then makes it not gluten free, whereas buckwheat on its own is gluten free. So I had not been able to find a good recipe after testing, you know, multiple. So I do have a gluten free guest who’s been back multiple times actually, and her husband sent me their buckwheat pancake recipe recently. So, but usually it’s the other way around. Like I
Jason (31:54.88)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (32:15.237)
I had was it gluten free vegan that I made these cookies for them as an afternoon treat when they arrived and it was you know basically maple syrup and nuts and some spices kind of all kept
Jason (32:30.23)
Mm.
Liz (32:30.777)
Together and they were like, these are amazing. And they’re like, I’ve never seen something like this. So then I’m happy to share recipes too, especially if they’re just things that I’m searching and finding online. I do have a couple cookbooks that the cookbook authors, you know, don’t really want you to share their recipes because then why would people, you know, buy the cookbooks? But anything that’s available on the internet, you know, I’m happy to share.
Jason (32:34.06)
Yeah.
Jason (32:47.853)
Yeah.
Jason (32:52.819)
I think if you’re interested and that’s why you this came up, I said, Who’s it not for? You said I care about the second B and the B and B, the desire to cook, the interest in food, because if you’re not really that interested in food, dietary requests become a pain in the butt. And I remember I had I was working with a fishing operator of a he ran a fishing business, and I remember we’d sent him a client.
Liz (33:11.279)
Muito.
Jason (33:21.815)
That was gluten free. So he grumbled about, made this whole big deal. Okay, I got some gluten-free bread to make their tuna fish thing, which is on. And then he mixed the tuna fish with what is it that
Liz (33:30.139)
Okay.
Jason (33:37.676)
Malt vinegar? So he’s he he likes malt vinegar. He’s a g he’s from Wales or whatever. I guess they eat a lot of malt vinegar there, which is not gluten free, apparently. So he made the tuna fish salad, slapped it on the potato bread or whatever it was. Nothing fancy obviously, but then I just remember he grumbled so much about, Well, you guys should have told us that they couldn’t have malt vinegar. I’m like, Greg Th the the list is too long for everything that clean you know, you you gotta do some research.
Liz (33:38.777)
Mm.
Liz (33:47.204)
Right. Yep.
Liz (34:01.647)
Yeah.
Liz (34:06.095)
And malt vinegar isn’t one that you’d just be like, Aha, I need to make sure they know that, you know? Yeah. Well so many things. Yeah.
Jason (34:11.405)
Yeah, and I and I get that. I get that he didn’t know that, but he’s also not that interested. He’s making tuna fish sandwiches for lunch, so he’s he’s not like you.
Liz (34:18.009)
Yeah.
Yeah. Well I’ve found r a lot of good recipes that honestly I will serve to kind of
So for example, I just baked some banana bread yesterday. I always make my banana bread gluten-free because I feel like the recipe that I use and the flour that I change out, you know, that’s gluten-free. The texture is great. why do I need to make a regular banana bread and a gluten-free banana bread? I just always make it gluten-free. And then I’ve got a blueberry yogurt cake that I make that I won’t see, I don’t tell people that it’s vegan until after they’ve eaten it.
Jason (34:48.353)
Yeah, yeah.
Liz (34:57.021)
say how great it is, but it’s vegan, you know? So I don’t make it any other way. I only make it that way. And then I can serve it to, you know, lots of different people. So yeah.
Jason (34:57.131)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (35:02.933)
Mm-hmm. That makes it easier. That makes it easier. before we get off before we I I’ve said this twice now, before we go back into your childhood. there’s always that behind the scenes. There’s the the weird things that happen sometimes in, you know, hospitality business, tours. Are any any any stories that might be like
Liz (35:11.865)
Yeah.
Jason (35:29.793)
that you’d want to share at this point or should we just move on to protect the protect the the innocent?
Liz (35:35.824)
Gosh, that you know, that I wasn’t expecting that question. I mean, there are a couple of things that I think I just would not share. but they’re always, you know, quirks too, because if I’ve got guests checking out and then guests also checking in, I’ve got a set amount of time to like turn things over. So, for example, you know, in an old city with old water mains, sometimes there might be a water main break. Well, if I don’t find out that that’s happened so that I know that it
If I run laundry and my white sheets could end up getting like rusty, then you know, those kinds of things. I had those situations kind of early on running the business, and I was like, okay, what can I do to avoid these issues moving forward? You know, besides just buying endless amounts of sheets, you know. So they’re always like those kinds of things. but as far as like guests, you know, the absolute majority of my guests have just been amazing. they’re
Jason (36:24.139)
Right.
Learn along the way.
Liz (36:35.777)
There hasn’t been anyone who’s been like scary, mean, or dangerous. although people are like, Well, how do you feel about, you know, having strangers in your house all the time? And that kind of goes back to meeting people at the front door. Like once I meet them, they don’t feel like strangers anymore to me. But I
Jason (36:50.753)
Yeah.
Jason (36:54.817)
Liz, Liz, pause, pause, pause. Hold on. Second. Thank you. We’re good with everything you just shared. I can make that work. My camera apparently has over Yeah. I appreciate that. I I was hoping I could get it sorted out quickly, but it it’s saying that it’s just overheated, which I’ve never had happen. And it is very hot. So I need to just give me a second. Let’s see if I can troubleshoot this somehow. Blow on it.
Liz (37:00.897)
Okay. I well I noticed it go out and I was like, I’m just gonna keep going. I don’t know.
Liz (37:13.445)
that’s weird.
Liz (37:20.621)
Yeah, sure.
Chapstick time for me. Refill my water. We’ll come back and my water glass will be magically full again.
Jason (37:24.907)
Maybe I should yeah, yeah, there you go. Take advantage of this.
Jason (37:33.217)
Is anything I can do to make it not overheat, but it’s looks like it’s coming back online.
Liz (37:39.695)
Sounds like a backup camera, just like my backup sheets and everything, you know, could be a
Jason (37:44.033)
Yeah. Well, I’ve got the reg you can s see? Ha, it’s back on. I don’t know if I can get it mounted without it. Let’s I’m gonna try this. Hold on a sec.
Liz (37:50.059)
I see.
Jason (38:00.685)
It’s off of it.
stick.
Jason (38:09.112)
it’s gonna fall off and hit the floor.
Jason (38:19.394)
that’s never happened before. I mean it’s overheated before, but never while I was trying to you know. I know. What’s up with you?
Liz (38:23.737)
So that’s two things now. The speaker at the beginning and I don’t know. I don’t know. I I actually am a really good like test caser and guinea pig for things. And I usually end up breaking whatever it is I am am testing. thinking specifically about a leadership training program for the last job I was at. But anyways, that’s yeah. Just something to look back and laugh on these days. So
Jason (38:34.263)
Yeah.
Jason (38:49.432)
Think.
Liz (38:53.011)
I’m gonna see if my friend responded to my text too. Let’s see. She thumbs up sh thumbs up it, so we are good.
Jason (39:02.926)
Alright, I think we’ll I trust we will be good. I don’t know if I think we’ll be good, but I trust we’ll be good. Right now. Yes. All right.
Liz (39:08.603)
You’re gonna manifest it, you know.
Jason (39:20.716)
I think that that was at a good stopping spot. when I go back I’ll edit it to make it have it make sense or I’ll do something to make it have it make sense.
Liz (39:29.135)
Well, have one more thing I was gonna say. I guess it’s kinda like a joke, but when we come back on I can I can say that and then we can go back into w whatever question you had next. Okay. Just basically.
Jason (39:37.677)
Right.
So if you’re ready to go, I’m just gonna say edit, edit, edit, and you can just keep talking. Edit, edit, edit.
Liz (39:46.49)
So I often tell people too that, you know, i I’m not that concerned about having someone necessarily dangerous come to the house because if a serial killer did decide to stay here at the bed and breakfast, it really wouldn’t be very smart of them to kill their innkeeper. So so yeah.
Jason (40:03.436)
Yeah, I I think they’ll probably pick a different type of place.
Liz (40:07.307)
But no, like honestly, you know, guests here are I think B and B people are just friendly people, they’re curious people, and they like to have an authentic experience. So that’s what I like to be able to provide. So yeah.
Jason (40:21.09)
Very cool. Now you mentioned earlier that a a little brief snippet of kind of how you came about, you know, this
this opportunity, but I want to go a little bit further back and figure it out because I happen to know that you have, you know, some extensive travel, hiking history, stuff like that. So this is, you know, I’m not having a conversation with somebody that never did anything and just decided that sounds weird. And just decided to to buy an Airbnb Airbnb. See? I promised you. I was like, I’m not gonna say that. But you know what? I did say that. But
Liz (40:30.426)
Yeah.
Liz (40:46.811)
Liz (40:56.761)
Okay.
Jason (40:58.104)
But we both know that we’re not talking about that platform. That’s a totally different animal that’s not nearly as exciting. And but anyway, let’s go into the childhood. Let’s figure out like, Liz, what were you doing when you were a kid? Tell me about your childhood and let’s see if we can tie that to to where you’re at now.
Liz (41:15.459)
Honestly, I mean I was lucky in that I went on a summer vacation with my family, you know, every summer. But we went to Myrtle Beach and every summer and we stayed, you know, in a single room with the two double beds and I can’t say that necessarily anything in my childhood would have I don’t think I ever expected to do this, you know, back then. Yeah. Yeah.
Jason (41:40.61)
Well you y wait, you said you went to Myrtle Beach for those vacations. Where did you where did you grow up? Maybe you mentioned it. Maybe I missed it.
Liz (41:46.676)
so well so I grew up in Virginia, but not in the mountains of Virginia. in Hampton Roads, near the coast. So my parents live in Yorktown in the same house they’ve lived in since nineteen eighty-eight. and I actually lived in Norfolk, Virginia for twenty-three years before moving here, but did grow up in in Yorktown. So so yeah, Virginia. And near Virginia Beach too. So, you know, took a lot of little like spring break trips, just kind of staycations to the beach, but as you
Jason (42:15.138)
Yeah.
Liz (42:16.549)
You probably tell by my complexion, I’m not much of one to like lay out on the beach and at some point decided that I eventually wanted to make it to the mountains. So yeah. Yeah.
Jason (42:26.094)
I I could I could appreciate that. Let’s do a compare and contrast with because you said I didn’t really imagine I would be doing this when I was growing up. So if I had a time machine and was able to go back and have a conversation with maybe, I don’t know, fourteen or fifteen year old Liz, said, gee, Liz, what do you want to do when you grow up? Do you have any concept or idea what you would have answered?
Liz (42:48.025)
Yeah, well first of all you wouldn’t have called me Liz because I didn’t start going by Liz until I went to college. Yes. Much Yeah. And my parents still call me Elizabeth. They you know, anyway. So I would say, you know, starting
Jason (42:53.728)
You got me, alright.
Liz (43:03.621)
probably in middle school at least, I kept hearing from my parents, you’re good at math and science. You should be an engineer. So honestly, that’s kind of the way I headed and that is what I did for twenty years before I transitioned to do this.
Jason (43:20.098)
But did you like did you like math and science and all that stuff? Yeah, okay.
Liz (43:22.501)
yeah. I sure. Yeah. I I mean I I hated English and history and like the humanities. And yeah, I mean I really did enjoy math and science. Granted, when you’re in school then trying to figure out in college, trying to figure out how to like
Get to a place where you’re gonna be happy professionally. The way it happened for me was deciding the things that I hated, you know? So I liked physics. I’m not a big fan of chemistry. So chemical engineering was out, environmental engineering was out, you know, but then physics, like I liked it when things stood still, but then when things started moving, I didn’t like that. So no mechanical, you know, so you kinda like work your way back into somewhere where you’ll be happy. And for me, that ended
Jason (44:04.28)
Yeah.
Liz (44:08.633)
Up being civil engineering water resources, and then most recently with like a specific focus on stormwater management as opposed to water and wastewater, also. And I was very passionate about what I used to do for a really long time, and then I just got to a point where it either became too political or I was managing people more than you know doing projects, and it just it just I knew.
that I wasn’t gonna, you know, finish out a full career to retirement age in engineering.
Jason (44:42.542)
Okay. Were you still working in that were you still working as an engineer when you went on this road trip and stayed at the Roanoke Boutique Hotel? Okay.
Liz (44:54.819)
yeah, totally. Yep. And had I not found this place specifically, I probably still would be, you know, at my old job, like trying to make it work. you know, I think since COVID, it was just hard to find a lot of the staff and resources to get a lot of the work done. So it really was good timing for me to move on, but it definitely was a surprise too. Like, I always thought I would do this.
kind of a retirement gig for fun after I finished a career in engineering. But when everyone’s at home, you know, during COVID and you’re rethinking your life and what’s important to you, I decided I didn’t want to wait until then and set myself a goal of by the time I turned 50, I wanted to be either running a bed and breakfast or seriously like transitioning and researching, working towards it. So when I stayed here in summer of 23 as a guest, I was 45.
So it was a couple of years ahead of schedule. Yeah.
Jason (45:54.967)
Okay. S yeah, exactly. So it sounds like what I heard you say was yep, you’re like, okay, yeah, I don’t want to finish my career in this. I would like to maybe, you know, have a B and B or do something similar to what you’re doing now. But then you also said if I hadn’t stayed here, meaning at your at the your now your place, you might still be doing what you’re doing. So I’m just trying to put that together like
When you went to Roanoke and stayed there, were you on a scouting trip of some sort at all? Or like were you but you already knew you wanted to do something like that. So help me and help me put that together.
Liz (46:34.093)
Yeah. I know. It’s it’s tricky. So some people when I told them I was gonna do this, like thought I was having a midlife crisis or you know
Jason (46:45.09)
S some people or almost everybody?
Liz (46:47.011)
My dad was one, actually, who thought I was having a midlife crisis. But if people pay have paid attention to what I’ve talked about, you know, I have a friend who I met in 2003. I know that because we started working together in 2003. And when I told him I was leaving the industry to do this, he said that I had been talking about eventually running a BNB since we met in 2003. So the way it kind of goes to
Jason (47:07.714)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Liz (47:12.399)
The way it goes together, and this might be backtracking a bit too much, but I used to have to travel a decent amount for work. and for me as a solo female traveler, I really liked the idea of staying at a bed and breakfast where I felt like there was an added sense of security. Whoever is hosting there at the bed and breakfast is gonna care if I show up or not, you know, if I don’t come back like the next day, you know, that kind of thing. I also just really love people cooking.
Jason (47:30.563)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (47:35.438)
Yeah.
Liz (47:42.286)
Cooking breakfast for me. So that’s another bonus. But that’s how I started kind of staying at bed and breakfast. And then I realized I love to travel. And a lot of times when you are traveling, you know, you’ve got the chain hotels that are set up kind of on the periphery of certain towns, especially in historic areas. But to really get into you know those historic areas and neighborhoods and be walkable, a lot of times bed and breakfasts are a
Jason (47:43.854)
Yeah.
Liz (48:12.259)
really good option. so you know just more travel and more time spent in bed and breakfasts, I realized eventually that I was kind of doing research all along where I would be like, I would think to myself, I would love to do that in my bed and breakfast. Or I would never do that in my bed and breakfast. And then when I realized that those were the conversations internally that I was having, I was like, well, I guess eventually
I’m gonna be running a bed and breakfast. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Jason (48:43.336)
That looks like the plan. What do you buse when you know, when I asked you about your childhood, you said, Well, we used to go to Myrtle Beecher once a while. and you were into math and science and then you got to the point in between then and now that you said, I love to travel.
So help me figure that out because not every science and and math major that goes into civil engineering then turns around and says, I love to travel. So how did you get to that? I I figured that out. The typical engineer probably doesn’t o open or buy A, B, and B. I don’t know, that maybe I’m wrong.
Liz (49:13.657)
Yeah. I wouldn’t say I’m a typical engineer either. I don’t know.
Yeah. So I guess, you know, never
I did take some trips with friends, especially in college, but I kind of decided that when I travel, I like to do what I want to do when I want to do it, and put my money where I want my money to go. So that’s when I started kind of branching out and traveling on my own. there’s actually a resort out, well, it’s not there anymore, unfortunately, in St. George, Utah area that I used to go every year for vacation in February. It’s amazing.
Like the best hiking, I think, for me in the world. It’s Snow Canyon State Park. but that resort catered to solo travelers, made it like really easy to join into programs, and gave me just like a comfort level to kind of expand and go all sorts of other places. sorry, just hit my glass straw there. I also really love planning travel, so for me, to plan a trip is almost as much.
Jason (50:13.347)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (50:22.648)
Yeah.
Liz (50:28.925)
much fun as the trip itself. So I can’t really say I had like a bucket list or anything. I just kind of get an idea and decide I want to go somewhere and I feel like I’ve gotten totally off topic for the question that you asked me.
Jason (50:31.374)
Okay.
Jason (50:43.808)
No, no, it’s it’s great. I do I let’s follow up with because you’ve mixed in the hiking. I know that that’s that’s important to you, and then the traveling. Sometimes so I’ll use an example of fly fishing. I remember I worked in the fly fishing travel business and somebody said to me, you know, it’s you know, the the fishing is a good excuse to go to beautiful places because the fish live in beautiful places.
Liz (50:53.135)
Right.
Jason (51:10.894)
So it’s kinda like, you know, if you if you say, Okay, I like to fish, so I’m gonna go travel around and go fishing and and travel to all these places, it’s kind of an excuse to go there. It’s kind of the same thing sometimes with scuba diving. So then the question, is it the fishing or is it the travel? Is it the scuba diving or is it the travel? Is it the hiking or is it the travel? What do you think?
Liz (51:31.395)
It doesn’t really matter. They’re they’re one and the same. I mean you shouldn’t have to have like an excuse of say fishing or hiking to go to a place, but
It might broaden your horizons, you know, your activity of choice might broaden your horizons and get you to a destination you n never would have otherwise thought to go. Like I went to Nepal in spring of twenty-two. And I can’t say that I had ever thought I would travel to Nepal until I saw this great deal on a travel package and said, Yeah, I think I’m just gonna go do that. And five days out of almost a two week trip was
trekking or hiking up in the Annapurna mountain range. So yeah. Not solo joining with a guide and having a porter and, you know, all of that. So yeah. Some trips I’ll do solo. Some of them that are more extreme. I obviously, you know, feel a comfort level of having other people that know where I am and that kind of thing. So yeah.
Jason (52:14.882)
Very cool. D if do you remember
Jason (52:23.03)
All right.
Jason (52:35.002)
Yeah, it’s that that that can be nice. do you remember was it though like if you go back in time, were you turned on to hiking before travel, travel before hiking, same time? Do you are you can you say, Well yeah, this is where it started was the hiking or did it start with the travel?
Liz (52:57.627)
I would say it probably started with the travel.
Liz (53:06.095)
But I’ve definitely done a lot more like solo trips that have been based on hiking. I but I don’t hike every trip that I go on either. Sometimes I don’t feel like, you know
Jason (53:10.978)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (53:16.867)
hiking honestly and if I’m in a warm weather destination like for me I love cold and cool weather hiking so if it’s above like seventy seventy five degrees I am not interested. I would rather be like bundled up and have it be you know cold. but you know I I do think that hiking does kind of take you to places that you wouldn’t otherwise be. one year in fact it was spring of twenty one I did basically
An entire vacation that was centered around hiking. I hiked every day for 16 days, with the excep actually, I’ve done a couple of those, but the one I’m thinking of, I hiked every day for 16 days with the exception of one. And that was kind of a road trip for myself with like six different destinations, two or three nights in each one. But I hiked up to what’s called the Linfoot Hike Inn, which is just maybe four miles outside of Amical.
Falls State Park. So it is kind of at the southern end of the Appalachian Trail. but the only place to get to this place because it’s off-grid, is literally to hike from the state park up to this off-grid hotel.
It’s not a hostel, it’s a more of a hotel. Yeah. So I mean, those are the types of places you would never go or get to or get to experience if you weren’t, you know, also doing doing your activity of choice, in my case, hiking. So yeah.
Jason (54:46.466)
Right. You’re you you mentioned that your parents still live in the same house that you grew up in. What were they interested in? D I mean, did you get any of this from them? Did they did they are they interested in travel now or they think you’re crazy? What’s what’s going on?
Liz (55:00.771)
well, my dad is a golfer, so that’s what he used to do in Myrtle Beach like every single day while me and my family were out on the beach.
Jason (55:05.698)
No.
Liz (55:13.051)
And he has dreams of going to see the Tour de France, but he’s not a good traveler. He doesn’t like people or airports or planes or germs or any of that. Now, I only bring that up because my mom and I have been going on a couple of vacations together. In fact, just last month and then also last August, we took a couple trips to Alaska. and I I love to travel by myself, but if I’m ever to have a travel companion, it will be
Jason (55:22.831)
Liz (55:43.025)
my mom because she is just like easy going, go with the flow, lets me plan everything and then she’s just kinda like along for the ride, which is great. So
Jason (55:52.301)
Now now I know that you’re gonna make sure that your mom at least hears this conversation. Your dad, I don’t know. I don’t know if you want maybe he knows.
Liz (55:56.22)
Yeah. He’s his own individual. Yeah. He’s also a cyclist and like a pretty extreme one at age seventy-seven still. So he’s he he likes the idea of traveling, but I just you know never he doesn’t really make it happen. So
Jason (56:07.273)
wow.
Jason (56:14.508)
Yeah, it’s it’s one of those things that y y I don’t know if I’d say you either love it or you don’t, because I’m sure a lot of people say, Well, I’m s well, anybody listening to this probably gonna say they love it. So I’m probably s I’m probably safe saying that. But do you do you remember like when you were young imagining like let’s say if I went back to, you know, fifteen year old Elizabeth and sa and said, Hey, you could go anywhere in the world for a month
Liz (56:24.293)
Sure. Yeah.
Liz (56:36.827)
There you go.
Jason (56:43.24)
where would you want to go? Would you have had an answer?
Liz (56:46.201)
I would have had an answer at the time because I took French as my second language in in middle school and high school, so I’m sure I would have picked France. Now, I don’t think I could tell you at this point like what region of France I would have chosen because I wasn’t drinking alcohol or anything yet, so I wouldn’t have been like trying to find the wine producing regions, which I would do now, you know, so yeah.
Jason (57:09.548)
Very cool. Did you I don’t some people obsess like some be like I want to go to France, I want to go to France, I want to go to France, or were you more like just well if I gotta if you ask me if I can go anywhere I’ll go to France, but was it something that you really spent much time and energy thinking about?
Liz (57:26.085)
Probably not. I mean I did end up going to France as a spring break trip my s first or second year of college with a friend of mine. we actually s
Jason (57:36.13)
You weren’t tw yeah, you were eighteen, which yeah, okay, now I know. Nineteen or whatever.
Liz (57:38.394)
Yeah, yeah. Well, actually I was I wasn’t I wasn’t eighteen when I first went to school. I was a little young. but I think I was eighteen by the time I went on this trip and we actually split it between England and France and took the channel, you know, across. So I remember that being a nice trip. What I do know now though is anytime I’m going over any massive water body or traveling a long distance, I am not only going for a week. Like a week a week is so tough, you know.
especially with time associated with travel and that kind of thing. But yeah.
Jason (58:13.698)
You you mentioned when I asked you about being fifteen and you mentioned well I I wasn’t drinking so I didn’t know anything about the wine and then you kinda talked a little bit about the wine and you said something about all I would know. So did you have your first drink in France?
Liz (58:25.369)
Yeah.
Liz (58:29.071)
No. No. No. I literally, and my I think my parents know this, so if they watch it, I guess it’s not a bad thing. I literally had my first drink of alcohol. It was my senior year of high school. And it was something I took from my parents’ liquor cabinet. That’s as far that’s as far as we’ll go with that. But
Jason (58:43.562)
Maybe I should not have asked this question. I apologize. Well, part of why part of why I asked was because I said something about, you’re at least eight you know, eighteen or whatever, but then I remembered I was fortunate to go to France. I turned sixteen while I was there. And I remember the first night we went out.
I was I was traveling with my grandparents. They didn’t go out. They were done. They were like, We’re going to the we’re gonna stay in the room. And I walked out the front of the hotel, took a right, and there was a McDonald’s there. And I was just gonna get McDonald’s because I didn’t know any better. But then they had beer. They served beer at the McDonald’s. And I’m like, I’m gonna try. So ordered double quarter pounder with cheese and a
Liz (59:24.483)
Right.
Jason (59:28.246)
fries and a beer and they gave it to me. And I was fifteen, sitting there at the McDonalds, drinking my f the f well, maybe not the very first sip of beer, but the first beer that I ever was my beer. So yeah, so anyway, that’s what made me think of that.
Liz (59:29.039)
Yeah. Nice.
Liz (59:38.245)
Yeah.
Liz (59:41.904)
I did have my first cider, like hard cider, when I was on that trip. Because I don’t think cider was very popular in the US at the time. And yeah, I remember having strongbow cider, but it wasn’t the current formulation. It was an older formulation that’s better. you can’t get this same one anymore. But yeah, so I I developed my love for cider while I was over there. There was also one called
Shoot, I can’t think of the other one. but yeah, that and I definitely drank some wine while I was in France. You know, we would buy a bottle of wine and get like bread and cheese and you know, just like sit somewhere and Yeah. Yep.
Jason (01:00:17.41)
Yeah, yeah. That’s that’s the way it sh way it should be. And I guess, I don’t know, that’s a whole nother conversation. We just spun off in the direction of
Liz (01:00:24.047)
But you know
No, but I I I I thought of a way to kind of rein it back in for you know, because you were asking me about like hiking versus travel. So my other my other like main focus when I travel somewhere is usually to have an authentic culinary experience. so I I think that when traveling, like a very important part of getting a sense of a culture or or a place is to experience
Jason (01:00:34.178)
Yeah, yeah, please do. Thank you.
Jason (01:00:43.587)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:00:56.035)
the local food. So I don’t know if I cringed when you said you went to the McDonald’s when you were visit you know, whatever. But I know people who do that and they will visit places but then they’ll want to eat, you know, the same like American foods and stuff. And I’m, you know, I’m like the complete opposite. I’m like, please give me what you would normally be eating right now, you know, that kind of thing. so yeah, I love I love sorry, I just accidentally blipped my screen, but yeah.
Jason (01:01:00.462)
I cringed. I I cringed.
Jason (01:01:18.55)
Yeah. I’m I I love I love that you brought that up. ‘Cause yeah, as I said the words McDonald’s, I kind of like it I hadn’t thought about that memory in a long time, honestly. But I also recognize, well, I was fifteen and
Liz (01:01:31.536)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:01:35.876)
Yeah.
Jason (01:01:36.591)
Paris, I grew up in Wyoming. I grew up in the mountains, a very small town in the mountains of Wyoming. So for for me, just taking the step out of the hotel and taking her right, and like, there’s some something I recognize. But also it reminds me I’m gonna have to make sure my son hears this conversation because I also just made the connection that when he was about 15, he and I went to Southeast Asia together. I took him to, we were
Liz (01:01:44.995)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jason (01:02:03.918)
Malaysia. We’re on Penang Island in Malaysia. And I remember him telling me, Dad, I don’t want to eat that that street food and Malaysian food tonight. Can we please go to McDonald’s? And he and I had the biggest fight of the the the the fight of the whole trip. We’re on Penang Island. I’m not taking you to McDonald’s. We had this whole big
Liz (01:02:20.186)
Yeah.
Jason (01:02:26.274)
fight and he’s like, well fine, I don’t want to eat then. I’m like, well fine, you don’t have to. And then and then I was so stressed out I needed some comfort. So I went to McDonald’s without him. Just just because I had to establish that I’m, you know, I’m the adult here. So so I went and ate McDonald’s without him and yeah, so he’ll he’ll
Liz (01:02:35.589)
Yeah.
Liz (01:02:45.083)
Well, I can understand if some people aren’t as adventurous, perhaps they and that’s why chain restaurants exist, right? You can go anywhere and get the same food, right, that you’re used to and it’s comfortable, right? But then some of us
Jason (01:02:50.315)
Yeah.
Liz (01:03:02.393)
don’t necessarily like sitting in our comfort zones. And I think a lot about travel has to do with that part, you know, getting out of your comfort zone. But actually I brought up chain restaurants. So I have not worked in hospitality from like a lodging perspective before doing this. But my only like real paying jobs until well that’s not true. I had one in a fabric store, but until I became an engineer, I always worked in restaurants. So
Jason (01:03:31.495)
okay.
Liz (01:03:32.58)
my first job was right after I graduated high school at a Tex Mex chain, my only chain restaurant, that went by the name of Don Pablo’s. I don’t know if you remember those. Yeah. Mm-hmm. But I actually ended up
Jason (01:03:41.652)
yeah, I remember that. Yep, yep. Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:03:46.468)
I took a year off after high school before there was such thing as a gap year. So my parents were, you know, freaking out. But as a newly 18 year old, I guess, that November, I was able to travel for the company to where they were opening new stores. I was a corporate trainer. So I got the opportunity to travel that way too. And I guess I had never really thought about that experience, maybe kind of awakening the travel bug in me. But I think it might have.
Jason (01:04:05.528)
Wow.
Jason (01:04:12.096)
I think it might have. It I could see where that would happen. Yeah.
Liz (01:04:14.969)
Yeah, and I was there for like a a month at least, if not a couple months in each location at a time as they would open new stores. So yeah, it was Yeah.
Jason (01:04:23.726)
So I’m envisioning you you said eighteen when you started that job?
Liz (01:04:27.289)
Yeah. Well, I w I started working at the restaurant here loc like locally where I lived right after high school when I was still seventeen. But I couldn’t travel as a corporate trainer for the company until you turn eighteen. In fact, that was the first time I had been on an airplane, other than as a tiny baby one time. was when I turned eighteen when I went down to Florida to open a Dom Pablo’s in Daytona Beach, I think it was.
Jason (01:04:52.184)
This is all making sense. I’m still just getting to know you and now I’m so happy that you shared that because I yeah, I can see that connection, you know, eighteen year old getting paid to go be independent, be part of a leadership management team in a sense, opening stores. And I can see why that would leave a mark and and cause somebody to want to continue. yeah, I get that completely. I don’t know what do you think? You think it’s
Liz (01:05:08.291)
Yeah, it was great.
Liz (01:05:17.593)
Yeah. But well, I can’t say that I had thought about it before. I mean I I meant to mention to you the fact that I’d worked in restaurants just, you know, to say that I have s service industry experience, you know, that kind of thing, but I hadn’t really made the connection between the traveling that I did for that and then my love for travel kind of, you know, throughout my adulthood. So yeah, I would say there’s definitely a connection there. Yep. Mm-hmm.
Jason (01:05:21.846)
Mm.
Jason (01:05:31.309)
Uh-huh.
Jason (01:05:41.708)
Yeah.
That makes that makes sense. As someone who has worked in restaurants as well and has traveled a lot. but yeah, I didn’t when I was working in restaurants they weren’t paying me to travel, so I don’t know. Good for you. That’s so awesome. What a great gap year.
Liz (01:05:49.785)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:05:56.368)
Well yeah.
Yeah, yeah. And then I continued to do that kind of on summer breaks for the next couple summers as well as working, you know, just in the restaurant in my local town, you know, where my parents live. So and then I mean in that job I worked, you know, front of the house jobs, but I also worked a couple, you know, kitchen jobs too. I used to love expediting, like putting all the plates together to get the orders, you know, finally together. And then I was a tortilla lady sometimes as well.
Don Pablo’s did have some really good tortillas. But yeah. And then moving on from that, you know, I was normally a server when I had like future restaurant jobs while I was working my way through college. I would have a job and then go to school. So, yep.
Jason (01:06:43.48)
Cool. Do you miss anything about the engineering work?
Liz (01:06:48.677)
Well the way you asked it.
The answer is no, because I don’t really miss the work itself, but I do miss the people. so I can’t say that I really miss designing drainage systems or, you know, helping like coming up with a guidebook for college so that they can make sure they do everything they need to to manage stormwater. You know, I don’t miss that part of it. but I met a lot of people. the last job I was in, the company is called Tim and
Jason (01:07:14.701)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:07:20.901)
group. I was with them for almost 13 years and my position there was basically to bring in the work and then manage the work to be done for
all stormwater work for Hampton Roads, Virginia. so in that way, like I met a lot of people. Some of my clients are now my friends and they’ve actually come and stayed here at the bed and breakfast. I have previous co-workers at Timmins that have stayed here. Timmins actually just opened an office here in Roanoke and yeah so one of my friends, good friends at at Timmins, you know, and I were talking about the potential for part-time work and I told him I’d rather clean toilets right now.
Jason (01:07:42.435)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (01:07:50.446)
Hmm.
Jason (01:08:01.359)
Which is great ’cause you’ve got at least four toilets in the house just doing the math. So sh do you want to talk about cleaning toilets?
Liz (01:08:01.722)
which is which is pretty much true. Yeah.
Liz (01:08:10.137)
Yeah, I you know I I don’t know if this is like possible, but I honestly feel like with the frequency that I clean toilets, I’m wondering if they’re gonna wear out quicker than like normal people’s toilets. Cause I think like, yeah, it’s actually something I’ve thought of. I mean it’s probably not an issue, but you know.
Jason (01:08:30.658)
Need to make sure that don’t use the really abrasive stuff, you know. You don’t wanna wear the porcelain down.
Liz (01:08:33.955)
I don’t. I use Dr. Bronner’s products, like all natural stuff for the most part, so yep.
Jason (01:08:39.83)
Okay, now we need to mention that th they are not a paid sponsor of Podcast. I don’t even know what it is. I’ve never or Don Pablo’s. Is Don was it Don Pablo’s or are they still in business?
Liz (01:08:42.907)
Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. No, they ended up franchising and then I think some of them went back to you know, corporate and then most of them shut down. There were like one or two around until maybe like a decade ago, but unfortunately they’re gone. Yeah.
Jason (01:09:04.03)
All right. So they’re obviously not sponsoring the podcast either. Just want to get that out there. No, no, no, no. You can meant I I’m I’m just making lame attempts at jokes. I’m yeah, so all right. the one question I want to ask you before we go for sure is
Liz (01:09:07.993)
Yeah. No. And the previous company I worked for isn’t either. So yeah, no. Sorry, we didn’t we didn’t lay those ground rules down, Jason, that I wasn’t supposed to mention specifics. Sorry about that. Okay. Good. All right. Yes.
Liz (01:09:31.951)
Mm. Yeah.
Jason (01:09:33.646)
‘Cause I asked you if I went to you at fifteen and said, Where would you like to go? You could go anywhere for a month or two. same question right now. Like right now, if if you didn’t have to worry about your schedule, the money, whatever, you could go hang out anywhere for let’s say two months. You gotta be there for two months. Where would you wanna go?
Liz (01:09:38.799)
Uh-huh.
Jason (01:09:54.102)
Maybe we can drop the two month part. I don’t know. I haven’t really thought this out.
Liz (01:09:57.774)
I was about to say I gosh, Jason, I don’t so here’s here’s my kind of quandary now, right? I used to have a career where I could set my vacation time, I could, you know, plan my travel and all of that. And I love doing that. But here, you know, the business definitely comes first and
Jason (01:09:59.575)
Yeah.
Liz (01:10:22.839)
Other than like I’m used to traveling in winter, so I do usually make a plan to take a vacation a couple weeks with the weeks on both ends in the winter. But other than that, it’s it’s just kind of fly by the seat of my pants. You know, if I look two weeks ahead and I don’t have anyone on the books, I could just choose to close. And what I’ve really been focused on more than traveling like
I shouldn’t say more, but equally to traveling to like new places that are far away is really experiencing everything that’s kind of in my backyard right now. Because
Jason (01:10:56.502)
You are you are answering this so much as a business person and I appreciate that. But I I know, I know, but I
Liz (01:11:00.667)
But it’s but it’s so true, it’s true though. So I I’ll I’ll circle I’ll circle back. But like the problem is I’ve never had like a bucket list. I I honestly will pretty much travel anywhere that isn’t an active war zone. And I just look for opportunities to do that. I mean, I’ll just read an article about something that might catch my eye. Or there’s a company that is called Travel Zoo. I don’t know if you’ve heard of them.
Jason (01:11:28.018)
I’ve I have. I’ve actually have had one of one of their per a gentleman from Travel Zoo came on the show several months ago. Yeah.
Liz (01:11:29.313)
I figured you might.
Liz (01:11:35.276)
cool. Okay. So I actually get, if not my actual vacation packages from Travel Zoo, which the Nepal trip, that’s where I found that. I will sometimes use those, you know, that they advertise as just idea generators and yeah. But I’ve also bought I’ve bought multiple trips from through them. So
Jason (01:11:59.137)
And they are not a sponsor of the podcast either.
Liz (01:12:00.42)
Yeah. So so they should be happy. But honestly, so right now I’m trying to make sure that I know, experience, have seen anything that my guests could possibly be asking me about. And when I lived at the coast in Virginia, I would spend time coming to the mountains of Virginia. you asked if I was doing research when I found this place. The answer was no, but I had already started taking some, you know, long weekend trips to the mountains.
Jason (01:12:20.11)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:12:30.333)
Trying to figure out where I might want to land. It’s just that this the trip when I stayed here wasn’t one of those trips. But now that I live in the mountains, I’ve got this whole new
Jason (01:12:33.693)
okay.
Jason (01:12:37.312)
Okay.
Liz (01:12:41.945)
base, home base basically, to be able to take new weekend trips, new day trips, you know, that are within a different like range and geography. And so I’ve really been focusing a lot on that and haven’t given much thought at least to like I mean it’s just not realistic for me to go anywhere for a long period of time right now. So I know. Yeah.
Jason (01:13:03.058)
and that’s why I said if you didn’t have if you didn’t have to worry about the money, you didn’t have to worry about the logistics, if if I said you cannot be in Virginia for a month, you gotta go somewhere other than Virginia for a month.
Liz (01:13:09.689)
Yeah. okay.
actually go to the Pacific Northwest. I have never spent any time in the Pacific Northwest other than one 11-hour layover that my mom and I just had last month that we like left the airport in Seattle and we spent time at Pike Place Market, did the Space Needle, you know, that kind of thing. But I know I need to I know I need to spend some time in the Pacific Northwest, but what exactly that looks like for me it would be at least three nights if
Jason (01:13:21.476)
okay.
Jason (01:13:38.51)
I did one of those in Seattle.
Liz (01:13:48.096)
not longer in a single spot before moving somewhere else. But yeah, I could totally spend a good amount of time out there. And if timing, you know, was nothing, I might actually take the train out there. I love the train. So it’s it’s not a quick mode of transportation, but if time didn’t matter, then I I would love to take a train for parts if not all of that trip. So
Jason (01:14:14.328)
As as someone that grew up right on the edge of what we kinda call the the Midwest, I guess, in eastern Wyoming. I’m gonna regret saying this. There’s period, there’s about a thousand miles between you and the Rocky Mountains. It’s not all that beautiful. I shouldn’t I I I’m gonna edit that out. No, I won’t though because but but here’s the thing. I and part of it’s because I’ve done it so many times. I’ve
Liz (01:14:33.179)
You can always edit that out, Jason, if you want. Yeah. Uhhuh.
Jason (01:14:43.98)
I’ve done that trip in the front seat of a pickup truck without air conditioning, back and forth with my dad when I was growing up and the people they’re amazing and it you should see it at least once. But the train would be a cool way to do it, especially with especially when you get to the mountains. Holy cow.
Liz (01:15:00.537)
Yeah, I have Yep.
And I have not been to Wyoming. It’s I I do have a goal of eventually visiting all of the states. and I mentioned earlier that I used to go to the same resort in Utah like every year. It was really when COVID hit that I was like, why I mean I love this place, but why am I going back there year after year? I need to start seeing like all of these other, you know, amazing places around the world. So I I can’t say that I like domestic travel any more or less than I like international travel. I like I like it.
Jason (01:15:14.178)
Yeah.
Liz (01:15:33.284)
All so no.
Jason (01:15:34.255)
There’s so many amazing places in the US to see. I mean, you know, it’s which is part of the challenge, which is part of why sometimes you go other places and you know, like I’m in Colombia right now. I there’s some Americans, I say Americans meaning people from the US, that that come here for other reasons than the natural beauty and the and the people and the culture. and where I’m going with that is I’m much more likely to see people from Europe, which is a lot further away.
Liz (01:15:40.378)
Yeah.
Liz (01:16:03.055)
Hm, okay.
Jason (01:16:03.742)
you know, bec and part of that’s because Europeans just grow up in you know, they’re surrounded by all these these these different countries, so they’re really comfortable moving between countries for one. And number two, maybe they grew up in a small country or especially people from like New Zealand. You know, they’re really good travelers because it’s a fairly small country and they gotta get on a plane. But my point is the US is so big with so many different things, there’s a lot of people that never bothered to get a passport because they can go on their
Liz (01:16:31.162)
Yeah.
Jason (01:16:33.484)
two or four week vacation if they’re fortunate enough to have that and go to a new place every year for fifty years.
Liz (01:16:39.823)
You know, I think I think domestic travel is great, but I really do think that you miss out on a lot about just humanity and people if you only stay somewhere where they speak the same language as you and you know, you have the same like general lifestyle. I think that, you know
Broadening your horizons, at least for me, is is very important to me. I know that travel has definitely, you know, opened my eyes to the way other people live and the fact that, you know, even though your countries might not get along, you know, the people are not the country and I’m not trying to get like political with this, but it’s hard when you’ve if you haven’t experienced other cultures to make that
you know, us make that recogni have that recognition, you know. Yeah.
Jason (01:17:38.177)
I agr I agree with you a hundred percent. I mean, actually the name of this podcast, Big World Made Small, I came up with it while I was in Asia on my first trip to Asia and I was in Malaysia actually and there’s, you know, women walking around with the hijabs and burkas and it’s just a a little bit different, but the people are still people. And it was so when I was like, What am I gonna name this podcast? It’s like, Well, this trip to Asia has made the world feel smaller to me.
Liz (01:18:04.271)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (01:18:04.864)
‘Cause it used to be so and it is a long ways away. I’m not saying it’s not a long plane flight, but it felt a lot once I got there, it felt a lot closer and I realized, you know, the more I’ve traveled, the smaller the world has gotten. So and I think that’s you know will war go away because we travel? I don’t know. You know, I don’t want to be ridiculous, unrealistic, but
Liz (01:18:15.183)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (01:18:26.048)
I think our world would be a better place if more people could get out and connect with other people, whether that’s through travel or listening to podcasts or or whatever, or going to Virginia. I definitely suggest everybody should go to Virginia, to Roanoke specifically. But Liz, we we discussed a bunch of things and I know there’s a bunch more that we probably missed. And I’m curious, what do you wish I would have asked you? Or what do you think I should have asked you?
Liz (01:18:31.033)
Yeah.
Right. Yeah. Thank you.
Jason (01:18:54.062)
that we can share with our audience before we wrap up.
Liz (01:18:58.105)
Hmm. Well
We talked a little bit about my story and me just needing a place to spend the night. but I’d love to share with the audience a little bit more detail about about that. Okay. So the previous owner of the Roanoke Boutique Hotel had purchased it and flipped it. she lived here with her children. but they were already kind of aging out of the house, right? So she only opened it up as a bed and breakfast to like have something to do with the house once the kids were gone.
Jason (01:19:10.124)
Yeah, please do.
Liz (01:19:30.173)
I only say that because, you know, she was very, she was very kind, but she was not the type of innkeeper that I would normally like chat up, you know, to like talk about your experience as an innkeeper as I’m doing like my research, right? but I I stayed in a room which is now the Hydrangea room. It was called Ravens Roost at the time, and the room had a bathtub. I decided I wanted to take a bath and I needed reading material for the bath. So I picked up
Jason (01:19:46.04)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:20:00.086)
what was like a two year old issue of Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine and I was like, Who keeps a two year old issue of a magazine in a room? But I hadn’t read it, so it didn’t matter to me. Yeah. I get in the bath, I open up the magazine, and there was a full page photograph of the house and it said, Fulfill your dream of being an innkeeper. And I was like, Whoa, you know? So Exactly. She had
Jason (01:20:10.99)
Due to you.
Jason (01:20:24.494)
That’s that’s why she had a two year old magazine and the she probably had one in each room.
Liz (01:20:29.155)
She she did, yes. So she had put it on the market several years earlier, taken out an ad in the magazine, and kept the magazine. But had I not stayed in that room with the bathtub, decided to take a bath, pulled that exact magazine, I would not have s asked her, you know, about that
the fact she had put it on the market. So she never would have told me that she was planning on putting it back on the market that fall and I would not be sitting here with you right now. So it was it was a set of events. Yeah.
Jason (01:21:01.678)
She she’s she saved the commission with the real estate agent.
Liz (01:21:05.851)
Well, actually we did we did end up coming to a private arrangement. So yes, we did it all we did it all. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Jason (01:21:10.004)
Yeah, I suspect you did. That worked out well. Did you I’m curious if it came out in conversation. Was that a str like I understand why she kept the magazine. She paid to put an ad in it. She probably had a couple copies. But I’m curious if you’ve had the conversation if Yeah, was that like an intentional placement? Like was it the only magazine in the room? So if somebody was looking for something to read, that’s the one they would pick up? Because that would be pretty good marketing.
Liz (01:21:22.585)
Yeah.
Liz (01:21:26.169)
Was she hoping someone would see it?
Liz (01:21:35.974)
Definitely wasn’t Yeah, definitely was not the only magazine in the room. and you know, I keep a good number of magazines in the rooms, including Blue Ridge Outdoors. I don’t have one that’s that old though. but I I
I think that she did purposely keep them hoping someone might see it. You know, I think that the the business of buying and selling bed and breakfasts is very specific. and I’ve been told that, you know, people who are looking to sell, you know, it can take upwards of five years, you know, to find the right people to take it over and that kind of thing. So, you know, I’m sure anything but that said, she was actually planning on putting it on the market as a single family home, you know.
Jason (01:21:58.014)
Pretty smart.
Jason (01:22:12.824)
Yeah.
Liz (01:22:21.911)
just kind of yeah. So she she had tried listing it as a B and B in that ad, didn’t have any bites, but still was planning on selling when she did ’cause it was part of her plan for, you know, her life and moving on. So so yeah, it was just it it was really serendipitous that that I I found that magazine ad and here I am. So
Jason (01:22:22.126)
Mm.
Jason (01:22:34.42)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Jason (01:22:44.6)
Very cool. You mentioned in the very beginning of the conversation, you mentioned kind of the naming, Roe and Oak Boutique Hotel. And you said that you’d considered maybe changing the name. As someone that spends a little bit of time in digital marketing, I can imagine your SEO, your search engine optimization for Roe and Oak Boutique Hotel is really, really good. And my question is, have you ever regretted keeping the name? Have you or what would you have named it? Can you share that with us?
Liz (01:22:50.777)
Yeah.
Liz (01:23:11.695)
I
I didn’t ha see I didn’t develop a name. No, no, because I honestly decided to keep the name before I developed one of my own. but you know, she had a lot of good press. She was in Southern Living magazine. we had just gotten runner-up for Best of the Blue Ridge, you know, so there were there were things going on. and my, you know, I think I mentioned I didn’t want people to have the misconception that I was a hotel. But I also decided that, you know, keeping the name the same and
Jason (01:23:14.22)
You didn’t get that far. Okay.
Liz (01:23:42.664)
And having the backlog of all of the reviews and stuff like that, you know, the majority of which were very positive, was better than kind of starting from scratch. And I think now, like, the benefits that I’ve seen from pe keeping the name
Jason (01:23:53.025)
I would think so. Yeah.
Liz (01:24:00.044)
outweigh the downside. I had the opportunity to be in our local magazine, The Roanoker. there’s right right now there’s an issue that’s got an article on boutique hotels. So
Jason (01:24:13.632)
Yeah, there you go. That’s
Liz (01:24:14.755)
The the writer of that reached out to me, asked if I wanted to be a part of it, and I said, Well, yes, definitely. But you know I’m not really a boutique hotel, I’m a bed and breakfast. She’s like, Liz, I know that. But we decided, she and her editor, for the purpose of that, that anything that wasn’t just a mainstream stay, something that was unique, could be considered. But did any of the other bed and breakfasts in town get asked to be part of the article? They did not. So
Jason (01:24:41.036)
Yeah, yeah. Because it it makes sense. Somebody that’s going on, let’s say Google looking for, you know, and that would type in, you know, boutique hotel Roanoke, Virginia, whatever, and they see what you’ve got, they are probably a potential good fit, as opposed to somebody that’s just looking for a hotel in Roanoke. Right. So so that for one thing, but also because you mentioned and I wanna emphasize that you said you do direct bookings only. So if
Liz (01:24:59.726)
Agreed. Yep.
Liz (01:25:06.991)
Mm-hmm.
Jason (01:25:09.126)
If you were listed on an OTA, we don’t need to mention any names, people know other places where they go book hotel rooms. if you were listed there, there might be some confusion because they’re not looking at your website. So they might think, we booked a hotel room, and then they show up and it’s like, this is more of a you know, a B and B. But you’re not doing that type of booking anyway. So everybody everybody that ends up booking with you looks at your website, they can tell it’s not a
Liz (01:25:32.879)
Yeah.
Jason (01:25:38.604)
You know, a f a fifteen room hotel.
Liz (01:25:41.498)
Yep. I mean I put it like right up there, like right underneath the name, the very next line says a small bed and breakfast for outdoor enthusiasts and breakfast lovers. So I try to make it as, you know, clear as possible. But I do think that folks that are searching boutique hotel, I mean, what even is the definition of a boutique hotel? There are some that run more like
Jason (01:25:46.145)
Yeah, yeah.
I love it.
Jason (01:26:04.622)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:26:04.705)
Airbnbs or short term rentals. There are some that run more like hotels. There’s me. Like what what does it really mean to be a boutique hotel? so yeah, I’m I’m I’m happy that I kept the name. yeah.
Jason (01:26:18.038)
Yeah, I love it. Very, very good. and th your story is really cool. And how long after you stayed there did you put in your notice at your job?
Liz (01:26:23.696)
Thank you.
Liz (01:26:29.015)
Ooh, that was a toughie because I mean the first night I stayed here, when I left the next day, I didn’t know I
It wasn’t until I drove away after staying here the first night that all I could think about was this place. And my friend that I was going to visit made me leave a day early so I could come back through and stay again. It was only after that that I was like, I’m pretty sure this is where I’m supposed to be. But then it’s like, is this really an opportunity? Can I really make this happen? It is ahead of my schedule, right? so the biggest question for me was
Jason (01:27:04.45)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:27:08.633)
If I didn’t try to see if I could make this work, would it be the one thing in my life that I would always look back and regret that I hadn’t, you know, taken action on? And I decided the answer to that was yes. But, you know, still taking like all of the previous owner’s information on all of her rentals and trying to like look develop, you know, financial projections and all that kind of stuff. I mean, I do love a spreadsheet, so I I had no problem with all that. I still, you know, we
Jason (01:27:29.304)
Mm-hmm.
Liz (01:27:35.766)
Okay, so we were working on an a memorandum of understanding in September time frame, I want to say, with the goal of working towards a contract in early November. So even then, though, until it was actually happening, I was still, you know, somewhat concerned that.
Jason (01:27:53.646)
Okay.
Liz (01:28:03.083)
something might go wrong. so it was after we had the contract in place, after I had my performance evaluation and got my bonus for last year that I I told my
Jason (01:28:18.584)
So January first.
Liz (01:28:20.441)
No, I told I ended up telling them in December. yeah, I ended up telling them in December and honestly, I closed on the buying the house in the business in mid January, but I was still working then. So I would spend my weekends here in Roanoke and then I would drive the five hours back to Hampton Roads to work the weeks there. Just
Jason (01:28:39.758)
So you didn’t just give the two week notice, you you spread it out a little bit.
Liz (01:28:42.425)
No, I mean the the profession I was in and the position I was in, two weeks would not at all have been appropriate. So I gave them like a month and a half, I guess.
Jason (01:28:53.226)
okay. All right.
Liz (01:28:55.543)
Yeah. So I ended up working as an engineer through the end of January of twenty four, basically. And then I already had a vacation planned to go to Spain in February, so I did that and then I reopened the Roanoke Boutique Hotel to guests in early March of twenty twenty four. Yep.
Jason (01:29:12.526)
Do you remember do you remember your first and when I say your first, well, I guess is there could be a two-part answer. You reopened, so did you have any reservations on the books? Because and the reason I’m asking that is because I want to know about your first guest. I want to know that first afternoon or evening you met your first guest and just share that with us real quick before we go if you want.
Liz (01:29:26.436)
Yeah.
Liz (01:29:33.372)
Aw, okay. So my first guess I actually knew them. So it made it easy. I know. So part of my previous job was actually working at one of the localities locally, like as one of their like to augment their staff. So that was a city of Chesapeake, Virginia. So it was actually one of my co-workers that I worked with in Chesapeake that he and his wife came out for my opening weekend and to celebrate her and her birthday.
Jason (01:29:37.814)
Okay. All right. Your first well, yeah, go ahead.
Jason (01:30:01.487)
That’s pretty cool.
Liz (01:30:03.325)
So yeah, and they’ve actually been out one or two other times since too. So so that made it really easy. I got to like, you know, figure out kind of my my breakfast scheduling and all that kind of stuff with folks that were willing guinea pigs. So yeah, yeah. And then
Jason (01:30:21.87)
It’s like that that soft open or whatever that sometimes businesses okay, what about the first guest that you did not know?
Liz (01:30:29.007)
Probably like the very next couple of days, but aw, it’s been two and a half years now and had I a had you known you were gonna ask me that question, I would have been like ready with their names, but
Jason (01:30:39.17)
Well, we don’t I just because because I guess if you rem if you remember this part is okay, so for example I was a fly fishing guide for a while. My very first guide clients did not know that that they were my very first guide clients. And it turned out at the end of the day, I learned that I was the first guide they’d ever been with.
Liz (01:30:52.931)
Yeah, huh.
Liz (01:31:00.124)
yeah.
Jason (01:31:00.534)
So we finished at the end of the day and they said, you know, Jason, that was so much fun. You know, we’ve never been with a guide before, but you really set the bar high. And I had that moment of do I tell them, Well, you know what? I’ve never been a guide before. I’d never even been with a guide before. But I I kept my mouth shut. And to this day I still kind of regret I would have just I
Liz (01:31:16.027)
Mm Yeah.
Jason (01:31:24.588)
Wish I would have just been honest and authentic and, you know, I I didn’t lie to them. They didn’t ask how many times I’d done it. But I was just curious if you had an experience like that.
Liz (01:31:29.307)
Sure. Yeah. Well
Funny because you know, oftentimes guests, especially at breakfast, well, one thing I didn’t think about before I got here was how much I would have to talk about myself. I wasn’t really used to doing that, and I do end up telling a lot of people, you know, my story. and at the beginning it did seem, I don’t know, like a little bit awkward, you know, if they’re like, how long have you been doing this? And I’m like, I just started this month, you know. Like, but but the but I do remember all of those experiences.
Jason (01:31:43.107)
Yeah.
Jason (01:31:55.992)
Yeah.
Liz (01:32:03.709)
Experiences being positive, like or and people commenting that it seems like I’ve been doing this a lot longer, or I, you know, that I the way I’m passionate about it, I’m in the place I’m supposed to be, that kind of thing. So I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of positive, you know, comments and reinforcement from guests in that way. And now that I’ve been here two and a half years, you know, running the place, it still feels like it’s brand new.
Jason (01:32:05.678)
Yeah.
Liz (01:32:33.177)
But yet at the same time I feel like I’ve been here forever. It’s really hard to it’s it’s it’s very hard to kind of describe, but
Jason (01:32:40.13)
I get that. I think a lot of people when I think if they ask how long you’ve been doing this, I think it’s good. I think that means they’re just interested in you and want to hear. If they if they’re thinking this person clearly does not know what they’re doing, they probably won’t say it. They’ll just say it to each other. Like when you walk away, they’ll be like, I think this is her first day. You know.
Liz (01:32:44.623)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Liz (01:33:00.891)
That’s so funny. Well, I couldn’t lie to them. I’m I mean I could, but honestly, that much of my story is on my website. So anyone who cares to read it could see it. So I would never contradict that, obviously. But yeah.
Jason (01:33:06.094)
Well yeah.
Jason (01:33:12.77)
Well and it’s not like you’re a surgeon or that or that their life is at risk. You know, I’ll I’ll share with you real quick that
Liz (01:33:17.955)
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. I’ve never cooked an egg before. You’re my first egg, you know? It’s like
Jason (01:33:26.058)
Used to surprise me, I also had a hot air balloon ride business for a while. So I would meet my clients and they’d get in the balloon, we would fly away, and we’d be 5,000 feet in the air. Me and them. And it’s usually like two people. And then they will look over and say, So Jason, how long you’ve been doing this?
Liz (01:33:29.049)
Uh-huh.
Liz (01:33:45.465)
And you would purposely
Jason (01:33:46.862)
I’d I’d look at my watch and about 30 minutes or I’d say, Well, you I just got my license last week or and it was always funny because because yeah, of course the thought goes, Yeah. Or I would just say, You should have asked me that before we got in the basket. Do you really want to know the answer to that? You know, do you really want to know my answer?
Liz (01:33:49.525)
Yeah, yes, nice.
Liz (01:33:55.204)
Nice.
Their eyes would get really big and
It’s a little late now. You’re like, who’s whose balloon is this? I thought this was your balloon. This isn’t your balloon. No.
Jason (01:34:12.44)
So anyway, people are fun. I l I appreciate and see that you enjoy your guests and you it it it’s clear that you you found your place and I I proud of you and just excited to see what you continue to do. And thank you so much for sharing the story here. Liz we’ll stay in touch. I’ll come visit you in Roanoke. All right. But but I’m gonna stay for 14 days and I wanna talk to you every night. Just kidding. Thanks.
Liz (01:34:20.889)
Thanks.
Liz (01:34:28.057)
Yeah, of course, Jason. I had a great time. All right. Please do. Yeah.
Liz (01:34:39.513)
I think I can make some time for that.
Jason (01:34:40.43)
Thanks, Liz. I’ll chat with you soon. You have a great day.
Liz (01:34:43.587)
All right, thank you, Jason.

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