Innspiring Innkeepers Get Tanked on Road Trip

Dec. 25, 2013 - PRLog -- Four innkeepers were called "inn-quisitive, inn-teractive and inn-gaging" on a whirl-wind innspirational road trip.

One thing they never imagined was the possibility that the Innspiring Road Trip would touch the hearts of so many...inncluding their own!

The 4 Innspiring Innkeepers hit the icy roads from Inndiana in a little hybrid packed to the gills with gifts and good cheer for those innmates they would meet along the way.

Shellie Leete, innkeeper at The Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast of Virginia said she "Coined the term 'Innmates' as owning and operating a bed and breakfast is a somewhat isolated profession, and can be known as a ball and chain by some." Leete said "We certainly do host some amazing guests from all around the world. But as the innkeeping saying goes 'They stay, they pay and they go away' which can be a good and a bad thing, in the life of an innkeeper."

She continued "The term innmate has more than one connotation. Being busy at the inn, we are seldom the guests at other inns, so that is what the essence of this road trip is all about!"

These innkeepers are part of a group who founded InnRewards.com which is a grassroots effort to reward those great B&B guests, and not just feed the squeaky wheels!

Instead of corporate owned directories, these innkeepers decided to put together their own unique directory online of reputable bed and breakfast inns, from the innkeepers themselves. InnRewards.com offers special gifts (i.e. rewards) to guests, as a way of saying thank you for choosing the inn. This is offered free of charge to all B&B’s in the USA, Canada and Overseas!

The four experienced innmates on this road trip were:

--Shellie Leete, of Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast, Rocky Mount Virginia

--Jane Muncie, McDowell-Nearing House Bed and Breakfast in Muncie Indiana

--Carol Wibbenmeyer, Lodge at Mark Twain Lake near Hannibal Missouri

--Kathleen Panek, of Gillum House Bed and Breakfast in Shinnston West Virginia

Each innkeeper brought with them: expertise in travel, hospitality and fun! They traveled a total of 3200 miles. There were 11 B&B's visited on this Innspiring Road Trip: from a traditional and historic gingerbread laced Victorian, to a lakeside lodge, to mountain cabins, to a storefront guesthouse, to a vineyard bed and breakfast, and even a 36 acre working horse farm and more:

1)  McDowell-Nearing House B&B in Muncie, Indiana

2)  Lodge at Mark Twain Lake near Hannibal, Missouri

3)  High Street Victorian in Boonville, Missouri

4)  Crystal Cove Bed and Breakfast in Branson, Missouri

5)  Lesmeister Guesthouse in Pocahontas, Arkansas

6)  Woodridge Bed and Breakfast in Slidell, Louisiana

7)  Blue Ridge Inn Bed and Breakfast in Blue Ridge, Georgia

8)  Horse Creek Stable Bed and Breakfast in Blue Ridge, Georgia

9)  Claiborne House Bed and Breakfast in Rocky Mount, Virginia

10)  Arcady Vineyard Bed and Breakfast in Charlottesville, Virginia

11) Gillum House Bed and Breakfast in Shinnston, West Virginia

Touring the blue highways of America, seeing some of the off-the-beaten path sights of interest was a high priority to these innkeepers. Meeting hardworking, real people in small town America: from the Satsuma man in Alabama, to the barber in the oldest barbershop in Arkansas, to the owner of Tank Town USA where they discovered "getting tanked" was great innkeeper therapy!

Knowing how hard innkeepers work, being one of the oldest professions, this was a rare once in a lifetime experience the 4 innkeepers will never forget. They encourage you to get out on America's by-ways and support small family-owned businesses!

“If you wish to learn more about the best bed and breakfasts online” say the innkeepers "visit http://www.InnRewards.com !”