Buyers swap corporate career for historic Kennebunkport inn

Courtesy / Robley Family Eileen and Carl Robley swapped out of careers in telecommunications and health care to purchase the 1802 House Bed and Breakfast Inn in Kennebunkport

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By Laurie Schreiber

The buyers of the 1802 House Bed and Breakfast Inn in Kennebunkport have swapped out of careers in telecommunications and health care in favor of innkeeping.

Eileen and Carl Robley purchased the inn, located at 15 Locke St. in Kennebunkport, from Teri and Roger Walker for an undisclosed price. The transaction closed April 30. Dana Moos from The B&B Team Inn Consultants and Brokers represented the buyers.

The purchase was financed in part by a mortgage from Camden National Bank and in part by a financing mechanism called “ROBS” or “rollover for business startups.” This allows people to invest retirement funds from a 401(k) or individual retirement account into a business without paying early withdrawal penalties or taxes, according to Fitsmallbusiness.com.

Moos says the mechanism has become more common in hospitality transactions. “Accessing your 401(k) to invest in your own future can make a difference in the affordability of a purchase for many buyers,” she says.

Website upgrade

In keeping with trends in the lodging industry, they plan to update the inn’s marketing strategy, with a focus on the property’s historic provenance.

The couple hired White Stone Marketing, an internet marketing firm, in Reno, Nev., that focuses on B&Bs and luxury lodging properties, to update the website.

Further plans include hosting events like garden parties, forging relationships with local organizations like Vinegar Hill Music Theatre and the Landing School in nearby Arundel, and extending hours into the weekdays during the off-season.

“The previous innkeepers closed weekdays during the off-season,” explained Eileen Robley. But there’s plenty of market potential through the winter.

“Kennebunkport is beautiful in the snow,” she said. “There are plenty things you can do in the winter, so we’ll make the most of that.”

They’ll also continue the inn’s participation in local events like “Christmas Prelude,” taking place the first two weekends in December and including a candlelight tour of Kennebunkport’s historic inns which, in addition to 1802 House, include Captain Lord Mansion, Captain Jefferds Inn, Maine Stay Inn, the Inn at English Meadows and Waldo Emerson Inn.

Launching themselves into operations, there was a steep learning curve, particularly in areas like vendor services and marketing, Robley said. Her background in management, as a medical assistant, helped, she said.

“Our housekeeper has been a godsend,” she added. “She works really hard and has taught me so much about housekeeping.”

The 1802 House is one of Kennebunkport’s historic inns and is set next to the Cape Arundel Golf Course. It has six rooms. The house, of original Colonial design, was built in 1802. Extensions were added over the years, and in the 1990s it was converted into a bed-and-breakfast.

The original 1802 house has historic features like heavy beams and Colonial brick fireplaces that have been fitted with gas log insets. The exposed beams are said to be hemlock and the dining room and kitchen feature a Mexican-style tiled floor. The guest baths have the added touch of radiant heat tile flooring and granite counters.

Courtesy / Robley Family

1802 House features historical details like heavy beams and brick fireplaces.

Learning curve

The couple is originally from England, where Carl worked for the telecommunications company T-Mobile and Eileen worked in operations for the National Health Service. After vacationing in California the couple, with their two children, decided to move there, in 2005. Carl remained with T-Mobile. In 2011, he was transferred to the company’s Syracuse, N.Y., office. Eileen worked as a medical assistant.

Eventually, she said, the two realized they were bored with their jobs.

“We were on vacation and sitting on a rooftop bar in beautiful Savannah, Ga. We said, We need to be doing something else. So Carl said, What do you think about being an innkeeper?’”

Not knowing anything about it, the prospect sounded enticing. They ordered the book “Running a Bed & Breakfast for Dummies,” took an “aspiring innkeepers” workshop with The B&B Team, then began looking at inns along the East Coast.

“We wanted something on the coast,” she said. “Maine ticked our boxes. We wanted an older property, something with character. Nothing too big: We didn’t want a big hotel, just a small, intimate bed-and-breakfast” that just the two of them, plus a housekeeper, could manage.

1802 House was the right size and feel and was in excellent condition, with just some paintwork and a little deferred maintenance to take care of. In the dining room, they swapped out a large family table for smaller tables, in response to online commenters who said they didn’t want to share breakfast space. Further plans include creating a relaxed outdoor seating area with cushioned chairs and a firepit, and upgrading the televisions.