Courtesy / B&B Team
Eben Viens
December 6, 2020
Long-time inn brokers sell business to Vermont counterpart
Courtesy / B&B Team
From left, Peggy Scherman, Peter Scherman, and Rick and Janet Wolf. The B&B Team partners are in the process of selling the business to a hospitality professional based in Vermont.
The B&B Team's four partners are close to finalizing the sale of the business to a Brattleboro, Vt.-based hospitality specialist.
As of late last week, Rick and Janet Wolf and Peggy and Peter Scherman were within a few days of selling their business to Eben Viens, who has almost 10 years in the industry on both the innkeeping side as well as the inn sales side.
The B&B Team was established in 1993 in Kennebunk.
In a letter to clients, the partners wrote, “We’ve been at this for a long time, as innkeepers, consultants and inn brokers nationwide. But, to quote another famous line, ‘All good things must come to an end.’”
The partners said they are ready to retire “and pass the baton on to a new generation.”
Among its services, the B&B Team offers “aspiring innkeeper” workshops designed to help potential buyers on topics such as finding and acquiring an inn, financing, valuation, business planning, marketing and operations.
Viens will retain the business name and its services, said Wolf.
“The B&B Team name will continue,” Wolf told Mainebiz. “It’s got good will, a strong web presence, and we’re arguably the largest national brand at this point in our space — the B&B and country inn market.”
The Wolfs are the former owner of the Captain Fairfield Inn in Kennebunkport; they bought it in 1999 and sold it in 2004 to Lark Hotels, owned by Rob Blood.
Hecounted among his most notable transactions over the past year the sale of Rockland’s Berry Manor Inn, which has won two "Top Best Bed and Breakfasts in the U.S." TripAdvisor awards; the Mira Monte Inn, built in 1864 as a summer cottage, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and thought to be one of Bar Harbor’s first bed-and-breakfasts; and the simultaneous closings of Kennebunkport’s Captain Jefferds Inn and the Maine Stay Inn and Cottages to Lark Hotels and now part of a portfolio called the Kennebunkport Captain’s Collection.
Most recently, Wolf brokered the sale of the Lakeview Inn in Naples, originally built in 1906 as a boarding house and acquired by buyers from Reno, Nev.
“These are iconic inns in Maine,” he said.
The brokerage has also transacted sales outside of Maine, from New England to the West Coast.
The aspiring innkeeper workshops have attracted several hundred people over the years.
“And a solid number have gone on to be innkeepers,” Wolf said. “One of the real successes for The B&B Team is that we set the bar for the aspiring innkeeper workshops, in terms of getting to he nuts and bolts of acquisition and valuations, so that when people left, if that was a deciding factor for them to continue on with innkeeping, they were well equipped and they had us to work with.”
Wolf has seen the sector change over the years, starting with technology. Next to the actual buildings and land, technology has become the innkeeper’s biggest asset in terms of being able to make information available and communicate interactively with guests, he said.
The sector’s style has evolved, he continued, to combine classic architecture with modern amenities and experiential connections.
“It’s not just having place to sleep,” he explained. “It’s about having the ability to create experiences. There are amazing innkeepers in Maine and around the country who understand that and are capitalizing on that.”
Viens is a partner in Inn Partners, a Brattleboro, Vt., company that offers services similar to the B&B Team. Inn Partners was founded in 1984 by Viens’ grandparents, Bill Oates and Heide Bredfeldt, according to its website.
“With New England being a hot spot for inns, and Eben working in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, it will be natural for him and he has plans to grow the company,” said Wolf.
The B&B Team began notifying clients of the transition in late November. Wolf said he and his partners will continue to be in the background for a while to effect a smooth transition. It’s expected the transition will offer clients additional exposure through both companies' websites.
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