Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The small towns in Whitman County have many perks, but lodging options for out-of-town visitors are not always among them.
However, there are options for visitors and local entrepreneurs.
One of the most traditional options is finding a local bed and breakfast like The Parsonage Bed and Breakfast in the Dusty area.
“I have such diverse people who come and stay,” said Vicki Broeckel who runs the bed and breakfast.
The Parsonage does not advertise much, so most of her business comes from word of mouth. She estimates 60 to 75 percent of her lodgers are returnees or people who learn about the Parsonage from word-of-mouth. Visitors come from around the United States, Canada and overseas.
The house served as the parsonage for the Dusty area church, but has not been used by the past two pastors.
“It's a little different because I don't live there,” Broeckel noted. When there are lodgers, she comes every morning to make breakfast in the house's kitchen.
“It's not real fancy fare,” she admitted,
Her busiest season runs March through October with mostly hunters in November.
She still keeps the house ready throughout the year.
“I try to keep it available,” she said. Sometimes she gets calls from people wanting to stay that are parked right outside the building.
Broeckel also rents the building out for small weddings and showers.
Early on she did luncheons and teas as well, but those started to consume too much of her time and she had to discontinue them.
“The main thing about a rural bed and breakfast is to have your water tested,” she advised. In-town facilities may not have to consider it, but Broeckel recollected the hoops she had to jump through to get the water tested and passed―even though they already knew it was good.
A new form similar to traditional bed and breakfast is renting out rooms via on-line services such as Airbnb and VRBO. Airbnb is an on-line marketplace and hospitality service which lets people rent a room or house for short-term lodging. The Tekoa Mansion, owned by the Blaszak family, is one option that can be found on Airbnb.com.
“You just have to be daring enough to welcome strangers into your house,” said Tekoa Mansion owner Debra Blaszak.
She admitted that signing up with Airbnb was more difficult than she thought. The service does provide ratings for lodgers and places to stay which helps to know if a difficult person is the one making the request.
“I get a lot of interest from it,” she said of the web service, but the majority of her business still comes from local word of mouth. Blaszak estimated 75 percent of her lodgers come from local families who are in town for things like graduations and funerals. The house has only been listed on-line since June.
While the Parsonage is full-time work for Broeckel, Blaszak―who does live in the house while renting out the rooms―only puts part-time hours into guests and their stay.
Other lodging options can be found from thinking slightly outside of the box, such as the room at the St. John Mercantile.
Vicki Logen and her husband built a new building at the site of the old lumberyard in St. John. The building contains a laundromat, car wash, mini storage and originally had two rooms for rent. Logen said they set the rooms up like studio apartments so they could be rented out if things didn't work for lodging. One room is now leased to a massage therapist, but the other averages occupancy for about one-third of each month.
“A lot of time it's family visiting,” Logen said. They are also house hunters and contractors who sometimes rent on a weekly basis.
“Hunting season is probably my busiest,” she said.
The room offers amenities of kitchenette, cable TV, internet, jet tub and shower. She also hires someone else to clean and maintain the room.
“Get a good cleaning lady,” is her advice to anyone considering renting out.
When visitors are booked to come, Logen leaves the door unlocked for them and when they check out they are instructed to just leave the money on the table. While many people have questioned the trusting policy, she has never had an issue with payment.
“It's been a fun project. I've got to meet a lot of people,” Logen said.
“It's been a great experience,” echoed Broeckel.
Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.
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