Friends Inn Touch

Put yourself in touch with a Michigan Bed and Breakfast Association innkeeper who wants to help. Someone who’s been there and done that. Someone with whom you can talk privately. In detail. One on one. Like friends do.

Scroll down to read the bios of innkeepers who will welcome your call or email. Each has broad overall innkeeping knowledge plus specific strengths outlined in the descriptions.

Choose the volunteer who seems to best know what you need to know. Whether you connect online or by phone, the goal of Friends Inn Touch is to provide a relaxed setting in which you can work through a business-related situation with a trusted colleague.

Volunteers have pledged their discretion. Your conversations remain between the two of you. Your connection may be limited to a single conversation or it may evolve to an ongoing exchange of ideas and support.

Where you take it is up to you.

Make the connection by giving your innkeeper-of-choice a call or email. Don’t be shy! These innkeepers volunteered because they want your business to succeed.

Meet our Friends Inn Touch volunteers

Debi Hillebrand

The Lewis House B&B, Whitehall. Connect with me at [email protected] or call 844-854-6424.

In 2009, my husband Greg and I bought an old house in a small town in Michigan and decided to start a bed and breakfast.  After an extensive six-year renovation, we opened The Lewis House B&B. We’ve worked through all the nuts and bolts — and even some nails and crown moldings — of starting our business from scratch and we haven’t looked back.  

While we’d not consider our journey a cake walk, the process of making The Lewis House B&B a reality was certainly made smoother with the strong and never-ending support, help and advice from great mentors along the way.  We’re still learning while having fun every day. If we can help another innkeeper get started, we’re excited to do so.  Have questions?  Want to know how someone else might solve a quandary?  Need a sounding board?  Reach out – we’ll help.

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Jennifer (Jen) Hinderer

Lamplighter B&B, Ludington  Connect with me at [email protected] or call 231-843-9792.

Seventeen years into my career, I ditched climbing the corporate ladder and traded early morning conference calls, flights and marketing pitches for the B&B life alongside my husband and business partner Dan (and two young sons).

Fueled by our faith, on a mission to offer delicious breakfasts using locally-sourced ingredients, and believing the best community happens around a meal at the table, we dove into innkeeper life and haven’t looked back!

We constantly hear “it’s just breakfast” and “oh, we could TOTALLY do this in retirement!” And some do, as a hobby.

But for Dan and me, this is our livelihood. Since purchasing Lamplighter B&B in June 2017, I’ve relied heavily on my product innovation and brand/marketing background to build our business.  Business cases, forecasts, budgets and KPIs exist in this world too…alongside recipes, marketing plans and reservation software.  No two days are ever alike!  I’m happy to answer any questions you may have or to just be a sounding board.

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Brian King

Looking Glass Beachfront Inn, Grand Haven. Contact me at [email protected] or call 616-842-7150.

Over my five-year tenure as a B&B owner/innkeeper, we’ve made many changes in running the business. We open seasonally from April through November and stay very busy, maintaining a greater-than-90-percent occupancy during the summer.

We have a one- and a four-year-old, and my wife works full time outside of the B&B, so we stay active with work and life.

My main strength is the business side of the inn. I have a marketing/ management degree from a business school and have been in some sort of business since college. The inn is the second business I’ve owned. I come from mostly a sales background and tend to make decisions based on the numbers. I’m finishing up my Advanced Revenue Management Certificate through eCornell and utilize many of its principles, along with my previous experience.

We have grown our current business revenue by 70 percent since purchasing the already-successful B&B in 2016. Please feel free to reach out if there is anything I can help with or if you want to just run something by a second set of eyes or ears.

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Steven Koster

The Parsonage Inn, Grand Rapids  Contact me at [email protected] or call 708-570-3980.

My wife Deb and I are the parsons behind The Parsonage Inn. Deb and I love ministry and hospitality and have a heart for healthy marriages and families. We are both graduates of Calvin Theological Seminary and ordained ministers in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. For decades we’ve encouraged families to stoke the Holy Spirit’s flame at home. That vision eventually led to opening the inn, where we enjoy leading marriage retreats and family seminars to encourage people in their most intimate relationships. We’re the parents of three awesome young adults who also reside in Grand Rapids.

Before I became an ordained minister, my career led me through two decades of technology, communications, and community-building. Before attending seminary, I directed Calvin College’s media productions, then launched online communities and products for Avid Technologies in Boston. After seminary, I joined Back to God Ministries International as the director of ReFrame Media in 2006, developing a wealth of media knowledge and experience as well as a heart for outreach. I’m here to help and look forward to you reaching out.

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Kjersten Offenbecker

The Nordic Pineapple B&B, St. Johns. Contact me at [email protected] or call 989-292-4178.

With my husband Greg, I co-own and operate The Nordic Pineapple, a seven-room inn in St. Johns. We have three children ages 27, 16 and 13. Greg’s mom lives onsite as well.

We purchased the building that would become The Nordic Pineapple in July 2019 and built the business from the ground up. Neither of us had any previous experience running a B&B or even owning our own business. To say we’ve learned as we’ve gone along is an understatement.

By day, I’m a full-time statistical programmer. By night, I’m an innkeeper and love almost every minute of it. While Greg does the cooking and the maintenance, I’m responsible for all things computer-related: the website, reservation system, social media, taking reservations, scheduling events, etc.  I’m pleased to be able to share my experiences with you or to simply be your listener. 

Get more help via Friends Facebook forum

What if you need multiple helping hands? The Friends Inn Touch run their own Facebook group — separate from the long-standing MBBA Facebook Forum — and you’re invited to join and to post questions. Our volunteer innkeepers have agreed to follow the posts and to comment wherever their experience or suggestions might be helpful.

Once your membership is greenlighted (within 24 hours), address your question to one or all of the Friends. The exchange might lead to private, one-to-one discussion, or not. You decide.

Other innkeepers in the group might also comment.

Try it.