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members” ten years ago to 16 today and is its president. The guild publishes a brochure and posts a web site at www.bnb-n-va.com.
Despite what Irwin terms a “saturated market,” he feels local government should do nothing to curb new B&B activity. Instead he feels the industry will level out through the forces of supply and demand. “The government has no business in business,” he said.
Like the Conyers House, Caledonia’s first source of business is referrals. The B&B is also listed in guidebooks and is receiving an increasing amount of new business from the Internet.
“I’d say as many as 40 percent of my new business comes from the Internet,” said Irwin, noting that the figure is astonishing when taking into consideration the fact that a scant 20 percent of households in the United States are estimated to have home computers and Internet access.
“The fascination with concept of bed and breakfasts is based on the fact that everyone is different. Unlike the uniform sterility of hotels, our decor is different and our levels of hospitality are different. The Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia (of which Irwin was a co-founder) has 204 inspected and approved bed and breakfasts in Virginia.
“We have so many in Rappahannock because we are open space, scenery, the mountains, wildlife, trails and stables. We have three excel
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