Earlier this year, we were lucky enough to be invited to join the Asheville Bed and Breakfast Association. When we heard that the Association would be expanding its footprint to include Inns and B&Bs in the areas surrounding Asheville, we jumped at the chance to get involved with this amazing group of owners, innkeepers and hospitality professionals. We met many of the members of the Association at other events like the Association of Lodging Professionals and Select Registry Conferences and it has been great to get to know these hospitality veterans and learn from the best of the best. For a long time, Asheville has been known as the B&B capital of North Carolina and it’s not hard to see why. There are some truly wonderful, well-kept homes and Inns with charm and quality that just can’t find at your standard vacation lodging facility, plus you get amazing homemade gourmet breakfasts; one less meal to plan!
Our story as Innkeepers is undoubtedly tied to the Association. About 10 years ago, as we were starting to plan our B&B ownership adventure in earnest while Brenda was in the Navy and headed for retirement, we started to follow the group closely. We even won an online giveaway sweepstakes to receive the “Morning in the Mountains” Asheville B&B Association cookbook, which was the first cookbook from which Peter started practicing his culinary skills. That cookbook will always hold a special place in our hearts and it’s a dream come true to now be part of this amazing group. We look forward to contributing in the future to the amazing recipes in the group’s repertoire.
Fast forward to the current day, and we have seen firsthand how much Hurricane Helene impacted the members in Asheville. October is the busy season for our area, which subsidizes small businesses through the slower winter months. For most of the membership, they have had to remain closed for almost all of October and part of November due to infrastructure issues in the area. However, as we’ve seen by attending the Association meetings and social events, this group of innkeepers is resolute, creative and ready to provide first class hospitality. Things are starting to open in Asheville and many of the Asheville BBA Inns are opening back up as well. We encourage you to check them out for your next trip to WNC, as the best way to support this area right now is to consider it for your upcoming travel plans for the holiday season and for 2025. Many of these Inns book up quickly for the busy October season, so check out the Asheville BBA calendar today for 2025 to reserve your Western North Carolina fall experience!
Here at the Andon-Reid, we are only a short 25–30-minute drive away from Asheville and we do see a lot of folks split their Western North Carolina trips between Asheville and the surrounding towns. Two nights in Asheville followed by two nights in towns like Waynesville, Weaverville, Hendersonville, Brevard is a great mix of experiences for a fabulous and unforgettable vacation. In Asheville, you get to experience a thriving city full of great things to do like the Biltmore Estate, world-class restaurants, incredible cultural events and destinations plus close proximity to outdoor adventures. And then in a town like Waynesville and others, you can experience the heart of Appalachia with charming and fabulous Main Streets, all while immersing yourself in the wonders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway (which is also accessible close to Asheville). A stacked trip to both areas is a great mix of urban and rural, bustling and quiet, relaxing and exhilarating.
In the coming months, the Association will be making a lot of special new content with Innkeeper stories from the membership of the group. One of the great things about B&Bs and Inns is that each property has a story, and each owner has a unique story as well. These places feel like homes away from home and they are truly small, independent businesses, with top-class professionals at the helm. All the innkeepers, owners and managers within the association had incredibly interesting lives in other professions prior to owning or running their Inns and we think you will enjoy learning more about them and their experiences over the years and the last few incredibly challenging months. Follow along on the Asheville B&B association’s social media channels at Instagram and Facebook. Also consider signing up for the newsletter for great content, travel tips, promotions and specials.
For the upcoming holidays, a gift certificate to any Asheville B&B Association Inn is a fantastic gift, as there are so many wonderful places and experiences to choose from, and the group is expanding with the inclusion of nearby towns like Waynesville. You just can’t go wrong with gifting your loved ones an amazing experience that lifts and supports an amazing community of small businesses recovering from some incredible challenges. The Association also puts out great travel content about the area and is a great resource for planning a trip to Western North Carolina. Plus, you can check availability for all the Inns right from one place at the website and see a map of available Inns with prices like popular recommendation apps like Yelp and Google.
We hope you consider an Inn or two from the Association for your next trip to the Asheville area and stay tuned for some great upcoming content!
The Biltmore at Night During the Christmas Season – photo courtesy of Marketing Outpost and the Asheville B&B Association
